Database Info

[Q] Need help with BRICK will donate for solution

I apologize for starting a new thread for this but I'm dying here! I have been reading all the bricked captivate tales of woe for 2 days straight and I have tried all the button combinations till my fingers feel like they are going to bleed. If somebody can help me with this mess I would gladly donate to the beer fund for their trouble.
This is my second go round with paperweight style captivate but I'm lost now. The first time I was visited by the phone-!-computer image but I had no problem getting it into download mode by removing battery,sim, and external sd then replacing battery holding down both volume buttons down (no power button) and inserting usb cable(odin one click was already running on my pc). I flashed back to stock twice with this method and no issues. The first time was to load cognition and the second time was after messing with some mods my phone started lagging horribly bad.
I guess I got a little cocky this last go round and was messing around with ninja morph(no issues there) then I loaded a market app called Galaxy S Tweaker. I made a few tweaks with the app and went to reboot, subsequently my phone will now get stuck on the white ATT boot screen.
As previously stated I have tried all variations of button combinations to no avail. The only 2 screens I see are the battery charging screen and this dreadful white AT&T screen.
Is there anything I can do to get my computer to recognize my phone and/or get into download mode.
Please and Thank You!!

Have you tried adb commands? Such as 'adb reboot download'
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=775911
Try what's at the top and report back. Should work... otherwise there's the usb jig
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

CB650 Wolf said:
Have you tried adb commands? Such as 'adb reboot download'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having issues trying adb. I have everything installed but I think I made an error when updating my path and overwrote the existing text so that the only thing in the path is the location of adb. I get an error every time I try to run it

ronandi said:
Try what's at the top and report back. Should work... otherwise there's the usb jig
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried several times I just end up going back and forth between the white screen with AT&T logo and the battery charging screen

micjenks said:
The first time I was visited by the phone-!-computer image but I had no problem getting it into download mode by removing battery,sim, and external sd then replacing battery holding down both volume buttons down (no power button) and inserting usb cable(odin one click was already running on my pc).
As previously stated I have tried all variations of button combinations to no avail. The only 2 screens I see are the battery charging screen and this dreadful white AT&T screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you did originally should work again, keep trying, if you had usb debugging enabled try the adb reboot download method. What error is adb giving you anyway?

uninstall the sdk completely. Reinstall it into a folder and do not move anything out of the folder. I keep mine in C:/Users\[user name]\sdk.

Hey there, im pretty new to Android myself and had a very similar issue :S
It seems like you have lost your three button combo, which was exactly what happened to my poor Captivate, the "USB jig" was the only method I found that could put my phone in to download mode, if you search the forums there is a pretty decent walk through on how to do it!
Basically, as long as you have some skill with a soldering iron and a micro USB cable to cut up you can do it pretty quickly. I bought the resistors from a local computer store (you need 301k resistance) and used a scalpel to cut the plastic from the end of the cable, then soldered the resistors to the 4th and 5th pins in series. Once you have done that, plug the cable in to your computer and fire up Odin, the connect your Cappy and presto, download mode!
Honestly when I saw the instructions to build the jig I was skeptical, but since I exhausted every other option first (and had already voided my warranty obviously) I decided to give it a shot and it worked like a charm!
Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

CB650 Wolf said:
uninstall the sdk completely. Reinstall it into a folder and do not move anything out of the folder. I keep mine in C:/Users\[user name]\sdk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should I remove it from the environmental variables path first and then replace it? do I need to remove it from eclipse as well before I reinstall it?
ADB keeps telling me device not found

Try a different usb port, preferably ones at the back of the motherboard.

peachpuff said:
Try a different usb port, preferably ones at the back of the motherboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done that, initially I had to move to the back to get it to work with odin
Edit: Can anyone link me to the solder jig how to? I found the solder-less i-go thread but wanted to look at both before I head off to radio shack and potentially the liquor store depending on how this goes..... going back to my BlackBerry sounds about as appetizing as a warm bath and razor blades. I've had my Captivate for 2 weeks and I'm already spoiled on Android goodness

