How to unbrick a "dead" Milestone. - Motorola Droid and Milestone Q&A, Help & Troublesh

After an unfortunate rooting session with my Motorola Milestone, the phone now returns into an "dead" mode. It refuses to start at all. I tried charging it and see if it starts by itself, but it doesn't budge and the little while led doesn't lit. The only time when it lit is when I connect it to the PC. I tried putting in it a new battery, taking out the SD card and SIM, but to no avail. I remember seeing a video where a guy used a dissected USB cable to spark the phone into turning on again, so I take it I'll have to use a "hardware approach"? Please help.

I tried following this guide, though without success. The phone still has that white LED lit when it's connected to the PC.

After a reply on this thread I also made, it might be possible that the battery is charged, but the phone refuses to boot at all. Is there any way to unbrick the phone in this state?

Do you think your device is really BRICKED?
If so, you can try to flash your original sbf file into your phone. Guide here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=696845
If you are using a Linux, google for "sbf_flash".

I agree with my front floor..ermm, u dont need to worry about its 'dead'. just flash original sbf can rescure your phone.

I had the same problem too, but good news is I tried to revive my phone successfully recently, btw your phone is not 'dead', it's just staying in limbo state, the solution is to pull out the battery and don't connect to any usb, don't try to power it up, it must be completely out of power wait about 12 hours, and then try to power your phone, I think there is some capacitors in the phone which retain the phone state, to make it out of power will wipe out it's state, good luck

algopem said:
I had the same problem too, but good news is I tried to revive my phone successfully recently, btw your phone is not 'dead', it's just staying in limbo state, the solution is to pull out the battery and don't connect to any usb, don't try to power it up, it must be completely out of power wait about 12 hours, and then try to power your phone, I think there is some capacitors in the phone which retain the phone state, to make it out of power will wipe out it's state, good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"My phone is in limbo state... "
That's a pretty cool statement.
From technical view, it might have happened that something caused a kind of deadloop when reading scratchpad SRAM inside OMAP processor.
This SRAM, as well as the internal RTC is powered by a small battery soldered on the mainboard, while the phone is shut down and the battery is taken out.
What you did was, to wait untill this battery became uncharged.
All SRAM and RTC setting as well then gets erased.
Afterwards the CPU will start up with empty scratch SRAM, might be called a "real" cold boot
Normally the phone should not behave like this. Even if SRAM is not valid the phone should boot up...
...but anyway as you observed it like this, it might happen.
@andoruB:
Apart from that, the Milestone is hard to brick in general.
Might happen though, if you do evil things while flashing new firmware.
Especially while flashing bootloaders...
If you got some more information about the things you did, would be helpful!
Good luck anyway!
scholbert

andoruB said:
After an unfortunate rooting session with my Motorola Milestone, the phone now returns into an "dead" mode. It refuses to start at all. I tried charging it and see if it starts by itself, but it doesn't budge and the little while led doesn't lit. The only time when it lit is when I connect it to the PC. I tried putting in it a new battery, taking out the SD card and SIM, but to no avail. I remember seeing a video where a guy used a dissected USB cable to spark the phone into turning on again, so I take it I'll have to use a "hardware approach"? Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did u root it? can u give a more detailed description? and hows ur phone? sometimes, the milestone would just shut off and wont come up if the battery is gone. Try charging it for maybe 2-3 hours, untouched, and see what happens.

Have this exact problem. Was doing a nandroid recover when the phone got stuck. Pulled the battery out. Placed it back in, pressed the power button. Nothing.
Led lights up only when connected to the computer's USB. Battery was charged before Nandroid recover. Used nandroid a lot of times but for some reason, my stone stopped playing nice.
I just removed the battery. Hoping this works. Can someone please post if you got this same issue resolved? I like this phone no matter how slow it goes sometimes. Thanks!

I completely forgot about this thread, sorry guys!
I don't remember exactly what happened, it's been so long... but I do remember I left the phone "inactive" (it's not like i had much of a choice! XD ) for 1 or 2 months, with the battery out. After I got hold of a wall charger, I plugged in the battery, after I plugged in the charger, and what do you know? It worked! It started charging (was 60% charged, fully charged, I unplugged it, but after putting it to charge again just to make sure it was fully loaded before I would flash a new ROM, it was charged up to about 80%, weirdly, so I guess it was a weird battery problem)
I do remember I didn't do anything to it, so I'm not sure what to tell you guys to do, except leave out the battery for a month or so ^^;

