A few days ago, I shipped my TF300 to the user who bought the unit off me through ebay. Today, upon its arrival at its destination, I received a message from the buyer telling me the unit is dead.
Before I shipped the unit, I used the factory reset function to erase my data, and upon the tablet rebooting to the welcome screen, I powered it off. As far as I am aware, the unit worked perfectly fine up to the moment that I packed it in its box and sent it away. The buyer reports no visible damage to the box or the unit itself, so I doubt that the unit was damaged in transit.
According to the buyer, the dock I shipped with it works and charges fine, and was tested on an acquaintance's tablet, both with the charger I provided as well as said acquaintance's. However, regardless of which cable and charger was used, and whether the tablet was plugged in solo or through the dock, the tablet seems to not want to charge. No charge indicator light on the power button, no apparent change in status.
My question is mainly this: is it possible that the battery or tablet as a whole had an adverse reaction to the cold temperatures during shipping (I live in Toronto, the recipient lives in Ottawa)?
If so, and even if not, what can I do, or tell the buyer to do in order to rectify the situation? All the guides here, as well as other sites say to charge longer or say to do the 'hold the power button fox X seconds' dance until something happens, but if those don't work, what do I do?
DinosaurBrutus said:
A few days ago, I shipped my TF300 to the user who bought the unit off me through ebay. Today, upon its arrival at its destination, I received a message from the buyer telling me the unit is dead.
Before I shipped the unit, I used the factory reset function to erase my data, and upon the tablet rebooting to the welcome screen, I powered it off. As far as I am aware, the unit worked perfectly fine up to the moment that I packed it in its box and sent it away. The buyer reports no visible damage to the box or the unit itself, so I doubt that the unit was damaged in transit.
According to the buyer, the dock I shipped with it works and charges fine, and was tested on an acquaintance's tablet, both with the charger I provided as well as said acquaintance's. However, regardless of which cable and charger was used, and whether the tablet was plugged in solo or through the dock, the tablet seems to not want to charge. No charge indicator light on the power button, no apparent change in status.
My question is mainly this: is it possible that the battery or tablet as a whole had an adverse reaction to the cold temperatures during shipping (I live in Toronto, the recipient lives in Ottawa)?
If so, and even if not, what can I do, or tell the buyer to do in order to rectify the situation? All the guides here, as well as other sites say to charge longer or say to do the 'hold the power button fox X seconds' dance until something happens, but if those don't work, what do I do?
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Never heard that inside temperatures would do anything to the tab. It was fully charged when you mailed it, correct? Even if it gets drained somehow, it can always get the juice from the dock/keyboard. It's possible for the battery connector to come loose. However, for such thing to happen requires quite a shock which, under normal circumstances, would not fail on this model to shatter either the digitizer or lcd, or both.
Have you ever opened the tab? If yes, do you have a way of telling if anything has been tampered with? There's a warranty seal inside. If it's broken, someone has done something to it. If it's not, you can always resort to warranty. I doubt it's a software issue where the unit doesn't react at all to charging.
The power/volume assembly is separate from the mainboard, and connected thereto by means of a white cable. It consists of two brittle amber cables that tear easily. Additionally, If the mainboard crashed, no amount of holding will help. Lastly, if the tab has been opened, and the back cover has not been reassembled properly, the power button mounted on it will fail to switch the unit on. Correctly assembled will make the button click when you gently push on it. It's fragile too, so if you do it wrong and force it, you might break it. The charging light is conducted through a plastic reflector glued onto the power button. If you put it in the wrong way, you won't see the charging indicator.
In other words, there's no substitute for getting the unit back and do the inspection yourself, unless the buyer is somehow tech savvy. Sorry to hear.
graphdarnell said:
Never heard that inside temperatures would do anything to the tab. It was fully charged when you mailed it, correct? Even if it gets drained somehow, it can always get the juice from the dock/keyboard. It's possible for the battery connector to come loose. However, for such thing to happen requires quite a shock which, under normal circumstances, would not fail on this model to shatter either the digitizer or lcd, or both.
Have you ever opened the tab? If yes, do you have a way of telling if anything has been tampered with? There's a warranty seal inside. If it's broken, someone has done something to it. If it's not, you can always resort to warranty. I doubt it's a software issue where the unit doesn't react at all to charging.
