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[Q] Inspire 4G won't turn on, only blinking orange light is any sign of life

I bought an Inspire 4G off craigslist and the seller stated the phone wouldn't turn on but I was hoping I could fix it. This is what I discovered:
1) The phone won't turn on, no white boot screen, nothing
2) When I press the power button there is a light that blinks rapidly and it's orange at the top left of the earpiece, not green like I've read online about. Its stops blinking when I let go of the power button.
3) When I have the phone plugged into the wall charger the orange light blinks again constantly, very rapidly.
4) I tried connecting the phone to my computer through USB and it wouldn't recognize it.
Anyone have any idea what might be the problem or what I can do to fix it?

I would leave it on charge for a while then follow brick instructions in sticky, had a bad flash that did that
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App

How much did you pay for it? Haha and yeah I tottaly agree with ^^^ let it charge for a while.

I've had the same thing happen to me a few times, and all I had to do was pull out the battery and then everything went back to normal.

rboone - how long is a while? I left it charging last night for about 7 hours lol.
ThEiiNoCeNT - I paid $100.
zamula - I pulled the battery out too. I tried everything I could think of. I wanted to try to connect it to my computer to unbrick it but it wouldn't recognize it, I haven't tried ODIN or anything like that, but it didn't recognize it through "My Computer". When you take the battery cover off does the battery just slide out? Mine slides out, it doesn't click in or anything.

crossover37 said:
rboone - how long is a while? I left it charging last night for about 7 hours lol.
ThEiiNoCeNT - I paid $100.
zamula - I pulled the battery out too. I tried everything I could think of. I wanted to try to connect it to my computer to unbrick it but it wouldn't recognize it, I haven't tried ODIN or anything like that, but it didn't recognize it through "My Computer". When you take the battery cover off does the battery just slide out? Mine slides out, it doesn't click in or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you get it into hboot? And you can't use Odin that's a Samsung firmware for Samsung phones. You will need to get the ruu
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

trell959 said:
Can you get it into hboot? And you can't use Odin that's a Samsung firmware for Samsung phones. You will need to get the ruu
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the screen won't turn on at all. Oh ok, I thought maybe Odin was only for Samsung. Just download the exe from this thread (link below) and follow the steps? Is there anything specific I should do since my phone won't even boot and I can't get my computer to recognize it?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=952224

Have you tried holding the volume down button and pressing the power button?

Racing666 said:
Have you tried holding the volume down button and pressing the power button?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I pressed the volume down button and held it and then pressed the power button. When the power button was pressed the orange light blinked again. It didn't turn on though.

crossover37 said:
Yes. I pressed the volume down button and held it and then pressed the power button. When the power button was pressed the orange light blinked again. It didn't turn on though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the person you bought it from offer any kind of hint as to what happened to the phone that caused this condition?
Probably not pre-sale, but now that he has your money, perhaps he'll be more willing to open up about it.

Scott_S said:
Did the person you bought it from offer any kind of hint as to what happened to the phone that caused this condition?
Probably not pre-sale, but now that he has your money, perhaps he'll be more willing to open up about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really, I texted him now to see if he can give me some more info. We'll see what he says.
Something I noticed now is that the orange light doesn't blink when I press the power button without the phone plugged in, it did earlier with the phone plugged in and without it plugged in (just running on battery). Not sure if that's good or bad.

Probably dropped in water. Its toast most likely.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

quangxha said:
Probably dropped in water. Its toast most likely.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I just checked the indicator and it's read. Water damaged! I tried to find the water damage indicator yesterday when I bought it but couldn't see it.
So...is it too late to try the rice in the bag trick? The orange light flickers...I'm wondering if that means anything positive.

If it is water damaged and you have no chance of turning it on I would throw it in rice anyways...