Related

Is it bricked

I searched and searched. I was reflashing my AT&T tilt on a tmobile net, using the memory card method. I am not exactly sure what i did wrong. I flashed it once tonight and didnt like it even though it worked fine. I flashed it again and when I did the soft reset I think i took the memory card out to soon. Now the phone will not turn on at all. I love this phone, someone please help a brother out
Hard SPL
If I recall correctly, unless you were flashing the SPL, you just need to re-attempt the flash by engaging Hard SPL again.
It's been forever... but I seem to recall that with Hard SPL, you can always recover, unless you are in the middle of re-writing / overwriting SPL.
Erbid
(Tell us you do have Hard SPL installed.)
I cant get the thing to turn on at all I think I have tried every thing. I have flashed twice before without problem. But it just wont turn on now. I guess what im trying to say is I believe hard spl is on it. I ran boot loader from the phone using camera and soft reset. I accomplished the task once already and loaded the newest hyperdragon and didnt like it so about 10 minuts later i did the same thing and tried to install an old dutty one and the phone will not turn on. I loaded every thing and then reset. I think i may have pulled the memory card to early because i dont remember the phone saying it was clearing storage or coming back on. Sorry if this seems longwinded.
Sorry if this is a stupid question but is the battery fully charged? Try charging for a few hours - check that the charge light is on etc. Normally with a bad flash, even if the phone is completely bricked, you will see something try to light up or go brighter on the screen - unless the battery is dead or the screen ribbon disconnected.
It worries me a bit that you 'think' you have hardspl. Either you do or you don't. The process is simple enough to do but has enough steps that you'd definately remember doing it.
Ok, so I think you are sorta right. I put a fully charged bat into the phone but still nothing coming on. Turns out the old battery was dead though. Strange considering it was being charged all day while in the car. phone still wont turn on. anyone know if there is someone who fixes these?
[email protected] said:
Ok, so I think you are sorta right. I put a fully charged bat into the phone but still nothing coming on. Turns out the old battery was dead though. Strange considering it was being charged all day while in the car. phone still wont turn on. anyone know if there is someone who fixes these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay the phone isn't turning on but are there any led's lit up? (red, green, orange??) because that indicates there is still life in the phone and recovery is possible. This can be when you turn it on or on charge etc.
Very unlikely you bricked it. More likely a problem with the battery or charger not charging the battery.
When you plug the charger into the phone does a yellow light appear at the top to indicate the unit is charging? If not you have a faulty charger.
Can you get into the BootLoader screen? Try the following:
> Take you battery, sim card (re-lock the cover after taking it out) and storage card out
> make sure all contacts on the battery are clean and replace it
> Hold the camera button in fully and then press the power button for a few seconds (the Bootloader screen should appear)
If the Bootloader screen comes up then read the 2nd line down which starts SPL and report back with the version.
If no Bootloader screen appears then take the Battery out and plug the charging cable into the phone. Then with the battery still taken out, try to get back into the Bootloader screen by holding the camera button in while pressing the power button.
If that gets you into the Bootloader then then problem is with your battery.
If the phone still does not go into the Bootloader screen the problem is most likely with your charger.
thanx, i have since bought another tilt. I put the old battery in the new tilt and it was dead. I put the fresh battery in the old tilt and nothing yet. I didn't try the bootloader yet. I did try charging the phone on the old battery though and no lights what so ever. even with new battery on charger. I will get back to you on the bootloader trick
Bootloader trick didnt work. Thank you though. Looks as if I now have a parts phone that My wife hates me for.
[email protected] said:
Bootloader trick didnt work. Thank you though. Looks as if I now have a parts phone that My wife hates me for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the charger from your new tilt in the phone that doesnt work? If you connect the charger then the charging light should come on at the top. If thats not happening but it works on your new tilt then the problem lies in the phone. You can try checking contacts and connections but if you have no life after swapping bits over from your new tilt to the old one then ur pretty much buggered. Can you not send it back as faulty or is it out of warranty?
No warranty. I bought it used. Im on Tmobile. Thank you for everything though. I did try the new charger and got nothing.

Major help needed !!!!!

