I've been using this Xperia Z for about 2 years now, I haven't root it or anything like that. It started a few weeks ago after a drop (I'm not sure if it's related, the drop was quite mild compared to everything it has been through). The battery fell out, because I got the mic replaced from water damage and the technician did a lousy job gluing the backplate back on, I also removed it myself to help it recover from a second water damage a few months ago.
Now, the phone seems to be having problems with its USB port. Either that or it's a software problem. When I plug it in my wall charger, it detects its but won't charge until the battery is completely empty (htt p://postimg.org/image/z3lvehtxn/). No pc will detect it when plugged in via USB (MTP & MSC mode tried with and without USB debugging), so I can't flash any roms to it try to fix it, it has also been factory reset twice. Tried different chargers and cables, none of them made any difference.
Yes, I should probably get a new phone, but as a broke student I don't have a lot of money to spare
you can eliminate the possibility of a software related issue by flashing smth from the external sd card, even try flashing another kernel just to make sure, if not that then im sorry but it should be hardware
the drop was quite mild compared to everything it has been through
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The battery fell out
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Click to collapse
Well.... thats "mild drop"...
Not to mention that Battery is self is glued to housing(two peaces of double side tape, to be more precise) and everytime when I had to mess with internal of XZ it was actually pain to remove it without brutal force.
Other thing worth mentioning is that battery on XZ is really... sensitive, especially controllers inside battery and pins on connector. Even slightly damage can totally brick your phone.
And microUSB connector? Its hard to tell, but I can say that connector is self is not damaged, because as you mentioned, PC detect is without a problem, the same with charger. In terms of durability I can say that microUSB port on XZ is actually one of best I encounter. Its damn hard to damage it as far as you dont put there screwdriver..
I can say that fist of all, as @aaronkatrini mentioned back up what you need, and then flash new clean rom, if problem is still there, its probably battery it self or one of controller that was damaged. In the first case, new battery should cost about 10-15Euro(original) in second case you are more screwed because cost of repair/new board is unprofitable.
Also taking in to the account that XZ new cost now about 120Euro(I love that price falls of phones jump from 600 to 120 in less than 3years...) I could say that you can buy BETTER phone for 120-150Euro, even Xperia Z1Compact or Xperia Z2 cost 150-200Euro.
Student or not, 150euro is not much if you use phone for work so with small savings you could buy it in less than two months, and trust me, Xperia Z1Compact still can kick ass even if it have smaller screen.
Akinaro said:
Well.... thats "mild drop"...
Not to mention that Battery is self is glued to housing(two peaces of double side tape, to be more precise) and everytime when I had to mess with internal of XZ it was actually pain to remove it without brutal force.
Other thing worth mentioning is that battery on XZ is really... sensitive, especially controllers inside battery and pins on connector. Even slightly damage can totally brick your phone.
And microUSB connector? Its hard to tell, but I can say that connector is self is not damaged, because as you mentioned, PC detect is without a problem, the same with charger. In terms of durability I can say that microUSB port on XZ is actually one of best I encounter. Its damn hard to damage it as far as you dont put there screwdriver..
I can say that fist of all, as @aaronkatrini mentioned back up what you need, and then flash new clean rom, if problem is still there, its probably battery it self or one of controller that was damaged. In the first case, new battery should cost about 10-15Euro(original) in second case you are more screwed because cost of repair/new board is unprofitable.
Also taking in to the account that XZ new cost now about 120Euro(I love that price falls of phones jump from 600 to 120 in less than 3years...) I could say that you can buy BETTER phone for 120-150Euro, even Xperia Z1Compact or Xperia Z2 cost 150-200Euro.
Student or not, 150euro is not much if you use phone for work so with small savings you could buy it in less than two months, and trust me, Xperia Z1Compact still can kick ass even if it have smaller screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's time for a new phone.
The guy who repaired my phone took the battery out and didn't even glue it back on, so it comes off easily. All the pc I tried to connect it to won't detect the phone, so it's impossible to flash it with a PC. Is it possible to flash a new rom with an SD card? I remember doing so with an Acer A500 to fix a wifi issue and it worked.
AgVargr said:
Maybe it's time for a new phone.
