Okay, so, embarrassing problem here.
A few weeks back, I was shopping for bourbon and broke my phone screen while it was in my pocket. I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of that, but its what happened, and it was odd. Anyway, I ordered a new screen, because I've replaced screens before, so I felt pretty confident I could handle it.
So, today was the big day. I took my tool kit, pried the sucker open, and (aside from losing track of the front camera momentarily), everything went rather smoothly. I put everything back in its place, and attempted to boot the phone.
Nothing. Naturally. Prying it back open and examining it closely, I notice a small tear in the ribbon cable that connects the power button to the phone. I may be wrong here, but there doesn't seem to be a way to replace the power button, because the ribbon cable that connects it also connects to the headphone jack, which is soldered to the board. So I'm left with a phone without power button that is, in theory at least, otherwise perfectly functional. Frustrating.
Anyway, all of this brings me to my actual question. Is there any way I can boot this sucker without a power button? My tablet (asus transformer) boots when connected to power, but not this phone. I've read some phones will autoboot when connected to power without a battery, but obviously that isn't really feasible with the hox+. And of course, I can't connect to adb without the phone being on to begin with. So I'm stuck, and any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.
Related
yesterday I decided against my better judgement to try and take apart my x10 to see if I could get to the speakers, it sounded distorted during phone calls when the volume was all the way up. I used the dissasembly guide here: http://www.xperiax10.net/2010/05/10/xperia-x10-disassembly-guide/
however once, i started reading the guide, i realized I had to basically gut the entire phone to get to the main call speaker, so i put it back together. all i did was take out the screws, removed the lower support and used a credit card to pry between the covers and worked my way down. thats as far as i got, I had the back cover off and then I reassembled after reconsideration. however, the phone didn't work when i turned it back on. I mean, it works and I can see the backlighting on the screen but no logo or anything. I know it's actually booting into android because I can unlock the phone by memory and proper finger placement without even having the display working. I hear the "click" when it unlocks my phone and the volume/updown beeps. i've even heard my personal set notification tone go off a couple times. however, aside from the screen not working (besides backlighting), it wont respond to a phone call or chime when you send it a text message. If i use a different phone to call mine, it rings several times until you leave a voice message like normal. so, its not acting like its off. so again, I know it's actually booting into android.
after further inspection I realized that there is a ribbon cable on the bottom right hand side (battery side up) particularly close to where the covers snap together. I don't know if I did it with the credit card swipe or the covers weren't aligned well when I snapped it back together but I can see one little trace with a magnifying glass and a flashlight where it was "nicked" or scored. one teeny tiny little thing and my phone is inop.... does anyone have any suggestions? maybe like where I can get that ribbon cable? I'd start over with a new phone but the ebay prices are ridiculous. this use to be an ATT free upgrade phone and now its discontinued. I really doubt you can fix a ribbon cable... im feeling pretty helpless here.
I think you should send to shop to get professional repair before it getting worse.
Hello everyone. Before I sell my Atrix on eBay as a broken phone for parts, I thought I would make see if anyone can think of anything I might have missed. I have an unlocked Atrix, using CM7, flashed to CM9, then back down to CM7 until the bugs get worked out. My wife dropped my phone, which caused some problems that have now bricked it.
Specifically...
When she first dropped the phone, I picked it up, turned it on, and immediately noticed that the headphone icon was on, even though no headphones were inserted into the jack. This effectively killed any sound on the device. I rebooted a few times, and occasionally the icon would go off and bring back sound. Then, it would go back.
I noticed that if I sort of twisted the Atrix (held it in my left hand, gripped the top of the phone with my thumb at the top right and my forefinger on the top left and squeezed), I could make the icon go off. It might come back on, but I could squeeze it and make it go away.
A few days of this went by, when I noticed that the headphone icon was staying off. However, when I went to actually insert headphones, they wouldn't register. However, it was at this time that I realized that the volume rocker was dead and unresponsive.
In retrospect, this is probably where I should have realized that I should leave well enough alone and limp along with my crippled, but 80% functioning Atrix until my next upgrade. However, I soon found out about the CM9 betas coming out, and quickly downloaded ROMs to flash. Flashing turned out to be tricky, as the only way I could get into recovery was by shutting down the phone with the command to go into recovery. Holding VOLUME + and power do nothing because the rocker is broken. Similarly, I cannot get into fastboot (presumably because of the broken rocker).