I restarted my phone this morning because it was going really slow. so after I restarted my phone like I always do, it stayed at the ericsson splash screen and won't go past that. So then as many ideas come to mind, I tried reinstalling my rom (CHT WM 6.5, which i'm willing to share the link and all that for those who wants it), after it finished installing, it just stayed at the gray screen and did nothing. so after that, I tried HARDspl it once more to see if that was the issue. Tried it, but nothing happened. so once again I turned off my phone and then tried to turn it on. here's the funny part. I can't even turn my phone on anymore and I don't know why. I tried pluging it in to the charger, the lights didn't even go on....
I think I bricked my x1.
PLEASE HELP !!!! I DON"T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
I've only had this phone for a month, and there's already been so many problems with it. It's a big request, but I really would ask if someone can teach me how to reverse and fix my problem.
I would suggest you to charge your battery for a night, then reflash with a stock rom using Micro SD method to start everything again
try a hard reset ..
Guys
I've tried both methods, and my phone still has no reaction.
right now I have my phone right beside me. the red light is still on even though my battery is in.
What other things could I do?
asian_boi said:
Guys
I've tried both methods, and my phone still has no reaction.
right now I have my phone right beside me. the red light is still on even though my battery is in.
What other things could I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated, recharge the phone overnight and see if it doesn't turn on in the morning.
I've tried that but then it still doesn't work. I used the orginial charger + usb to charge last night ( directly plugged in to the wall socket, not through a power bar or anything like that ). when I woke up this morning, I tried turning on the phone and it still doesn't turn on. but then when I plug it into my computer, the red light turns on at the power button. the computer still can't recognize my phone as a valid device.
does that mean I have to give up to send my phone back to sony to be fixed??
should I just give up and send it back to sony to get it fixed?
I even called into to sony to ask for help...when I asked about the software, they just said send it back in to let their "professional" technicans to look at it.
I broke the screen on my old w810i and it costed me 80 dollars to fix...I only wonder how much it'd cost them to replace my battery and reset the software...
This is a very sad day for another very big sony ericsson fan....
Your phone probably ran out of battery, or at least that's what the red light means.
This is what I did before - remove the battery, then plug the phone in directly into the wall charger, and then slap the battery back in and wait for about 10 minutes. Usually the USB (computer) doesn't charge enough for it the wake.
i've tried doing that too.
generally I charge my phone through the wall charger.
and the whole time i've been trying to solve this issue i've kept only using the wall plugins to charge my phone.
i'm guessing as well as you are that my phone's probably out of battery + maybe the battery is unbalanced as well.
i think the main issue above the power not working is some how one of the .nbh that i have tried is corrupted. as far as my wm + computer knowledge goes, I don't have much of a clue how to back track to fix the software issues.
hi all..
first of all, it's -for sure- runing out of battery.. it has to be charged anyway..
I had your issue before with my old universal -JasJar-,, it had a red light all the time.. trying to turn on.. even after a time in charger,, still dosent make a sence !!
after all my searchs I tryid another battery from a shop- just for testing the devieces in there.. and..guess what ..
it just worked out !!
just try another battery..
it might-i'm not sure- that both our issues were related to the- the internal backup device battery- by someway making all of this when the main battery is out of order !! ..
waiting for your sucessfull results then
that's great to hear. I'll definitely update everyone on that battery issue as soon as I can get into a store to get a battery test.
SO, here's another thing, IF by any chance my phone turns on, what in the world could I do to get my phone to not "malfunctioned" anymore? would I just do a full reset on it and everything should be alright again? by full reset i mean pressing the soft reset button and the two silver buttons in front of the phone.
If it does turn on again, let it fully charge before you try to flash another ROM onto it. I'd probably flash the R3 ROM before I'd switch it to anything else, just to be sure that the phone is fully operational.
thanks for the advice. i'll definitely keep that in mind when I am about to do anything with the phone again.
hey everyone! I just got to a rogers store today about my x1.
so here's what will happen.
they'll send me a brand new x1 in about 3 to 5 business days. in return, i'll have to send the phone that I have had back to them so that they can see if it can be fixed or not (which i have strong confidence that they can't).
if it can be fixed, they'll tell me how much it cost.
if i pay for that cost, then i can keep my new phone. if I don't want to pay that cost, then i'll have to send that brand new x1 back to them.
I'm praying hard that they won't be able to fix that phone so I can keep the new one for free!!!!!
finally the x1 arrived!!!!!
so now hopefully it will stay working and then rogers won't charge me for the new replacement that they sent me!!!

[Q] [PLEASE HELP] HTC One M7 not charging when on.

