just got this phone today and decided to root it. then, probably made one of the stupidest mistake in life. i tried to use the wrong PIT file and forgot to uncheck the repartition. now nothing show up on the screen, only the blue led light come up. non of the key combo works and can't get in download mode. (shouldn't try rooting while eating and watching movie ). so after digging though some threads, i just wondering will a usb jig fix my problem? and if i need to take it back to sprint, what's the best logical excuse i can use to get a replacement or get it fixed? Thanks.
If your phone won't turn on at all, and it seems like it's hardbricked. Get a Jtag service from the guy on Mobile Tech Videos. That's $50 compared to paying $100 and waiting for the Insurance to have a replacement in stock.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-epic-4g-touch-jtag-brick-repair/
I did that and he got my phone working again. I would have been 2 plus weeks without it (waiting on insurance to have replacement), but got mines back within 3 days. (Because I live 2 hours away. )
USB jigs only work if the phone can turn on. So you have to be able to see the "Samsung Galaxy S2" splash screen. If you can't even see that, then no, USB jigs won't work.
Man your phone is a day old... take that sucker back to Sprint and tell them you loaded up an app from the market shut the phone down and it wont turn back on... You have insurance(hopefully) plus you are within your first 15 days...
if your phones a day old and you tried to root it while eating and watching a movie maybe you should have them replace it with a Samsung....Replenish! honestly, be careful mang. when in doubt, put down the pizza lol.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
hi guys, I took my phone back to sprint today, those people who worked there are really nice there and i got my phone replace in less than 10mins. Now it's rooted and working great! Thanks for all your help.
Related
ok, so i finally bricked my phone .. and i need to get a replacement phone.
the impression i always got from the forums was that i just go to the Spring store and ask for a replacement, and show'em that my phone is "broken".. today i went in and they gave me a number to call (888.211.4727) and when i called/explained it.. they said i'd have to pay "only" $100 for the replacement since i had the protection plan...
is that how it works?? is there a way to get my phone replaced for free? i guess i'm in shock bc that's how i thought it worked for several other members here.
any suggestions?
Try a different store. Sometimes other stores don't care.
Sent from my Epic 4gizzle using XDA Premium App
do you have any suggestions on what to say? called sprint and they were just saying "we can't do anything about it Asurion is who does our insurance, blah blah blah"
does anyone have a experience (victories) getting their bricks replaced for free?
Tell them you need to do a warranty replacement. Not an insurance replacement. They might refer you to samsung not sure how sprint handles that stuff these days.
cd's or tapes?
My screen stopped working when I touched it and I had a crack in the plastic around the screen. At first the Sprint tech said the screen stopped working because of the crack in the plastic whih, according to him, is the accelerometer. I didn't get pissed. I just told him that the screen stopped working before that and if he put another accelerometer on it, the screen still wouldn't work. I ended up getting everything replaced except my motherboard so I basically have a new phone with original motherboard so I know what overclock/undervolt will work. I would take it to another store and be nice and play dumb. It worked for me and I didn't pay 1 cent.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
cache83 said:
ok, so i finally bricked my phone .. and i need to get a replacement phone.
the impression i always got from the forums was that i just go to the Spring store and ask for a replacement, and show'em that my phone is "broken".. today i went in and they gave me a number to call (888.211.4727) and when i called/explained it.. they said i'd have to pay "only" $100 for the replacement since i had the protection plan...
is that how it works?? is there a way to get my phone replaced for free? i guess i'm in shock bc that's how i thought it worked for several other members here.
any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try
1)taking battery out.
2) plug in USB
3) hold keypad "1" and "power"
(note this process has battery out of phone entire time.)
i have an interesting update...
i dug around more posts on the forum -- and learned to pull the sdcard out, AND the battery... left it out a lil bit... now it'll be back into download mode, although it seems my odin attempts have been failing so far (the screen turned all yellow almost immediately on the first attempt... now this second attempt has gone a lil further and the screen just turned all blue)..
i think this is progress?
UPDATE!!! WOW!!!
i just re-incarnated my phone. i almost want to cry. for real!!
