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Universal plunges from a 3 story building... will it survive? place your bets now.

I had to jump over some stupid fence today at my work (didn't want to go all the way around), so i asked my friend to hold my universal while i jumped.
maybe i should have held it myself, because the universal slipped from her hands, and fell down the 3 story building, hitting many many stairs on the way down.
from a first glance i thought its the end of my beautiful relationship with my uni.
but actually after opening it up and checking its insides - it looks pretty okay! nothing seems to be broken or loose...
the problem is: is won't even start. so im trying to discover where malfunction is.
i've tried:
Switching batteries
Plugging it in to a power source (computer / wall)
Dismantling body and screen, tightening all of the connectors
Bootloader mode - not showing anything
Connecting with MTTY - but i can't even get it to connect
Turned on, waited for 5 mins and called it to see if it'll ring (to eliminate screen problems) - forwards to voicemail
Nothing worked, the screen is always blank.
when i plug in a power source, a red light flashes REALLY quickly, and then goes off, after that nothing happens.
the only thing that gave me a clue its still alive somewhere inside - when i plugged it to my computer, windows alerted me i plugged in an unknown device, even when i tried to put it in BL and connect again.
Does anyone have a clue what i can do next to find where the problem lies, and bring my love back to life???
please, i need help on this.

Mine fell a few feet from my hand to the (concrete) floor and was the same - no signs of trauma but completely dead, aside from a light when connected to the charger.
I think the damage will be to the mainboard, so it's a either a case of getting a new board and fitting it, or buying another universal and selling the dead one for parts. I opted for the latter.

My Condolences!! as long you can not find some lose cable or what so ever I believe you will not able to bring your "love" back to alive.
After connecting to your Computer RED light and Your computer doesn't recognize the Device indicates major issue.
Unless you have someone that can work with JTAG. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=309291

hehe, thanx for your replies.
i don't know anyone who deals with jtag, but maybe it'll be a good idea to look for a private repair lab which works with jtag.
i guess for a small amount of money they could help me find the problematic part.
i wanted to avoid sending it over to a some random repair lab, because they might turn out as just some amatures and tell me that the whole main board needs to be replaced, instead of a specific part...
so i'll start with some searching
anyone else have any more suggestions?

mine fell from my pocket and red led pops up only when connected to the charger.. i sent it to ppctechs.. they put it under the infrared oven and nothing happened, so its not lose solder nor connectors nor nothing.. its the mainboard, its hard for it to be replaced as far as component level goes.. but who knows.. personally i think just sell it for parts.. sorry, thats what i did and boutght a new one off ebay for 400
good luck and sorry to hear that..

Am I allowed to cry on this forum ????
One request to Modes... Shall we have a crying smily(?)

[Q] Data cable worn out

It's been just two months i bought myself a HTC Explorer device (great device, satisfies my needs pretty well :good.
But lately, i started noticing that the usb data cable (provided in the box) has started to lose it's black rubber cover material. The internal wires (red, black & green) have been exposed with some naked wires winded around them.
Due to lack of time, i could not afford to go to the HTC Service Center and get my doubts cleared. Also, i fear they might start making excuses (legal formality, as they say) because my device is rooted and runs on a custom rom with mods (obviously, though).
By the way, the data cable works just fine for charging & usb connectivity purposes (no issues there at all).
So, can anyone tell me that do i need to change it fearing it's condition, or, just let it be....?

I don't think that they need your device for this, you can give it a try by going just with the cable, but there is a pretty big chance that they will charge you for a new one.
About your fears, it is possible if to get a short circiuit if wires get together which I don't think will be good for device or for a pc, some years ago I fu**ed up my power unit in a pc due to gamepad cable failing exactly the same way. Mostly it's up to you but my appinion is better to go check it out.

now that's really dreadful, what happened to your pc.
i wd better be taking the cable for a check, asap. i dnt wanna mess things up & end up paying huge amount for repairs nd stuff.