Device: HTC One (M7) Stock ROM
A few days ago, my never rooted, stock firmware, no unlocked boot loader, no custom ROM, never dropped HTC One (M7)'s battery died. Plugging in the charger had no effect, absolutely NOTHING. Tried 6 different cables and 9 different locations to charge it, nothing. Waited a while, dying in desperation. Then after so much of panic, I plugged it again, and randomly it started charging. But the charging had a loop - showed a bright orange LED with the power symbol on a battery for about 5 seconds, then a dim orange LED with the green battery charging, and a number, for about 10 seconds. The loop kept repeating. Eventually I could turn it on till the (incredibly low capacity) battery could live. So I did about 10 resets to it, and the situation would not improve.
Since my phone just decided to do this to me just before a long journey of mine, I was quite upset, and eventually infuriated to the limits. I decided to take it along and try different things to it - tried, tried, cleaned the ports, searched the net, nothing.
One fine day it decided to break the loop - now it charged, but only when off.
And today again its started the loop.
And here I am, begging for some help. I'm starting to hate this device now. Please help me.. :crying:
P.S. : I played a lot of Clash of Clans on the phone - it heated up a lot. Hope the info helps (Possible corrupted overheating charge instructions of the phone,etc.)
please help i love this phone cant lose this at all
AnubhavSaxena said:
Device: HTC One (M7) Stock ROM
A few days ago, my never rooted, stock firmware, no unlocked boot loader, no custom ROM, never dropped HTC One (M7)'s battery died. Plugging in the charger had no effect, absolutely NOTHING. Tried 6 different cables and 9 different locations to charge it, nothing. Waited a while, dying in desperation. Then after so much of panic, I plugged it again, and randomly it started charging. But the charging had a loop - showed a bright orange LED with the power symbol on a battery for about 5 seconds, then a dim orange LED with the green battery charging, and a number, for about 10 seconds. The loop kept repeating. Eventually I could turn it on till the (incredibly low capacity) battery could live. So I did about 10 resets to it, and the situation would not improve.
Since my phone just decided to do this to me just before a long journey of mine, I was quite upset, and eventually infuriated to the limits. I decided to take it along and try different things to it - tried, tried, cleaned the ports, searched the net, nothing.
One fine day it decided to break the loop - now it charged, but only when off.
And today again its started the loop.
And here I am, begging for some help. I'm starting to hate this device now. Please help me.. :crying:
P.S. : I played a lot of Clash of Clans on the phone - it heated up a lot. Hope the info helps (Possible corrupted overheating charge instructions of the phone,etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same exact problem right now. its very annoying. I have to drain the whole battery to charge it again. and its in that loop that you mentioned. plus it does not charge when you put it on charge when its on. it doesnt even have that charging light. it only charges itself if its off and if there is no battery left, i have to put it on charge by draining the whole battery by using apps and stuff and i am so pissed right now i cant find a solution to this. Did you find a solution on how to get this fixed?
I am currently having a similar problem where I can only charge my phone if off. Hopefully someone can help!
[SOLVED]
parthami said:
I am currently having a similar problem where I can only charge my phone if off. Hopefully someone can help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have found a solution to this. I am really happy since i am able to use my phone again.
Let me state what exactly i was going through.
I had to use the phone till it actually turned off completely consuming the whole battery and it was very frustrating because i had to deliberately use the phone till the phone shuts down and charge it. And once it started charging, it has a weird stupid way of charging. It shows that its charging and it goes off, comes back on and shows its charging, then it goes off... When it goes off the red light goes away...then comes back on.
I've read other threads and forums about people having the same issue. Others say they're not even able to connect their phones to the computer. You all should try connecting your phone to a computer and check if its able to transfer data.
If that happens, then you're saved. Because this really worked out for me.
Now, i'm not really sure what kind of bug this is, but here's how you fix this.
If you're able to transfer data to your phone, you must browse your phone on the computer and copy a file (or a couple of files - in my case i transferred a movie folder that had a couple files in it)
