Develop Bugs

My E4GT started smoking today

I was dropping my dad off at the airport in Canada and right when I cross the border we started smelling something like burning rubber. We drove 10 ft., paid the toll, and right after the smell got heavier and I saw smoke come from the phone. I immediately turned the phone off and checked for any burn marks, but found none. Pandora also froze and stopped playing music during this time. I had international roaming turned off, but I really hope Sprint and Samsung's way of preventing unwanted roaming doesn't involve combusting the phone. Yesterday, my entire screen turned yellow, out of the blue. I don't know if the two issues are related, but it seems like something's not right with my phone. The screen went back to normal after I turned it off and on, but that was an odd issue.
I just got home, re-flashed the stock EG30 kernel (I was using the stock EK02 kernel for about 2-3 days, it was during this time that I had the yellow screen and smoke), but I'm kind of paranoid about leaving the phone on. Since there's no physical damage to the phone, what are the chances that Sprint will replace my phone if I walk into a store? I leave my phone in the car when I go work out and I really don't want to walk out one day to see my car on fire.

Something tells me if you told sprint your phone started smoking and now doesn't work properly they would most likely replace it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

I took my evo back to fix my power button and they gave me a brand new one, I had stock rom but had s-off
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Alright, I flashed everything back to complete stock. Wiped all the data on my phone and packed it up. I'll stop by the Sprint store first thing tomorrow and see about getting it replaced. Should make for an interesting conversation, at the least.

Smoking Epic Touch is a recent upgrade which came via OTA. Many people complained our phones weren't exploding like the new iPhone 4S so Samsung threw a quick patch together.
I'll give it to Apple, they definitely beat Android to the punch on the newest smartphone feature, "explodiness."
sauce: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8922888/Exploding-iPhone-investigated.html

open the back cover, your battery might have some burn marks lol

Always look at battery temps if you are able. A quick one is Android Assistant. Ive hit 52C (125F) on my Epic and Epic Touch without smoking... so yours must've been quite a bit hotter.

expertzero1 said:
open the back cover, your battery might have some burn marks lol
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There are no burn marks of any kind.
I just got back from the Sprint store and am unsatisfied with how things turned out. After waiting for 20-30 minutes I got a tech to look at the phone. After another 20 minutes, he came back and said that he took it apart and found no burn marks--which I don't disagree with since I turned the phone off at the first sign of smoke and checked for burn marks, myself. The next part is what had me scratching my head. He then proceeded to tell me that he 'cleaned' the phone and handed it back to me telling me that it's good to go and that I should "try to avoid making it hot". Haha, what? I was listening to Pandora with nothing else running on a stock (not overclocked) kernel, if the phone got hot enough to smoke from this what can I do that's not going to make it smoke again? This is where I became baffled. I just told you I saw the phone smoking yesterday and that the screen was acting up the day before that and you think using some rubbing alcohol or compressed air makes the phone safe to use again?
I asked to speak to the manager and after some talking she said that because I didn't have the extended warranty I'd need to pay $35 for a reconditioned phone. I declined as I expected them to just replace the phone.
I don't think that the manager or the tech were completely in the wrong to handle the situation the way that they did since there was no physical proof that the phone did indeed smoke. That being said, given that the phone showed no signs of physical damage (which the tech confirmed) and that it seemed to be working fine, wouldn't it have been better of them to save face and just replace my phone with no charge? It's entirely possible that I could be lying about the phone smoking, but if that were the case wouldn't something else be up? Why would I go out of my way to try and replace a phone that's working correctly? It's not like I wanted a different model phone, either. I just wanted a replacement GS2.
Sigh. I'm going to contact sprint customer support and explain the situation to them and see if they can give me a different answer. If that doesn't pan out I'll try contacting Samsung. Regardless, my opinion of Sprint has dropped a great deal.
EDIT: I just got off the phone with Sprint and the CSR waived the $35 fee. I'll pick up the replacement later today. Well, the CSR brought my opinion of Sprint right back up.

Check this out
http://tinyurl.com/7orbabm
.: sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch :.

