Hi everyone, I am looking to troubleshoot my T-Mobile Galaxy S4 which I believe has suffered from a Power IC malfunction. It has all the symptoms that relate to a broken power button, which of I already sent in for repair and that didn't seem to fix the problem. The guy installed a brand new power button and the problem still persists. Continued researching and it might be a broken Power IC chip.
The phone will power on for a second and display the Samsung logo, then shut off and reboot itself and sometimes be in a constant vibration cycle like it's trying to power on. Sometimes it just freezes on the Samsung logo and will not continue past that. Sometimes if I'm lucky, it will boot up like normal but once it gets to the T-Mobile splash screen, the screen will distort and then reboot itself where it will just go through either of the symptoms already mentioned. Weird thing is, I am still able to boot into recovery (takes a couple tries though) and download mode fine without any reboots or anything. I have tried flashing numerous stock firmwares/ROMs via download mode/recovery in hope maybe that'll correct something, but to no avail.
The problem happened shortly after I accidentally dropped my phone getting out of the car. The phone worked fine for a day and then one day while driving, the phone did something crazy and froze up, displayed the power menu, and then shut off by itself. Then after that is when all the problems happened. I took the phone apart and cleaned the power button. Rubbed the contacts with rubbing alcohol and even tried to get inside the power button with some. Took a can of air and sprayed the button until it was dry. I think that was my mistake because I think some alcohol got onto, or into the power IC located near the power button and fried something.
Looking for possible answers as to what could have caused this. The phone will not charge normally unless I boot into recovery/download mode. Plugging the phone in while powered off displays the charging icon with the grey battery and a circle in the middle but doesn't continue past that and reboots itself after a while. Tried a different battery as well and it's all the same symptoms which is why it's something internally.
On a side note, if anybody has experience with replacing the Power IC and would like to offer their service to me, we can arrange a price and continue from there. Please be a reputable member though. Thanks for reading. Hope to resolve this annoying issue.
If you are able to go into recovery mode, have you maybe considered flashing a new ROM?
Do you have some sort of custom recovery? If yes, maybe you could first back up all your stuff to an SD card (in case nothing helps bring the phone back to life).
Since your boot up logo shows up, but the ROM doesn't seem to start, to me it looks like your onboard flash memory might be the problem, not the power IC. The S4 is actually an awesome phone from a repairability standpoint.
Best of Luck! :good:
I will be starting to do power IC replacements in these phone in a couple weeks actually! I have a little cell repair business that i started a few months ago, but I have never done this specific repair. It isn't difficult, and as soon as I have a few successful attempts under my belt I will update you! Although, usually the phone won't boot at all if it has a bad power IC. I would do more research and see what can cause your specific problem. Feel free to message me or just reply on here with questions
deke997 said:
I will be starting to do power IC replacements in these phone in a couple weeks actually! I have a little cell repair business that i started a few months ago, but I have never done this specific repair. It isn't difficult, and as soon as I have a few successful attempts under my belt I will update you! Although, usually the phone won't boot at all if it has a bad power IC. I would do more research and see what can cause your specific problem. Feel free to message me or just reply on here with questions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Deke. Sorry for not replying sooner. Kind of forgot about this thread after giving up on trying to fix it. But if you are willing to repair it in the future please let me know! I'll give you some business for your repair shop. Congrats on starting one too .
As for the phone not powering on at all if the problem was the power IC, that's what I thought at first too. But after getting a new power button installed and the problem still persisted, the power IC was the next option.
Sent from my 6045I using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Related
Hi, today i received this T989 that has this strange behavior. When i insert the battery it will try to boot by itself without touching the power button. But then it will turn off by itself also and starts to continuosly vibrate like its trying to boot but it wont. If i try to get to download mode with the JIG it will get to download mode but once i take the JIG out it will turn off again. My question is, could that be because it is bricked? Or maybe the power button damage? Perhaps the phone got wet? The sticker is kind of red, but if it was, i dont think it was too much because ive seen worst phones inside, i mean theres no sign of damp inside. I ask because if the case is that it might be bricked i will send it to mobiletech so they can fix it. But if its hardware then i will just have an expensive lcd display for sell lol..........
enelyam said:
Hi, today i received this T989 that has this strange behavior. When i insert the battery it will try to boot by itself without touching the power button. But then it will turn off by itself also and starts to continuosly vibrate like its trying to boot but it wont. If i try to get to download mode with the JIG it will get to download mode but once i take the JIG out it will turn off again. My question is, could that be because it is bricked? Or maybe the power button damage? Perhaps the phone got wet? The sticker is kind of red, but if it was, i dont think it was too much because ive seen worst phones inside, i mean theres no sign of damp inside. I ask because if the case is that it might be bricked i will send it to mobiletech so they can fix it. But if its hardware then i will just have an expensive lcd display for sell lol..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe a stuck rocker button?