And guess what..i put it on charge and started charging like normal oh my god i was happy as hell
Thanks. I hope the same works for you all, people have been saying you have to clean the charging port but not really
trapboi187 said:
I have found a solution to this. I am really happy since i am able to use my phone again.
Let me state what exactly i was going through.
I had to use the phone till it actually turned off completely consuming the whole battery and it was very frustrating because i had to deliberately use the phone till the phone shuts down and charge it. And once it started charging, it has a weird stupid way of charging. It shows that its charging and it goes off, comes back on and shows its charging, then it goes off... When it goes off the red light goes away...then comes back on.
I've read other threads and forums about people having the same issue. Others say they're not even able to connect their phones to the computer. You all should try connecting your phone to a computer and check if its able to transfer data.
If that happens, then you're saved. Because this really worked out for me.
Now, i'm not really sure what kind of bug this is, but here's how you fix this.
If you're able to transfer data to your phone, you must browse your phone on the computer and copy a file (or a couple of files - in my case i transferred a movie folder that had a couple files in it)
And guess what..i put it on charge and started charging like normal oh my god i was happy as hell
Thanks. I hope the same works for you all, people have been saying you have to clean the charging port but not really
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the very same problem, my phone will only charge when the battery is completely drained, now i have like 25% and tried your way, my pc doesnt detect the phone :/
I tried with and withouth usb debug mode. :crying::crying::crying::crying:
Is this a sotware problem i guess? it wouldnt charge at all if it was hardware right?
Just checked and my phone now says "the usb host cable is plugged in, cant charge the device"
.
Laderiva said:
I have the very same problem, my phone will only charge when the battery is completely drained, now i have like 25% and tried your way, my pc doesnt detect the phone :/
I tried with and withouth usb debug mode. :crying::crying::crying::crying:
Is this a sotware problem i guess? it wouldnt charge at all if it was hardware right?
Just checked and my phone now says "the usb host cable is plugged in, cant charge the device"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how are you NOT able to get it connected to your computer. Since i connected it to the computer, it didn't start charging but it allowed me to transfer files. And so i did. You might wanna change the cable and check if its letting you connect to your PC.
So far its working perfectly alright. I don't have a problem as such. And wait, you could install a file manager and move a couple files around. Maybe delete some files or download some files and try.
I Hope it works for everyone who's getting this problem. I know its not a hardware problem and HTC support sucks BIG time. i don't even have htc headquarters so i couldn't get it replaced, bad. but if your phone is under warranty you must get it replaced :laugh:
trapboi187 said:
I'm not sure how are you NOT able to get it connected to your computer. Since i connected it to the computer, it didn't start charging but it allowed me to transfer files. And so i did. You might wanna change the cable and check if its letting you connect to your PC.
So far its working perfectly alright. I don't have a problem as such. And wait, you could install a file manager and move a couple files around. Maybe delete some files or download some files and try.
I Hope it works for everyone who's getting this problem. I know its not a hardware problem and HTC support sucks BIG time. i don't even have htc headquarters so i couldn't get it replaced, bad. but if your phone is under warranty you must get it replaced :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi! so you are saying that if i move some files from the computer to the phone it might get fixed? Well, i cant plug it to the computer, it just doesnt recognize the phone, if i plug it when the phone is on the pc doesnt show anything and the phone doesnt charge or anything, just like when trying to charge it with the ac charger, if i plug it with to the pc with the phone off then it shows a message that doesnt recognize the device, and the phone doesnt even charge aswell...
Right now the only fix i have found is to solve the problem of having to drain the battery in order to charge the phone, now i fixed it unticking the fastboot option in energy, now i can charge with any % but the phone must be off. Btw it gets a lot of heat while charging it this way... idk if its normal, i heard that because the aliminium case it gets more heat than normal plastic cases.
Thanks for your reply, ill try to connect the phone to the pc a few more times.