Honestly, you shouldn't be surprised by a $35 fee considering you don't have TEP.
You have to remember,Samsung manufactured the phone, you could always go through them. Sprint just simply acts as a convenient go-between for things like repairs. That 35 is more or less for the convenience of not having to go through the manufacturer (which is always a pain). You could also pay 8 a month for the same convenience...sounds fair to me ..
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

squshy 7 said:
Honestly, you shouldn't be surprised by a $35 fee considering you don't have TEP.
You have to remember,Samsung manufactured the phone, you could always go through them. Sprint just simply acts as a convenient go-between for things like repairs. That 35 is more or less for the convenience of not having to go through the manufacturer (which is always a pain). You could also pay 8 a month for the same convenience...sounds fair to me ..
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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It seems fair to me as well. I pay it on both of my phones. When I had my Epic, I had a screen go bad and they not only replaced the screen, they Also replaced the keyboard and battery cover. It was like a brand new phone. I also got my Nexus wet and the camera broke. I called and they said to just bring it in. I don't know how it is when you don't pay the $8 a month but they always take care of me without any hassle. I will always pay it just because it makes things go so smooth if I have a problem
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

With regards to the replacement fee: I've been a cell phone user for close to a decade and I've never had a phone die on me, let alone begin smoking on me. So I have no prior experience dealing with replacing phones with manufacturer defects. After this experience though, I do have a new understanding of the process by which cell phones are replaced, so I won't be surprised by the fee the next time something like this happens and I go to a Sprint store, instead of the manufacturer, to remedy the situation.
Regardless, Sprint's over the phone customer service reps exceeded my expectations--they were friendly and quickly resolved the issue without making a big deal out of it, which I greatly appreciated.
I didn't get the replacement when I walked into the store, they told me they'd mail it to my house and that it'd arrive in about 2 business days. I'll post a final update after I receive the replacement.

I got the replacement re-certified phone today. It looks new, came in a generic box with no accessories. They didn't include a new battery, though. Which, I think, may have a chance of being the reason the phone was smoking in the first place.
Regardless, the phone seems to work fine. I'll use it completely stock for a few days to make sure everything's ok.

looks like ur phone needs an intervention

My ET4G smokes all the time but I think it has to do with the blazing fast 3G speeds of 0.8Mbps down and 0.2Mbps up...

Sound like your phone may need a patch to fix it...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

[Q] How do I short circuit my E4GT? (serious)

Long story short, I flashed a boatloader for the european version of the phone and my phone is bricked.
I want to know how to short circuit my phone without making it look intentional. I am not insured but I do have warrenty, if I short circuit the phone, will they be able to fix it in the sprint store? I am really hoping they don't. I just want a new phone. I was told that I was have to pay a $35 fee to get the phone fixed, what do you guys think? BEst way to short circuit this phone? (Not with water please)
UPDATE:
So my cuz and I went to the sprint store and his friend saw the phone and the first thing he asked if it was rooted, I said yeah. He couldn't fix it, but said he will take care of it when exchanging it and since I didn't have insurance, I had to pay the $35 warranty exchange. Furthermore, I added the insurance with the exhange, I am picking up the exchanged phone tomorrow because it had to be ordered.
Thanks a lot guys for the help.

This is why im glad i have insurance if i brick it its at the bottom of a lake. What warranty. As he said even download mode warns you of the possible warranty voiding. Least expensive option now is probably repair.

Besides the things I'd like to say about this situation, I'll say something else. It won't go into download mode? You could try getting a USB jig and see if that will force it into download mode. I'm holding back the temptation to say something really smartass. This was a very expensive lesson, huh? Sending it in to unbrick it, if all else fails, is your last resort. With a $500 phone, you can't afford NOT to get insurance for it?! Even if you had insurance, you wouldn't get a brand new phone.
I'm not trying to be a ****, so don't take it that way.

im referring to the 1 year warrenty that comes with the phone, it protections against defections in the phone. If I short circuit it, it will be defected... no more useless comments please, don't remind me of what I already know; I know that I should have gotten the insurance, enough said about that.
Would really appreciate it if someone could actually answer my question

newalker, would sprint be able to tell that the phone is rooted if i shorted out to the point that it wont turn on? was thinking about using a 9 volt battery to do so.