The guy who repaired my phone took the battery out and didn't even glue it back on, so it comes off easily. All the pc I tried to connect it to won't detect the phone, so it's impossible to flash it with a PC. Is it possible to flash a new rom with an SD card? I remember doing so with an Acer A500 to fix a wifi issue and it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can, root with kingroot, flash the recovery, boot into recovery and flash. Read first
aaronkatrini said:
Yes you can, root with kingroot, flash the recovery, boot into recovery and flash. Read first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root was a success, still figuring out how to flash without a PC
Will update
Related
So, I have bought a xperia x8 from a friend for around 30$ without a box, charger, nor earphones. when i got the phone from him, i was surprised that i got it for that little, because it was in good shape. But, when i tried to charge it, I had to struggle to put it in a posititon to charge. after 2-3 days it has stopped to charge at all, i opened it to see what is it, because it has no warranty, so idc, and i noticed that the USB port disconnected from the motherboard. so, is there a way to fix it?
mario00231 said:
So, I have bought a xperia x8 from a friend for around 30$ without a box, charger, nor earphones. when i got the phone from him, i was surprised that i got it for that little, because it was in good shape. But, when i tried to charge it, I had to struggle to put it in a posititon to charge. after 2-3 days it has stopped to charge at all, i opened it to see what is it, because it has no warranty, so idc, and i noticed that the USB port disconnected from the motherboard. so, is there a way to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find yourself a repair shop to have a look at it. If the micro USB connector came off the motherboard chances are very likely that the printed lines could be damaged as well, in which case a repair is either tricky to do or simply impossible as it would require the replacement of the motherboard (and I think that without warranty a new phone may be cheaper).
Anyway, if your "friend" didn't tell you about the damage then I would return tohe phone to him and ask for money back.
B.Jay said:
Anyway, if your "friend" didn't tell you about the damage then I would return to phone to him and ask for money back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1!! Better you return that phone and get you f**king money back Dude!
+1 return that f++++ phone or find a repair man that can fix it
Yay! Sony has repaired it.
A few weeks ago, my retailer sent back my device. Their report said that the front adhesive was loose hence there was water damage.
Thankfully, it was covered under NZ warranty and they completely replaced my z3. Yay! The rest is history.
Thank you to everyone who helped. I appreciate it.
Old post.
TL;DR: Phone won't boot or respond. When the phone is plugged in, the device's notification light flashes red. Tried all the button combinations, no response.
This happened yesterday. Searched the device forums and couldn't find any solutions so posted here.
When the phone is plugged into a power source, it the notification LED flashes just over once a second.
Tried using different USB cables, chargers, computers - no difference.
Tried all the button combinations, nothing happened. I did press the yellow "off" button by the Sim card slot and then it vibrated 3 times. Nothing happened afterwards and I couldn't repeat this.
One weird thing I did notice is when the USB cable is half plugged into the charger/laptop the phone, the led stays on longer. Maybe 5, 10 seconds. The time the LED is off is still the same. So maybe it's somesort of lose connection?
It doesn't charge via USB. I haven't tried the magnetic dock connection since I don't have one. Anyone know if it would be worth to DIY one to make sure?
Yes, the phone has been fully submerged in water, but I only did that when I got it last month. It hasn't been intentionally submerged since then. The only software related issue I had was that occasionally the phone's screen wouldn't turn on for a long time. I assumed this was software related and it was fixed when I uninstalled Microsoft's Next Launcher.
I've had this phone for over a month and it. Just returned from the city which I bought the phone and I don't want to return it for warranty unless I absolutely have to. The bootloader is locked and the device has not been rooted.
NZ has a great "warranty" law (Consumers Guarantees Act) which pretty much means if the device doesn't last as long as it's meant to or doesn't work as advertised, you have the right to a refund, replacement or repair at not cost to the user - so at least I have the law on my side.
Any response will be greatly appreciated - that "thanks" button will most definitely be clicked.
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Click to collapse
1337 H4X0R said:
TL;DR:
NZ has a great "warranty" law (Consumers Guarantees Act) which pretty much means if the device doesn't last as long as it's meant to or doesn't work as advertised, you have the right to a refund, replacement or repair at not cost to the user - so at least I have the law on my side.
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Click to collapse
That - that would make me return the phone right away. If it's hardware related I wouldn't take any chances. Maybe you can even get them to give you a cover/case for the trouble
charliebigpot said:
That - that would make me return the phone right away. If it's hardware related I wouldn't take any chances. Maybe you can even get them to give you a cover/case for the trouble
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but then it takes like a month for it to get mailed to the "official repairs", looked at etc. like most warranty claims. I'd rather get it fixed now rather than wait.
But as a plan B, I think we have it pretty good here!