Hello guys , , I have the same problem , charging the M7 (On stock rom), I have tried many things ,roms and kernels , currently I managed to make it charge with the screen on with some conditions..
I installed SLIM ROM from their site (4.4.4) . To charge the phone with screen on I have to check "screen on while charging" (because if the screen goes off it stops charging /same thing if somebody is calling me )
To Charge my phone I just need to Reboot normally and charge it ( if you install this rom Activate the sound for the ac plug/unplug so you can know if it is charging well or not )
Eaven if i have to do these things its better then the OFF mode .
Hope It helps .
HTC M7 Only charges when it's off and the laptop can't recognize the device.
Hello, I've had this HTC M7 since last year. It's worked perfectly until a couple days ago.
The phone will not charge when it's on. It only charges when it's off. Also, my laptop won't recognize the device. I've tried with a couple different AC chargers, but no luck.
Sometimes my phone says "CAN'T CHARGE WHILE IN USB HOST MODE," and I don't know how to take it out of USB Host mode? I'm guessing this is a problem with the software. Before this happened the phone worked flawlessly.
Any help, please??!!
alexandru.j91 said:
Hello guys , , I have the same problem , charging the M7 (On stock rom), I have tried many things ,roms and kernels , currently I managed to make it charge with the screen on with some conditions..
I installed SLIM ROM from their site (4.4.4) . To charge the phone with screen on I have to check "screen on while charging" (because if the screen goes off it stops charging /same thing if somebody is calling me )
To Charge my phone I just need to Reboot normally and charge it ( if you install this rom Activate the sound for the ac plug/unplug so you can know if it is charging well or not )
Eaven if i have to do these things its better then the OFF mode .
Hope It helps .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cathesys said:
Hello, I've had this HTC M7 since last year. It's worked perfectly until a couple days ago.
The phone will not charge when it's on. It only charges when it's off. Also, my laptop won't recognize the device. I've tried with a couple different AC chargers, but no luck.
Sometimes my phone says "CAN'T CHARGE WHILE IN USB HOST MODE," and I don't know how to take it out of USB Host mode? I'm guessing this is a problem with the software. Before this happened the phone worked flawlessly.
Any help, please??!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can sometimes be caused by a defective usb port on the phone, does your port looks damaged? Boot your phone in safe mode and check if its doing the same thing.
I've already done that and it doesn't work.
I really don't know what the issue is? I mean this is a perfectly working unlocked HTC M7.
I've turned if off multiple times and even wiped it clean twice. I don't know what else it could be.
I mean it's been working perfectly since I got it.
But as I mentioned earlier it will only charge while the phone is off. And my laptop can't recognized it either.
It only appears and "Unknown Device."
But even when it is off it charges for a bit and then it completely stops.
Then you see the battery logo and then it starts charging again. But it repeat that same process throughout the whole time. So, it can never reach to 100%.
As I've mentioned before I've never really had this problem.
I've been looking for hours on the internet and so far nothing seems to work. There was an app I saw on to access engineer mode or something, but for some reason I can't use that app because it says that I'm missing another application.
Any thoughts??
alray said:
It can sometimes be caused by a defective usb port on the phone, does your port looks damaged? Boot your phone in safe mode and check if its doing the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem, it can't charge, PC don't recognize when the phone is on android, but when i boot into recovery everything work fine (charge or data move to PC), so far i could't find any way better.
Hi,
had same problem.
Clearing system cache helped in my case.
Related cause for the trouble seem to be a couple of OTA upgrades I did recently.
(I was on a pretty old version.)
I noticed that there was something wrong while upgrading.
Even though the phone was connected to the charger while the whole upgrade process,
battery level went down...
The following procedure is your own risk!
Be careful not to choose any options that wipe all your data or factory reset your device.
This is how I cleared the system cache :
Boot into recovery (hold both volume-down and power buttons for ~30 seconds until menu shows - )
Press volume-down to choose RECOVERY and press power button.
Be patient ~60 seconds until menu appears.
Choose wipe cache partition and press power button.
Choose reboot system and press power button.
I hope this helps you.
Thanks
v