Now I'm curious what you guys would do... do you think my phone's suffered some hardware damage from all that (and therefore should play it safe).. or do you think it's safe to root, flash srf all the way up and try to flash genocide1.1final again?
i almost feel like i don't fear bricks any longer LOL
I had almost the exact same thing happen to my phone as you. The old vision kernel bricked my phone, took it into the sprint store and they were going to replace it but it was going to take about 4 days to do so. I screwed around with it and finally got it into download mode after a while.
I don't think there is any problem with you running everything just the way you have been. I can't see how there could have been any hardware damage unless you stepped on it or dropped it a long way or something. I would say its safe to go ahead and root it and continue to have fun with it.
I had almost the exact same thing happen to my phone as you. The old vision kernel bricked my phone, took it into the sprint store and they were going to replace it but it was going to take about 4 days to do so. I screwed around with it and finally got it into download mode after a while.
I don't think there is any problem with you running everything just the way you have been. I can't see how there could have been any hardware damage unless you stepped on it or dropped it a long way or something. I would say its safe to go ahead and root it and continue to have fun with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't recall anyone bricking on Genocide or Twilight Zone. 99% of the time you can Odin back to stock. It only takes 3 min 30 seconds. I would say stay rooted and have fun. I was nervous for a bit but I can't see myself going back to stock
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
actually, what started me down this spiral today was trying to install the Genocide1.1final kernel.. i posted a question in there but haven't gotten a response yet -- i'm going to post/copy it here and just hope that i'm not violating any rules by doing so...
cache83 said:
I read through all the posts since 6/15 and haven't seen anyone post this issue... wondering if anyone had insights?
i was running srf1.1.1 with genocide1.0...
did a backup, and wiped cache/dalvik x3 and flashed genocide1.1final. then when i rebooted it stayed on the samsung startup screen for too long... kind of reminds me of when i tried to flash cwm3.0.2.5
so i pulled battery, and 3fingered into cwm. noticed it was still orange (3.0.0.6) -- restored my nandroid, rebooted... and i'm still getting stuck on the samsung startup screen.
i hate think this but i'll probably have to Odin back to stock and build my way back up to srf1.1.1 and then restore..
any ideas what went wrong? i really want to try on this kernel but i don't want to go through that whole cycle again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cache83 said:
actually, what started me down this spiral today was trying to install the Genocide1.1final kernel.. i posted a question in there but haven't gotten a response yet -- i'm going to post/copy it here and just hope that i'm not violating any rules by doing so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you possibly had a bad flash of the genocide 1.1 kernel. or maybe even a bad dl. i would say re-download the .zip for the genocide 1.1 and try again. i am running srf 1.1.1 with genocide 1.1. imo one of the best rom/kernel combos out here.
puhahahaa... i'm back w srf1.1.1 and now have genocide1.1final running... for some reason when i 3finger salute i still get cwm3.0.0.6 tho -- don't know if i'm doing it wrong??
Igot my phone from Radio Shack and got their ins. Paid $100.
Up front and am covered with no deductable for a yr. I've found that insuring through them was a better way to go.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I know there must be somewhere in the thread but i can't find one with the same problem as mine. I was in middle of odin to put my phone back to stock. and it was stuck for over a half hr at the same place. so i unplugged it and tried to put it back on but it wont go the only thing that turns on is the blue light. i already tried the jig. its a no go. how can i unbrick this phone?
My phone has shut itself off then when i try to turn it back on i get nothing but a blue light what worked for me was taking the battery out for a couple minutes then trying it again. Have you tried that?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
That happened to me when the phone first came out. Only a blue light came on and nothing else. Even the jig didn't work. I ended up just selling it and buying a new one. I hope someone has figured out a way to fix it for you
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
You have hard bricked your phone most likely. Like it was said, you can try to remove the battery for a few minutes to see if resetting the capacitors will fix it but I am ninety nine percent sure that it will not work. You have two options.