Thought the power button might be shorted. But i dunno! I didnt want to touch the mobo but since it looks like theres nothing to do except try that i guess ill change that button and see how it goes....
enelyam said:
Thought the power button might be shorted. But i dunno! I didnt want to touch the mobo but since it looks like theres nothing to do except try that i guess ill change that button and see how it goes....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did this end up working for you? I'm having the same issue...
Fairly certain its a power button issue. Went through the same thing myself in late July. Samsung logo shows, then it attempts to boot up only to be shut down and have the vibration pulse for a long time.
If you're able to Odin it back to stock, you can try and get T-Mobile or Samsung to replace it for you. If not, mobile tech videos has a button repair service.
Best of luck guys!
Sent from my SGH-T989
Hello, the same thing happened to me. I was able to bring it back to life by removing the back plate and disconnecting the motherboard completely. Then i inserted the jigg and put the battery back in. After 2 seconds i removed the jigg and connected the usb cable. Then i opened up odin 1.85 and the yellow com part stayed on i then flashed the program and my phones been working ever since. Good luck. Let me if you try it and if it worked for you.
Mine does it too.
Definitely the power button.
any solutions for the problem?
i cant trade my cell phone because i am on brazil ...i bought the t989 on ebay last year
My T-989 does the shiver and shake but won't start!! Please HELP!!!
aest said:
Hello, the same thing happened to me. I was able to bring it back to life by removing the back plate and disconnecting the motherboard completely. Then i inserted the jigg and put the battery back in. After 2 seconds i removed the jigg and connected the usb cable. Then i opened up odin 1.85 and the yellow com part stayed on i then flashed the program and my phones been working ever since. Good luck. Let me if you try it and if it worked for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I'm having the same problem as the original post - what's worst is that I'm in Argentina and I bought the phone on ebay. I will attempt your solution but what is the jigg???? As scared as I am to open up my phone, I am more scared about traveling for another month without a phone! :crying::crying::crying:
Any other suggestions before I perform an operation on my phone??
Please and Thank you!
Have you tried a different battery? It sounds like a bad battery. My wife's Skyrocket was doing this until I charged her battery outside of the phone. I wouldn't open the phone until you try charging the battery.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Simple solution is to tap or beat on the power button with an eraser many times.
This problem is common on t989 and it is caused by sticky power button.
Tapping the power button with Eraser or rubber multiple times should do it.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
sharpeyedman said:
Simple solution is to tap or beat on the power button with an eraser many times.
This problem is common on t989 and it is caused by sticky power button.
Tapping the power button with Eraser or rubber multiple times should do it.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,, It works..It wouldn't boot on just kept vibrating. I press the power button many times..and it boot it fine...:good:
Power button must be going bad on mine:silly:
hi. i got a tmobile samsung galaxy s2. I am out of my warranty. i had my phone for about six month thru a warranty exchange.
I was browsing espn.com, then out of no where the phone turned itself off and started to vibrate. I have tried to power it on, and it just vibrates. it turns on a quarter way then begins to vibrate. i left the battery out since the problem started waited the whole night to pass, still just beeps.
I googled how to put phone into discovery mode, but when I do the steps, it also powers the discovery mode quarter way then turns off and starts to vibrate. Is it a sticky power button. The power button presses normally,doesnt resist when i press it.
bojackson2015 said:
hi. i got a tmobile samsung galaxy s2. I am out of my warranty. i had my phone for about six month thru a warranty exchange.
I was browsing espn.com, then out of no where the phone turned itself off and started to vibrate. I have tried to power it on, and it just vibrates. it turns on a quarter way then begins to vibrate. i left the battery out since the problem started waited the whole night to pass, still just beeps.