[Q] Sony Xperia Z1 - Completely dead (no led/no nothing)

Hello.
Please take your time to read this message.. It contains detailed information about this case...
I have a broken Z1 phone which I'm trying to fix. It all started with the phone turning off randomly, and wasn't possible to turn it back on. Not using the power button/red reset button or using power + volume up together (this worked previous times).
When the screen died, I could see white blocks of pixels moving around a few seconds before it completely shut down. There were no signs of life after that, the LED was completely dead as well. The computer didn't notice the device if I connected it with a USB cable. If I tried to charge the phone, the LED wouldn't turn red.
I decided to wait for a week in order to see if the battery could run out of charge. So after a week I took the USB cable and started to charge it. The LED turned back on, with a red color, which is correct when it is charging.
I thought it would work to boot - but nope, it did not work at all. Now is the time I decided to open up my device. I used a heat gun to heat the back edges of the phone. I then used some palastic tool to open the back cover from the phone. It all went very smooth and I disconnected the battery from the phone (removed the cable from the motherboard).
I let it be for about 10 minutes. After that I inserted the cable back to the motherboard, and tried to boot. This time, nothing happend again.. So I started to charge it, and a screen came up saying 1% battery... So I let it charge the battery for a few hours until it rached 100%.
The battery is now 100% charged. The phone still refuses to boot up the first time. The second time I tried, it worked. I was able to connect my phone to my computer, so I took a backup of all files. I downloaded Sony PC Companion, and made a factory reset. This went very smooth as well.
I thought everything was fixed after this - but nope. The phone randomly shuts down a few times, and each and every time, I'm just starting it again (it did crash both when I was using it, and when I did not). I was speaking on the phone with it yesterday for 1 hour (used a bluetooth device), without the back cover connected to the phone. The call went very good and the phone didn't crash anymore that evening.
I thought everything was good, once again. So I was letting my phone be powered on during the night when I was sleeping. When I woke up, I went to check the phone - and it was: dead.
Since this, I have not been able to power it on again. No matter what I do. I have tried to disconnect the battery, check for cables that aren't fixed and so on.. But everything seems to be OK.
My thought was that the battery was bad, so I went to a store in order to check if the battery is OK or not. They tested the battery with some kind of device, and said it has about 40% charge left.. And they didn't see any issues with it.
So... now I'm wondering, what kind of parts do I need in order to fix my phone? Is it just a new battery, or is it the whole motherboard that is gone? What do you think? I know you guys are very experienced, so I have high hopes of help from you.
Regards
Hello!
Sorry to hear about what happened to your Z1, I'm currently in the state that my phone has a red LED when connected to anything and stays like that, PC doesn't even recognize it.
I see your problem is different, I'd suggest you to start here and hope for the best. Unfortunately I can't do that to my phone because PC is not recognizing my device.
Good luck
Regards,
~J2C
Just2Cause said:
Hello!
Sorry to hear about what happened to your Z1, I'm currently in the state that my phone has a red LED when connected to anything and stays like that, PC doesn't even recognize it.
I see your problem is different, I'd suggest you to start here and hope for the best. Unfortunately I can't do that to my phone because PC is not recognizing my device.
Good luck
Regards,
~J2C
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. I have already tried that, however, my PC is not recognizing the phone either - so I'm not really sure how to proceed.
Robinjoeh said:
Thanks for your reply. I have already tried that, however, my PC is not recognizing the phone either - so I'm not really sure how to proceed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then all I can say is.. Welcome abroad!
Just2Cause said:
Then all I can say is.. Welcome abroad!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, thank you...
I decided to take apart the device even more, and I found something on my motherboard, which probably is rust.
Check it here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z1/help/dead-motherboard-sony-xperia-z1-pictures-t3143905
Hi, I think my z1 is not yet completely dead, it still recognized by my PC. Its just no display, is there way to fix this issue,?thanks
MEandMC said:
Hi, I think my z1 is not yet completely dead, it still recognized by my PC. Its just no display, is there way to fix this issue,?thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.
Have you tried Volume up + power button pressed together for about 10-15 seconds? Do you feel any vibrations, how many?
Robinjoeh said:
Hello.
Have you tried Volume up + power button pressed together for about 10-15 seconds? Do you feel any vibrations, how many?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I watch it over YouTube. Still not working
MEandMC said:
Yes, I watch it over YouTube. Still not working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download Sony PC Companion, plug in your phone and follow the instructions in order to reset your phone. If that doesn't work, then you have probably had water or some other hardware failure.
Is this problem will cost me a lot of money if I'll bring it back to Sony for them to repair?
MEandMC said:
Is this problem will cost me a lot of money if I'll bring it back to Sony for them to repair?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you repair via Sony PC Companion. It will re-install the system on the phone, so in case it is a software error, it will be fixed.
However, if that doesn't help, then you need to check if you have any warranty valid on your phone. Even if you have warranty, it is not sure that Sony will cover costs for repairing your device. For example water damages will most likely be refused, and you'll have to pay for it yourself. I don't know how much it would cost though.