1) Play dumb at a sprint store
2) JTAG repair from mobiletechvideos
What you have done is flashed over the bootloader so you can no longer boot it or plug it into the computer. Can you post a link to the file that you flashed? My guess is that you flashed an i9000 tar and PIT which is not compatible with the E4GT. Not all Galaxy S2 phones are the same. In fact, they are all different.
iSkylla said:
You have hard bricked your phone most likely. Like it was said, you can try to remove the battery for a few minutes to see if resetting the capacitors will fix it but I am ninety nine percent sure that it will not work. You have two options.
1) Play dumb at a sprint store
2) JTAG repair from mobiletechvideos
What you have done is flashed over the bootloader so you can no longer boot it or plug it into the computer. Can you post a link to the file that you flashed? My guess is that you flashed an i9000 tar and PIT which is not compatible with the E4GT. Not all Galaxy S2 phones are the same. In fact, they are all different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the exact same thing when I first rooted my phone but by the grace of god odin still recognized it so I was able to flash back to stock.
iSkylla said:
You have hard bricked your phone most likely. Like it was said, you can try to remove the battery for a few minutes to see if resetting the capacitors will fix it but I am ninety nine percent sure that it will not work. You have two options.
1) Play dumb at a sprint store
2) JTAG repair from mobiletechvideos
What you have done is flashed over the bootloader so you can no longer boot it or plug it into the computer. Can you post a link to the file that you flashed? My guess is that you flashed an i9000 tar and PIT which is not compatible with the E4GT. Not all Galaxy S2 phones are the same. In fact, they are all different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That my friend is exactly right. Your cell is gone... Swap or jtag is your only options.
I am going to give the, "taking the battery out for a couple of min", a shot... I was afraid that those two were my last options. The phone is maybe 2 months old and I am not with sprint anymore. Is there a way to claim through warranty or something?
kmoshkovich said:
I am going to give the, "taking the battery out for a couple of min", a shot... I was afraid that those two were my last options. The phone is maybe 2 months old and I am not with sprint anymore. Is there a way to claim through warranty or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question... I do believe that there is a one year manufacturer warranty, but don't know how you would go about making a claim. I would definitely recommend the jtag service its only like $50. Even sprint would charge you $35 to swap if you were still with the m. So if you look at out that way $15 more ain't so bad.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
Remove battery. Replace. Plug into charger. Does the batt charging screen come on? If so hold power until it boots. Done. Do your happy dance.. If no charge indication = brick.
The batt recharge didnt come on ill see if i can somehow claim by samsung if not then ill have to send it in to jtag
kmoshkovich said:
The batt recharge didnt come on ill see if i can somehow claim by samsung if not then ill have to send it in to jtag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude that's a bummer. Good luck. Hwy keep us updated on how it turns out.
This same thing happened to me!
What did you end up doing?
This happened to me too, but after flashing gunslinger kernel. I did a battery pull, then it let me boot into recovery.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
same thing happened to me, went back to best buy where i got it and said "i dont know what happened", got a new one on the spot.
On top of it, when i got it at best buy they price matched amazon mobile, so i got it for 130
I Also bought it from Best Buy! But it was two months ago... You think i can still do it by them?
After an hour of searching forums I had realized that the phone was dead and wasn't coming back on. I too had the same blue light problem, couldn't get into recovery, couldn't do anything with the black screen. I took it to Sprint, and they don't have the capability of turning it back on in store. I believe this needs to be done by Samsung, and I imagine Best Buy wouldn't be able to either. The tech told me if he could not repair it, it would be replaced. My concern was the ship time and getting a refurbished unit. He told me because the phone was so new they are almost always replaced with a new unit. He said it was $35 because I didn't have insurance, but to "Come back after an hour, and if I can't fix it and it is insured it will be replaced free of charge." I went home, had Sprint add insurance, went back to the store a couple hours later. They swapped out my unit for a brand new one, free of charge, in about 5 minutes, activated and all. I was very pleased with how everything went as I was PISSED at myself for bricking my phone so bad! In all my years of hacking Palm Pres and Evos I never bricked a phone so bad that it couldn't be powered back on! But now I have a new GS2 (ROOTED )!
