Hi,
I am trying to determine if the reason my S3 Mini appears completely dead is due to a hardware failure or some kind of OS, bootloader corruption. The fault started when I simply returned to use the phone (it had been on but black screened while unused and not locked) and found it off and unresponsive. The phone battery charge would have been around 60%.
The only sign of life from the phone is that I can see current being drawn on a USB voltage/current detector when the USB cable is inserted. I tested the resistance between the positive and negative battery terminals and with the probes in reverse polarity and there is no short apparent from the relatively high resistance measurements I get. If I try to connect the phone to my laptop, through Device Manager in Windows 10, I see the Device Manager continuously looping between detecting "U8500 USB ROM" and then dropping the USB connection (I hear Windows 10 make the connect and disconnect USB device sound).
How can I determine if this is a hardware or software/OS fault from theses symptoms? Could this problem indicate the EMMC or other component has failed or would these symptoms indicate the presence of OS, bootloader, etc corruption?
Thanks
Related
I'm thinking there is a hardware issue going on here, but any insight is appreciated.
I cannot boot from my battery. When I pull the battery and re-insert it screen shows it as empty, but... when I put in the battery with the USB connected to my computer, then it does show the battery as full. (and I am able to boot normally).
I've also noticed:
When booting this way (or out of recovery) I get a brief scrambled image before the i896 - Samsung logo appears
The battery charging and USB connected indicators will not change from what they are in when the phone is booted. So if i remove the usb after it has booted with them in, the battery indicator remains charing, and USB connected. (If I leave it for a long while, sometimes it does eventually detect it properly and switch over to disconnected).
Any thoughts would be really appreciated. I've talked to Rogers and they are sending a replacement, but I'd like to know what the problem is before I let Samsung start pulling it apart to look for water damage.
Thanks!
I found the solution to my issue:
(cannot link, search for usb connected notification stays after usb disconnected on android central.)
Turns out there was either surface corrosion or simply crud in my phone side USB port which was causing the connection mechanism to misfire or not fire at all. I guess when booting without USB, the phone thought it was connected so it just doesn't try to get power from the battery (who knows).
The linked thread had lots of responses, so I'm not sure why I didn't find it here or on android forums. I was able to fix the problem by cleaning out the port.
Hope this helps,
My Galaxy i9000 - currently on DarkyRom 10.2.2 (Gingerbread 2.3.4) - has developed a nasty problem: It doesn't boot without a charger attached.
The main problem seems to be that the Galaxy seems to detect a connected charger all the time - even if there isn't one. Battery stats reveal that - if the Galaxy is up and running - a connected chargers is indicated for all times, even if it isn't through prolonged periods, e.g. during the day in normal use. At the same time a different page of the phones's status info indicates that the battery is being used - confusing ...
I've cleaned the USB port thoroughly, tried different batteries, different ROMs (installed stock 2.3.6. for instance) - even dismantled the phone to see if any dust or signs of corrosion were detectable at or near the USB port. There weren't any. At least I didn't see them.
Now I don't mind that the Galaxy thinks that it is charging all the time if it runs properly anyway. Even if it means that there is a 30 second delay until a plugged in charger is recognized (the charging beep is heard and the charging animation in the status bar starts only then). Also I don't mind that the phone needs even more time - around a minute - to detect a disconnected charger; this is the time it takes until the charging animation stops in the status bar after pulling the plug. BTW: This doesn't change anything in the battery stats - they shows continuing charging all the time, regardless of a charger being plugged in or not.
I could live with all that - but the thing that really hurts is the Galaxy not booting at all without a charger (and a wall socket) at hand. Without a charger the Galaxy boots only to a charging animation - in this order: 1. rotating hourglass icon, 2. empty battery symbol, 3. black screen. These three screens repeat themselves in a loop. If you plug in a charger you get a filled battery symbol after 1 and 2 - and at this time you even can pull the plug, and in spite of that the Galaxy will boot instantly and without problems.
So it seems that the phone senses a connected charger, waits for the current, doesn't detect it and goes at it again and again. Once it detects it it's ready for anything further.
Now my question is: Any ideas on what to do? Which USB port lines could be having a short circuit causing this behavior? Is there maybe a software solution for telling the phone that a charger isn't connected? I got root access and Root Explorer is available.
Thanks for any help on this!
Phil
... hope I wasn't too confusing with my original post?
To keep it simpler: My Galaxy S i9000 doesn't boot without a charger attached. Reason is that it detects a connected charger all the time - even if it isn't actually charging. My question is: Is there any solution to this via software? Any possibility to change the "connected charger" status?
Or is this a problem that cannot solved via software? Where do I have to look at the hardware then - any locations where to spot and rectify a short circuit maybe?
Thanks for any help on this!
BTW: Attached find a screenshot of the battery stats running for several hours and days - it clearly shows that the uncharged battery slowly depleting, while the "charger connected" status is on the whole time.
philz64 said:
Any possibility to change the "connected charger" status?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you may need to change the USB connector , its shorting inside vbat to vbus, best to send it samsung, if still under warranty or try checking your micro USB port and cleaning it first
xsenman said:
you may need to change the USB connector , its shorting inside vbat to vbus, best to send it samsung, if still under warranty or try checking your micro USB port and cleaning it first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it's out of warranty, but I'll try to clean it again more thoroughly.
Your explanation that it's shortening vbat to vbus is greatly appreciated!