The first thing I noticed with the ICS build that I flashed was that the camera wasn't working. I first assumed that this was a software glitch, except that the camera seemed to be working since the first of February. I then flashed down to CM7. However, the camera still didn't work. It then dawned on me that I had not tried to use the camera since the drop. I then guessed that I just now noticed that my crippled phone is down to about 50% functionality.
So, last night I decide to flash up to a new CM9 beta. Not sure why. Guess it was boredom. The flash, however, didn't take, as my phone now is stuck on the boot screen. Ordinarily, I'd boot into recovery, wipe, and re-flash. Except with the broken rocker, I can't get into recovery without first booting into Android and then re-booting into recovery. So...it is effectively a brick now.
I decided to take it apart using iFixit's guide, but I didn't see any obvious damage. However, I'm guessing that there is some crack on the motherboard from the drop that is not discernible to my untrained eye. The fact that the camera and sound use the same ribbon cable is what is leading me to this conclusion.
So, now that you have the full story, what's the verdict? I'm guessing I need to sell it on eBay as a broken phone for parts. Someone can make good use of the housing, digitizer, and glass. I was thinking of starting at $75, but taking the first offer in the $50 range. Is it time to sell it for parts, or am I missing something?
I don't know how to fix it (I'm sure there's a way!), but if somebody doesn't find the answer soon, PM me about it. I would totally buy the battery if you're willing to part with that.
I ordered a camera/volume rocker module and am waiting for it to arrive. Not sure if this will fix it or now, as I don't know if the motherboard is intact. I figured that it was worth $15 for the part.
I'm actually using an extended battery I bought from Amazon. I'm always looking to make money, but I think for karma's sake, I should advise you to look there for some stock and generic batteries. I found a really good deal on an extended battery that came with a battery door. So, my stock battery and door have been sitting in a desk drawer for weeks.
FIXED
OK, not that anyone seems to care, but in case anyone is Googling with similar problems, I'll go ahead and post a reply. For $15, I was able to buy a camera module. The camera is attached to the volume rocker, so I took the Atrix apart, put the new unit it, and VOILA!!!
The phone seemed to hang on the red Moto logo...but with a working volume rocker, I was able to get into FASTBOOT, wipe the recovery, flash a new recovery, then boot into new recovery, wipe, and flash!!! Back in business!
I'm going to start a new thread as I think this is a new problem, but now the phone has a SOD when I talk on the phone. Battery pull and reboot works, but so doe simply plugging it in to a power source...I have to believe this is a software issue...
Or, how I learned to not rip open phones on a messy desk.
My S2 was my first android phone, and man has it been an incredible phone. Really the only issue was some lockups with an att update, wherein I switched to ParanoidAndroid.
Unfortunately, recently the phone began having power button issues. It wouldn't wake from power presses, it would wake and work, or it would wake and suddenly restart the phone.
I figured it was the power button, so like a true fool, I got to work ripping open the phone to clean the inner guts.
Attached are a few bad pics I got. Good lord these phones get dirty as hell inside!
After spending 15 minutes cleaning the phone and the crap out of the power button, I went to re-assemble it.
When I realized that it was the volume button I was cleaning.
When I realized the power button dropped when I ripped it open.
The lesson here for me:
Open your phone as a last resort
Open your electronics in clean areas, so when you drop things...
and be careful!
I get these a lot. I can solder a new power button on for $50 including return shipping. You can email me @ seivad17 [at] msn.com if interested.
What's the problem? You just need to replace the power button. If you're not afraid of opening up your phone, then you can surely buy a cheap soldering kit and learn how to solder using youtube videos. That's what I did. You'll fix your phone and learn a very useful skill for a very, very small price.
I opened up my phone to fix the power button, and it started working, even though I didn't do much other than blowing some canned air into the area where the actual switch is. But in taking it apart, the vibrator motor got pulled off of its ribbon cable, so it doesn't work anymore. I've taken it apart a couple other times to look closer and see whether it's something I could just solder back on, or if I could buy a replacement part, but every time I open the case I get one or two new cracks in it, so I don't think I'll open it again to finish the job. I'll just live without the vibrator motor until I get a new phone.