Buy one of those super cheap magnetic chargers and see if it charges/turns on.
But Id also rather advise you to claim warranty.
This is no normal behavior and if you really test the USB Port as defective with magnetic charging being fine you would still want to claim warranty since the USB connection is crucial for a lot of useful things.
2mal16 said:
Buy one of those super cheap magnetic chargers and see if it charges/turns on.
But Id also rather advise you to claim warranty.
This is no normal behavior and if you really test the USB Port as defective with magnetic charging being fine you would still want to claim warranty since the USB connection is crucial for a lot of useful things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't ship many electronic items here so I can't get the magnetic charging device.
I think after exhausting every option available to me, now is a good time to claim warranty.
Thanks for your response.
how could this happen?you drop it into water?
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app
1337 H4X0R said:
TL;DR:Tried using different USB cables, chargers, computers - no difference.
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Click to collapse
Take a known good USB cable and wall charger (must be wall - not computer) and plug it in and walk away for at least 2 hours. Don't touch, breath, look, or sniff at it. Then go back and see if you can power it on. If that fails you can try to restore it with the Sony tool or the flash tool but its likely done.
moetoby said:
how could this happen?you drop it into water?
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Of course, I dropped it in water! Several times, on purpose with no adverse effects. It's IP6X certified .
But that was when I first got the phone. It hasn't been intentionally submerged since then. All the ports were always sealed tight and all. I'm still really confused about what's happening to my device.
OrBy said:
Take a known good USB cable and wall charger (must be wall - not computer) and plug it in and walk away for at least 2 hours. Don't touch, breath, look, or sniff at it. Then go back and see if you can power it on. If that fails you can try to restore it with the Sony tool or the flash tool but its likely done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this overnight, however, it didn't work.
The computer - any computer - doesn't recognise the device. It doesn't show up in device manager either.
Thanks for your input!
1337 H4X0R said:
Of course, I dropped it in water! Several times, on purpose with no adverse effects. It's IP6X certified .
But that was when I first got the phone. It hasn't been intentionally submerged since then. All the ports were always sealed tight and all. I'm still really confused about what's happening to my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's so badyou now,i put my z3c in water when i first got it as you do,she has withstood the test fortunately and she is one month old
i suggest that you should contact the sony customer service to replace your phone
I decided using Flastools
Friends tive that same device problem is only with the red LED on.
The solution was to use the flastools , installing a new ROM ..
I hope this helps someone !!
Sorry for my bad english !!
Hi.
Well this is a longer story. I try to tell the thumbnails.
The phone got (ocean) wet but didn't show problems for about a week or two then it stopped charging "normally" meaning charging got very slow and drained fast. Figured it was the little usb panel on the bottom. I ordered new one but putting it back together a screw stuck between the battery and the metal backplate. Pretty lame huh? I disassembled it fast so I thought sigh no problem. (the battery was on fire after i got it out and threw it on the ground in anger)
So I bought a new - not original - battery too. All ran fine again like it was before.
Then suddenly The phone turned off and looked like it was a bootloop.
Here's the interesting part because I don't remember if I already unlocked and put custom recovery / image on the phone before or only at this ponint. Mark this point.
After this, the phone only turned on while on the HP laptop's usb port with the little thunderbolt on it. Must have some tremendous juice or something. The phone shows 0% drained, not charging.
I switched cables, the usb part and battery again but still the same with both batteries, cables etc. Factory reset naturally.
My question is basically if this can happen because of a faulty/bad version/whatnot bootloader (I think i use TWRP) or this is a motherboard failure then? I don't have a HP laptop and have to search for one in case you say it does worth a try.
Thanks
Get it to service center asap
ojas.sinha said:
Get it to service center asap
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Click to collapse
did you read the whole post? it's unlocked, modified, was taken apart, parts exchanged.
if there was a warranty on it, that'd been the first thing i'd done. naturally.
thanks anyway
gabor.czinege said:
did you read the whole post? it's unlocked, modified, was taken apart, parts exchanged.
if there was a warranty on it, that'd been the first thing i'd done. naturally.
thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am saying this because I think it may be a hardware problem. Did you try the test method?
ojas.sinha said:
I am saying this because I think it may be a hardware problem. Did you try the test method?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
start with test point method and flash a full, and official stock rom? yes.
Hi guys. I recently used a questionable charger with my phone (leeco le 2 x526) and since then it has been problem after problem with the USB port. Immediately after that charge, the phone stopped charging with the supplied quick charging brick. It won't even charge slowly. The phone behaves like the charger is being plugged in and out about five times and then completely stops as if the charger is no longer detected. However ,when I put it in a normal slow Samsung charger, it charges to the end without disconnecting.