[Q] Dropped phone, now charges only on a whim and no OTG

Well, this isn't the best place to ask, but I'm not sure where else to do so. Somehow I managed to drop my phone (onto a carpeted floor from not quite a full standing height, not concrete or anything) and it landed right on the bottom I think. I can't see any signs of damage anywhere at all -- I even pulled out the screws and looked at the PCB itself and I just can't see anything obvious at all. Unfortunately, something obviously is wrong all the same. It simply will not charge at all most of the time, though seemingly randomly on a whim when I connect it sometimes it will. I'm afraid even to touch it once it finally does as just moving the cable around seems to be enough to make it stop sometimes (whereas at some other times I can move it around a lot and everything and it still stays connected.) Last night it decided not to even charge even though the LED indicator and the icon showed that it was connected. What's more, I can no longer use the USB OTG capability to plug in USB drives, other devices, and etc (which I used for diagnostics, repairs, and etc of other things on the go.) I have multiple batteries and external chargers, so this isn't completely fatal but it means:
A. I can't keep it from running the batteries down in the first place (which means larger wear and tear on the batteries long-term since they are discharged further before charging.)
B. Since it's like this it means generally speaking it's not as ready for a fully day of use since it's starting the day with less than 100% charge before I even leave for work every time now.
C. I really did use the USB OTG feature and have already been missing it. It's not as fatal as devices like my Nexus 7 (since that lacks a MicroSDHC card reader to supplement its internal storage whereas this has one) but very annoying at least.
D. I really really miss being able to use a phone dock! I was docking it in my car to keep it at least semi-charged and to output a line output to my car stereo system. It's kind of a pain having to change the volume back and forth between headphones and line output (since a line output really needs the full volume) and obviously it uses more power while playing than just sitting quietly in a pocket anyway. I also liked the way in the dock it wouldn't completely shut off the screen, just go into a really low power mode where it had a faded clock (might be a CM10.1 feature, but nice wherever it came from) and I could just touch it to get back to the player controls.
At first I thought it was just loose, so I tried putting a very thin piece of plastic in the top part of the connector so the connection is extremely tight which fooled me at first by pretending to work really well for a while, but then after a while it just did the same stuff all over again (so it was just doing that thing where it works fine for a little while even when I move the cord around.) I just can't see what could possibly be the problem though because if there is any damage anywhere I'm just not seeing it. I really don't see how the connector could have been damaged anyway since it more or less landed straight on the middle of the bottom (and that ring that goes around the side should have absorbed the shock) but with no cracks on the PCB or anything that I can at all see I can't imagine what else it might be -- plus a few times when it decided to charge it was just sitting flat not being touched and suddenly started working randomly. It really is like it just works on a whim here...
So I'm wondering: just how screwed am I here? I don't have any sort of drop insurance -- I've never dropped a phone in a way that damaged it before -- and I don't think there's any way I could afford the ridiculous amounts they'd surely want for a repair (not to mention that for a while I'd have no phone at all if I did that...) I thought about changing out the connector myself (I see one on Amazon for $8 which is ridiculous, but obviously it has to be the exact same connector) but I'm not terribly confident about desoldering and resoldering something with such small connectors as it is and that one is hard to get to anyway. Besides which, I'm not convinced it is the connector even if I can't see what else it could possibly be. What could possibly be causing it to be quite so random about this? Is there any way at all I can fix this myself, or is this something where the only way of ever getting it fixed would be to take it in for repair at extreme cost (and no phone for a while too)? Anyone have any idea what it might cost for such a repair?

Well I'm sure you noticed the metal charging usb port that is connected to the circuit board.
It sounds to me that it may have broke free a little bit and not making a solid connection.
First thing I would do is try some one else's charger and see if it works ( Just in case)
Then If that failed I would take apart the phone and inspect the connector.
Ten screws on the back plastic and one little black one on the circuit board.
Next you pop off the ribbon connectors and finally pop off the wire connector that runs along the right side of your phone when laying face down,
Double check all connectors and remove circuit board carefully.
Now you will be free to inspect connector
For all you know. Pushing it down with some pressure on the thumb may give you the connection you need again and you should be good to go.
But you really need to see what's broken before you go to fix it.
Good luck. Pm me if you need further help

Well, like I said, I opened it up and I just can't find any signs of damage to the connector or the board. Also, if you look at the SGS3, the connector is actually inside the casing somewhat, so really I don't see how it could have bee damaged anyway -- I'm just not sure what else it could be since, as I said, I also couldn't find any cracks in the PCB or anything.
Oh, and I've used four different chargers and at least three different cables. One charger and cable is the OEM set for the SGS3 and another is the OEM set for the Nexus 7 (which is probably a decent amount more more power hungry.)