ThEiiNoCeNT said:
If it is water damaged and you have no chance of turning it on I would throw it in rice anyways...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I'll try it. Take the phone apart and drop the pieces in rice? Put the phone without the battery in it in the bag of rice? or put the phone with the battery in it with the pieces on it as well (battery cover, sim card/sd card cover)?
I heard dropping it in rubbing alcohol helps too...should I avoid this and just try the rice?

crossover37 said:
Not really, I texted him now to see if he can give me some more info. We'll see what he says.
Something I noticed now is that the orange light doesn't blink when I press the power button without the phone plugged in, it did earlier with the phone plugged in and without it plugged in (just running on battery). Not sure if that's good or bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, now that you've mentioned the condition of the water damage indicator, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a response from the seller.
Dude's prolly in Canada by now.

Part it out on the bay. Prolly get more then 100 for it.

tweaked said:
Part it out on the bay. Prolly get more then 100 for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea. If that screen is in working condition, there's all sorts of peeps with shattered screens running around these parts. Or there was, at least.
I don't know how you'd go about testing it out, without a known working secondary inspire laying around willing to be a frankenstein test subject.

Scott_S said:
Good idea. If that screen is in working condition, there's all sorts of peeps with shattered screens running around these parts. Or there was, at least.
I don't know how you'd go about testing it out, without a known working secondary inspire laying around willing to be a frankenstein test subject.
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Click to collapse
Go to bed Scott!!! Oops me too.

henrybravo said:
Go to bed Scott!!! Oops me too.
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Click to collapse
Almost there.
One or two more obnoxious, off-topic, and completely useless posts, and then I'll call it quits for the day.

Upgraded Keyboard Dock now won't charge!

I have a B50 keyboard dock that was older so didn't support the new battery saving mode in newer firmwares. I sent it in to Asus for upgrade and just got it back today.
Upon putting my Transformer on it, it asked to update the firmware, I did it.
The battery saving mode works now, but my keyboard dock won't charge!
I plug it in and the light turns on like it's charging, I use a couple battery widgets and it would say it's charging and 2 seconds later it stops.
I unplug the cable and the keyboard dock light blinks like it would if it's out of juice/very low.
My keyboard dock is stuck at 35%. I took the Transformer off and kept the keyboard dock plugged in for about 2-3 hours, put the Transformer back on it and it still says 35%!
So, is it broken? Do I need to call Asus again? sigh.

Have you tried blowing very hard at the connection port on the Dock?
The slightest bit of dust can effect the current required for a charge.

Hahahahahaha.
I've been tearing down the hell out of my TF and dock. I know the hardware inside out.
There is a small switch in the dock that controls the charging ability of the dock battery. It sits right on the side of where the chip that they replaced is at. It is very easy for them to accidently flip the switch, turning off the ability to charge the dock battery.
You can either RMA it or you can just open it up and flip the switch. Your choice.
Personally, I have no idea why the switch exists at all.

goodintentions said:
Hahahahahaha.
I've been tearing down the hell out of my TF and dock. I know the hardware inside out.
There is a small switch in the dock that controls the charging ability of the dock battery. It sits right on the side of where the chip that they replaced is at. It is very easy for them to accidently flip the switch, turning off the ability to charge the dock battery.
You can either RMA it or you can just open it up and flip the switch. Your choice.
Personally, I have no idea why the switch exists at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm Ok, I'm pretty good at taking things apart, know of a guide to take this apart? I'll try and do it myself. Thanks!

First and foremost, doing this and telling asus about it will void your warranty.
Warning: Failure to follow my instructions right down to the letter will result in your in-laws camping out at your place for a month.
(1) Take out anything that's in your full size sdcard slot. Flip your keyboard upside down so that the keys are facing down.
(2) Gently but surely remove the 2 rubber pads that are the closest to the connection between your TF and the dock.
(3) Under there, you will find 2 small screws. Unscrew them. Please don't lose the screws.
(4) Flip the dock over so that the keys face up towards the sky.
(5) Write me a check for $3000 USD.
(6) Use your right hand and hold down the part where the TF makes the connection. Curl your left fingers into a hook, put it under the dock, and pull up. After the left side of the dock is severed, reverse and do the right side.
(7) Now that both left and right sides are off, continue to lift up the top of the dock until the side towards you loses the connection as well. Be careful not to remove too fast. There are wires connected between the 2 parts.
(8) With the connection point between the TF and dock facing away from you, the switch is a tiny black thing on the side of the left board. Look at the following picture.
(9) Flipping it away from you = on. Flipping it towards you = off.
(10) Write me another check for $5000 USD.
(11) Before you close up completely, plug in to make sure it now charges.
(12) Close up and screw in.
Here is a picture of where the switch is.

