I had/have the exact same issue.  Mine is only a couple months old so it is also covered under warranty. I haven't gotten it fixed yet, but it is on my short list of things to do.  I did see a video of a guy who replaced the usb  connection himself.  The part cost something like $.80.  (yes, 80 cents for a high quality replacement).  As this is a common problem with the POD, I cannot imagine why the folks at Line6 would not make a executive decision to spend a quarter for a more robust connector in the assembly process.  It is not like this is the first time this has come up.  That said, I appreciate the fact that Line6 is telling me it is covered under warranty.