What are all the problems I could run into? - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-I777

I might be buying an AT&T GSII from a guy on Craigslist tomorrow, and I need to hear the list of the hardware issues I could come across. I want to make sure the device works 100% before I buy it. What are the common hardware problems you've heard about/experienced with this phone? I'm looking for any problems, big and small.

Seems bad usb ports are on the rise. If the phone says it's charging or in usb mode when the cord is not plugged in, that's not good. The usb cord doesn't fit very tight, so don't let that make you think it's the sign of a bad usb port.
At least for now it 'seems' to be the case, that it's the usb port that is the faulty part.
Make sure gps can connect as well as wifi (and wifi stays connected)
That's the only main ones that comes to my mind. There may be other issues but most are very minor and doesn't effect the phone (raised corner of the glass, noisy case/volume buttons)
Just use every function on the phone to make sure it works. Phone calls work through the ear speaker and the back speaker.
Check to make sure the digitizer works 100%. Easiest way to do that is dial *#1*#. It will bring up the service test screen. There will be a number of useful tests that you can run.
If possible check to see if the flash counter has been tripped. Hopefully if it has been they'll just tell you. If they say no or I don't know and you want to make sure, boot it into download mode using a usb cable plugged into a computer (I think you do it with the phone off, battery out, and plugged into the usb port. While holding both volume keys insert the battery. If I'm wrong, please anyone correct me) When in download mode, where it says custom binary, it ideally will say No.
Not a big deal as a usb jig will reset that. But it will let you know that the person has at least rooted it. There may be a reason they're trying to get rid of it. If they are hiding anything it might be enough to get them to talk about why. Or at the very least let you negotiate a discount.
Sent from my páhhōniē

Around the beginning of October, there were quite a few people who posted with screen problems, where the screen color was uneven, or patchy, or banded, or something like that. There was even a post here that had a method of checking it, a black screen you could look at in a darkened room to see the faults if they exist. It should be somewhere in the general forum.
Since the first few weeks, I havn't seen very many posts about it though.

Related

[Q] USB Connected - Screen Accuracy Drops to Zero?

