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[Q] DEAD Sensation...

I've had my Sensation for a week or so now... rebooted it earlier on, and now it's totally dead. Won't power up, won't charge, or anything.
Any recommendations of anything to try that I might not have tried? I've got a good background in this kind of technology, so I've tried the usual stuff - battery removal, leaving plugged in, holding buttons for longer etc...
Is there a trick that anyone's found?
If not, should I go back to '3' to replace it... or should I go to HTC and see if they'll replace with a nice S-OFF unit??
Thoughts please?

volume down and power button together and see if you can get recovery screen up and do a factory reset

Hi Gavin
Sadly it needs something more than that - that was the first thing I tried, thinking it might be software related.
Even tried leaving the battery out overnight before trying again, that didn't work.
What I have found, now, is that if I plug in the charger FIRST, and THEN connect the battery, I get an orange LED. I thought this might mean it is charging, but no, because when I unplug the charger again, the orange LED stays lit, and remains so until the battery is removed again.
I don't recommend trying this yourself, because it does say somewhere in the literature, NOT to apply power, without the battery being in place. I just figured, it's already dead, so it might do something different!
What I'd like to know / find out, is if there's a real "hardware" reset switch/button... my Toshiba TG01 had some hidden PCB pads which would allow different booting modes, etc... somethign like that I think it needs. I'm going to have to get a new one ANYWAY, but it'd be good to know what happened to this one, first!!

Sounds like a hardware issue to me (maybe motherboard failed, that was an issue with all previous HTC devices)

Put it on charge without the battery. Now with a paperclip hit the +- pins for a second. After that unplug it and put battery in and normally charge it. Friend of mine did this with his Sonyericsson and it worked. Otherwise send it back to htc.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e

Ok, I've spoken to HTC, and as it's within the first 28 days, the onus is on 3UK (Hutchinson3G) to replace the handset.
Spent over an hour in store with them this morning, trying various things, and they decided that they would replace the handset. Except they then realised that they won't replace handsets which were from 3 'direct'.
So, I figured, can't hurt to try the 'shorting' method - I would again, out of a background in electronics, say DO NOT TRY THIS METHOD, UNLESS IT'S A LAST RESORT! IT COULD SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THINGS.
Now, instead of a constant orange light, I've got a flashing orange light.
Still no actual operational power though.

Thinking about it
This reminds me of a laptop I used to have - it had a "Quick Boot" feature which relied on stuff in the boot-area of the hard drive. Back then, I had a 'less-than-legitimate' copy of Windows 7, which used a boot-modifier to work as "genuine".
That laptop would, on occasion, refuse to power up for hours, and sometimes days at a time - and I traced that down to it being an issue relating to the loader software in the boot area of the HDD.
I wonder if this is a similar issue on the Sensation - an exception in the "quick boot" that makes it think there's still quick-boot data, even though there isn't, because the battery's been out. It's all hypothetical, but interesting to know how these things tick.
And who knows, maybe 3UK will send me an S-OFF unit in replacement.

i honestly dont know why you would try shorting your phone thats still under warranty. Are you trying not only to fix your phone, but also void your still current warranty?
take it back. get it replaced, and stop trying mcgyver tricks. Its just not needed.