Thank You! It works!
And yeah, agreed, what a stupid function that switch is for!
You checks' in the mail!

That was fast.
Added by edit.
People, please spread the word if other people have this problem and I'm not here. This isn't the first time I've seen people complain about this.
In order to replace the chipset to allow powersaving mode, they have to work around the area of that switch. I did similar work around that area, too, and found myself keep flipping it back and forth by accident.

I had a similar experience... I just got my dock back from RMA which fixed the battery drain.
However the dock was returned, completely drained and won't charge (the light indicator on dock blinks orange) but my tablet charges fine.
I was just wondering if this is due to the switch preventing the dock charging?
I've heard that once the dock hits below 3%, it won't charge and I'll have to RMA once again...
I've also checked with dual battery widget and it shows (when my charger is plugged in) the tablet at 100% and dock being N/A (even though it also says its still charging as well)
So yeah was wondering if it was due to the switch?

Stephen289 said:
I had a similar experience... I just got my dock back from RMA which fixed the battery drain.
However the dock was returned, completely drained and won't charge (the light indicator on dock blinks orange) but my tablet charges fine.
I was just wondering if this is due to the switch preventing the dock charging?
I've heard that once the dock hits below 3%, it won't charge and I'll have to RMA once again...
I've also checked with dual battery widget and it shows (when my charger is plugged in) the tablet at 100% and dock being N/A (even though it also says its still charging as well)
So yeah was wondering if it was due to the switch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It probably is the switch.

Goes to show us asus is hiring some really cheap technicians to do the job. I'm ot even an electronic technician. What I do has nothing to do with electronics at all. And by now I know the dock inside and outside intimately.
The least they could do is spend an etra micro second to check the switch before they close it up and send it back to you.

One question. How hard is it to remove the top cover of the dock... I'm trying to but it doesnt seem to budge

Stephen289 said:
One question. How hard is it to remove the top cover of the dock... I'm trying to but it doesnt seem to budge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was hard until I read goodintentions' directions in his post
"(6) Use your right hand and hold down the part where the TF makes the connection. Curl your left fingers into a hook, put it under the dock, and pull up. After the left side of the dock is severed, reverse and do the right side."

nxt said:
It was hard until I read goodintentions' directions in his post
"(6) Use your right hand and hold down the part where the TF makes the connection. Curl your left fingers into a hook, put it under the dock, and pull up. After the left side of the dock is severed, reverse and do the right side."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that part is kind of confusing, do i dig my fingers between the gap? Because pulling it up from "under" the dock doesn't make too much sense

Stephen289 said:
Yeah, that part is kind of confusing, do i dig my fingers between the gap? Because pulling it up from "under" the dock doesn't make too much sense
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah put it just underneath the metal side lip/gap and just pull hard.

I RMA'd it second time... when I got it back, the dock was fully charged, plugged the dock into the Transformer and it showed the correct percentages, however as soon as I plugged the charger in, I suddenly get the N/A dock on my dual battery widget and the LED notification light on my dock is solid orange... guess I'll have to try open up the dock myself and see what is wrong with it...

Here is a video I made showing you how to open up the dock.

thank you so much!