Hey guys.
Any time I connect the phone to my computer via USB, the phone's touchscreen goes bonkers. It wont register my touch in the correct location, it jumps around and registers button-presses that I never pressed, or won't register a firm screen-press at all!
If the USB is unplugged, everything zips along accurately.
Any idea what might be causing this, and how I might fix it?
Just a quick background:
I rooted and installed the lag-fix. I encountered a problem with the lag-fix, restored factory settings, and root/lag-fixed again. The problem cropped up after the factory restore.
BTownTKD said:
Hey guys.
Any time I connect the phone to my computer via USB, the phone's touchscreen goes bonkers. It wont register my touch in the correct location, it jumps around and registers button-presses that I never pressed...
Any idea what might be causing this, and how I might fix it?
Just a quick background:
I rooted and installed the lag-fix. I encountered a problem with the lag-fix, restored factory settings, and root/lag-fixed again. The problem cropped up after the factory restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's wacky. Since you've already done it once, I'd just restore again and see if that fixes it.
Also... not sure if this is a side-effect of the factory restore, but guess what suddenly appeared in my Widgets list??
Google Search!
BTownTKD said:
Also... not sure if this is a side-effect of the factory restore, but guess what suddenly appeared in my Widgets list??
Google Search!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using LauncherPro by any chance? It's been showing up with LP since Day 1.. If not, that's pretty darn cool then.
namebrandon said:
Using LauncherPro by any chance? It's been showing up with LP since Day 1.. If not, that's pretty darn cool then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops... launcherPro.
I've since reset the factory settings again; no luck. Still all wonky when USB is plugged in.
I'm considering taking it back to best buy and simply exchanging it for a different one, since I've only had it for a day. I would think that resetting everything to factory defaults would have fixed any software problem. Maybe this is a hardware problem that I just now noticed.
I have heard roomer, that if your usb is to low or to high of a voltage it will bork up the touch screen while plugged in.
it seems a common occurrence on many Android phones that use our style of USB port that if you use a 3rd party usb cable (i.e. one other than what shipped with the phone) as well as many 3rd party usb wall chargers that the touchscreen will either go bonkers or freeze up alltogether.
I've seen the exact same thing happen with my friends HTC MT3G and Motorola CliqXT using certain cables and chargers. Any cables/chargers that do this to my Vibrant do it to their phones too.
Interesting. I'm glad I read all this before I decided to take it back;
the laptop I had it plugged into is so fubar'd, that it would not surprise me to find that it has incorrect voltage...
This happens all the time on my Droid 2, Nexus and Fascinate. I just swipe very quickly and press lightly. However, no matter how many "tricks" I try it's still hard to flip through screens or open the correct app. Hardest task would be to navigate a website. Considering it happens on multiple Android devices and computers I never really put too much thought into it. Just figured it to be a Android bug.
Wow, never seen this. Now I do use the cable that came with my fascinate to plug into my computer, however car charger, wall chargers, and a USB charger (in my truck), I just use the cables from my Droid1. All my chargers are generics... Hmmm..
my htc touch pro 2 did the same thing when i used a gps car charger... screen went crazy
chargers
Ok. So for anyone wanting to know what's going on in the background to cause problems with your phone with crappy chargers....
I first discovered this with another touch screen player *cough*ipodTouch*cough*cough when I was trying to make a universal 4-port USB charging bay that would work with my sansa and my ...other player.
The specification that most device-manufacturing companies use nowadays for charging states that for a device to recognize a charger (and to start accepting a charge from the charger), the data pins must be shorted (connected together). This is what Sandisk, Apple, and several others are using. That is how I built my 4 port USB charger and it works flawlessly (with my sansa, ipod, galaxy, and Cowon S9).
NOW, somewhere floating around on the net are specs that state that some data must be sent/received through the USB's data cable (i believe it claims to need any 2.5V) which basically puts some resistors in to make a voltage divider.with the power and ground and data pins. THESE ARE BAD SPECS. They might have been legit in the past for some other device, but they are NOT what our phones need.
So some of the cheap, off-brand chargers are actually sending random messages to our Phones through the data pins (non-sense 2.5 volts). I haven't heard any reports of this damaging the phone or mp3 players yet, but whenever I plug mine into a charger and I lose the ability to control the screen, I get nervous b/c I know there is voltage on the data pins, and I don't know if it's the correct amount. So I get nervous
...does that make sense?
I had the Droid and the first time I saw that, it freaked me out. It seems to be an issue with touch screen android phones when they don't receive the correct voltage, whether because of a 3rd party cable, or a different computer voltage or something. I was using my blackberry mini usb charger and it would act like it had rabies. Nothing is wrong with your phone.
The charger included is plugged in next to my bed, and I'm using my Droid's USB cable in the computer without issues. That's very strange. I've never heard of this problem.
Kamar234 said:
I had the Droid and the first time I saw that, it freaked me out. It seems to be an issue with touch screen android phones when they don't receive the correct voltage, whether because of a 3rd party cable, or a different computer voltage or something. I was using my blackberry mini usb charger and it would act like it had rabies. Nothing is wrong with your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry dude. It's not just android handsets, and it doesn't (seem) to have anything to do with the proper voltage. I've taken multimeters to the chargers. They are providing the proper ~4.5-5V range. It has to be the data pins.
Although, that's just the chargers I've had. Take a voltmeter to your usb chargers (don't touch the casing at the same time!) and see what their voltage is. But a low voltage just wouldn't charge your phone, and a high voltage would damage it.