I recommend just trying a Sprint Repair Center. I bought mine over the phone. I played dumb and said that I let it die completely, which I rarely do, and when I charged it the blue light went on and it never powered back up. They said that was weird but gave no qualm about it. Hope this helps..
So I bricked my phone two days ago, and I have tried the JIG but it wont work. So I'm coming to a conclusion that it's hard bricked and I might need to send it to Sammy for a JTAG repair.. Since the warranty is voided from flashing ROM's, does anyone think they will still do it for me? cause my phone is only a month old. Not sure if this will help, but my download mode won't work either, so would they see my flash counter?
They probably won't accept it. You are better off sending it somewhere else to get it repaired.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Send it to mobiletech...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Software problem? Nope
Hardware problem? I believe they would
So I did this to my phone. I rooted it I had to custom recovery change the kernel I updated the ROM .
Then I flash the wrong kernel . I flashed an international kernel I 9300 I think it was.
Bricked it bigger than sh*t wouldn't even boot wouldn't do anything it would vibrate and Black screen nothing.
29th day I had it I did this . On the 29th day I hopped my motorcycle and I went right to the AT&T actually I went to RadioShack I asked for a Jay tag or a USB jumper whatever they had .
I then hop back of my motorcycle and went straight to the AT&T store.
This is what I told them and they gave me a new phone no charge know anything I just traded them.
I was using Kies to sync up my phone I had to leave the house in a big hurry with my wife my grandson and my daughter were there my daughter wasn't paying attention. When I got home my laptop was on the phone was on the floor and my phone was on the table with the wire still sticking out of it. Now it doesn't work can you help me.
She was lying she knew I flashed it she was very suspicious I stuck my story.
The laptop was on the floor phone was on the table the computer had come off of the USB wire while the phone was on.
She immediately started trying to do the three button mode to work to wake the phone up. I told her I had pushed all the buttons. She just smiled at me and kept pushing the buttons.
One of the other text came over noticing she was having problems they both tried to put the phone up and then I said what are you doing I noticed you push the buttons are pushed him like how are you pushed the mall once they both rolled their eyes at me. The second girl said is a battery charge batteries dead get another battery so they went and got another battery and put it in it I assured them that the battery was not dead and it was not dead I killed the phone. Finally the second girl just got sick of it all to just give me a phone. The first girl told me that then that it was the 29th day and if I would've waited one day to come in she could've done anything for me.
I asked about a service department or a techie Guy. something because what I really wanted them to do was I wanted them to pull up their jay tag get me to download mode tell me that I change my flash counter.
The only reason I deemed my phone dead was because I loaned my Jtag jumper out and never got another one I wanted them to jump it back to download mode so I could take it home run home on my motorcycle take it home to my laptop and fix it. there was nothing wrong with my laptop and the only thing wrong with my phone was a flash and international kernel.
So anyway they gave me a new phone because I was before the 30th day and I'm more careful now want to flash it.
I'm rooted kernel Koons kernel actually areal ROM new radio not radio new modem the works .
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I've had my Epic 4G Touch for well over a year and a month ago I noticed the power button was starting to feel "spongy". It still worked but it lacked that crisp feeling when you pressed it down and released it. This afternoon however, after flashing FI27, my power button no longer works whatsoever. I doubt it was the ROM and more due to the amount of times I've held this button down for recovery access, download mode, etc.
So the power button doesn't work, phone starts automatically when I remove the battery and put it back in. Otherwise the phone is in near-perfect condition and its not rooted.
Anyone know if TEP is going to cover this for free? I've looked online at some resources for TEP and everything is vague or above my level of reading between the lines.
Thanks in advance.
I just had this happen to me last week actually. Just plug the charger in and it'll wake up the phone. Set it back to stock unrooted and bring it into Sprint. They'll either try to fix it or give you a new phone. I had a replacement phone that night for $0.
You might have to pull the battery a few times, but you still should be able to get into download mode
Sounds like the internal button is either stuck or broken, if you take it to a repair center they might be able to fix it for you. However idk what cost would be if any, I dont keep any for of "insurance" on my phone, if i break it I swap to one of the others I have til I buy a new one. I tend to keep my phones mint and don't want to pay for a refurbished one when i have a bunch laying in a drawer.