It's not only the charging that's not working. A Windows PC I have connected the phone to before doesn't recognize it so mtp doesn't work. The PC says the device has malfunctioned and windows does not recognize it. Lately the phone has started rebooting randomly so it seems like I need to fix it soon.
Also, when I plug in headphones using the 3.5mm dongle, I hear crackling sounds for the first few seconds and Jack detection doesn't work sometimes until I reboot. Sounds play okay when it's detected. The microphone and media control buttons on headset have stopped working and I hear static when I press the buttons on my headset, sometimes it's quiet.
I'm pretty sure the USB board is the one that's damaged but want to know if anyone else has faced this issue. If it's the USB+mic board that's damaged I'll order one on AliExpress. I found it for like 8 bucks.
I'm thinking I have a hardware failure because since it started acting up, I tried to flash a ROM clean and got an error in TWRP. The flashing finished but I saw a red error message:
Code:
rcv error in uevent
I googled and this error occurs when the kernel fails to initialize a hardware component.
Has anyone experienced the same problem? I don't want to replace the board without a second opinion.
I believe that you are definitely on the right track with the replacing board, this same exact issue happened to me once on my first Leeco X727. In my case I was lucky enough that Amazon agreed to exchange it for a new phone. Without a doubt, many Le Pro 3 owners have seen this exact issue. Your questionable charger possibly shorted out the USB card.
I would strongly suggest that you replace the battery, while you are at it, it will also be very cheap.
You will need to use a Heat gun to remove the display without damaging the LCD, there are many videos on youtube that demonstrate the quick sweeping technique and the glue will easily release enough that the screen will come off simply by turning the phone onto its face side.
While you can also use a hairdryer, you will need to run a guitar pick along the edge of the screen to remove the display and it's very easy to damage the LCD...I did! Consequently, I bought a heat gun at harbor freight for $ 7 dollars, to easily the display on a friends X720.
Good Luck.
PS : Did you receive your Le Pro 3 yet?
tsongming said:
I believe that you are definitely on the right track with the replacing board, this same exact issue happened to me once on my first Leeco X727. In my case I was lucky enough that Amazon agreed to exchange it for a new phone. Without a doubt, many Le Pro 3 owners have seen this exact issue. Your questionable charger possibly shorted out the USB card.
I would strongly suggest that you replace the battery, while you are at it, it will also be very cheap.
You will need to use a Heat gun to remove the display without damaging the LCD, there are many videos on youtube that demonstrate the quick sweeping technique and the glue will easily release enough that the screen will come off simply by turning the phone onto its face side.
While you can also use a hairdryer, you will need to run a guitar pick along the edge of the screen to remove the display and it's very easy to damage the LCD...I did! Consequently, I bought a heat gun at harbor freight for $ 7 dollars, to easily the display on a friends X720.
Good Luck.
PS : Did you receive your Le Pro 3 yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for this advice. I will replace this board and see if it solves the problem. About the heat gun, I don't know if I will use it much after this repair so I'll take the phone to my friend who has a repair shop to change it for me.
One quick question... Is there a high possibility of damaging the battery during this repair? I don't want to replace it if I don't have to because mine is still pretty good and keeps like a new one. I don't have much luck with AliExpress because the original batteries for Le 2 cost almost $150 to ship. The rebranded batteries cost less to ship (~$10) but I don't know which one is reliable.
My Le pro 3 is still in transit. I reckon it's still about 2 weeks away because shipping takes very long to my country. I'm just now going through the various development threads to find a good ROM for it. Thanks again -- you're a godsend ???.
twistyplain said:
Thank you so much for this advice. I will replace this board and see if it solves the problem. About the heat gun, I don't know if I will use it much after this repair so I'll take the phone to my friend who has a repair shop to change it for me.
One quick question... Is there a high possibility of damaging the battery during this repair? I don't want to replace it if I don't have to because mine is still pretty good and keeps like a new one. I don't have much luck with AliExpress because the original batteries for Le 2 cost almost $150 to ship. The rebranded batteries cost less to ship (~$10) but I don't know which one is reliable.
My Le pro 3 is still in transit. I reckon it's still about 2 weeks away because shipping takes very long to my country. I'm just now going through the various development threads to find a good ROM for it. Thanks again -- you're a godsend .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem.