Fascinate charging issues

The fascinate will not charge at all using either usb cable connect to the computer or wall charger. When it is dead and a usb cord is plugged in, all it does is power on the phone without the battery charging. It also is not recognized by any computer
I had some issues with mine not charging. What happened to me was that the middle part of the port was slightly bent. I found that slight pressure applied in an upward angle got it to charge and be seen to a degree from a pc standpoint. I have the belt clip combo case and i'd just prop the cable on top of the belt clip part and rest the phone at an angle and that worked.
My advice is to get back to stock, if you aren't already, then take it to a vzw store along with your cable (they will want to test it). Take all your apps off too, as they will remove them to see if that is the issue. Be sure to tell them that it used to work, you've tried the different ota's and they didn't work either, as they will want to try those too. Let them know you tried a factory reset first, and then did the ota's. They may want to offer you a lesser replacement. Insist it is a manufacturer defect, which it is, and that you just want a refurb/replacement. They should then offer you an overnight replacement device (signature required). Be sure to send the old one back as soon as you are sure the new one is ok, if not immediately call support for further instructions, otherwise they will charge you full price for the replacement. This should not cost you anything either.
It took me a month to get them to go through the whole process above, each time they did a portion of the above. I could not be happier with my refurb though, especially when it cost me nothing out of pocket.
Hope this gets you going down the right path.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Q] No charge, No MTP initialize, zero USB activity

Hey guys, thanks for dropping by.
I have a very wierd problem, that I just cant figure out.
It all started the other day, when I found my tablet dead after having been left on and charging during the night. The tab was dead, and I feared the worst. After having left it on what seems to me like a trickle charge for several hours, I managed to get it up and running, and the tab seems fine, it was just completely out of juice.
But my troubles are not over. Whenever I'd connect the tab to the wall charger, I'd only get the red "X" symbol in the corner, and it would say MTP Initialize, even though its plugged into the standard OEM wall charger that comes with.
When I connect the tablet to my computer using the same cable, nothing happens, and by that I mean nothing. Computer doesn't start the connection process at all, its not recognized in the device manager, nothing. Not even Odin can see the tablet when I put it in download mode, the tab keeps saying "Waitting USB Cable..."
Tried this on 2 computers, still no luck, even using a USB plug on the motherboard instead of front-usb.
Now, the tablet will "trickle charge" from both the wall charger, and the computer, but nothing else happens.
I figured it could've been the ROM, so I got the latest ICS Kanang ROM downloaded, transferred it to my tab using Bluetooth, and flashed this without hassle, but the problem still persists, only now showing a regular charge icon in the lower right section, but it is still only trickle charging as far as I can tell.
All I can figure is a defective USB cable, or even worse, defective port on the tablet itself, but I'm not sure. I've ordered a new cable from DealExtreme, that will hopefully arrive sooner rather than later.
But seeing as the tab is hardly 4-5 weeks old, I find it difficult to believe the cable is the problem.
Anyone have any ideas? I'm all out at this point, so any pointers is very appreciated. Thanks.
It could be the cable. It's the part you have used in each situation. I'd wait for the cable to arrive and test it with the tablet when you get it.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
Hey, thanks for the reply.
Yeah, I really really hope this is the case, time will tell, DealExtreme is not the quickest dealer. I'll update when I get it.
The new cable came from DX, but I'm afraid it showed no difference on anything.
The cable is working just as the original one, so that's not the problem.
Anyone have any ideas?
I guess my main goal at the moment is flashing it back to stock and un-rooting so I can get it repaired.
You mind posting a screenshot, it's kinda hard to imagine what you see by what you read For all I know my imagination went from a red X to the corner to something like an X off battousai's face.
Then again, I'd be glad to help, provided you post screenies, would be a major help
Ah, yes, I will take screenshots of anything you want to see.
Right now im on ICS preview, and these are some snapshots WITH the cable connected.
The red "X" I'm talking about you can see on the first picture on the charging icon, this happened even when the wall charger was connected on gingerbread/overcome experience rom.
The other pictures you can see it says discharging. Now, this was taken when connected to the computer, and I guess that's normal, but it also happens exactly the same when connected to the wall charger that came with the unit.
If you want screenshots of anything else, ill get it asap!
I took a poorly image of the tab connected via USB, to my computer with Odin open, hopefully you can see what it says.
If not its just what happens, I don't get further.
By the screenshots, Is the language Swedish?
Then again thanks for providing the screenies
In your first screenshot that could be part of the theme, or was it never there previously? I don't really know if it's not charging or that's supposed to be the charging icon, because for some odd reason on ICS preview I don't see that red icon anywhere.
As for the tablet, the reason why you aren't detecting it seems as though you don't have the drivers on the PC, I don't know if you installed them or you didn't mention it because I never found it being mentioned in your reply. I know it sounds silly but the same thing happened to me when I was using the tablet, (originally my 3G series belonged to my dad who knew nothing about modding so he just gave it to me and said, "do your thing" ) He did also forget to mention that you require to have the drivers to detect it via Device Manager and MTP in general, shortly the COM port will show up aswell. Perhaps re-installing the drivers should do the trick?
Made me wonder how did you install ICS in the first place if you weren't able to have it read? But I realized you could have downloaded the zip file via the tablet, On another note, how did you install CWM in the first place? o.o
Hehe, almost! Its in Norwegian on the honeycomb picture.
The red "X" would show up whenever i was connected to the PC via USB, to indicate its not charging. It will however "trickle" charge, and take 24h to charge fully with no usage and turned off.
Yes, the red icon is not on ICS, it just says not charging in the about page, as you can see from the screenshot.
Drivers have been reinstalled two or three times on two different PC's, I don't believe this is the issue.
When I bought the unit, it was working 100%
USB was okay, I flashed and rooted the unit over to "Overcome Experience".
From there I transferred ICS preview via Bluetooth and installed that way.
Have you tried factory reset to make sure all modules are reset? Maybe the USB charge module in Overcome is conflicting.
Yes.
Factory reset 3-4 times on the two different roms. I've reset everything I could find, without success.
Perhaps it has gone faulty with the tablet's plug in port, someone had the same issue although it was his wire that was at fault, it detects the charge via USB but not enough volt's to be detected by the PC, has it been grounded? Seem's more likely :| Might have to get it checked in your local center perhaps, It's how I mentioned that any metallic object is able to relay electricity despite being broken or not, you may have a broken pin for all I know :|
Hi,
I'm having exactly the same issue with my 1 month old tab 7+. I tested it using my bosses charge cable and there is no issue so I need to go to the service centre for a warranty replacement on the cable.
Hope you sort out your issue soon!
Thanks, but I don't think I have any other choice to deliver it to Samsung Europe as a payable service to get it fixed.
Purchased on a American store, and I doubt they'll take it back with flashed software.
I'm not sure really, I'll see what I end up doing. Its not the cable, that's for sure.