sabatheman said:
im referring to the 1 year warrenty that comes with the phone, it protections against defections in the phone. If I short circuit it, it will be defected... no more useless comments please, don't remind me of what I already know; I know that I should have gotten the insurance, enough said about that.
Would really appreciate it if someone could actually answer my question
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If you fry the usb port theyll blame it on you using an aftermarket charger since your stock one is fine. You probably wont be lucky enough to even keep them from checking the rom status. You have a phone capable of being repaired by samsung soon you may have nothing.
The warranty covering defects was voided by a custom rom. The reason they wont honor it after rooting or custom rom is things such as overclocking. Many things can be done via software that would normally be replaced as defective.
If you cant make it so they never find out then all warrantys are null and void period. Truth and fact.

how do I get this 35 dollar exchange done sir? How can I get the 35 dollar exchange w/o them finding out I rooted the phone? :/ been such a stressful week, been bricked for a week. What's the BEST thing I can do right now in my situation?>

sabatheman said:
how do I get this 35 dollar exchange done sir? How can I get the 35 dollar exchange w/o them finding out I rooted the phone? :/ been such a stressful week, been bricked for a week. What's the BEST thing I can do right now in my situation?>
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If you haven't read these two threads, I'd suggest doing so. Neither thread has lead to a solution yet (other than getting the phone replaced).
help - I did something bad
I screwed up / Installing ICS for international SGS2
Good luck...

I will leave this here as well. This is the SGS2 i9100 USB driver. It is a rar file. You will need to extract it and install. See if Odin will recognize the phone after installing. Please report back....
http://db.tt/g8hP2llV
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

#1 --- Avoid Flashing Cooked ROMS on your phone...live with stock!!! I do and havn't had any problems at all..
Seems like there are more people complaining about all theses cooked ROMS and how they either work perfectly...or suck some way or another or have tons of glichs.
#2 --- Always, and I mean Always get $8 insurance on a Smartphone, in the long run this will save your ass...big time...
#3 --- People look at the 2 year contact price of the phone...not the really price of the phone (which is $549 I believe) and thats what gets them in trouble...ahhh my phones only $200 or less, I dont need insurance...yet if you break your phone you have a POS brick weight...that will now cost you over $500 to replace...or you could pay $8 a month and if something goes wrong, The Sprint Repair Center will fix it free...or replace it with a refurb unit....Even if you make a claim due to water damage or something, its still cheaper than the $500+ dollars you will have to fork out...

JohnCorleone said:
I will leave this here as well. This is the SGS2 i9100 USB driver. It is a rar file. You will need to extract it and install. See if Odin will recognize the phone after installing. Please report back....
http://db.tt/g8hP2llV
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your one smart guy John. You have helped me a several times with some responses to my questions and I really appreciate it. If your idea works you’ll make a quite a few people happy on here. Seen a handful of these issues with people flashing the Int versions. If this doesn’t work I would use the 9V battery idea and run it across the board.

sabatheman said:
If I short circuit it, it will be defected...
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edit,... not worth the time
This is why you READ, and READ some more!!!

I dare you to bring it to my store. Nothing gets passed a well trained tech. Your best bet is to go to an advanced exchange only store, the reps are not trained like the techs. Pay the 35 and call it a day. As for the microwave comment, solder points get a white residue on them after being microwaved, to a trained tech it looks like corrosion.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Sorry, not to be n [email protected]@hole here, because what happened to you really sucks, but if you screwed up your phone by doing something dangerous without doing proper research (ie: try to flash something designed for the European Galaxy S2 onto an Epic touch), why should Sprint eat the cost and give you a replacement phone? I mean you are basically asking for a way to cheat Sprint.
Something to consider. I really do feel for you and hope somehow someone comes up with a fix.

the best easy to do what ur asking and not get caught would be to take a fully charged 18v battery from a drill, 2 wires either stripped on both end or to make it easier put alligator crimps.on each end and hook the battery to the terminals on back of phone where battery usually touches and then hit the power button on your phone. it will leave no trace and even if it does get powered up its well enough outside the read parameters to where nobody can catch it. ive seen this done already to atleast 7 or 8 phones. have fun
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Pay to get it jtaged i don't know how many people have done this we are not illiterate? On topic leave it a a hit place my fiance forgot her phone in the car when it was hot really hot and it messed up.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

So sprint covers rooted phones but doesn't cover physically damaged phones......try telling the truth and not being an idiot and listening to almost anyone else here. 9v battery? Really?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

TheShackSpecialist said:
9v battery? Really?
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Click to collapse
wrong radio shack, 18 volt
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Aren't you able to add insurance on your phone at any time??
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Yes you can but it would look suspicious if the phone needed work shortly after the insurance kicked in.