Help! Battery drained, phone won't turn on, battery charging icon flashes on and off?

My phone had been working perfectly fine, as well as charging perfectly fine. Recently, I accidentally let it drop to 0%, which I don't usually do. I went to plug it into the same wall outlet as always, but instead of the usual charge process, the battery icon with the lightning bolt in the middle simply flashes on the screen and then turns off, which happens over and over again.
It should be noted as well that about 3 weeks ago my phone get fairly wet. After that incident, I turned it off till it dried, powered it up, and everything appeared to be totally ok.
Other facts:
-I can safely get into the recovery menu (power + vol down), which is stable, but any menu selections result in the Motorola splash screen for a quick second and then the phone powering down.
-The computer will recognize the connection to the phone.
Attempts to resolve:
-New cable, new usb hub, new wall outlet
-Trickle charge from the computer (same flashing)
-Phone in rice to remove moisture
-Toothbrush cleaning of Micro-usb port (suggestion from another thread)
I'm pulling my hair out, and I am considering prying off the back and replacing the battery. I have searched other threads, but have seen various solutions none of which worked for me. If anybody has any idea how I can fix this please help!!! Thanks in advance.
DroidGuy321 said:
My phone had been working perfectly fine, as well as charging perfectly fine. Recently, I accidentally let it drop to 0%, which I don't usually do. I went to plug it into the same wall outlet as always, but instead of the usual charge process, the battery icon with the lightning bolt in the middle simply flashes on the screen and then turns off, which happens over and over again.
It should be noted as well that about 3 weeks ago my phone get fairly wet. After that incident, I turned it off till it dried, powered it up, and everything appeared to be totally ok.
Other facts:
-I can safely get into the recovery menu (power + vol down), which is stable, but any menu selections result in the Motorola splash screen for a quick second and then the phone powering down.
-The computer will recognize the connection to the phone.
Attempts to resolve:
-New cable, new usb hub, new wall outlet
-Trickle charge from the computer (same flashing)
-Phone in rice to remove moisture
-Toothbrush cleaning of Micro-usb port (suggestion from another thread)
I'm pulling my hair out, and I am considering prying off the back and replacing the battery. I have searched other threads, but have seen various solutions none of which worked for me. If anybody has any idea how I can fix this please help!!! Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either there is something wrong with your battery, or there is something wrong with the USB port. If the USB port is the problem, you can use wireless charging instead. I'm a fan of this one, personally: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S7IBDGW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
Also, are you unlocked? If so, what battery percentage does TWRP say?
TheSt33v said:
Either there is something wrong with your battery, or there is something wrong with the USB port. If the USB port is the problem, you can use wireless charging instead. I'm a fan of this one, personally:
Also, are you unlocked? If so, what battery percentage does TWRP say?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. It does seem like a battery problem, however it is just so coincidental that it stopped working after I let the battery drain to 0%, when only hours previously it was in use and charging without any issue at all.
Also, if there was a problem with the micro-usb port, I would think that a computer wouldnt be able to read the phone, but when I plug it in it is recognized as an ADB device.
I have another turbo with a cracked screen, I'm thinking about dissecting both and putting that battery in this phone as a replacement.
And unfortunately I am not unlocked :/.
Update
Well, after some further experimentation, I've gotten it working again. The solution was to charge it for like 5 hours, then let it sit off charge for an hour, and then it would boot... bizarre combination of actions. It has since dies twice and I've had to use this method.
It is working for now if I don't let the battery drop below like 15%. Seems more like a software or hardware issue to me, and i'm still trying to resolve it, so if anybody has any suggestions please let me know.
Also, what is the best way to re-calibrate the battery, maybe that could help?
DroidGuy321 said:
It is working for now if I don't let the battery drop below like 15%. Seems more like a software or hardware issue to me, and i'm still trying to resolve it, so if anybody has any suggestions please let me know.
Also, what is the best way to re-calibrate the battery, maybe that could help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can't let the battery go below a certain percentage, it might be an early sign of failure. The voltage might drop suddenly and unexpectedly towards the end of discharge, prompting the phone to emergency-shutdown.
As for calibrating the battery...it depends on who you ask. I would say that running it to shutdown (even if shutdown is "15%") and then charging it to 100% should do it, since that gives the controller a full set of data with which to extrapolate a discharge curve. Clear your cache in recovery, so hopefully the OS will pick up on this to accurately track the battery's actual state.
Get Kernel Adiutor or something similar to check your battery's health, too. If there's something obviously badly wrong, it should report something other than "Good".
If you note when your battery dies abruptly and you immediately reboot the back light is very poor. Almost flickering.
I think this is a battery issue of not being able to feed enough amperage.
...however. My phone was doing this and after a full clean reflash it has stopped. I question if this is because I am running less apps now. Or if perhaps somehow the battery managed to lose its memory. (Li ion is an odd duck..)
mrkhigh said:
If you note when your battery dies abruptly and you immediately reboot the back light is very poor. Almost flickering.
I think this is a battery issue of not being able to feed enough amperage.
...however. My phone was doing this and after a full clean reflash it has stopped. I question if this is because I am running less apps now. Or if perhaps somehow the battery managed to lose its memory. (Li ion is an odd duck..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Septfox said:
If you can't let the battery go below a certain percentage, it might be an early sign of failure. The voltage might drop suddenly and unexpectedly towards the end of discharge, prompting the phone to emergency-shutdown.
As for calibrating the battery...it depends on who you ask. I would say that running it to shutdown (even if shutdown is "15%") and then charging it to 100% should do it, since that gives the controller a full set of data with which to extrapolate a discharge curve. Clear your cache in recovery, so hopefully the OS will pick up on this to accurately track the battery's actual state.
Get Kernel Adiutor or something similar to check your battery's health, too. If there's something obviously badly wrong, it should report something other than "Good".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pointers. So strange, first it died at 40%, then 30% then 15%. Now, it is still dying early but I am no longer facing the issue I originally had, it will show normal charging when off, and boots up right away. Sure hope its not some ticking battery time bomb, its still a relatively new refurb.
I attempted the charge calibration so we shall see if it helps. I also did a factory reset for the hell of it, since I am on stock and can't reflash. Perhaps I'm in the clear, that would be awesome. Still no idea what the issue was in the first place though, which will annoy me to no end.

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