Nazo said:
Well, this isn't the best place to ask, but I'm not sure where else to do so. Somehow I managed to drop my phone (onto a carpeted floor from not quite a full standing height, not concrete or anything) and it landed right on the bottom I think. I can't see any signs of damage anywhere at all -- I even pulled out the screws and looked at the PCB itself and I just can't see anything obvious at all. Unfortunately, something obviously is wrong all the same. It simply will not charge at all most of the time, though seemingly randomly on a whim when I connect it sometimes it will. I'm afraid even to touch it once it finally does as just moving the cable around seems to be enough to make it stop sometimes (whereas at some other times I can move it around a lot and everything and it still stays connected.) Last night it decided not to even charge even though the LED indicator and the icon showed that it was connected. What's more, I can no longer use the USB OTG capability to plug in USB drives, other devices, and etc (which I used for diagnostics, repairs, and etc of other things on the go.) I have multiple batteries and external chargers, so this isn't completely fatal but it means:
A. I can't keep it from running the batteries down in the first place (which means larger wear and tear on the batteries long-term since they are discharged further before charging.)
B. Since it's like this it means generally speaking it's not as ready for a fully day of use since it's starting the day with less than 100% charge before I even leave for work every time now.
C. I really did use the USB OTG feature and have already been missing it. It's not as fatal as devices like my Nexus 7 (since that lacks a MicroSDHC card reader to supplement its internal storage whereas this has one) but very annoying at least.
D. I really really miss being able to use a phone dock! I was docking it in my car to keep it at least semi-charged and to output a line output to my car stereo system. It's kind of a pain having to change the volume back and forth between headphones and line output (since a line output really needs the full volume) and obviously it uses more power while playing than just sitting quietly in a pocket anyway. I also liked the way in the dock it wouldn't completely shut off the screen, just go into a really low power mode where it had a faded clock (might be a CM10.1 feature, but nice wherever it came from) and I could just touch it to get back to the player controls.
At first I thought it was just loose, so I tried putting a very thin piece of plastic in the top part of the connector so the connection is extremely tight which fooled me at first by pretending to work really well for a while, but then after a while it just did the same stuff all over again (so it was just doing that thing where it works fine for a little while even when I move the cord around.) I just can't see what could possibly be the problem though because if there is any damage anywhere I'm just not seeing it. I really don't see how the connector could have been damaged anyway since it more or less landed straight on the middle of the bottom (and that ring that goes around the side should have absorbed the shock) but with no cracks on the PCB or anything that I can at all see I can't imagine what else it might be -- plus a few times when it decided to charge it was just sitting flat not being touched and suddenly started working randomly. It really is like it just works on a whim here...
So I'm wondering: just how screwed am I here? I don't have any sort of drop insurance -- I've never dropped a phone in a way that damaged it before -- and I don't think there's any way I could afford the ridiculous amounts they'd surely want for a repair (not to mention that for a while I'd have no phone at all if I did that...) I thought about changing out the connector myself (I see one on Amazon for $8 which is ridiculous, but obviously it has to be the exact same connector) but I'm not terribly confident about desoldering and resoldering something with such small connectors as it is and that one is hard to get to anyway. Besides which, I'm not convinced it is the connector even if I can't see what else it could possibly be. What could possibly be causing it to be quite so random about this? Is there any way at all I can fix this myself, or is this something where the only way of ever getting it fixed would be to take it in for repair at extreme cost (and no phone for a while too)? Anyone have any idea what it might cost for such a repair?
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Click to collapse
You might as well try it yourself THEN go somewhere if it doesn't work out. I wouldn't think if things go horribly wrong that you'd do damage that isn't reversible, and if there was damage it would likely be just to that $8 piece.
You sound like a knowledgeable guy though, so I'd give it a shot.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