The battery is underneath the heat shield so it will not be affected by the heat gun.
Attached are pictures of my LeEco Pro 3 with and without the main heat shield...On the far left
https://dl.xda-developers.com/thumbs/4/7/3/9/9/6/8/4739968.jpg
( Ignore the writing, I combined those photos for a solder repair suggestion in a unrelated post)
Edit: Opps, that link didn't work to well, here is the actual post link with better quality photos.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79303956&postcount=72
tsongming said:
No problem.
The battery is underneath the heat shield so it will not be affected by the heat gun.
Attached are pictures of my LeEco Pro 3 with and without the main heat shield...On the far left
https://dl.xda-developers.com/thumbs/4/7/3/9/9/6/8/4739968.jpg
( Ignore the writing, I combined those photos for a solder repair suggestion in a unrelated post)
Edit: Opps, that link didn't work to well, here is the actual post link with better quality photos.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79303956&postcount=72
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed a ROM from 4pda and totally messed the phone up. That ROM failed to boot and to make matters worse, it formatted my data partition. Everything is gone including my backups and I cannot transfer a new OS to the phone because my USB port doesn't work. The only thing I can do now is to shelve this phone until the replacement USB board arrives. You have been of great help and I appreciate it extremely. I'm using a feature phone now until my pro 3 comes. To use any Android app I have to share my wife's phone which just sucks. (She barely puts the damn thing down)
twistyplain said:
I flashed a ROM from 4pda and totally messed the phone up. That ROM failed to boot and to make matters worse, it formatted my data partition. Everything is gone including my backups and I cannot transfer a new OS to the phone because my USB port doesn't work. The only thing I can do now is to shelve this phone until the replacement USB board arrives. You have been of great help and I appreciate it extremely. I'm using a feature phone now until my pro 3 comes. To use any Android app I have to share my wife's phone which just sucks. (She barely puts the damn thing down)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No doubt we never realize how much we rely on these devices until they are gone.
You will definitely love the Le Pro 3, it is much more powerful, and the camera is phenomenal.
tsongming said:
No doubt we never realize how much we rely on these devices until they are gone.
You will definitely love the Le Pro 3, it is much more powerful, and the camera is phenomenal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely true. I have a new found appreciation for my phone. Now that I think about it, with the time I spend on it I think some digital detox is in order.
I received the USB board from AliExpress but it is incompatible with x526. Anybody with information on where I can get a board for x526 please share it here. All USB boards on AliExpress are for x620 and they can't work on x526.
I am actually thinking about looking for the x526 board in India because that's where the phone was built for. I just haven't figured out how to go about it. But I reckon there is a lot more need for spare parts there because of the high number of people using the phone.
twistyplain said:
I received the USB board from AliExpress but it is incompatible with x526. Anybody with information on where I can get a board for x526 please share it here. All USB boards on AliExpress are for x620 and they can't work on x526.
I am actually thinking about looking for the x526 board in India because that's where the phone was built for. I just haven't figured out how to go about it. But I reckon there is a lot more need for spare parts there because of the high number of people using the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
X620 and x526 are quite different. These two phones share the same case, battery and LCD screen, nothing else.
Here is a link to buy a usb board for x52x:
US $8.99 10%OFF | Used Original USB Plug Charge Board For Letv LeEco Le 2 X520 X526 free shipping
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/e9YBAJQ
alqi said:
X620 and x526 are quite different. These two phones share the same case, battery and LCD screen, nothing else.
Here is a link to buy a usb board for x52x:
US $8.99 10%OFF | Used Original USB Plug Charge Board For Letv LeEco Le 2 X520 X526 free shipping
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/e9YBAJQ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My le 2 is finally back to full working condition thanks to you. This USB board doesn't look used at all. The best part is that mtp and fast charging are working again.
Hello guys,
I have an old Samsung GT-i9060 phone which I'd received from my previous employer. It has finally given up and is now completely dead. I suspect a faulty charging cable to be the culprit this time as my attempts at superficial repair has proven that the problem is deeper. I tried getting it fixed at a local repair shop but he gave up on the basis that parts aren't available and that the motherboard has gone kaput.
So, to summarize....
Samsung GT-i9060 completely dead
has been dropped several times and cracked digitizer has been replaced.
old battery is not at optimum condition but problem persists when tested with a new battery.
No vibration or samsung/charging logo on display when powered on battery or charging but certain areas of motherboard get heated up if I try to turn it on.