This didn't work for me. My battery is stuck at 89% and will not charge or discharge for that matter.

works like a charm!
My dock was recently RMA-ed (battery was completely dead) and upon return it shows 19% charge but will not be charged. flipping the black switch completely solved it!
Cheques are in the mail.

hey guys just wanted to let you know my dock batery sussenly stopped working this morning and flipping this switch off and on again solved my problem so thanks guys

[SOLVED] TF300 wont turn on

So I was applying my xtremeguard wet screen protector today on my TF300.
I tried to use as less water as possible, and squeezing the water out towards the edges, and collecting the residue with a microfiber towel.
About half an hour later, I turned it on, and the touch screen didnt appear to work, will it was working if I pressed like 10 times on the 1 spot, but it wasnt very responsive. Turned it off again for a little while and went to turn it back on now and it is not powering on
When I plug into charge the orange charge light does not appear on the power button, only on the dock. It appears to be completely dead...
I tried holding the power button for more than 60 seconds, still nothing.
I even took off the back to see if there was any water under there, but nothing, completely dry.
Can anyone tell me what my best plan of action is?
If I take it back to the retailer they only offer a repair since it is outside of 28 days of purchase, and even then thats likely to take weeks
Cheers guys

i guess the water somehow went inside the tablet, looks like the way asus glues the tablet with the screen (at the edges) are bad, i feel like you can easily let water go inside it. so... i know you were careful, but...
you don't see water in there, you see it's dry, well because it got dry, remember just a little water can cause electronics to die
i hope you can return it and get a new one , or maybe you could try leave it there for a few days, then try to turn it back on again

Leave charging for a couple of hours and see if it turns on, if not try to return it.
Good luck.

Op make sure the proximity sensors are not being covered by the screen protector. That's what happened to mine... then I realized they've sent me a screen protector made for the tf201 not tf300.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2

Hi all, it is working!
In my desperation, I removed the back cover from the device, and placed the whole tab in a casserole dish filled with rice overnight... After I came back to it and tried to switch it on, it would still not switch on.
That was it, I was at the end of my tether and was just about to put the back cover back on and take it back to the retailer for an exchange/repair. I noticed that there were a couple grains of rice underneath the gold cover on the back with the small yellow warranty sticker on it.
I shook the device from side to side to try and get the rice out (not a good idea leaving that in there if it was going back for repair) and the bloody gold cover came off, along with halfing the warranty sticker in 2 at this point I was about to cry because I knew i'd never get it repaired now.
Low and behold when the gold cover came off I noticed the connector that connects the battery to the motherboard. Curious, I unplugged it for a second and plugged it back in then tried to power the tab on.....
IT WORKED!
It may have just been a case of the battery shorted out with that little drop of water and it needed to be disconnected and reconnected before it allowed power on again to the rest of the components..
So its back together and everything is working fine now, charging and everything

thanks
mcall_r said:
Hi all, it is working!
In my desperation, I removed the back cover from the device, and placed the whole tab in a casserole dish filled with rice overnight... After I came back to it and tried to switch it on, it would still not switch on.
That was it, I was at the end of my tether and was just about to put the back cover back on and take it back to the retailer for an exchange/repair. I noticed that there were a couple grains of rice underneath the gold cover on the back with the small yellow warranty sticker on it.
I shook the device from side to side to try and get the rice out (not a good idea leaving that in there if it was going back for repair) and the bloody gold cover came off, along with halfing the warranty sticker in 2 at this point I was about to cry because I knew i'd never get it repaired now.
Low and behold when the gold cover came off I noticed the connector that connects the battery to the motherboard. Curious, I unplugged it for a second and plugged it back in then tried to power the tab on.....
IT WORKED!
It may have just been a case of the battery shorted out with that little drop of water and it needed to be disconnected and reconnected before it allowed power on again to the rest of the components..
So its back together and everything is working fine now, charging and everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!!!! Very useful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for posting...in Switzerland and took my tablet out of suitcase and nothingwor
Found your fix and it worked...love the internet!!?