Leigh,
Thanks for your concern for my handset. Personally I'd say having a brand-new, week-old handset to fail completely and spectacularly is 'not needed', either (!) But, really, any of the above actions, which were given to me in good faith, were up to me to use, or not use. I made a calculated decision based on i) the current level of operability of the handset ii) the likelihood of any action taken voiding the warranty iii) the likelihood of my receiving a new handset under said warranty. I hoped I made it clear enough that anyone who would even THINK to consider performing the above procedure would also make such a calculated decision.
I don't know who McGyver is, but you'll notice that I did put a warning in my post stating that others shouldn't try it... chances are it would cause damage to the phone's power management, at the very least, it's cause wear on the voltage regulation side.
That said, there are times when simply shorting devices *can* work as said devices can hold small amounts of charge which can be dissipated with a short, a reverse polarity or otherwise. The cavaets being - a) it's already totally and completely dead, short of it going in flames, it cannot be made worse; b) the shorting (or other action) is momentary - the smallest fraction of a second.
Yes, it's under warranty. Yes, they're going to replace it. If we wanted to go into the whole matter of ethics, *if* I were the manufacturer, and I had proof that someone had done the above steps to their handset, NO, I would not honour the warranty. But I'm not, they don't, the handset already more-than-likely has a mainboard failure, so I was prepared to take the risk.
Eventually, the Service Manual for the device will be released, and this will help with matters of apparent hardware failure. In the meantime, it's a learning curve for everyone, and if I could help that curve at all with my dead handset, in the knowledge that a new one is coming, that's what I hoped to do.
Again, for all clarity, safety, etc. I am not advocating, or recommending the actions detailed above, or ANY other action other than in accordance with the user manual which was provided to you with your device. Do ANY of the above STRICTLY at your own risk, and on your head be it.
If anyone else has any ideas - "McGyver" or otherwise (who is he?!) - that won't obviously cause warranty-replacement issues, I would be happy to try them in the hope of furthering the knowledge of this new device. I'm grateful for any help, and for any chance to increase the small amount of knowledge we already have on this device.

McGyver is a character in an old American TV show from the 80's.He always got into impossible situations and always had some tricks up his sleeve like making a laser out of a package of gum,a paperclip,and a match.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

maybe it's the battery
I hat the same problem on my TG01, at the end it came out the Li-ion was all draind and my TG01 would not Charge it anymore.
not eaven in an external Charger
New battery was the only solution.
Maybe it's the same problem you have.

Hi GhostRider
I remember the days of the TG01 - turned out a decent handset, in the end.
I'd hope it's not a faulty battery on a week-old handset - although I don't have another battery to test it with, so I suppose it's possible that it was manufactured as faulty.
My new handset replacement arrives on Tuesday though... but I'll keep checking here to see if anyone wants me to do anything with this one in the mean time.

Had my first Sensation for a week and then it beeped and died just like yours. All I did was swap the battery and plug in the charger. Still nothing. Called TMO and got a replacement.
I think even if you managed to do CPR and get it back up the fact it died in the first place indicates a serious problem. Personally I'd rather have one that's reliable.

I would be excited if my sensation bricked, I've been trying to brick it for a few days. sadly no luck. If it is bricked tmobile atleast will replace it with another, that's atleast another chance at getting s-off.
Mine did what yours did the other day. I thought it was ****ed. I took battery out for 5 and after that put it in and charged for ten minutes. Sadly, it worked fine after that.

samnada said:
Still nothing. Called TMO and got a replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
s-off i hope?

My replacement is due around 1330h (UK time) today.
I'll let you know the status of the new phone when it comes.
I'd bet a beer it's *STILL* S-ON though...
Here's hoping!!

Ok, my new Sensation has arrived.
PYRAMID PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-1.17-0011
eMMC-boot
Jun 2 2011,22:31.39
Oh well. At least there's perma-temp-root for now
I've followed this course to its natural end, however, I appear not to be the only one with the 'dying sensation' problem... so might be good to keep this thread alive?
Cheers all

[Q] Last hope: Desire S stuck in bootloader S-on

Hello,
My Desire S froze when updating Skype 2 weeks ago.
Removed battery. Phone stuck on HTC logo.
Went to bootloader for hard reset. When hard rest chosen phone freezes.
Went to recovery, phone starts recovery. Black screen, green icon. Then goes dark. Starts to vibrate 6-7 times. Then remains off. Battery out, battery in. Back to HTC logo again.
Laptop recognized phone when plugged in with fastboot mode. Under device manager (win 7) "HTC phone".
I bought the phone in Thailand, but am now in Philippines where there is no HTC repair center.
I managed to find RUU_Saga_HTC_Thailand_1.35.1113.2_Radio_20.28d.30.0805U_3805.04.02.01_M_release_183327_signed
Which matches my phone. However when trying to install the rom, the above app freezes on "restarting bootloader". I've left it there for over an hour.
I've tried ADB, but it's not picking up the phone.
I'm guessing either of the above can't load, as the phone is S-on.
But I cannot go S-off as I can't get the phone to boot, or any of the above software to find the phone. Again, windows is picking up that there's a HTC phone plugged in.
I've tried everything I know, and am at my wits end into thinking the phone is finished.
Can anyone help with something I may have overlooked, or have a suggestion to bring this back to life?
Thanks