The power/volume assembly is separate from the mainboard, and connected thereto by means of a white cable. It consists of two brittle amber cables that tear easily. Additionally, If the mainboard crashed, no amount of holding will help. Lastly, if the tab has been opened, and the back cover has not been reassembled properly, the power button mounted on it will fail to switch the unit on. Correctly assembled will make the button click when you gently push on it. It's fragile too, so if you do it wrong and force it, you might break it. The charging light is conducted through a plastic reflector glued onto the power button. If you put it in the wrong way, you won't see the charging indicator.
In other words, there's no substitute for getting the unit back and do the inspection yourself, unless the buyer is somehow tech savvy. Sorry to hear.
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First off, thank you for your detailed response.
In terms of the battery levels before shipping, it was at roughly 30%, if I recall correctly. I assumed that even with a full charge, the unit would likely be drained, or close to drained, after the trip and did not make an effort to charge it beforehand.
In terms of opening the unit, I never attempted it. As far as I was aware, the tablet was in completely functional condition inside and out, and in the six or so months that I had it I never encountered any hardware or software faults.
I forgot to mention in the OP that I no longer had all of the original packaging, and shipped the tablet connected to the dock, packed in with two soft tablet sleeves. The tablet/dock combo was slightly too large for the tablet box, so I had to put it in at an angle, with a soft sleeve filling the empty space above and below the tablet within the box to secure it (I made sure it was stable before I even left for the post office). The original box was the placed into a marginally larger box, with the cable, charger head, and a stylus placed into the empty space that was left after the tablet box was inside. I assumed, maybe mistakenly, that it would be able to survive the trip like that.
If something happened to the connector on the tablet, is there any way to fix it?
DinosaurBrutus said:
First off, thank you for your detailed response.
In terms of the battery levels before shipping, it was at roughly 30%, if I recall correctly. I assumed that even with a full charge, the unit would likely be drained, or close to drained, after the trip and did not make an effort to charge it beforehand.
In terms of opening the unit, I never attempted it. As far as I was aware, the tablet was in completely functional condition inside and out, and in the six or so months that I had it I never encountered any hardware or software faults.
I forgot to mention in the OP that I no longer had all of the original packaging, and shipped the tablet connected to the dock, packed in with two soft tablet sleeves. The tablet/dock combo was slightly too large for the tablet box, so I had to put it in at an angle, with a soft sleeve filling the empty space above and below the tablet within the box to secure it (I made sure it was stable before I even left for the post office). The original box was the placed into a marginally larger box, with the cable, charger head, and a stylus placed into the empty space that was left after the tablet box was inside. I assumed, maybe mistakenly, that it would be able to survive the trip like that.
If something happened to the connector on the tablet, is there any way to fix it?
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IMO, only excessive brute force would damage the battery connector. If it is, resoldering the thing is a pain, not to mention the impossibility of getting a new one. But you don't want to get into that part just yet as it involves breaking the seal. You want to get the unit back for inspection first. If the seal is broken, there's a chance the motherboard has been worked on. If it's not, then send it to Asus while you can. A bad motherboard will cost you more than you think. I don't want to implicate foul play, but it's not like it has never happened before.
graphdarnell said:
IMO, only excessive brute force would damage the battery connector. If it is, resoldering the thing is a pain, not to mention the impossibility of getting a new one. But you don't want to get into that part just yet as it involves breaking the seal. You want to get the unit back for inspection first. If the seal is broken, there's a chance the motherboard has been worked on. If it's not, then send it to Asus while you can. A bad motherboard will cost you more than you think. I don't want to implicate foul play, but it's not like it has never happened before.
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After considering what you mentioned in your previous post, I was starting to think that there may have been some poor handling on the buyer's behalf, and if not him, then definitely Canada Post. I am absolutely use I did nothing to damage the tablet before I shipped it, and made sure to pack it in a way that would ensure a safe transit from my residence to the buyer's residence.
I think I am going to ask for pictures of the tablet connector to see if there is any obvious damage. These tablets, while still fragile, are not made of tissue paper, so if there was damage on part of the seller, I should be able to see it.
Also, how would one go about checking if the seal on the tablet had been broken?
DinosaurBrutus said:
After considering what you mentioned in your previous post, I was starting to think that there may have been some poor handling on the buyer's behalf, and if not him, then definitely Canada Post. I am absolutely use I did nothing to damage the tablet before I shipped it, and made sure to pack it in a way that would ensure a safe transit from my residence to the buyer's residence.