The thing is, I don't really want to spend the $8 (I'm getting pretty broke) and have to try to desolder then resolder those tiny contacts on a board I'm not even entirely sure how to safely get out possibly messing something else up along the way when I'm not convinced it is the connector (and obviously if I messed something else up along the way I could make things a lot worse -- for instance, breaking it entirely...) Things that should make it work if it were (jiggling and shaking it for instance) don't seem to and then some things that should work don't (for example, last night I disconnected the phone from one charger and connected it to another while it was at least pretending to work and it stopped even though the connector part didn't get moved at all.)
That's my real concern in the end. If it's not the connector, what is it? I'm not 100% confident about trying to replace it myself as it is, but if it's not that the time, money, and effort would be wasted...

Well that's that. The problem, as I feared, was more fundamental (which is part of what I was asking here.) I plugged in something last night and it just shut off. I checked all over and couldn't find shorts or anything to explain it. Even after leaving the battery out overnight it still won't come on. Clearly the problem was much more fundamental than it seemed. Regardless, the question of the connector is moot now. EDIT: It might have been caused by the connector after all. It seems like there are pins at the back that either are loose or were knocked loose by the fall. I THINK one of them was touching another causing a short. Unfortunately, it's too late to discover that now as either way the damage is already done and it no longer works even after I got them straightened out.

[Q] Need expert help, is it bricked/savable??

I have a TF101 that will not charge or power on. I rooted it a month ago and it was running great. My wife lost the charger and had plugged in the tablet USB cable to a cell-phone charger , I found plugged into a week later to the phone charger, unplugged and attempted to turn that tablet on, it flickered on for a moment and then died (loading screen) :silly: ya stupid right?. I them found the right charger and plugged in the tablet and the light indicating that it is charging does not come on. I look and looked online for help. I'm pretty sure its not a charging problem as I did the freezer trip on the charger box nothing, I bought a new charging cable and charger off Amazon, nothing. Still not coming on when plugged in or anything (That is why I don't think its just a battery issue from what I have read.) The connection on the tablet looks ok on the bottom and both the old and new charger will power up and charge the keyboard dock just fine. Has the tablet been bricked dead?? Nothing I can do??
Thanks for your help and reply on this your all awesome
P.S I also tried a slow charge through the usb port on my computer over night and left the tablet plugged into both chargers over the course of two different nights. No luck.Also can't get into (Apx mode) the volume up and power held down for 15 sec does nothing.

Looks like you're stuck. You'll have to make a decision whether to buy a new battery or not. A colleague of mine solved a similar issue with a new battery off ebay, but it doesn't mean there isn't another hardware issue.
When you say the charging light does not come on, you mean on the dock right? The tablet itself doesn't have one. Did you try to just charge the tablet without the dock? Did you try to open the dock and flip the switch?

Lethe6 said:
Looks like you're stuck. You'll have to make a decision whether to buy a new battery or not. A colleague of mine solved a similar issue with a new battery off ebay, but it doesn't mean there isn't another hardware issue.
When you say the charging light does not come on, you mean on the dock right? The tablet itself doesn't have one. Did you try to just charge the tablet without the dock? Did you try to open the dock and flip the switch?
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Click to collapse
Yes the charging light on the dock does come on I thought I saw what looked like a light on the tablet. So the dock is charging and working just fine.
A battery like this? (I would put the URL but its not letting me since I'm new.
I'm not super good would opening stuff up how hard would the battery be to replace? I did see a thread on opening the unit itself looked complex. Also Any more trouble shooting I should do? I may just buy a replacement off ebay and sale my old one. Also can you tell me if its bricked or not or whatnot? I just don't want to put out fifty bucks for a battery and not have it work