Galaxy Nexus Not Booting

So long story short, after 15 days of owning the GNex purchased from the Play Store on 5/9, the device refuses to turn on. I tried all of the standard troubleshooting steps but to no avail.
I called Google who pushed me over to Samsung since the 14 day return window has expired and now Samsung has sent me a RMA (ground shipping from MD to Texas takes 3 days each way minimum). So I'm looking at a minimum of 11 business days of not having a device in essentially brand new condition for longer than I have actually owned it.
I cant believe that a "flagship" device would totally brick after 2 weeks of use and then Google wouldn't offer replace it.

Damn sorry to hear that.
Well it is Samsung who make the phone not Google, so its good to hear you got an RMA request. these things happen unfortunately.
How did the device stop booting, were u doing anything specific?

IINexusII said:
Damn sorry to hear that.
Well it is Samsung who make the phone not Google, so its good to hear you got an RMA request. these things happen unfortunately.
How did the device stop booting, were u doing anything specific?
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The phone was working fine and i placed it in its pouch into my pocket. I pulled it out 5 minutes later to take a picture and it was completely dead.

Was the phone hot if you remember? I know mine got really hot once (50c) before I ripped out the battery

Liskrig said:
Was the phone hot if you remember? I know mine got really hot once (50c) before I ripped out the battery
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Click to collapse
It may have been. I know that after I did a battery pull and replaced the battery, the device would not turn on but was warm to the touch.

8th replacement phone. Lemon law?

I'm currently on my 8th replacement phone from tmobile. First one had a power button failure. The next three replacements In a row had screen damage out of the box, phone 5 came dead wouldn't even power on, phone 6 shorted out and it was an issue in the phone so they replaced it for free..., phone 7, last week got a power button issue where the bottom worked maybe 1 out of 50 presses
Now I have a replacement and so far I haven't done anything to it and it keeps turning off and vibrating then stops then vibrates and stops and it won't stop doing that till I hold the power button to turn the phone on. Then it with turn back off right away or just randomly turn off later..
Isn't there a lemon law where if I get to many of the phones ey have to give me a different one?

I had 3 myself. What I did was call T-mobile and raised some hell.
I told them I wanted to be up graded to the S3 because of the S2 problems. And they did. FREE OF CHARGE.
You just have to call em and be firm. Good luck.
Sent from my really Wicked T999

No one has that many problems with a phone, period. You're just trying to get a free upgrade. And there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise... but it doesn't matter to me I guess I'm not T Mobile.I just don't want to have to pay the price later.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

This is obvious fraud. Be careful and don't be stupid. If they video record packaging the phone with no problems whatsoever you can probably get into legal trouble since its obvious you're trying to get a free upgrade to a better phone. You're also breaking phones on purpose which is pathetic.

.....actually I went thru 7 g2xs with T-Mobile...when. They send out refurbished piece of junks its possible and never got a upgrade Nor did I try I just wanted a working phone every one they sent me something went wrong or broke within a week
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium

it sure couldnt hurt to try i say you call them up speak to a manager specialist and tell them you dont want that phone you are very un-happy and . that you have to make phone calls every day etc... and its hard to do it with a phone thats not reliable and then tell them you want a different phone good luck

I'm not so sure this is fraud guys. When you call them ..make sure you speak to someone who is higher up..like a manger or sonething ..don't take no for an answer..
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

I think there is some confusion. the warranty on your phone is by samsung unless you buy insurance. Tmobile and whatever provider you have; as a COURTESY does it for it's customers that bought it from them. You would be lucky to get a 2nd replacement going directly with samsung.
Don't think you even understand how lemon laws work.

tennandcoz1 said:
No one has that many problems with a phone, period. You're just trying to get a free upgrade. And there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise... but it doesn't matter to me I guess I'm not T Mobile.I just don't want to have to pay the price later.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
How can you be so sure? I had 5 amaze phones before I was given the s2, ask multiple g2x owners, I experienced that phone as well. Forgot to mention that for some reason they sent back the htc amaze.