I think I am going to ask for pictures of the tablet connector to see if there is any obvious damage. These tablets, while still fragile, are not made of tissue paper, so if there was damage on part of the seller, I should be able to see it.
Also, how would one go about checking if the seal on the tablet had been broken?
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I wouldn't trust the buyer to do anything at this point. Then again, it's your call. Go to this THREAD for reference. In order to see the seal, you have to remove the back cover. If you don't know what you're doing, you might scratch or even crack the digitizer. If the buyer is committed to buying the piece, s/he wouldn't shy away from the transferable warranty, no matter who claims it.
Related
I may have possibly water damaged my Captivate last night. It was in my pocket when water spilled on my lap, and I didn't immediately take it out. Very stupid of me. The USB port was open so I'm thinking liquid may have gotten into there... Also, there were water beads on the inside of the camera lens.
My recourse was to take it apart and try to let it dry out. Initially it wouldn't do anything upon being plugged in to the charger, so naturally I thought it was bricked. I've let it sit all day on a dry window sill next to the radiator. After putting the battery back in and plugging it in a little bit ago, the phone surprisingly booted up. Here's where I'm at now:
The phone boots normally, however if I plug it in to the charger I get an error stating Battery Temperature too high or something, so charging is paused. Does anybody know what this indicates?
Secondly, after being on for a minute or so, the screen gets screwy. Dark transparent overlays start flashing over everything and it gets unresponsive... I haven't left it on like this long b/c I was afraid something worse would happen - I usually rip the battery out of the back to shut it off.
My phones currently pulled apart and drying in the window sill. Whatever water got on/in it is not visibly there, however I understand some parts might still be wet.
Any advice? Also, I believe the water indicator on the battery and near the pins where the battery dock in the phone are both fine. They're white squares and haven't changed color. Any chance there are other indicators?
The phone isn't insured and I bought it back in August. Would warranty possibly cover this or will they know about the water damage?
jmusso said:
I may have possibly water damaged my Captivate last night. It was in my pocket when water spilled on my lap, and I didn't immediately take it out. Very stupid of me. The USB port was open so I'm thinking liquid may have gotten into there... Also, there were water beads on the inside of the camera lens.
My recourse was to take it apart and try to let it dry out. Initially it wouldn't do anything upon being plugged in to the charger, so naturally I thought it was bricked. I've let it sit all day on a dry window sill next to the radiator. After putting the battery back in and plugging it in a little bit ago, the phone surprisingly booted up. Here's where I'm at now:
The phone boots normally, however if I plug it in to the charger I get an error stating Battery Temperature too high or something, so charging is paused. Does anybody know what this indicates?
Secondly, after being on for a minute or so, the screen gets screwy. Dark transparent overlays start flashing over everything and it gets unresponsive... I haven't left it on like this long b/c I was afraid something worse would happen - I usually rip the battery out of the back to shut it off.
My phones currently pulled apart and drying in the window sill. Whatever water got on/in it is not visibly there, however I understand some parts might still be wet.
Any advice? Also, I believe the water indicator on the battery and near the pins where the battery dock in the phone are both fine. They're white squares and haven't changed color. Any chance there are other indicators?
The phone isn't insured and I bought it back in August. Would warranty possibly cover this or will they know about the water damage?
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well you want to put in rice, so that the moisture is gone
rice it for sure. but warranty WILL not cover it UNLESS the tabs on the battery and phone are white (It might not have gotten wet if it was in your pocket)
if they are still white, or if your phone is white and battery red (then buy another battery) and get to the store and tell them you don't know what is wrong with it. The only indication that it is water damaged is if it is red and those tags are notoriously faulty so you could always argue your way through it if you have an account in good standing.
best of luck.
I know someone who "claimed' that insurance was supposed to be added to the phone when he got it and noticed that the person didn't do it properly (the guy was new so it helped his cause) and the manager of the cor store told him that they'd do a courtesy replacement and charged him the 125$ for a new device.
you could go that route should you need too...
I don't have access to rice at the moment... Would it do any good even if I absolutely can see no water anywhere in/on the phone?
Am I doing my phone any harm/potential harm by trying to turn it on every once in a while, or should I just let it be for a few days?