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872476
This is the solder-less method, however the only difference is that in the above thread, he didn't use solder to connect the resistors, it should work exactly the same! Otherwise you can simply solder the resistors in series to the exact same spots and you are good to go

Ok well I am off to radio shack to test my luck with this. will report back with the results...... wife has already informed me there is no way in hell I am buying another one so pray for me lol

Rofl well in that case my prayers are with you! If you need any help with it feel free to PM me.

ugh I have to go back to radio shack.... one of the wires broke off while stripping it, I tried touching the resistors to it anyway but it's not working so I am going to give it another shot. If that doesn't work I ordered one from norcal einstein..... this sucks!

micjenks said:
ugh I have to go back to radio shack.... one of the wires broke off while stripping it, I tried touching the resistors to it anyway but it's not working so I am going to give it another shot. If that doesn't work I ordered one from norcal einstein..... this sucks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although mine has never been this bad, the fear of it happening has always been in the forefront of my mind.
Your wife sounds alot like mine. In that case, much good luck coming your way from here.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

LOL I have been pushing my luck a bit lately considering I got a BlackBerry Torch in August (Piece of Sh*t). I have been developing BlackBerry themes for the last 2 years and am transitioning to Android.... gonna be hard without an operational device lol

Did you get everything to make your jig?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I believe so.... trying to peel this damn silicone stuff off without ripping any wires off this time(got a spare igo adapter this time just in case)

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
It ain't Purdy but it's B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!!!

Please comment. Do you have this issue? Help troubleshooting.

Ok we all know that this phone is far from perfect and when we got the first MT off of Craigslist in kinda rough shape I assumed previous abuse to be the cause of the issue. However after bugging VM for a week we got a new replacment. The issue was instantly there on the brand new phone.
Let's see if I explain. Our phone has no back cover and I'm thinking there lies the problem but want people to test the theroy. Problem presents itself when taking pictures no matter camera setting. You are able to get several snaps in a row at times only two. Then when it happens, right as the shutter closes it reboots. I'm talking instantly at the MOTO splash. Then the reboot takes 6-7 minutes at the boot animation if you let it start back up by itself. If at the reboot I pull battery and replace/reboot the device it will boot fast like normal 1-2 mins. The phone seems to have electrical contact points that would be in contact with the back cover (ground). However searching and searching on Google and I find many camera issues present, but not a single reference to this. That's why I'm curious if people can please remove your back covers and snap some pics at random and see if anyone can repeat the problem. If its the back cover being missing that's causing it I will just get a new one and be done chasing logcats and digging trying to fix it. I have never had a back cover but with lack of documentation of others with this problem I'm leaning to that being the problem.
So please pop the cover off and snap some pics give it a chance it happens sometimes on the 1st pic or the tenth. It's random so give it a minute.
I wanna get it fixed cause its the wifes phone. She's a photo taking crazy lady who get quite mad about needing to reboot between snapshots.
Thanks for anyone's input in advance.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Is your phone rooted ? & on a custom rom ? My phone runs CM7 as does my wife's Triumph & she is a photo crazy lady too, she's never complained to me about this issue. Our phones are on Whyzor's 2012-1-26 build as all seems well, but i'll snap off some photo's to be sure & will post the results.

My theory is that's its cause I bought the phone used minus the back cover and upon removing the case to see the back of the phone I see connections that look like they would connect if the cover where there.
I used to think it was something with the one phone so we wiggled our way around with VM and got them to finally send a brand new replacement with no back of course. Your supposed to keep the old one. I never had it. So since the new phone had the same "camera shutter causes reboot" and i can't find another case from any other corner of the net. And I looked. I really looked. I am only left with the absence of the back cover. So I want to see if camera usage with the battery cover of will cause the issue on other MT devices.
The problem happened on miui cm7 and stock. The new phones fresh out of the box but I rooted it by symlinking the sudo files to su and now I don't even need superuser I just have root plain and simple. So its not software as far as I can tell. I'm lost if someone can't repeat the issue with there battery cover off.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

I added a picture. Does anyone maybe smarter know what the little metal connections on the back here are. Seems there are five of them. Three along the left side two on the right
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Well I have taken like 20 pics just now with the back off and no reboots. Some people have claimed that it's grounding and their touchscreen doesn't work properly with it off. I can take off my cover and use everything on the phone properly so I don't know if its actually grounding or not... I'm gonna be taking my phone apart in the next few days so I can look more into it then.