Mine also failed recently due to the power button. It's nearly two years old, so I replaced it anyway. Think I'm going to buy a replacement power switch and see what I can do--maybe give it to a friend or something.
The strange thing is, when I pull it apart and use the phone without the actual power tab (rubber) in the slot, it will work. But not every time. So I'm thinking the button itself was being pressed too firmly while in the case/my pocket, which caused the switch itself to fail.
GiSS88 said:
Mine also failed recently due to the power button. It's nearly two years old, so I replaced it anyway. Think I'm going to buy a replacement power switch and see what I can do--maybe give it to a friend or something.
The strange thing is, when I pull it apart and use the phone without the actual power tab (rubber) in the slot, it will work. But not every time. So I'm thinking the button itself was being pressed too firmly while in the case/my pocket, which caused the switch itself to fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had something very similar. Used it for a few days after I switched on the Volume as screen activation (on CM). Then it stopped charging. Ended up being a ribbon cable from charging port to main board was bad. Got it replaced and it's as good as new.
Mine acts strange. When I put the battery, it automatically turns on and power button doesn't work, also USB but if I push USB really hard it gets working but works too bad. I cant make factory restore because of the power button, but also the battery is replacement battery, I charged it outside of the phone with the charger and in 30 minutes dropped from 21% to 10%, even doing nothing. So is it battery problem or my charging dock needs to be replaced? battery is 2200 Mah.
I had the same problem with my Cappy. I was able to get by still because I could still get into recovery. I just downloaded an app from the Play store that allowed me to have advanced reboot option. When I wanted to turn it off I just removed the battery.
I had seen a guy use a type of cleaner for electronic equipment that he sprayed inside a few times and operated the button. He said he was able to fix the problem. I don't remember the spray though.
seivad17 said:
I get these a lot. I can solder a new power button on for $50 including return shipping. You can email me @ seivad17 [at] msn.com if interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to fix my s3 and captivate. I looked up how easy it is and I was very pleased. Hoping to get it done soon.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk 4
My power button died a few months ago and I've been using an app called "Wake Up Screen!!!" that let's me shake the phone when I want to turn it on.
It's getting a bit old, so I'm thinking of rooting it so I can map the power button to the volume button. Anyone know if I'll need to use the power button during the root process? This stuff is all new to me.
Hey everyone,
I tried popping open my phone and doing the DIY GPS fix of lifting the prongs and camera lens replacement, I think I ended up damaging something with the heat from the hair dryer... cus after I reassembled my mobile everything popped back into place but now the phone is just giving one buzz and a black screen when I press the power button.
I tried connecting the charger but no response, even the LED for charging is not lighting up. Any idea what I must've done wrong or how I can get it fixed?
thanks for the advice
Doesn't sound good. I'm not familiar with the mod you performed but doing these kinds of things are hazardous if your not careful and even if you are.
Is your devices recognized when you connect it to a computer? In MS Windows you might see something show up in device manager. I would open up the device again, disassemble / reassemble, and hope it comes back to life. This has happened to be in the past and the issue would mysteriously resolve itself.
Maybe pop out back apart and make sure all the flex cables are connected properly if not. Sorry for your loss
I've just taken delivery of an LG V30+ LGH930DS and although the finger print scanner works the actual on/off power button doesn't (or at least seems intermittent)? Can't recall if it was initially OK and then stopped after updating to Pie, but noticed when I'd installed a dark theme which then froze and I couldn't restart the phone.
Of course, all tips suggest doing a soft or safe mode reset.... which requires a working power button combo?!
Can't help but feel (hope!!) it's a software issue/setting somewhere, only I've now done a hard reset and it still doesn't work.
Any suggestions, massively appreciated.
Thanks.
The fingerprint scanner is a separate part, with its own contacts; the entire thing actually sits on top of the power button. It's not unusual that one goes out while the other continues working.
If you can't do a hard reset (hold power+vol down until the phone reboots, takes at least 6 seconds iirc) then I would suspect either the power button has gone bad or the contacts are no longer...er...making contact. Try pressing the back glass around the power button as you press it to check the latter.
If you can make the phone reset with the above, it's a software issue.
Septfox said:
The fingerprint scanner is a separate part, with its own contacts; the entire thing actually sits on top of the power button. It's not unusual that one goes out while the other continues working.