It's most probably a hardware problem. There's a high chance that your phone's emmc chip is fried when u remove the battery. it's common in htc due to the phone design. My phone encountered same thing 2 weeks ago. sent for repair and they change the mainboard. I was lucky they ignored that my phone was S-on(warranty voided)

I was thinking hardware last week after everything was failing. But as it was still booting to fastloader, and being picked up via usb was holding out hope it might just be the s-on preventing me from putting on a new rom. And not a mainboard gone.
Flying back to Thailand for the warranty would cost the same as buying a new phone ...
If taking a battery out when a phone is frozen fries a mainboard on HTC ... I doubt I will buy one again.
Looking at Galaxy 2. But also having doubts due to wifi reports and overheating screen. Can't afford another dud smartphone.
If anyone's got anything else to get this thing up to see if the mainboard is indeed dead, or it's something else, do make a suggestion please!

I have same problem like this before and it's really pain in the a#$. Also, there is one HTC service center here in the Philippines, check it out on HTC site.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

Thanks MarlX
Yes, I've been in touch with HTC repair center in Manila via phone and email. I've been waiting for reply for over one week now!
I'm not in Manila, which would mean using fedex to send it up to them. Then bank transfer to pay for repair and shipping back.
If it is the Motherboard that's gone, all the above will probably cost more than a new phone
But I won't know until HTC Manila actually bother to reply!?!

so what was the Problem is it becoz of Skype?

no,this problem happens if you pull the battery out when installing apps
the emmc chip is probably dead,if so you need to send it for warranty or replace the emmc chip yourself

Well unfortunately, when updating the skype app, the phone froze. As in no buttons working, phone getting hot etc.
What else is there to do but take the battery out?
Either way, to have a "premium" phone like the HTC Desire S, burn out a chip, or indeed have a popular app causing it to brick etc is simply not good enough.
More over the support center refusing to reply back.
It simply means they've lost another customer.
The phone, when working, was wonderful. Looking at the Galaxy S 2 today, by all accounts a "better" phone, and it was sad. As, for me, the HTC Desire S was much more preferable.
Except of course for it's 6 week lifespan ... bad customer care etc

Just to bad that you did not bought it here. My phone died two months ago (used it only for a month), sent it to the store and they've sent it to service center (in Manila). Had to wait for a month for them to fix it. Motherboard issues I think. Good thing I still have warranty.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

DDesires said:
Well unfortunately, when updating the skype app, the phone froze. As in no buttons working, phone getting hot etc.
What else is there to do but take the battery out?
Either way, to have a "premium" phone like the HTC Desire S, burn out a chip, or indeed have a popular app causing it to brick etc is simply not good enough.
More over the support center refusing to reply back.
It simply means they've lost another customer.
The phone, when working, was wonderful. Looking at the Galaxy S 2 today, by all accounts a "better" phone, and it was sad. As, for me, the HTC Desire S was much more preferable.
Except of course for it's 6 week lifespan ... bad customer care etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah,this is really bad
but mine has been working for 3months without any problem,& the customer support here is good
if you dont mind voiding the warranty you can buy a eMMC & replace it yourself
if you do so you wont get this problem again
refer this thread for more info

There is software "hard" reset option. Instead of pulling the battery out, press all hardware buttons together (vol up, vol down, power button) and phone will reboot. I said this many times before in many topics: never pull out your battery when the phone is on. I learned it the hard way.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

kartkk said:
if you dont mind voiding the warranty you can buy a eMMC & replace it yourself
if you do so you wont get this problem again
refer this thread for more info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks kartkk. I wouldn't know where to begin with the physical replacement of the eMMC chip. Not even sure I can buy one around here.
I might call HTC Thailand and ask if I can send it to them via DHL or the like.