I got some important contacts and backup on this phone which I'd really like to salvage. I invested in a few basic tools and looked up a few tutorials on the interwebz but none seem to help me understand the actual problem. I am a novice when it comes to electronics and can easily try to recover the data through some specialists but the satisfaction in getting it done myself is priceless!
So any kind of help would be immensely appreciated.
Thanks
Make sure that the battery voltage is over 3.6 volt. Then connect phone to pc using usb cable without pressing any buttons then check pc detects phone's soc(broadcom interface) or not.
Thanks. Let me try that out and get back to you.
Update - @engage4 Battery was at 4.27V, fully charged. Connected to PC but it wasn't detected although I observed the same heating issue as mentioned in my original post (see attached pic)
Coincidentally, the memory chip and processor are on the exact underside of the mobo area that I have highlighted (which heats up)
For reference, my previous reply to you is here:
How to check voltage level at a resistor?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F) that appears to be dead. I found the service manual online and I'm now trying to follow the troubleshooting flowchart for power issues. I am stuck at the third step (already), where it tells me to check the...
forum.xda-developers.com
Rizzi87 said:
I suspect a faulty charging cable to be the culprit this time as my attempts at superficial repair has proven that the problem is deeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by superficial repair? What made you suspect the charging cable?
Rizzi87 said:
I tried getting it fixed at a local repair shop but he gave up on the basis that parts aren't available and that the motherboard has gone kaput.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kaput? I know that word. That's a German word for broken. I wonder if he told you this because he wanted to repair the components on the board, or because he wanted to toss out the old board and install a new board and call it repaired.
Rizzi87 said:
old battery is not at optimum condition but problem persists when tested with a new battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you already tested with a new battery. Good! That's one of the first things I would do as well. GSM Arena says the battery is "Li-Ion 2100 mAh, removable". At least you didn't need to send it in or leave it to a repair shop to replace the battery. I remember the time when you could replace the battery of your phone yourself. That in itself was very satisfactory. Those were great times! Those times are gone. Now you have to pay a premium to replace a battery. It's "complicated" they say, and so it's not for everyone (or anyone).
Rizzi87 said:
No vibration or samsung/charging logo on display when powered on battery or charging but certain areas of motherboard get heated up if I try to turn it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hotter than what's usual for a phone that's charging? If it's shorted, charging may damage it further. You can test it of course, but you're risking it. Don't test charge for longer than you need to, preferably not at all as soon as you realize there's something wrong with the device. There's the risk of battery leaking or catching fire. So be careful and don't leave it unsupervised.
Rizzi87 said:
I got some important contacts and backup on this phone which I'd really like to salvage. I invested in a few basic tools and looked up a few tutorials on the interwebz but none seem to help me understand the actual problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of tutorials are you reading or watching? What do you think is the problem?
You have to go over more than a few tutorials if you want to be able to intuitively know what to look for or what to do. One way is to start learning about electronics in general, experiment and learn, before you get down to this specific problem. Another way is to start exploring from the repair side of things and work your way into the topic of electronics repair by troubleshooting this specific problem.
Your problem is most likely caused by a short somewhere on the board. So I would suggest you learn about short circuits or "shorts" for short (duh) and how to find shorts in general, and then work your way down to how to find shorts on mobile phones specifically.
Rizzi87 said:
I am a novice when it comes to electronics and can easily try to recover the data through some specialists but the satisfaction in getting it done myself is priceless!
So any kind of help would be immensely appreciated.
Click to expand...
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I know that feeling. I'm wired the same way. If I can, I will try to repair and fix things on my own. Sometimes I will take on things I hardly know anything about. I will try anyway and learn in the process. Some things are admittedly more difficult than others. But that's how you learn and grow your knowledge base.
People no longer repair things. They throw out the old and broken things, and just keep on buying new things like on conveyor belt. This is not good in by any means. The biggest negative impact of this I think is that people stop using their head. They begin to believe that everything in the world is automatic. A light bulb is the result of true magic, especially when you throw in smart home plugs and switches into the equation. People are slowly being turned into slaves of consumerism. Common knowledge diminishes, like what household products you can use to remove stains, and we only live to serve a higher purpose of capitalism.
Do you have the service manual for this phone? You can usually find these online free of charge. Do you have a multimeter? The first tool you should buy and learn to use is a multimeter. Learn about the continuity test, diode mode, and how to measure voltage.