If you can't do a hard reset (hold power+vol down until the phone reboots, takes at least 6 seconds iirc) then I would suspect either the power button has gone bad or the contacts are no longer...er...making contact. Try pressing the back glass around the power button as you press it to check the latter.
If you can make the phone reset with the above, it's a software issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Will see how I get on with your suggestions above. Meanwhile, quick update: started working again... then stopped again. Also last night the restart screen came on several times by itself (flickering awake from standby, as if I'd put my finger on the back). Only thought I have is that it may be a lose part inside that's occasionally causing trouble - specifically DIM tray eject 'bit' which was broken when I got it?
Thanks again.
pinkmoon said:
Only thought I have is that it may be a lose part inside that's occasionally causing trouble - specifically DIM tray eject 'bit' which was broken when I got it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't check to make sure, but the SIM eject mechanism is most likely all-plastic. The only think that might be metal is the pivot (assuming the eject is a lever mechanism), but something like that should be fixed in place pretty well and unlikely to ever come out.
The power button contacts are pretty widely-spaced anyway, it would take something long to bridge them and something that long would find it very difficult (if not impossible) to work its way in where the contacts are.
The problem is, just about everything you'd do to confirm it's a physical issue rather than something electrically wrong with the mainboard, involves taking the back off.
pinkmoon said:
Also last night the restart screen came on several times by itself (flickering awake from standby, as if I'd put my finger on the back).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. This sort of thing actually happened to my first "powerful" android phone, a Motorola Droid 4.
It also had a mostly-inoperative power button, and I ended up physically removing the button from the mainboard in order to stop it from randomly going to sleep or, more annoyingly, restarting because it sometimes "thought" someone was holding the power button in. This actually didn't work, it was a board fault somewhere else and I ended up getting a busted phone to pull a replacement board from.
Not saying that is what's going on here, just that it sure does resonate.
Unless you feel really good about your chances, or got an exceptionally good deal, I'd see about returning the phone and finding another.
Otherwise, you can get a power button off ebay for around $12, if you're in the US.
This video shows it's fairly easy to replace, but you'll need a suction cup, a plastic card (credit cards work well), and ideally an adhesive sticker or rubber cement to close it back up properly (not strictly necessary, I ran mine for a while just tacked together with the old gasket while I searched for a new battery, no problem aside from intermittent fingerprint scanner disconnects). B7000 adhesive is well-regarded for this type of work and useful for other things, if you're the crafty sort.
pinkmoon said:
LG V30+ LGH930DS
although the finger print scanner works the actual on/off power button doesn't (or at least seems intermittent)?
Any suggestions, massively appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Place the phone on a Qi wireless charging pad. If it's off, it will boot up/power up.
Once booted up you can install a software app workaround, for rebooting, etc.
If you don't have one, go to a carrier store and use one being displayed for sale. Then buy one for home.
Not only will Qi wireless pad charge a phone, it will TURN ON a phone if it's placed on the (plugged in) pad.
I've given many people this advice who have wonky power buttons with phones that have Qi wireless charging:
_______
From another post on the subject two years ago:
This Qi wireless charging pad automatic turn on feature is great for when your power button malfunctions. Phones get older, things break.
On the Motorola Quark series (Droid Turbo/Moto Turbo/Moto Maxx) several people were able to figure out whether it was their power button that had jammed or whether their phone had actually died. Phone wouldn't turn on.
We told them "Go to a carrier store. Put the phone on one of the Qi wireless charging pads on display. " If it turns on, it's the button. If it doesn't, you've got bigger issues.
Powering off and on Droid Turbo with broken power button
and a testimonial from another thread:
POWER BUTTON PROBLEM -- QI CHARGER WORKS
N7FALCON said:
aven1357 said:
I've read in another forum that a Qi wireless charger will turn the phone on to charge it- does any know if this is how it works? If the phone is off, the Qi charger will turn it on and then perform a charging? What if it is drained completely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Qi Wireless Charger works whether your phone is charged or not.. I went to the Verizon store and asked to see the charger demo'd... I placed my powered off, Fully Charged, Broken-power-button-Droid Turbo on the charger and it Came to life.
I immediately configured the phone with an alternate power button app to control the screen on/off. FYI None of the apps I found will actually power the phone on from off, but will control the screen once it is powered.
I actually tried everything in this forum, short of the disassembly of the phone but that was next...