Take the phone apart and focus the strongest fan you have on it over night. It's probably best to not turn it on for awhile. Maybe if you focus a blow drier on it for perhaps several hours, air will find flow through the small openings within the case.
You may not be able to dry some parts of it unless you do a complete dismantle, but that may require special tools
Consider shipping it to get repaired only as a last resort, as I've read some bad reports about that.
Rice or some other dessicant is the way to go - it will pull moisture out. Also, turning it on (even putting the battery in) is bad - you are powering circuits and possibly creating shorts where water is present. You may have already done permanent damage.
If you get electronics wet, the best course of action is to remove the battery and put it in a bag of rice for a few days.
Now that You have the phone apart get an alcohol pad and gentley scrub the main board. Sometimes when liquid touches the main board you will get a white looking residue. If you see anything like that simply wipe it off. I dropped my phone into a trash can at a very popular teriyaki restaurant here in Las Vegas my phone was submerged into a deep bath of teriyaki sauce. I quickly pulled the phone from the can and wiped it down vigorously. I was excited to see that it was initially working unfortunately this was not the case by the time I got home. The phone would not turn on for a whole week, until I decided that I was going to open her up. I found a tutorial on line describing a complete break down of the captivate. Upon opening it I found I was able to see exactly where the teriyaki had interacted with the electronics due to the remnants of an oxidized white film that was present on various parts of the main board. I grabbed a alcohol pad out of my first aid kit and began wiping it down to remove all of the white stuff,put the phone back together and to my surprise it turned on. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info guys.
How would I go about getting to the "main board"? Taking out the battery and looking inside it only reveals where the battery connects, where the SD card and sim cards can go... I'm assuming if I remove the little screws around that fixture I can get to the "main board"?
I think I can see some minor corrosion around where the sim card connects, but I think I *should* be able to clean that with some alcohol.
The phone seems to be working fine (I've yet to put my SIM back in it, though, so no idea if the corrosion around there is affecting it at all). I just booted it up and was able to get on the web (wifi), run apps, everything just fine. Didn't get the flashy screens I mentioned earlier. However, if I plug in the USB charger, it still gives me the temperature error. I didn't keep it plugged in, however it did make me realize something:
The errors I was getting before, where the screen went all wacky, only happened if the phone was plugged in to the wall. Is it possible my battery is busted, or do you think the USB charger is busted? Remember that port was open when it happened.
Any thoughts? New battery? Or do you think I won't be able to charge the phone via USB charger any more?
jmusso said:
I don't have access to rice at the moment... Would it do any good even if I absolutely can see no water anywhere in/on the phone?
Am I doing my phone any harm/potential harm by trying to turn it on every once in a while, or should I just let it be for a few days?
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yes you are, because if there is water or moisture internal, it can short circuit, also rice will help dry up the phone completely
jmusso said:
Thanks for the info guys.
How would I go about getting to the "main board"? Taking out the battery and looking inside it only reveals where the battery connects, where the SD card and sim cards can go... I'm assuming if I remove the little screws around that fixture I can get to the "main board"?
I think I can see some minor corrosion around where the sim card connects, but I think I *should* be able to clean that with some alcohol.
The phone seems to be working fine (I've yet to put my SIM back in it, though, so no idea if the corrosion around there is affecting it at all). I just booted it up and was able to get on the web (wifi), run apps, everything just fine. Didn't get the flashy screens I mentioned earlier. However, if I plug in the USB charger, it still gives me the temperature error. I didn't keep it plugged in, however it did make me realize something:
The errors I was getting before, where the screen went all wacky, only happened if the phone was plugged in to the wall. Is it possible my battery is busted, or do you think the USB charger is busted? Remember that port was open when it happened.
Any thoughts? New battery? Or do you think I won't be able to charge the phone via USB charger any more?
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If you've never taken apart a smart phone before, and reading your first question, I'm going to assume that's the case, then I strongly advise you not attempt it unless you are willing to either A) buy a replacement after you break it or B) invest time/money into repairing mistakes you've made. This phone is not as difficult to disassemble as some, but I wouldn't want to break that $150 amoled screen.
No, removing the screws will not simply get you to the mainboard. It's more complicated and nuanced than that.