ipeench said:
I'm currently on my 8th replacement phone from tmobile. First one had a power button failure. The next three replacements In a row had screen damage out of the box, phone 5 came dead wouldn't even power on, phone 6 shorted out and it was an issue in the phone so they replaced it for free..., phone 7, last week got a power button issue where the bottom worked maybe 1 out of 50 presses
Now I have a replacement and so far I haven't done anything to it and it keeps turning off and vibrating then stops then vibrates and stops and it won't stop doing that till I hold the power button to turn the phone on. Then it with turn back off right away or just randomly turn off later..
Isn't there a lemon law where if I get to many of the phones ey have to give me a different one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cell Phone Lemon Law. ... Bad because it holds cell phone companies accountable for a phone they didn't manufacture - technically cell phone companies are providing a courtesy to consumers by handling the repair/exchange of the defective handsets, when the consumer could actually go to the manufacturer directly

klara1006 said:
Cell Phone Lemon Law. ... Bad because it holds cell phone companies accountable for a phone they didn't manufacture - technically cell phone companies are providing a courtesy to consumers by handling the repair/exchange of the defective handsets, when the consumer could actually go to the manufacturer directly
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Click to collapse
Thank you for the laugh. Skimming through posts for one of my favorite phones and came across this.. First quick impression was.. OMG.. how or why is the OP still able to get the provider to service or replace their T989 phone.
I'm also only replying because you chose to use your very first post on an old post for an old, yet awesome phone. Are you still using a T989 and looking for help with it?

S3 charging port repair problems?/rant

This is kind of a rant and inquiry all in one lol. sooo it seems that every samsung phone i get i end up needing to replace the charging port. 3 vibrants and now the S3 i have never had any problems getting the vib fixed but when i took the S3 to the shop 2 weeks agothe tech said they dont do S3 charging ports. i was surprised. i asked if it was because maybe they dont last long and they cant warranty that often? because they used to tell me the ports on the vib dont last long either but i always said im ok with that.. he said he still wont even touch that because something always goes wrong during that procedure. i thought he just probably doesnt know how to do it and gave me a bs story. so i called another branch of the same company (DrPhonefix btw) and they said yea they fix S3 charging ports. i drop it off on the 21st they said they had to order the part. huh? oh well, no biggie... they say they will call me when its done. the 25th no call, i call them on the 26 and the guy says they are still waiting for the part. now i know for a fact something isnt right. i have ordered charging ports and they dont even take that long, and this is a phone repair shop?!?!. i call 27th not there yet, 28th not there yet, 29th not there yet....hell no i went to the shop today wanting to take my phone because this is just ridiculous. the guy says they replaced the port but it didnt take so they sent it to the headquarters!!!!! ok why wasnt i told that when i called 3days in a row?? the guy knows im vex already hes gettin nervous. i say whats the number to the headquarters? " i dont have it now if you leave your number ill call you with it" WTF i said " you guys F*** it up didnt you?" no its at headquarters. sooo i googled the number for the headquarters while i was still in the shop. the lady was nice, but she says she sees no information on me for that phone. now im cursing. the guy swears he sent it out, then he goes to the back and pretends hes calling HQ. like 5 min later he comes out and says " oh they found it, it was left in a techs drawer under paperwork" he says he will personally go pick it up tomorrow. i actually can not wait to see whats going to happen tomorrow. either they fried my phone or they lost it. i see this going down a few different ways....
1. they are going to tell me they effed up and they give me a new phone <--best situation
2. they are going to try to pass some other phone off as mine.(ill know)<--not so good situation
3. they could have fried my phone to where it wont even come on...now since it has been there for almost 2 weeks the battery is definitely dead, and fortunate enough for them i cant even plug it in to test it if it will come on. but it was working when i brought it in.so maybe they will give me a " sorry sir, we couldnt fix it here is your phone back" and hope i walk out of there with a brick. BUT, i am bringing a freshly charged battery to pop in there to test. <--worst possible devastating catastrophic situation
but anyway, has anyone heard of S3 ports giving problems on repairs? and what you think about drphonefix? ive never had a problem with them before,but this one is a new location

wireless charging
I know this doesn't fix your current situation but wireless charging is an option. I love mine.

I'd have called Samsung or the Carrier and have them deal with the hardware issue. I haven't a LOT of Charging port issues.