Help with micro usb! urgent :(

Somehow the micro usb port on the phone (the charger) has been mashed up inside, i think it may have been due to someone trying to fit the wrong charger into it.
a shop said it'd have to get sent away,
i was wondering if their is a place to send it to get fixed or it it fixable ?
atm im having to charge another battery with a docking station and swap battery's because it wont charge,
it did work a little earlier on today, charging. but i can see the insides are pretty well destroyed.
it looks like the piece can be removed and a new one soldered on,
any ideas ?
thanks.
Honestly, if somone on here knows how to fix hardware issues I am sure they can lend you a hand but otherwise you will have to go to a repair shop and have it serviced. Just make sure that everything is complete stock and bootloader is in locked state just to be safe. If you don't want to send it back through the mail you can always take to a sprint authorized repair shop.
If you want to attempt it yourself here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxiv3x88eRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdxrPWrVgR8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-HlZQKQzoQ
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-HTC-E...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item20ca337adf
Thanks guys, ive been looking online and some places seem to say they can fix it,
that video is just jokes, he faffs around with the thing im sure he ha no idea what hes doing.
ive found usb ports for other htc models just not the evo 3d.
ive realised it is quite a common problem
its charging via my docking station... just. obviously the internals of the micro usb are mashed up, and i know the replacement needs to be soldered on,
ive looked on some websites but cannot find anywhere to fix it.
its ok atm as its charging via dock, and i have a spare battery, also i can just take out my sd card to add stuff but it i rather annoying abd id like it fixed asap.
You could always use WiFi file explorer,of course WiFi is required but you can read and write the sdcard from your ip address,
Signature (Don't ask me for help, couldn't careless if your phone explodes)
strange thing is its connecting via my dock.. and charging, eventho the insides of the micro usb are mashed up..
it wont work with any other cable just in the dock...
im guessing the dock pin is slightly larger thus allowing a connection ?

Has anyone successfully recovered from the sudden no charging/USB connection issue?