I'm a new user so I can't post the link but if you google Tech Republic Captivate tear down [/B]there is a website that will show you step by step how take the phone apart. There are two screws under the clip you pull down to take the back cover off. Be careful when pulling it back to expose the screws. I tugged on it pretty hard with no problems, but I imagine it could be broken if you pull too hard. Good Luck! It's actually really easy to take apart and the various ribbon connectors on the main board are really easy to unplug and plug back in after cleaning it.
So what do you guys think I should do if I'm still getting the battery error with the thermometer and yellow caution sign? Buy a new battery? Or do you think its the USB jack? Has anybody seen this before - the battery was working fine as long as it was not charging.
I'm trying to decide between a) buying a new battery, or b) buying a wall-mounted battery charger since the USB won't charge the phone.
Anybody have any experience?
Meguro2006 said:
I'm a new user so I can't post the link but if you google Tech Republic Captivate tear down [/B]there is a website that will show you step by step how take the phone apart. There are two screws under the clip you pull down to take the back cover off. Be careful when pulling it back to expose the screws. I tugged on it pretty hard with no problems, but I imagine it could be broken if you pull too hard. Good Luck! It's actually really easy to take apart and the various ribbon connectors on the main board are really easy to unplug and plug back in after cleaning it.
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I think you need to be careful about who you encourage to dissect their device. This guy asked how to get to the mainboard. Clearly, he hasn't opened a smart phone before. Telling him it's "actually really easy" is disingenuous at best. Performing smart phone repairs properly requires experience. I'm certainly not suggesting that noobs not try to fix their phones, only that they are made fully aware of the risks.
My Captivate was fully submerged in dirty water. I followed some instructions online and it's been working fine for over a month now. If your water-detection stickers are already red anyway, and rice isn't working, I recommend it:
1) Remove battery, SIM card, SD card
2) Submerge in a bowl of distilled water and gently agitate. This helps clean the insides. Distilled water (not spring water) does not conduct electricity.
3) Next, submerge in a bowl of high-quality rubbing alcohol (~95% pure) and gently agitate. Rubbing alcohol displaces water, removes corrosion, and evaporates quickly. (It's also flammable, so have good ventilation and no open flames nearby)
4) Leave it out to dry for two days or until it no longer smells of alcohol.
BTW I wouldn't dry it too close to a radiator, the heat may damage it.
jatkins09 said:
If you've never taken apart a smart phone before, and reading your first question, I'm going to assume that's the case, then I strongly advise you not attempt it unless you are willing to either A) buy a replacement after you break it or B) invest time/money into repairing mistakes you've made. This phone is not as difficult to disassemble as some, but I wouldn't want to break that $150 amoled screen.
No, removing the screws will not simply get you to the mainboard. It's more complicated and nuanced than that.
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Not really. Once the screws are removed..including the two hidden by the battery cover lock slider...you can carefully pry the cover apart using your fingernail to get to the the internals. I have done it several times and am no expert by any means. Just don't yank like you are opening a present on Christmas morning.
Although I am mystified by the op stating they have no access to rice?! That should always be the second thing one does after a moisture incident...right after pulling the battery and sim. I guess in this case a trip to the store with a couple bucks may have pushed that to step three though..
sent from my captivate disguised as an i9000 running cyanogen
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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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.
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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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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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.
So I broke my digitizer glass a few weeks ago. I ordered a new digitizer off ebay... I made sure I ordered the correct version (it was the "no model version" or whatever). Installed it which was really annoying because of all the nasty glue.
Now I can't get the tablet to turn on at all. Before at least the LCD was functional. The red charging light comes on when I plug in the charger but that's it.
Any way I accidentally broke a cable or something when I was taking it apart? I checked it all and everything seems fine... I really don't know what to do.
Assuming I can't get it fixed, think I could sell the broken tablet for anything?
Thanks!
zaner123 said:
So I broke my digitizer glass a few weeks ago. I ordered a new digitizer off ebay... I made sure I ordered the correct version (it was the "no model version" or whatever). Installed it which was really annoying because of all the nasty glue.
Now I can't get the tablet to turn on at all. Before at least the LCD was functional. The red charging light comes on when I plug in the charger but that's it.
Any way I accidentally broke a cable or something when I was taking it apart? I checked it all and everything seems fine... I really don't know what to do.
Assuming I can't get it fixed, think I could sell the broken tablet for anything?
Thanks!