Display is dying :(

After one too many drops, I think my display is dying.
At first, when I tried to turn it on, I would see the LED lights on the bottom touch panel come on, but the screen would not. After restarting it would turn on 50% of the time.
Then I realized, if I twisted the body or pushed at the screen hard, the screen would turn on.
So currently, it is usable as when I turn it on the screen will be on 50% of the time, the other 50% I'll just twist it till it turns on. But I don't know how long this will last.
Do you guys think its a connector issue and I should try to open the phone up and solder or buy a new screen and replace it. Or I can just pray it will last for another year.

sujinge9 said:
After one too many drops, I think my display is dying.
At first, when I tried to turn it on, I would see the LED lights on the bottom touch panel come on, but the screen would not. After restarting it would turn on 50% of the time.
Then I realized, if I twisted the body or pushed at the screen hard, the screen would turn on.
So currently, it is usable as when I turn it on the screen will be on 50% of the time, the other 50% I'll just twist it till it turns on. But I don't know how long this will last.
Do you guys think its a connector issue and I should try to open the phone up and solder or buy a new screen and replace it. Or I can just pray it will last for another year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably flex cable issue. Could be tearing. If you open it up just to take a look you could make it worse unfortunately. If you decide to replace the screen make sure to get one for the onexl and I would check to see the flex cable coloring and try to get the exact same one. Could save you headaches. Keep the original screen in case you need to Sync them.

exad said:
Probably flex cable issue. Could be tearing. If you open it up just to take a look you could make it worse unfortunately. If you decide to replace the screen make sure to get one for the onexl and I would check to see the flex cable coloring and try to get the exact same one. Could save you headaches. Keep the original screen in case you need to Sync them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 and if you do take out the other screen be EXTREMELY CAREFUL as you don't rip the screen in case of a sync issue
-Sugardaddy

Dropped my P900! Blackout!

I just dropped my P900 and it went completely dark. :crying: There's no mark, not a crack, nothing, but the display is completely dark. The touch buttons on each side of the home button lights up, but the display does not.
Any advice? Or it is Samsung support next?

May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.

poetryrocksalot said:
May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, maybe I should open it myself and have a look. Are there any warranty seals that I will break if I pry it open? I have all the tools necessary, but are there any guides for opening the P900? I wouldn't want to break anything...

bluebirch said:
Yeah, maybe I should open it myself and have a look. Are there any warranty seals that I will break if I pry it open? I have all the tools necessary, but are there any guides for opening the P900? I wouldn't want to break anything...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a video on replacing the battery but it helped me when I re-soldered the battery connection on mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSG0hHpAG8
I've opened mine a few times and haven't noticed any specific seals but mine was refurbished to start with.
Also I have the proper tools but found a guitar pick was easier to use personally on this tablet.
Starting at the power port to remove the back made it a lot easier for me, its pretty hard to get anything between the back cover and the tablet in other areas.

poetryrocksalot said:
May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.
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Click to collapse
This was indeed the problem! The connector has some kind of snap lock that had come loose. So easily fixed. Thanks for encouraging me to try to fix it myself. :good:

Glad I helped!

Sorry to hijack your thread but figured my problem might be related.
About 2 weeks ago I charged my tablet and stored it away. The other day I tried to use it and it wouldn't turn on. I tried to charge it but that didn't work either as there isn't even charging activity on the screen. I ordered a replacement battery thinking it might be that, but I was wrong. I still can't make it turn on. Any ideas what it can be? Thanks

bluebirch said:
This was indeed the problem! The connector has some kind of snap lock that had come loose. So easily fixed. Thanks for encouraging me to try to fix it myself. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar experience. 3 weeks ago the 1x my SM P-900 is out of its protective case, it falls 2.5 ft off a table. Hits the floor. No visible cracks or breaks. I could hear hear it operating but the screen was black. Took 3 weeks to talk myself up to it but I pried off the back & used a magnifier glass to c.a.r.e.f.u.l.l.y check every ribbon connect. 1 connector's pins were very slightly off alignment. Couldnt find anything else. Put it back together...Yes! Screen works. All seems good. Took the back off again & securely taped over every ribbon connect I could find. Long time intermittent screen flicker issue (when battery was below 40%) also seems to be gone. That has been the best, eye squintin', back hunchin', shallow breathin', micro-screw wrangling, time investment my non-hardware tech self has ever spent. Wooo!