Well if it won't turn on, it's difficult to troubleshoot further. The general rule is: As long as you can get it in APX mode, it's not bricked; with hardware issues as the only exception. In theory, it should power on with an empty battery (and start the charging process), but I have no idea about a dead battery or how the unit is made to handle such cases. Give it some time I'm sure someone else here can answer that question from experience.
Replacing the tablet battery is not too hard, but it's a long task that requires patience and some tools. There's some videos on youtube and others about how to open the unit safely without damage, and decent tools are cheap assuming you don't have precision tools. By opening it you can troubleshoot it a little more. Inspect the battery for physical damage, like being oversized, which means it's likely dead. If it looks in good shape, try disconnecting and reconnecting it to the board; sometimes reseating a connector solves the issues. Also look for any obvious damage inside while you're there. Even if you don't know much about electronics, an obvious burn mark on the board is never a good sign.
If after all that it still won't power on, then yes you could check out ebay. Just make sure lots of people have bought the same from this buyer (the more the better) and they gave positive reviews for the product (stuff like "still works after a year"). Make sure it specifies it supports the tf101 and it should be fine.
Honestly from what you described in the original thread, I wouldn't be surprised if over-amp or something like that damaged the battery. Hopefully it's only the battery but as I explained, it's rather hard to troubleshoot. From personal experience developing boards like that, there are usually protections in the device to prevent damage in case of over/reverse voltage/amp. Depending where the battery is connected in the circuit sometimes it's protected sometimes it's not. I have no idea how Asus do it so take it with a grain of salt.
Can you provide said phone-charger specs? Volts/amps/exact model?
Edit: P.S. The device or dock will not charge through USB. You need the actual wall charger.

Lethe6 said:
Well if it won't turn on, it's difficult to troubleshoot further. The general rule is: As long as you can get it in APX mode, it's not bricked; with hardware issues as the only exception. In theory, it should power on with an empty battery (and start the charging process), but I have no idea about a dead battery or how the unit is made to handle such cases. Give it some time I'm sure someone else here can answer that question from experience.
Replacing the tablet battery is not too hard, but it's a long task that requires patience and some tools. There's some videos on youtube and others about how to open the unit safely without damage, and decent tools are cheap assuming you don't have precision tools. By opening it you can troubleshoot it a little more. Inspect the battery for physical damage, like being oversized, which means it's likely dead. If it looks in good shape, try disconnecting and reconnecting it to the board; sometimes reseating a connector solves the issues. Also look for any obvious damage inside while you're there. Even if you don't know much about electronics, an obvious burn mark on the board is never a good sign.
If after all that it still won't power on, then yes you could check out ebay. Just make sure lots of people have bought the same from this buyer (the more the better) and they gave positive reviews for the product (stuff like "still works after a year"). Make sure it specifies it supports the tf101 and it should be fine.
Honestly from what you described in the original thread, I wouldn't be surprised if over-amp or something like that damaged the battery. Hopefully it's only the battery but as I explained, it's rather hard to troubleshoot. From personal experience developing boards like that, there are usually protections in the device to prevent damage in case of over/reverse voltage/amp. Depending where the battery is connected in the circuit sometimes it's protected sometimes it's not. I have no idea how Asus do it so take it with a grain of salt.
Can you provide said phone-charger specs? Volts/amps/exact model?
Edit: P.S. The device or dock will not charge through USB. You need the actual wall charger.
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Click to collapse
The phone charger that it was plugged into was a Galaxy S charger. 5v===0.7A. Doesn't seem high enough to have done anything...but I'm definitely no expert. (Literally)
Sounds like its a good idea to open it up then to check on the battery, if burned or oversized then I will buy a new one (As long as I don't see burnt marks) If the battery looks fine I'll try the reconnect. And cross hy fingers. Thanks for all your help so far. Any advice on where to buy the tools? Deal Extreme good for that Amazon?

No tools are required, ands its easy to get into just be carefull pulling the bezel off as the tabs that hold it on are quite weak (i broke a couple when i ripped mine apart in anger lol) after that their is about 10 normal screws until its open. It could be the case that the battery just needs to be unplugged and re-plugged in.
Its a strange problem you have there, the power output from that charger is less than half of what the standard asus charger outputs, if something is fried id call concidence as ive plugged my tf101 into various ac-usb adaptors with no troubles. Its a complete guess at this point but its almost like your tablet is suffering from the 0% issue thats common in the docks, where it refuses to charge if completely drained (afaik with the dock this is fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery)
Also did you get an official asus charger as a replacement? a few of the cheaper ones dont even output enough voltage to fast charge the tf101.