I worked as an electrician and I felt like I had to ask about how to measure voltage at a resistor, because I was unsure and didn't want to risk damaging a board more than it already is. As an electrician, I worked with voltages relative to Earth ground. I never worked with electronics, although I did get basic electronics training and I know all the basic components and how they work. We worked with soldering iron as well, and learned to use an oscilloscope. I was best in class at soldering. This was a long time ago though. We programmed PLCs, made Delta and Y-configuration connections of three phase electric motors, worked with relays and contactors, and we learned a whole load of other useful things.
My point is, always ask someone more knowledgeable and experienced if you're in doubt about something, rather than taking a risk or gambling. This is much more important of course when working with unforgiving high voltages and high currents, so as an electrician I learned early on to respect electricity. This was all part of my training and thankfully I have never had any accident. It's OK to make mistakes, and you're bound to make mistakes when experimenting, but you better have a backup plan and put in some kind of safety net, to protect yourself and to protect your equipment or whatever it is you're working on.
R7027 said:
What do you mean by superficial repair? What made you suspect the charging cable?
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The USB connector on the charging cable I was temporarily using sometime back had a flimsy connector and I suspect the loose connection might have caused 'spikes' and maybe shorted some components/mobo.
I had dropped this phone on numerous occassions and almost everytime the ribbon connector for the LCD would come loose since the connector on the board was a bit wonky. I used to check this and get the phone working again. This is what I meant by superficial repair.
R7027 said:
Kaput? I know that word. That's a German word for broken. I wonder if he told you this because he wanted to repair the components on the board, or because he wanted to toss out the old board and install a new board and call it repaired.
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Nah. He simply didn't bother about repairing or even replacing it on the basis that parts are hard to come by!
R7027 said:
So you already tested with a new battery. Good! That's one of the first things I would do as well. GSM Arena says the battery is "Li-Ion 2100 mAh, removable". At least you didn't need to send it in or leave it to a repair shop to replace the battery. I remember the time when you could replace the battery of your phone yourself. That in itself was very satisfactory. Those were great times! Those times are gone. Now you have to pay a premium to replace a battery. It's "complicated" they say, and so it's not for everyone (or anyone).
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YEs, I thought the battery maight be the culprit but alas, it turned out to be a problem with the mobo.
R7027 said:
Hotter than what's usual for a phone that's charging? If it's shorted, charging may damage it further. You can test it of course, but you're risking it. Don't test charge for longer than you need to, preferably not at all as soon as you realize there's something wrong with the device. There's the risk of battery leaking or catching fire. So be careful and don't leave it unsupervised.
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Hotter than usual, yes. I have tested and/or repeated the scenario only couple of times so as to not risk any further damage.
R7027 said:
Do you have the service manual for this phone? You can usually find these online free of charge. Do you have a multimeter? The first tool you should buy and learn to use is a multimeter. Learn about the continuity test, diode mode, and how to measure voltage.
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I have invested in a multimeter, soldering iron and supplies and a heat gun. I do also have a manual for the phone and it has helped me partially.
Rizzi87 said:
The USB connector on the charging cable I was temporarily using sometime back had a flimsy connector and I suspect the loose connection might have caused 'spikes' and maybe shorted some components/mobo.
I had dropped this phone on numerous occassions and almost everytime the ribbon connector for the LCD would come loose since the connector on the board was a bit wonky. I used to check this and get the phone working again. This is what I meant by superficial repair.
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Thanks for clarifying.
Now that you mention it, one of my charging cable was a bit flimsy as well. Might be what happened with my phone as well. The connector would wiggle left and right so I would have to make sure it points straight into the port and rotate the phone left and right to make sure it's not tugging on it as I put it down on a book shelf. I always charge my phones on this book shelf as the power outlet is close by.
I have actually four identical Samsung 15 W chargers sitting there, all for the Galaxy S7. Three white ones and one black, and each with its own charging cable. I had purchased some extra chargers just as spares, and one of the chargers had a bit flimsy connection, as you say. I actually once spotted that one of the 4 pins on one of the charging cables was too short, and because of it, it was not charging fast enough. I stripped it down to bare wires, all for science and learning, before throwing it away.
On another occasion, I discovered that one of these cables didn't want to charge my phone when combined with one of the four chargers. It was a perfectly fine looking cable. The same cable worked well on the other three identical chargers though. So this was a bit of mystery I had never seen before. That will remain a mystery. That same charger also worked well when combines with other cables. So both the charger and the cable worked well, but only with others, not with each other. Note that these were all original Samsung chargers and cables. The "travel adapter", model EP-TA20EWE. They all came in original Samsung retail packaging. Although the spare chargers I purchased did have a bit stiffer and thicker cables, when compared to the original that came with the phone. They were presumably made in later years, so Samsung had probably changed them up a little bit.