Numline1 said:
There is software "hard" reset option. Instead of pulling the battery out, press all hardware buttons together (vol up, vol down, power button) and phone will reboot. I said this many times before in many topics: never pull out your battery when the phone is on. I learned it the hard way.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe you should ask HTC to write that in big red writing on the back of their batteries as they start to reach burn your finger stage when the phone freezes.
Or maybe copy Nokia's hardware which is near on indestructible.
Quite simply, I am not a phone tech person. I'm a simple end user.
I've not had a problem taking a battery out of other phones.
Again, if taking a battery out of a phone kills it when it freezes, then quite simply the phone is not good enough. Or, if it is likely to. Then, again, in big writing for simple folk like me, big red writing on the battery saying
"don't take this out, even if it starts to feel like it's going to melt"

BTW if anyone can point me to a step-by-step on how to determine if the eMMC chip is fried or not, I would appreciate it.
I read the above link. But don't know how to get to that stage!

Apologies I see he was connecting via adb-shell. I've tried connecting via adb and it's not seeing the phone....
Which I think is half the problem.

DDesires said:
maybe you should ask HTC to write that in big red writing on the back of their batteries as they start to reach burn your finger stage when the phone freezes.
Or maybe copy Nokia's hardware which is near on indestructible.
Quite simply, I am not a phone tech person. I'm a simple end user.
I've not had a problem taking a battery out of other phones.
Again, if taking a battery out of a phone kills it when it freezes, then quite simply the phone is not good enough. Or, if it is likely to. Then, again, in big writing for simple folk like me, big red writing on the battery saying
"don't take this out, even if it starts to feel like it's going to melt"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try searching on ebay for sandisk mmc (or any other brand just dont get the same one used on the DS)
its always dangerous to pull the power from any device which works like a pc even in a pc pulling the power out while the device is on can harm the hardware &/or software i know many people who damaged their pc from pulling the plug while its on

Best to my knowledge it was an emmc chip that was recommended to be replaced. Not an MMC.
While removing "power" abruptly from any electronic device is not recommend, one is sometimes left with no choice. Complete device freeze, no buttons working etc.
There is also a destine difference between a PC and a mobile phone. Though, it must be said from my point of view: today's Android phones, are very reminiscent of old windows 95/98 OS's in terms of stability and hardware issues.

Help - water damaged - touch screen doesn't work

I have searched for similar issues, nothing posted. My phone went swimming with me the other day, DOH!
I have thoroughly dried the unit in rice/dehydration powder (works REALLY well by the way). Unit is completely dry, boots up, recognizes sdcard, radios work etc.
Unfortunately the touch screen doesn't work. I have read that the unit may simply need to be recalibrated. I have carefully disassembled the unit cleaned and checked all leads etc. The unit again reboots, everything works but touch screen.
I am thinking about odin new image to see if it recalibrates screen solves problem, any thoughts advice etc?

Might have to replace the lcd
Sent from my MIUI powered S3 thanks to StrumerJohn and using Tapatalk 4. Respect My Authoritah!

A friend if mine experienced the same problem. And now none of the speakers work nor does Bluetooth. Phone is also going in to safe mode quite often. Is it fixable? I've repaired plenty of iPhones, and did remove the back to try to disconnect and reconnect the flex cables to see if that would work but to no avail.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Did you trip the water sensor? I had a similar issue, did not trip the sensor though. I tried some of the recal methods, not sure off the top of my head but i think you have to hold your finger for a certain amount of time in one of the corner, I am sure someone will know how to do it.
However what I ended up needing to do since the re-cal didnt work. I bought a usb otg adapter to connect a mouse to my phone, followed the steps to return it to stock, odin, unroot, triangle away etc, and sent it back to verizon for a replacement with no problems at all.

Same issue:
Phone was soaking in my gym bag because one of my water bottles leaked. It was in there for a good 10 minutes. I took it out. Dried it and put it in rice asap. 24 hours later I take it out and it boots fine, can connect to my computer move files everything. However, the touch screen will not work. Any tips for self repair? Will leaving it in rice longer fix my issue?