The program download.. Reboot Fast Boot; I couldn't get it to download correctly. after about 3 hours I quit... drove to the store and the rest is history. So Glad Not to have Lost everything!..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckily for many, it was "just" the power button.
Many people then actually bought a pad for the first time to keep their phones on until they could get the power button repaired.
Hi. My power button was dead for about a week. Then I tried pressing the spot on the screen opposing the power button while pressing the button itself for a few second (with a little bit more pressure).
Then it just came back to life. I doubt this would permanently fixed the problem. But I'm relieved to have my power button back!
I will update later if the button gone bad again in future.
I've had this suddenly happen with the V30+ that I've had for nearly a year. Here's how I'm living with it, in case it helps anyone else who stumbles upon this thread.
For turning the screen off and on, I double tap the screen. I happen to use Lawnchair launcher, which supports the gesture, so I set its Double Tap gesture to Sleep. If you use another launcher, see if it supports that gesture and action. If it doesn't, you can try the Double Tap app in the Play Store, which I used before switching launchers. In both cases, you need to be on your launcher's home screen to turn off the screen, but it's an easy habit to get into.
For rebooting, I use one of the many apps available in the Play Store. They all require root. I think that I like Super Reboot the best, since it's not a fullscreen app and, so, looks like a popup menu.
If you happen to not have root and need to reboot into recovery in order to install Magisk (which seems like a catch-22), do the following:
1. Open Settings.
2. Enable developer options by going to About and tapping on "Build number" 7 times.
3. Go to System->Developer options, scroll down to the "Debugging" section and enable "Local terminal"
4. Go to your app drawer and launch Terminal.
5. Type "reboot recovery" and hit Enter. You could also do plain "reboot" and, I think, "reboot bootloader", but you probably want to enter recovery to flash Magisk so that you can use one of the store apps from now on, instead of Terminal.
That last tip is the main one that I wanted to share because it's not easy to figure out on your own and because I found myself in that situation. I thought that I had flashed Magisk while I was in recovery, but I guess that I didn't or did it in the wrong order. I was stumped for half an hour and wasted a lot of time trying lots of different reboot apps, only to discover that none of them worked without root, until I tried this Terminal method and found that it worked, surprisingly.
Following up on my last post (just above), I now know why my power button stopped working a month ago. Today, I removed my case to try out another and the glass back of the phone has come off on two sides. Looking inside revealed a familiar friend: a swelled battery. On a hunch, I tried the power button again and, with extra pressure, discovered that it still works. What must've happened is that, a month ago, the battery started swelling and lifted the back cover just enough so that the power button no longer made contact, but not enough for me to notice any swelling with the case on. It's funny that I was concerned, when I was choosing this phone, with how I would ever remove the battery and, here, when the time came, the battery removed itself.
Anyways, if your power button has stopped working, rather than it being because the button has gone bad, it might be an early warning that your battery is swelling and will need to be replaced soon. Fortunately, replacement batteries that even include all of the tools needed are as cheap as $10 on eBay or $15 on Amazon. Search for "BL-T34". Some compatibles on Amazon even have up to 500 mAh higher capacity. I'm going to order one ASAP and, hopefully, that'll solve my power button issue (in addition to the slightly more serious issue of carrying around a bomb 6 inches from my crotch).
Edit: I got the battery today and finished the job in about half an hour. It wasn't bad. It helped that the battery did half of the work of removing the back cover for me. I didn't need to use heat to loosen the glue. In fact, I didn't even need to use any glue to put everything back together, because the existing stuff was still sticky enough. I could've reinforced it, but I didn't want to because I may have to do this again in a year or two (and even if I've upgraded by then, having a working spare or giving it to a loved one will be nice). Oh, yeah, as predicted and hoped for, my power button now works again! I'm happy. For $15 and a half hour of labor, my phone is as good as new (maybe even arguably better, since it now has a 3800 mAh battery in it instead of the stock 3300 mAh one).
Edit #2: I discovered a cool app called Battery Charge Limit (root required), which stops charging at a pre-set percentage (I'm setting it to 80%). Hopefully, this will increase the new battery's lifespan and, particularly, avoid the overnight overcharging that I suspect is what caused the last battery to swell.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v30/help/battery-charge-limit-lg-v30-pie-t3975433