But this goes to show that there is more to a cable and a charger than meets the eye. I suspect it had something to do with lack of compatibility across the many charging protocols that are in circulation in the fast charging universe, like Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. USB Power Delivery 2.0 vs. what-have-you.
So you're not wrong to suspect something as "simple" as a charging cable. Not even a cable can be left alone, they have to make it "smart" and complicated. If the cable doesn't know how to talk the language of the charger, it's useless. Or worse, it can destroy a device. All because industry wants to satisfy inpatient people that want fast charging, and so instead of 1 standard, they make 4 different ones, if Apple Lighting-whatever is included. By the way, the faster you charger a battery, the faster it will lose its capacity and die out.
Rizzi87 said:
Nah. He simply didn't bother about repairing or even replacing it on the basis that parts are hard to come by!
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That depends where you look and how determined you are.
I ordered a new S535 power IC for my Galaxy S7 from Germany via Ebay, and I received it last week. I don't have the exact dates, but it arrived within the same week, so about three to five days. From Germany to Sweden. I also ordered three of the same chip from a supplier in UK, also via Ebay, and it has yet to arrive. This has to do with Royal Mail strikes, so everything is delayed. In addition, I had to pay customs fee and import tax from the UK. Not sure if it will be held at Customs service and delayed even more because of this, or if it will be delivered straight to my mail box since the UK supplier made sure I can pay upfront so it can be cleared for delivery. So I will have 4 of these in total.
Let me give you another example. I have an older car that's well looked after and only driven occasionally. A few years back, it started leaking oil from the rear axis. I went to the authorized repair shop. They told me they had to either replace the differential or rebuild it. But because it's an old timer, there are no parts for it readily available. This is a BMW car and BMW has a good reputation for stock keeping parts for old models for a long time. Well, maybe they don't keep a stock of big parts such as differentials. But it's not true that it's not available. I looked it up online and found several car stripping companies that have a number of these parts to pick and choose from, some of which were in almost new condition. So if they really wanted to, they could have ordered in from there. This is where small and independent auto repair shops order from as well. I even offered to order it myself and deliver to them. But they could not make the needed arrangements. Or rather, they didn't want to. I understood the message. They can't be bothered with something as heavy, oily, dirty, difficult, skill demanding, and time consuming as a differential replacement... and a rebuild is probably as distant as science fiction to them. I never went back there. I used to go to them for years and was always happy. Since they changed the owner and relocated, it's a completely different company. I would never again go to an "authorized" repair shop. They are properly titled "car dealers", because they are more interested in selling you a new car or a used car than repairing your old one.
It's the same with phone companies like Samsung and these places they call "Support Center" where you can walk in to get support and service on the device you already own, and they put up their latest "flagship" models on display and under your nose. That's how you know you're in the wrong place. It's all sell, sell, sell.
Rizzi87 said:
I have invested in a multimeter, soldering iron and supplies and a heat gun. I do also have a manual for the phone and it has helped me partially.
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Make sure to get the needle-like test leads for it. This is needed for probing and measuring tiny components. The ones that came with my multimeter were very good, but they were not fit for the job, because they are not thin enough at the top. Most of the standard test leads have blunt tips. I ordered a pair from Amazon, a complete kit actually, but they are not very good. The whole kit was very cheap and I could not find any other, higher quality, more expensive ones. I don't want to promote Amazon, but I can post a link if you want.
A heat gun might work, but a hot air station is better. You need about 350 C to rework big components like BGA chips. Based on my limited knowledge, but extensive research. You should be able to tell what the temperature is at, and only the more expensive heat "guns" will have a temperature sensor and a digital display.
A service manual is a good resource. I wish I had a complete service manual for Galaxy S7. I looked for a places to buy one but I only found dodgy websites that seemed to be in the business of downloading free manuals, packaging, and selling. So if you have a complete manual, that's better. I only found excerpts of the most important chapters for Galaxy S7, and it has been very useful.
So, umm, there has been no progress on the repair front as I had been away on a trip and got my phone stolen
I was a bit occupied with reporting to the authorities and blocking my phone number hence I couldn't reply earlier.
Btw, I stumbled upon something called as boardview bitmap files; I'm yet to fully explore it but it seems really helpful.