We are legion, for we are many.
Sent from the DarkSide of the GalaXy with a MEK device
Iczer said:
I just had this happen to me last week actually. Just plug the charger in and it'll wake up the phone. Set it back to stock unrooted and bring it into Sprint. They'll either try to fix it or give you a new phone. I had a replacement phone that night for $0.
You might have to pull the battery a few times, but you still should be able to get into download mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on FI27 w/ the newest AGAT kernel but just in case I used Chainfires' Triangle Away to get rid of the yellow triangle at boot. Outside of volume down + power button I don't know another way to get into download mode and since my power button is inop I'm kind of stuck.
Do you know of another way to get back into download mode? I have the self-extracting Odin file for EL29 just waiting to erase all evidence of root.
EDIT: Nevermind. Turns out the button is just stuck. I put the battery back in while holding volume down and it gave me download mode access. That solves one problem, lol.
If your capable, you can crack it open and clean the internal button. If its just sticky that should fix it. While you're in there you can look for actual damage which will tell you to go ahead and take it in for repair.
We are legion, for we are many.
Sent from the DarkSide of the GalaXy with a MEK device
-EViL-KoNCEPTz- said:
If your capable, you can crack it open and clean the internal button. If its just sticky that should fix it. While you're in there you can look for actual damage which will tell you to go ahead and take it in for repair.
We are legion, for we are many.
Sent from the DarkSide of the GalaXy with a MEK device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't even begin to know how to do that, though I'm sure YouTube has a couple videos detailing how-to. I'll give it a looksee and if it doesn't scare me away I'll give it a shot. If its something I can do, might as well.
Does it still work now after booting back up? Mine didn't work but for some reason if i hit volume up+power i could get into download mode. But when it was actually booted, it wouldnt work at all, nor would it work inside CWM. Weird thing is when I took it into Sprint the touchscreen started having issues too. So that's probably another reason why I just got a replacement.
Iczer said:
Does it still work now after booting back up? Mine didn't work but for some reason if i hit volume up+power i could get into download mode. But when it was actually booted, it wouldnt work at all, nor would it work inside CWM. Weird thing is when I took it into Sprint the touchscreen started having issues too. So that's probably another reason why I just got a replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine outside of the power button. I have recovery and download mode access, touchscreen is operable and nothing out of the norm seems to be going on. It's disturbing to say the least.
Wtf I got this issue after flashing Fi25 rom? Maybe its a bug? It had been working days before and spontaneously stopped working.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
This power button problem just happened to mine friday i took it to a repair store they were rude and refused to fix it told me i needed to use my insurance... so i made a call and within 15 min and only 1 transfer (shockingly) to customer care they sent me out a replacement at no cost i received this afternoon and currently trying to put a custom rom on it.. i had the same issues as you and it was hardware related a smack against a table resolved it atrandom and that phone was also stock..
I have been with sprint nearly 10 years and with several calls to customer care you can get alot done.. if one rep dont help call back and deal with another.. I have been 4 months past due with nearly an $800 bill at one point and still no restrictions i have also have a few older phones and some windows phones replaced at no charge in the past but that took a little more work then this one...Ive was even able to get them to credit my account $300 instead of using my 2 upgrades on phones... just call be polite if that dont work try again with another rep..
btw the sprint store i took it to didnt note it on my account if they tell you you must goto a store kindly refuse saying you dont have time.. if the battle seems endless ask for a supervisor twice..
Where did you call to? Was your phone cracked or physically damaged? Shiii I want a free phone too!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
tonyec7 said:
Where did you call to? Was your phone cracked or physically damaged? Shiii I want a free phone too!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's things like that that make it harder for others who actually need replacements to get them.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
revamper said:
It's things like that that make it harder for others who actually need replacements to get them.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my comment, i need a replacement as well, by lock/power button isnt working either.