I googled how to put phone into discovery mode, but when I do the steps, it also powers the discovery mode quarter way then turns off and starts to vibrate. Is it a sticky power button. The power button presses normally,doesnt resist when i press it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds to me like a sticky or stuck power button. If you can take it apart...clean around the button that might help. There are a few guides in the Skyrocket forum on how to do it. Search for sticky power button or look at the stickies by Vincom. I have a T989 as well and used some of these methods and it worked. Good luck!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
I think taths the power button.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
To be honest your probably going to have to the the button replaced I had same issue I tried everything to cleaning it and around it and even prying it away from the connector and nothing worked I had to send it into Samsung and they had to replace the motherboard thankfully it was still under warranty its worth a shot to call em n ask if yours is
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
I had the same issue, took it apart and tried cleaning to no avail. I called a local cell repair shop and as soon as I said I had an S2 and started to describe the issue, he stopped me and said it was a short in the switch, which had to be replaced, and gave me a quote. Seems to be something of a common issue.
jeremyo83 said:
I had the same issue, took it apart and tried cleaning to no avail. I called a local cell repair shop and as soon as I said I had an S2 and started to describe the issue, he stopped me and said it was a short in the switch, which had to be replaced, and gave me a quote. Seems to be something of a common issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much was it for the shop to fix this?
I am looking at buying an S2 for $100 that is doing this shut off & vibrate.
bojackson2015 said:
hi. i got a tmobile samsung galaxy s2. I am out of my warranty. i had my phone for about six month thru a warranty exchange.
I was browsing espn.com, then out of no where the phone turned itself off and started to vibrate. I have tried to power it on, and it just vibrates. it turns on a quarter way then begins to vibrate. i left the battery out since the problem started waited the whole night to pass, still just beeps.
I googled how to put phone into discovery mode, but when I do the steps, it also powers the discovery mode quarter way then turns off and starts to vibrate. Is it a sticky power button. The power button presses normally,doesnt resist when i press it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got something similar happening to a S2 I have. I was using it, it just shut down and won’t boot anymore. As soon as I plug it in it'll start vibrating indefinitely, pull the battery and re-insert it, and it'll keep on vibrating indefinitely. Sometimes I see the SAMSUNG logo but that as far as I can get. RECOVERY doesn’t work, ODIN doesn’t work, no button combination works... seems kind of dead to me.
You guys think it’s worth sending it to SAMSUNG and getting a quote to get it repaired?
EDIT: sometimes i can get into download mode for about 3 seconds then it blue screens and reboots. I can get as far as pressing the VOL+ up and then reboots...
So did anyone find a solution or was it a "short in the switch"?
Solution
bojackson2015 said:
hi. i got a tmobile samsung galaxy s2. I am out of my warranty. i had my phone for about six month thru a warranty exchange.
I was browsing espn.com, then out of no where the phone turned itself off and started to vibrate. I have tried to power it on, and it just vibrates. it turns on a quarter way then begins to vibrate. i left the battery out since the problem started waited the whole night to pass, still just beeps.
I googled how to put phone into discovery mode, but when I do the steps, it also powers the discovery mode quarter way then turns off and starts to vibrate. Is it a sticky power button. The power button presses normally,doesnt resist when i press it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SOLUTION !!! Hey i share your pain... i have an
S2 as well and have been facing the same
problem... my phone is rooted so at first i
thought the problem was due to an unstable
custom rom... anyway the REAL problem is
called a "STICKY POWER KEY". all you need is a
bright light, a can of CRC (the none conductive
type) and a Phillips head screw driver.. you need
to remove the back cover of your phone, remove
your battery and or charger , sim and sd card
then remove the six screws that is holding the
phone together. after that , carefully pry open the
phone and remove the circuit board that has the
power button and the volume Buttons.. this is a
little tricky because in order to get the circuit
board out you will need to detach some
connectors.. now you need to spray some CRC
on the power button using the fine tip straw that
comes with the CRC CAN .. then you just need
to press the power button until you get tired... i
use CRC intermittently while i press, be careful
not to get too much on the circuit board tho..
when you are done , put the phone back together
and let it sit for an hour then replace the battery
and turn on your phone voila ..... feel free to
inbox me if you require further assistance...