I'm wondering if anyone has suffered with and recovered from the sudden case of no charging/USB>PC recognition?
I've seen countless similar stories across the web, covering many of the Z Family. Some were simple reset jobbies, and I've seen as in-depth as what I'm assuming is an IC being removed, flux cleaned and re-applied (w ww .you tube. com/watch?v=ZyCeNfc99a0).
I purchased a new charger port and also a new battery, as I figured with all the insane constant burning of my pocket, it could use a new one. I'd hoped it was just a charger port issue, but much to my dismay, the issue still persists after fitting them.
I've tried every single button combination "fix", and all to no avail. Multiple leads, charger units, all that polava. Checked and cleaned connections with isopropyl alcohol, checked for burned-out looking mainboard components, at least those that are visible.
I was having minor inconsistent charging issues for a while, up until last Friday. I figured it was the USB port on the phone or the leads, and put it down to general wear and tear.
Last Friday I was at my mates house with super low battery, popped it on charge round his and I noticed it had died completely and kept boot cycling, like the charger was being plugged in and taken out over and over.
I took it out and tried it when I got home with the regular charger, and nothing. My phone is otherwise in mint condition and has been looked after since day one release in the UK.
I'm wondering if some super helpful person here would possibly have some other alternatives that haven't been mentioned, whether a hardware bypass or some trick that isn't amidst the countless cries for help out there.
Many thanks in advance.
Hello,
I have a problem when connecting to a charger it will go in strange charging mode that actually does not charge. It makes the sound like a charger is connected, no charging animation on battery though...
The problem for me it was the USB cable used for charging (i have changed 5 of them in 1 and a half years). Also same behavior happens when using a under 1A wall charger.
P.S. : The USB cables that i have changed they still work fine with other devices/phones .... but not with my Z5C. I`m not sure what but is definetly something wrong withe phone usb port (and it is not dirt).
no, but
I cannot get a usable USB connection to my computer, but if I hold Volume Up while connecting the USB cable to the computer, the charger LED turns red for a moment, then blue. It WILL charge in this mode, which I think is fastboot mode. Someone said it bypasses the charge circuitry or software, which makes me think that maybe I could go into developer mode and turn on OEM unlocking to see if I can stop it from trying to optimize charging. I also have not tried all the USB connection modes yet.
I tried to charge with this blue light technique on the wall charger, but that did not work. Just ran the battery down again and I could not boot the phone.
I know if I press Volume Down while connecting the USB cable to my computer that the charger LED turns green, but I am not sure it will charge in that mode. I think this is for flashing or something, but since my computer does not recognize the USB device no matter what I do, I don't think flashing is an option.
Oh, and when I do charge the phone with the blue light special (old obscure USA discount retailer reference), for some reason the charger LED flashes white every 4 to 5 seconds, but it seems to keep enough charge to get me through at least the day until I can charge again by same method.
Maybe we can keep pooling info here. I got the blue light technique from someone else on this site, so there are people here who know quite a bit about this phone, thankfully.
Well, I had that issue, too (at least it sounds pretty familiar).
https://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/help/wont-off-issues-t3485575
Does your phone also believe to be connected to "something" all the time?
I fear there is some IC fried, although I never dared to open my phone.
My "solution" was to talk my local salesman into giving me a (used, but working) replacement phone, and I did not want him to find any traces of DIY
So, no, I never found a technical solution, probably they just scrapped my phone for spare parts, idk.
The root cause for my error (probably) was a faulty charger, therefore I am pretty sure I fried something hardware-like, but depending on your cause, ymmv.
Anyway, trying to clean your USB port, re-soldering the connector and/or replacing the battery sounds like being worth a try, anyway.
// edit: "cat /sys/class/power_supply/usb/present" used to always output 1, even when not connected. On my now-good Z5C this works like it should (connected ->1, not connected -> 0)
Hey people. I have tried all the tricks for several days. Tried several charging cables. Nothing worked for me. I just brought a new phone, and it came with a cheapo charging cable. Decided to plug it into my Xperia and it worked. Maybe a little fairy fixed my phone when I was out buying a new one. Anyway, I'm love my Xperia Z5. Using it right now. Good luck people

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