Originally Posted by
FBinNY
You're right about not using the same pin, but have the wrong reason. Modern chains have the rivets peened over the placed much the same way the ones on steel construction are. When you push the pin through the peened area is sheered off, so when the pin is pushed back through there's nothing to keep the plate from being spread over the end, and falling off.
FWIW: when Shimano first introduced Hyperglide (1989-ish), they didn't change anything on the chain. This resulted in many broken chains and some really pissed-off bike mechanics. (I attended one- I thought the Shimano rep was going to be lynched.) Shimano rushed out with the special Hyperglide chain and break-off replacement chain pin, which solved the problem. It wasn't until several years later that a real alternative (SRAM) became available.
Shimano chains are designed to deal with the strain of shifting under load. Since the OP's chain broke, I'd suspect improper assembly or sub-par parts.