[Q] Dead Screen, but Nexus 5 otherwise boots

My Nexus 5 took a dunk two days ago. Screen was off when I got it out and it wouldn't wakeup so I assumed it was off, but looking back it might still have been on and the screen was simply dead already. I took it apart and disconnected the battery and then left it in rice until today. I reassembled it and tried to turn it on, but nothing seemed to be happening until my N5 vibrated. I decided to plug it into my PC and adb picked it up and started spewing a logcat. Then Pushbullet started forwarding notifications, so it's clear that my device is on and working, but the screen is clearly dead.
Is there any possibility of fixing it?
EDIT: Seems to randomly reboot every once in awhile.

Sure can, for about $50usd u can get a complete new screen/LCD/digitizer and to replace it is fairly easy, I actually offer screen replacement, fixes to and can provide tutorials, as I just finished the same fix on my phone, let me know if I can be of any help...

soupysoup said:
Sure can, for about $50usd u can get a complete new screen/LCD/digitizer and to replace it is fairly easy, I actually offer screen replacement, fixes to and can provide tutorials, as I just finished the same fix on my phone, let me know if I can be of any help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How easy is "fairly easy"? My hardware skills aren't that great and I might not have the needed tools.

japzone said:
How easy is "fairly easy"? My hardware skills aren't that great and I might not have the needed tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy an entire front panel (glass, LCD, digitizer, etc) it shouldn't be too hard and is mostly a swap.
If you buy individual parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYG66MFuwcU & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XevDmI5zpjw
Water damage is one of the worst things you can do short of complete destruction, and it might be a good idea to consider just purchasing a replacement device as it could fail at any moment afterwards.

so did you find a solution

In the end I backed up all my stuff using ADB and bought a new phone. Wasn't worth the trouble of fixing when I couldn't be sure that it was simply the screen that was busted. With there being so many decent devices these days in the $200-400 range it was better to just invest in a new phone. I picked up a lightly used OnePlus One to replace it, and then got a new ZTE Axon 7 Fall of last year.
Check Swappa if you need a good deal on a phone.

I flashed the MOAR rom, everything was great for almost 2 days, and then this...

Just as the title says. A couple of days ago, I flashed the MOAR rom, everything was great with it up until last night, when I went to look at my phone and it was doing this. I cannot restart the phone using the "simulated battery removal" method of holding vol down + power button. Any ideas? Do I actually need to take this sucker apart?

Let the battery die completely is the first step. Plug it in to charge holding the buttons to start Download Mode/Recovery. If that works try (if you boot to recovery) and wiping the cache/davlik to see if that does anything. If not then a factory reset and then if not a full odin.

I'm under the impression that it's using very, very minimal battery. Thus, letting it drain may take days. But you may be right, maybe I'll just have to live without it for now.

To speed the process up, you could take the device apart and manually unplug the battery from the board. Its not the most difficult device to take apart, but that is coming from someone that takes apart phones for a living. If you're willing, and have the tools available, that would be the quickest way to get the phone to at least boot into recovery (if it will) and try an reflashing MOAR/stock.
edit: and you could also check and see if the board connection to the display is not loose as well if you go this route. If you do not feel comfortable, and you have Total Equipment Protection, you could take it in to a Sprint Service & Repair location and they can take it apart as well (or at least should be able to). I cannot speak for their level of competence when it comes to taking apart devices, but all of my technicians are well aware of how to take the Note 5 apart without causing any damage.

Get an usb otg cable and charge something from the phone lol that'll kill that battery
PS: This is just me being nosey, but it looks like your phone has "seen some things" aka it looks a little rough lol. Has it been dropped in the past? I used to be a phone repair technician for sprint and I saw this same thing, it ended up being that the cable from the digitizer had barely become wiggled loose on one side. There was another occasion where the GPU had toasted itself (this was an htc one) and we had to send it in to be repaired.
So im interested to know if a reboot solves your issue.

I took the phone apart at work, and from what I can tell, the main board has gone bad. I believe that simply because I've disconnected every non-essential component from the main board and it's still doing the same thing. I'm going to part out any good parts on ebay and scrap some cash from it.

The display should fetch a pretty penny. Enough to get yourself Nexus 5X without having to pay too much out of pocket, seeing as a Note 5 outright is pretty pricey.
If you have TEP, you can always go through the store and get a new one ordered for you. If you do not, a $75 fee occurs, but at least its a cost effective route for a bad board, if you do not want to part it out.