[email protected]
So for the past 2 weeks my epic 4g touch phone has been restarting itself on occasion and sometimes its really bad but lately it's gotten really really bad. The screen now just randomly turns on by itself and the power options window also randomly pops up by itself. (the window that says shut off/restart/other things like that) At first i thought it was the power button so i fiddled with it a bit but it hasnt changed. even if i'm holding the phone and my fingers and hand is nowhere near the power button the phone still does it. It can be laying on the table, and the screen will still turn on with the power options. Now, I'm under warranty so I might just bring my phone to sprint but the problem with that is im rooted and have a custom kernel installed. And I'd unroot and flash the stock gb27 kernel but i'm worried that during that process the phone will restart itself and i'll have a bricked phone or a phone stuck in a bootloop or god knows what else. Any suggestions? I've ran out of possible ideas that it could be. My batterys fine, the power button seems to be fine. So I have no idea at the moment
Nevermind. Turns out sprint allows you to bring them rooted devices and they'll fix it for you. Apparently all you get is a warning about what rooting does. So i'll just take it to sprint tomorrow it's easier
I've seen these exact same symptoms on phones with faulty power buttons which is most likely what you have. These phones are notorious for having faulty/failing power buttons. Good luck!
Hello all,
I have an S3, T-Mobile (T999). Yesterday while I was using it, it turned off by itself and now refuses to turn on. I have tried two different batteries and all it does is vibrates when I take the battery out and put it back in. I cannot get into recovery.
It was rooted and I had the PacMan ROM on it. To make things worse, the mcro-USB port is not functioning so plugging in into the computer doesn't do anything (I was using Anker wall-charging batteries to charge the phone).
Is my phone bricked somehow? Any troubleshooting tips?
Does it do anything other than vibrate? Does it sound like it comes on but the screen is just dead? Do you see anything happen on the screen? Unfortunately, without a functioning usb jack, theres not a lot you can do. Cant even flash the stock firmware....Only other thing you can try that I can think of is to find another S3 and swap the motherboards to test on a known good device.
DocHoliday77 said:
Does it do anything other than vibrate? Does it sound like it comes on but the screen is just dead? Do you see anything happen on the screen? Unfortunately, without a functioning usb jack, theres not a lot you can do. Cant even flash the stock firmware....Only other thing you can try that I can think of is to find another S3 and swap the motherboards to test on a known good device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply DocHoliday. Today, after charging my Anker battery, it vibrated as usual but then I saw the Galaxy logo appear on the screen, but then it went away and the phone died again, so the screen is functioning.
I wonder if it is a battery problem; however, I have tried two different Anker batteries. I might try to find a stock S3 battery and try again. Will keep this thread updated.
M3GAPL3X said:
Thanks for the reply DocHoliday. Today, after charging my Anker battery, it vibrated as usual but then I saw the Galaxy logo appear on the screen, but then it went away and the phone died again, so the screen is functioning.
I wonder if it is a battery problem; however, I have tried two different Anker batteries. I might try to find a stock S3 battery and try again. Will keep this thread updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it try to turn on on its own when you put the battery in? If so it may be a power button issue. Either way, you might want to take it apart and make sure the button appears ok, and also check/reseat all ribbon connectors. Kinda doubtful its a battery issue, but I guess it is possible.
Did you try to go download mode or to the recovery (What ever u have)????...Just to know the reaction of the phone.If u can then is not hardware related
DocHoliday77 said:
Does it try to turn on on its own when you put the battery in? If so it may be a power button issue. Either way, you might want to take it apart and make sure the button appears ok, and also check/reseat all ribbon connectors. Kinda doubtful its a battery issue, but I guess it is possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DocHoliday77,
I opened up the phone yesterday. The power button has no ribbon on it. It's connected to a simple surface mount push button. I tried pushing the button with the screw driver to rule out the actual button not making the proper contact, but it still wouldn't turn on. It still vibrates when I put in the Anker battery though.I think what I'll do today is test the voltage on the battery before putting it into the phone to make sure its not dead. Unfortunately, I could not find the stock battery that came with the phone.