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Of course you can resell the tab in its current state. Quickly or slowly depending on the asking price. But before doing that, you should check one more time. The fastest way is plug it to a TV monitor via the micro HDMI port. If it comes on, at least you know the system is working except for the video. Past that, there can only be two possibilities. (1) Bad lcd: something might have happened when you pried it off the broken digitizer; and/or (2) the video cable is bad, or improperly connected - by that, I mean you need to make sure it fits all the way in at both ends (mainboard & LCD). Check connection with a magnifying glass, You won't believe how many times people forget to reconnect the cable or connect it wrong. Lastly, if you did turn the service switch off, make sure it's turned on again. Good luck.
LCD to Mainboard connection...can it be connected "wrong"? Or simply not as snug as it should be?
Also, what is the service switch?
zaner123 said:
LCD to Mainboard connection...can it be connected "wrong"? Or simply not as snug as it should be?
Also, what is the service switch?
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Here's the link to the relevant thread. Search for the necessary information within it. The cable that goes from LCD to mainboard is labeled: "MB" end goes to mainboard. The service switch is located at the top of the mainboard looking from the back, to the left of the power button ribbon (top right corner of tab), and is labeled "on"/"off". You should turn it off before doing anything. It cuts off all current to the boards and prevents accidental shortcircuitings. If you don't and mess around with the digitizer board, you might burn a fuse that controls the dig's operations. But this is for later. Go to the thread and browse it.
So I was using my Photon Q as usual, had a sick new CM11 install I was playing with for the last week or so, and all was good. I pulled it out of my pocket before I took a shower to check the time and nothing. The keyboard would open when slid out, and it even buzzed when i force restarted it. The backlight turns on for a few seconds when turning it on but other than that, no dice, it turns right off. HDMI out is doing nothing either. It is detected by my computer and otherwise acts like everything is normal. I didn't drop it, it was just in my pocket and a little warm, but it was really just the usual "pocket" warmth. What the **** happened? I can't even tear it open to check because one of the inner screws is stripped : (
EDIT: Can't boot into fastboot or anything manually, connections look good, this is so annoyingly random, and this is the first motorola device to just fail on me without reason...
EDIT EDIT: Died in my drawer last night, plugged it in and the green LED turned on, but shortly after it turned off and and now I am back to exactly where I was before.
Answer: So As you can see from the replies below I am most likely dealing with a broken flex cable to the front panel. I am gonna save up for an un-modded replacement and just swap motherboards. I gutted my current Photon Q and am storing all the parts in bubble wrap, with the motherboard delicately wrapped in paper (less friction, it's sim modded and those exposed copper wires just seem so fragile)
@CornholioGSM I ping you because you are the main Photon Q guys and one of the few still really active, you have seen this phone inside out, any ideas???
EDIT: I checked all the connection after tearing away plastic, it's all good looking. I don't understand wtf happened...
It's usually an issue with the flex (ribbon) cable... all I can say is make very sure that cable is still properly connected.
Good luck.
One of my Photons had a dead display while another had an apparently dead display because the broken flat cable.
Hard to say which one is the culprit w/o a close visual inspection to the flat cable, and even in that case a flat cable apparently in good shape can have one or more broken lines.
BTW a LCD panel can theoretically last for decades, while the cable has a finite number of sliding operations, so the latter is more likely to be the culprit.
Possibly your best option is to get a cheap unmodded PQ from the USA, and replace the whole screen assembly w/o further investigations. Less risk to damage something, way less time needed for the transplant, and possibly even the cheaper option.
The Solutor said:
One of my Photons had a dead display while another had an apparently dead display because the broken flat cable.
Hard to say which one is the culprit w/o a close visual inspection to the flat cable, and even in that case a flat cable apparently in good shape can have one or more broken lines.
BTW a LCD panel can theoretically last for decades, while the cable has a finite number of sliding operations, so the latter is more likely to be the culprit.
Possibly your best option is to get a cheap unmodded PQ from the USA, and replace the whole screen assembly w/o further investigations. Less risk to damage something, way less time needed for the transplant, and possibly even the cheaper option.
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Thanks, I'll probably use whatever money I get from my Nexus 5 sale for a replacement Photon Q (un modded). Mine is beat up from a recent camping trip, scratches all over, I need this anyway. Worst case I have myself a sweet new music player. For now I am using a Galaxy Nexus, which I love, but I miss the Sailfish OS support.