I'm just at a loss then it makes no sense to have two phones one old rooted rom flashed device and a new stock rooted device and have the same issue that I can't find anyone that has mentioned it. I looked at over 250+ forum posts on probaly 6 sites and can't find a single similar instance I can get a logcat for the reboots on both devices here in a few and see if someone can spot the problem in the logs. Gimme a few hours I'm away from a pc. But I gotta send the phone back within 12 days I'm determined to figure it out. Any advice where to begin looking?
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

It sounds like you may have just gotten 2 phones that have some sort of grounding issues. I mean there's no way to know for sure, but it could be possible that you got 2 phones that have issues. Another thing is you might be able to ask VM if they can send you a battery cover and see if that actually fixes the problem.

I've never even seen the battery covers are they conductive? Plastic or metal at those points? Never had the pleasure of actually having one. I'll post some logcats to pastebin. I'm gonna reflash both phones to factory settings and unroot. Revert to stock recovery, and off fresh boots do the exact same steps to cause a reboot while I got a logcat running. Hopefully the same errors are noticable on both devices and can find a point to start at.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

mikedavis120 said:
I've never even seen the battery covers are they conductive? Plastic or metal at those points? Never had the pleasure of actually having one. I'll post some logcats to pastebin. I'm gonna reflash both phones to factory settings and unroot. Revert to stock recovery, and off fresh boots do the exact same steps to cause a reboot while I got a logcat running. Hopefully the same errors are noticable on both devices and can find a point to start at.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes the back actually does have metal contacts at those points. I don't know if they are actually used for grounding. Another possibility is its used for RF shielding, but that shouldn't effect things like the camera. Yea see what the logcats find.
Edit: I've attached an image of what the battery cover looks like.

Well I'm on my way to go sit down flash to stock and run some logcats so i can see if anything pops up. I'll try to make a video to so you can see what its doing for yourself. I'll record it and upload it to YouTube and link it here.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

mikedavis120 said:
Well I'm on my way to go sit down flash to stock and run some logcats so i can see if anything pops up. I'll try to make a video to so you can see what its doing for yourself. I'll record it and upload it to YouTube and link it here.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I have to go to work soon though so I might not be able to take a look for a few hours.

well i've snaped off 5 to 7 photo's in a row & can't seem to find this issue that you speak of ?

I'm still heading to the house to try to duplicate it with a logcat running. Will post back soon.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Nope...
I haven't ever had this problem. I took the back off, tried it, put the TPU case back on without the cover, no problems. I do have a problem with the camera when I try to use another app to take pictures (e.g. Evernote, Facebook). The camera tries to focus, it freezes for about 15 seconds then FC's

[Q] Help. My tf300 is dead

1. I dropped the tablet from approximately 50cm above a hard surface.
2. Initially, I thought it was no big deal, so I proceed to try turning it on.
3. Something was odd; the tablet did not boot at all. It's NOT stuck on Asus logo. All I can see was black screen, completely unresponsive.
4. So I tried to hold power for 30sec, reset, hold reset for 30sec... nothing worked. :crying:
5. I figured, 'something must have gone wrong with the hardware when it dropped'.
6. Thus, I opened the tablet & carefully tried to find out what went wrong. (And I really hope I didn't break it even more in the process...)
7. And here I am stuck with no more idea.
WHAT I FOUND OUT:
LED indicator flashes twice when I press power or when I connect charger. Edit: It only flashes twice if I have charger connected. Nothing happens if it's disconnected from charger.
PC does not recognize tf300.
I have no warranty.
Please help me. Thank you!