M3GAPL3X said:
DocHoliday77,
I opened up the phone yesterday. The power button has no ribbon on it. It's connected to a simple surface mount push button. I tried pushing the button with the screw driver to rule out the actual button not making the proper contact, but it still wouldn't turn on. It still vibrates when I put in the Anker battery though.I think what I'll do today is test the voltage on the battery before putting it into the phone to make sure its not dead. Unfortunately, I could not find the stock battery that came with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the button has no cable attached, I meant for you to unplug and reseat all ribbon cables that are there. I think there are 3 or 4....maybe 5. There are disassembly vids you can reference though. As for the power button, it has been known to go bad. We've had it reported quite a few times around here in the past several months. Sometimes just jiggling it, or messing with it a little seems to help, otherwise itd have to be replaced. If you put the battery in, and the phone tries to power on without you pressing power, this is most likely the problem. From what you have said though, I doubt this is your issue. It could simply be memory going bad as well. I have seen a few reports of this. Unfortunately, short of replacing the motherboard, there is no fix for this.
Im, not saying that is the problem btw. Just a possibility.
DocHoliday77 said:
I know the button has no cable attached, I meant for you to unplug and reseat all ribbon cables that are there. I think there are 3 or 4....maybe 5. There are disassembly vids you can reference though. As for the power button, it has been known to go bad. We've had it reported quite a few times around here in the past several months. Sometimes just jiggling it, or messing with it a little seems to help, otherwise itd have to be replaced. If you put the battery in, and the phone tries to power on without you pressing power, this is most likely the problem. From what you have said though, I doubt this is your issue. It could simply be memory going bad as well. I have seen a few reports of this. Unfortunately, short of replacing the motherboard, there is no fix for this.
Im, not saying that is the problem btw. Just a possibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered a replacement button today. It would be another 'low-hanging fruit' possibility and it was only $3 for the button on eBay. I'll de-solder the old one off and solder the new one on. Will update this thread after doing so. It is a mechanical button, so I agree, it could have messed up some how.
hey even i have nokia x it doent on doesnt vibrate just like total dead what should i do batery is ok some problem while flashing it with me
Update Please
M3GAPL3X said:
I ordered a replacement button today. It would be another 'low-hanging fruit' possibility and it was only $3 for the button on eBay. I'll de-solder the old one off and solder the new one on. Will update this thread after doing so. It is a mechanical button, so I agree, it could have messed up some how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. I have the exact same problem as you had, so I was wondering whether or not this worked?
My stock Nexus 5x was working fine this morning. On my drive to work, the phone had 39% batter remaining (I forgot to charge it overnight), and I attempted to make a call over my car's built-in blue tooth. When the outgoing call failed a second time, I looked down at my phone and noticed the screen was black. I have tried holding the power button for various amounts of time but nothing happens. I've also tried charging the phone, in case the battery meter was out of calibration, but nothing seems to elicit any sign of life.
I recall from past mobile devices that there's a combination of buttons that can be pressed and held for so many seconds to force a reboot. Is there such a procedure for the 5x? I have some past experience with rooting phones, connecting them to my computer with Odin, ADB, etc. Is there anything I can try?
Thanks for any pointers, this sucks!
@Dirt_Bag: Hold Vol-, then press Power until the 1st screen. Then immediatly the base menu of bootloader appears. Good luck.
rp158 said:
@Dirt_Bag: Hold Vol-, then press Power until the 1st screen. Then immediatly the base menu of bootloader appears. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the instructions but it's not working. My phone shows no signs of life... I should have all my photos backed up elsewhere, but in case I don't, is there anyway to access the internal storage?
@Dirt_Bag: maybe experts can read it. I've no idea.
Try pressing and holding the power button for at least 30 seconds.
My wife's Google Nexus 5x died yesterday too. Go to load recovery mode, and it does nothing. I can get into developer boot screen, but that's it... Nothing works.
had a friend's nexus 5x die in a similar way just a few days ago too. won't power on at all. not sure this is the bootloop issue, seems more like a battery thing. but no idea
Contact LG chat. Explain it to them and that you were told the warranty was extended to 30 months on the Nexus 5X. They'll have you put in a repair request. Takes about 2 weeks or so.
If you can get into bootloader but the phone WILL NOT boot into the OS.... it's a bootloop. If the device is hard dead, it's still part of the bootloop.
Bottom line... LG extended the Nexus 5X to a 30 month hardware defect warranty. You send in your phone, you'll get a new (hopefully revised) mainboard with your same IMEI.
LancerEVA06 said:
...you'll get a new (hopefully revised) mainboard with your same IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whenever I've received back my phone from repair the IMEI has been different.
Is IMEI important for CDMA networks?