I accidentally dropped my very new Z3C in the bathroom [slid off the shelf]. As it hit the wet floor, the flap covering the USB and MicroSD slots opened up. Unfortunately, as I (clumsily) picked up the phone with my still wet hands I think I let in a couple of droplets of water inside. The water damage strip below the SD card slot turned pink, indicating water ingress. I turned the phone off (not immediately, but after 5-10 mins) and left the phone unused for a day and a half.
Now, I am able to charge the phone normally using a magnetic cable. Post charging, the phone is working normally. So basic functionality is back.
However, I ended up with the following problems -
1. USB Charging not working -
I'm not able to charge the phone with a USB charger - there is no charging indication on the phone when I plug in the charger at all.
To check this further, I fully drained the phone battery and tried charging with a USB charger. When I plug in a USB charger, the red charging light comes on for a minute or so, and the display shows an empty battery symbol with 1% charge. As the phone charging crosses the 1% threshold, the phone begins to start-up. From this point onward, the battery charging stops. The red LED light turns off and charging stops.
So, the USB port is physically working (and hence the red LED initially), but the phone stops accepting charge as soon as the phone boots. Could there be a software "fuse" or something which is shutting down the USB module after detecting some water damage?
2. Computer not recognizing phone connected with USB cable
The computer is not recognizing the phone when I try to connect it with a USB cable. It is as though I haven't connected any device at all - no pop-up / indication either on the phone or on the computer.
3. MicroSD cards are not working
As soon as the phone fell (and got wet), I remember that a message popped up on screen saying that the microSD card has been removed. After this, I removed the MicroSD card when I shut down the phone post the accident. Now, any microSD card I try isn't being recognized by the phone.
I took the phone to the Sony Service center, but they refused to repair it under warranty since the phone was "water damaged". With a very superficial examination, they decreed that the motherboard has to be replaced, which would cost > 80% of the phone's cost. With this, I don't see any value in approaching the Sony service center.
The way I see it, the damage appears to be minor - apart from the SD slot and the USB port, everything else is working normally. "Conceptually", I feel there should be a relatively inexpensive way to fix this [of course, this is more optimism speaking]. However, I don't know how to proceed from here. Any thoughts or ideas for fixing the phone would be extremely helpful.
I'm based in Bangalore, India. Any suggestions on mobile repair centers who might actually take a look at the phone would also be helpful.
Did you find a fix for this? I have the exact same problem.
nothing you can do except send to a third party repair centre tbh
I used a hair dryer and dryed it and it charges fine now. Only problem is notification light is only red and green.. no other colors..
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
Hi everyone,
I'm really hoping someone can help me.
I have a Samsung galaxy tab s2 8inch. It is the SM-T710.
It was working fine playing music on a Bluetooth speaker system then the battery died.
Tried to charge it and it was acting funny, said it was charging then got to one or two percent and i attempted to power on while the device is on charge and it powered on then turned off within a few seconds.
Let the tablet charge for a while now and its not really going up and the screen has gone off and its not turning on and i now notice its getting really hot at the bottom part of the screen slightly above the home button.
Removed the charger and left it for one hour, then came back and tried with a different new genuine Samsung charger and cable, and still getting extremely hot within a few 5 - 10 seconds just above the home button.
Unplugged it and left it till the next day and attempted to charge it again same thing.
I though it could be either: A faulty battery or A faulty Micro USB charging port flex (possibly short circuiting).
Now Ive opened up the whole device and taken apart every item on the mother board following a tear down video on YouTube.
I then connected a brand new genuine battery to the board and removed the old one, and the device was still overheating however this time i could pin point the exact source of heat on the motherboard which i will circle on an image but cant attach to this post as i need ten posts.
The images are on my public google drive but i cannot share the links here any ideas?
I then thought the micro USB charging port flex is causing a short circuit and so i completely disconnected that and the overheating problem still occurred.
Then i disconnected each and every component one by one and still the same thing on the motherboard keeps overheating excessively within seconds of connecting the battery to the motherboard.
Now Ive completely removed the motherboard from the frame and Ive connected the battery to it and same overheating issue.
Now Ive reconnected just the micro USB charging port back to the motherboard and attempted to plug a charging cable into the port and exactly the same thing still overheating excessively.
I really do not want to replace my motherboard simply because of the data on the device etc.
Can someone please tell me what the red circled item is in my image so i know what is overheating!
Could it be the CPU?
Is there ANY other way to replace JUST that part, even in china? Can anyone advise or help me?
Many thanks to the people who patiently read this and helped.
Kaiser
London, UK
+1
I guess the motherboard got corrupted
First off, do not boot up an almost empty device. Second, it is entirely normal that the bottom area (charging port, home button etc) gets hot while charging. It will fade after the battery got some essential energy. Third, do not deplete the battery completely, if possible. In the long run it may damage the longevity of the battery.
Was there ever a solution to this issue? I'm having the same problem.
Hi,
I've been having issues with my unit (6/128gb) for the past month, and for the life of me I cannot figure it out. My phone reboots multiple times when fast/turbo charging, sometimes even when I'm charging it with my PC. I did not damage my USB port nor the original cable.
I've swapped multiple ROMs, AOSP and MUIU, still no changes. Different charging bricks, and cables (Samsung original and few cheaper) - no changes.
What I have noticed is that if I keep the display on, it will not reboot. I've even made a python script to write down the battery temperature each minute (thought there might be a spike), and if the script is running, then the phone will not reboot, even pushing the maximum 33W and display off.
Also, my PC does not recognize the phone, displays an error, and the phone reboots even if I try charging it while off and while in fastboot.
Does anybody have any suggestions? I thought even swapping the USB board, but I do not think it is the culprit.