Black screen after getting hot while charging

Hello together,
I have a Z5 (6653) that didn't start anymore and got extremely hot while charging. To be more clear: after connecting the phone to the charger the red LED turned on, then after about 10 seconds later it turned off again. From this moment on the phone's back started to get extremely hot. The source of the heat is about 1cm right and 1 cm down to the back camera (so you can say 1cm diagonal from the camera to the phone middle). Because of this I doubt it has to do with the battery as it should heat the lower two-third and not the upper third of the phone. Maybe the processor is at this place?
I tried to connect the phone in flash mode with the PC and it connected, but disconnected after a few seconds, probably because battery was empty. I repeated this procedure (connecting to charger, disconnecting, reconnecting, connecting to PC) a few days and suddenly the red LED kept on and the phone didn't get hot anymore.
So I charged the phone fully and wanted to start it, but the screen won't turn on anymore. Connecting it to the PC and the Phone drive (MTP) is displayed but empty, because you need to unlock screen. Also I hear the connecting sound of the phone and touch feedback sounds.
I tried the following things:
Xperia Companion Repair
Flashtool flashing newest ROM
Flashtool downgrading to 32.0.A.6.152_R5B (LP ROM)
Nothing helped. Well, the idea it is an hardware issue might be at hand, but maybe there is something else I can try first?
And if it is an Hardware issue, what is the cause? The Display itself? Then why was a single point at the phone back the source of heat and not a large area on the phone front?
A short summary:
Phone gets hot while connected to charger
Battery won't charge (LED indicator turns off after few seconds)
Source of heat is 1cm to the right and down to the back camera; after 2 minutes whole phone is hot and you can't recognize the source
After days of repeating the action (connect to charger, disconnect, connect to PC, connect to charger) it suddenly charged the battery and didn't get hot anymore
Display won't start anymore; still responsive
Tried Xperia Companion Software repair
flashed latest Stock ROM
flashed Lollipop Stock ROM
Phone has locked bootloader and is/was not rooted. I'm grateful for all help!

I guess its a dead screen maybe u droped it and the pins of the screens got ejected from the motherboard.. Ignoring the fact that it was empty of charge and you charged it.
From what i understand that the phone is working but there is no screen.
The best thing u can do is to check a hardware store that is capable of diagnosing the issue.
Im not helping here i know but wanted to share my thoughts..
Gd luck with that.

Thanks for this anyway. But phone didn't drop.
The fact that the phone wasn't charging and got hot instead at the beginning is very irritating. Especially that it wasn't the front but a point at the back near the camera. Is there a way to check if it's a Display issue and not a Mainboard/Processor/other Chip issue?
At least in Germany are a lot of stores that aren't too competent at all. But nobody would tell you, so its very helpful to know as much as possible before going to a store.

I think it might have something to do with the gpu inside the soc? The heat might have burned something inside the mainboard (how hot was it btw, like running intensive apps or even hotter than that?) Another thing that might have happened is the display cable is loose.
I've seen some Z5's screens and they're not that easy to die.
The best thing I can suggest is that you repair it in a trusted shop that lets you observe the repair procedure directly (open the phone, take the parts out, identify the problem).
Good luck with your phone.

colorado48 said:
I think it might have something to do with the gpu inside the soc? The heat might have burned something inside the mainboard (how hot was it btw, like running intensive apps or even hotter than that?) Another thing that might have happened is the display cable is loose.
I've seen some Z5's screens and they're not that easy to die.
The best thing I can suggest is that you repair it in a trusted shop that lets you observe the repair procedure directly (open the phone, take the parts out, identify the problem).
Good luck with your phone.
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I never played any game so it is hard to compare, but I never had a phone in my hands that got this hot before. You didn't get instantly burned touching the phone but it was already inconvenient hot for your fingers/hand.
There might be some trust able stores to find, but I doubt somebody will let you observe it, not even Apple store does. If you see the trick of how to repair it easy and fast, you might do it yourself next time. And it is also a question of the price. If I can buy a used but totally unharmed Z5 for the same price, why should I let it repair?
As far as I could see in Germany repairing Display starts at 99€ for the Z5. Buying display with adhesive would start at 49€. But if they change the Display and it's still broken you have to pay for the Display and also for the mainboard i.e.