I went to my local Sprint store this afternoon and apparently I don't have TEP on my phone. Last month I had an upgrade but I'm happy with my E4GT so I let my wife use it so she could get the EVO LTE. We did this through Best Buy Mobile. My wife has a friend that works there so it's where *she* does all her cellphone business. For some reason my TEP was cancelled on my E4GT upon upgrade and unbeknownst to me for the last month and a half I've had no insurance. :/
I called Sprint customer support and explained what happened and in 3-business days TEP will be reinstated on my phone, no charge, and all will be well in the world. The guy at the Sprint store also said had I had TEP this issue would be fixed via direct-exchange at no-cost to me.
I also tried fixing it myself but I got scared when the couldn't separate the screen from the case and gave up before I borked it.
My phone hardbricked for no apparent reason, and I'm not sure what to do. Battery was at about 50% yesterday, it turned off and wouldn't turn back on. I did a soft reset, and it turned on. I watched it go as far as the logo and then had to walk away. When I came back, the phone was black again. And it hasn't turned on since. No logo, nothing. I've tried a soft reset, plus multiple other reset combinations. I plugged my phone to the computer, I get the normal connecting 'ding', but then it says that driver's device cannot be found.
I'm running stock firmware, no mods. No history of battery issues (except the normal slow decline). I've had the phone for a year and three weeks, so I'm out of warranty too. I called T-mobile and they said it sounds like a hardbrick and are willing to switch it out for $20 since I'm out of warranty. I can't do that since I'm out of the country for the next 1.5 months, so I was wondering if anyone out there had any suggestions on what to do or why this even happened?
Thanks!
goeundiane said:
My phone hardbricked for no apparent reason, and I'm not sure what to do. Battery was at about 50% yesterday, it turned off and wouldn't turn back on. I did a soft reset, and it turned on. I watched it go as far as the logo and then had to walk away. When I came back, the phone was black again. And it hasn't turned on since. No logo, nothing. I've tried a soft reset, plus multiple other reset combinations. I plugged my phone to the computer, I get the normal connecting 'ding', but then it says that driver's device cannot be found.
I'm running stock firmware, no mods. No history of battery issues (except the normal slow decline). I've had the phone for a year and three weeks, so I'm out of warranty too. I called T-mobile and they said it sounds like a hardbrick and are willing to switch it out for $20 since I'm out of warranty. I can't do that since I'm out of the country for the next 1.5 months, so I was wondering if anyone out there had any suggestions on what to do or why this even happened?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it respond to plugging in to charge? im not 100% but if its responding at all when it gets plugged in its not hardbricked only softbricked so go from there. when i hardbricked my first s2 due to a corrupt kernel file i flashed it would not react to anything at all. complete dead weight
U stated that when u plugged it into ur computer u got a ding then says driver device not found. Sounds to me that ur not in a hard birck when I bricked mine I didn't even get that. Check out the link it well help.
http://galaxys2root.com/t-mobile-ga...ck-t-mobile-galaxy-s2-sgh-t989-android-2-3-6/
on my t989 enjoying sith3, thank u to all
Thanks for everyone's help. I ended up sending in my phone to a Samsung service center (while I was in Korea). They confirmed that it is a hardbrick. They opened it up and said it looked like there was a short and it fried the motherboard. They couldn't tell me what caused the short--they said maybe some water got into the phone through the charging port, but I know that isn't true... I had it plugged into an old power strip and maybe that's why? :crying:
Either way, I was told my only option was to get the motherboard replaced which would be $200. I told them no thanks and that I'd just get a replacement phone from T-mobile for $20.
sounds like another " I swear i didn't do anything.. it just happened" story.. classic..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
PJcastaldo said:
sounds like another " I swear i didn't do anything.. it just happened" story.. classic..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know my story sounds unlikely, but it's the truth. Isn't this forum around to help fellow users? I have no reason to lie here. I actually take very good care of my phone and (after almost losing a laptop to a water spill) am extremely cautious about liquids around my electronic devices. You don't have to believe me since I'll get my phone replaced regardless. I just thought I would share the information in case someone else ends up facing the same problem.
Even now, the only cause I can come up with still is the old power strip frying the motherboard. *shrug* I would love to hear any other explanations.