Aqueouss said:
1. I dropped the tablet from approximately 50cm above a hard surface.
2. Initially, I thought it was no big deal, so I proceed to try turning it on.
3. Something was odd; the tablet did not boot at all. It's NOT stuck on Asus logo. All I can see was black screen, completely unresponsive.
4. So I tried to hold power for 30sec, reset, hold reset for 30sec... nothing worked. :crying:
5. I figured, 'something must have gone wrong with the hardware when it dropped'.
6. Thus, I opened the tablet & carefully tried to find out what went wrong. (And I really hope I didn't break it even more in the process...)
7. And here I am stuck with no more idea.
WHAT I FOUND OUT:
LED indicator flashes twice when I press power or when I connect charger. Edit: It only flashes twice if I have charger connected. Nothing happens if it's disconnected from charger.
PC does not recognize tf300.
I have no warranty.
Please help me. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much to go from, but it sounds like the battery is disconnected.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2

elesbb said:
Not much to go from, but it sounds like the battery is disconnected.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I thought about that, too. But I cannot do anything because I have no idea which connector is which...
Can you anybody tell me where the disconnection might be? (location of battery related port?)

Aqueouss said:
Thank you. I thought about that, too. But I cannot do anything because I have no idea which connector is which...
Can you anybody tell me where the disconnection might be? (location of battery related port?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a couple of things you can do, it already does not work so what the hell, it can't get any worse. Drink two shots of Grey Goose and check out these links.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Disassembling+Asus+tf300+Tablet/11794/1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_JRLd7lPv8
Good Luck!!
Erik

ricco333 said:
Here is a couple of things you can do, it already does not work so what the hell, it can't get any worse. Drink two shots of Grey Goose and check out these links.
Good Luck!!
Erik
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I fixed it!
I simply disconnected the battery connector and reconnected it, and everything magically started working again :victory:

I seem to have the same issue
elesbb said:
Not much to go from, but it sounds like the battery is disconnected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ricco333 said:
Here is a couple of things you can do, it already does not work so what the hell, it can't get any worse. Drink two shots of Grey Goose and check out these links.
links removed
Good Luck!!
Erik
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aqueouss said:
Thank you, I fixed it!
I simply disconnected the battery connector and reconnected it, and everything magically started working again :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi guys, I am having a similar problem. My device won't turn on unless the charger is connected. The battery display says 94% but if I unplug it, it immediately shuts off. It is like using a laptop with no battery connected, being powered by the charger only. I think it might be the same case as the OP here?
Well, looking at the photo tutorial and the video, I am still unsure about the exact location of the battery connector. Could you point it out more clearly for me? My tablet is out of warranty and I'd like to give it a shot at DIY, but taking the least possible risks.
Thanks!!

rmvieira said:
Hi guys, I am having a similar problem. My device won't turn on unless the charger is connected. The battery display says 94% but if I unplug it, it immediately shuts off. It is like using a laptop with no battery connected, being powered by the charger only. I think it might be the same case as the OP here?
Well, looking at the photo tutorial and the video, I am still unsure about the exact location of the battery connector. Could you point it out more clearly for me? My tablet is out of warranty and I'd like to give it a shot at DIY, but taking the least possible risks.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's located underneath the copper shield. You need to lift it off to see. The connector is visible in plain sight. Just follow the wires coming out of the battery. But if you're still under warranty and don't want to break the seal, you can resort to Asus customer service.

graphdarnell said:
It's located underneath the copper shield. You need to lift it off to see. The connector is visible in plain sight. Just follow the wires coming out of the battery. But if you're still under warranty and don't want to break the seal, you can resort to Asus customer service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will take a look at it tonight as it is just outside the warranty period
Hopefully this will solve the problem. I will post back when I try.

graphdarnell said:
It's located underneath the copper shield. You need to lift it off to see. The connector is visible in plain sight. Just follow the wires coming out of the battery. But if you're still under warranty and don't want to break the seal, you can resort to Asus customer service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I tried disconnecting and re-connecting the battery connector, but it didn't work. To make things worth, the touch screen is no longer working. I am getting desperate... Can you point me in the right direction for, at least, getting the screen to work again?

rmvieira said:
Well I tried disconnecting and re-connecting the battery connector, but it didn't work. To make things worth, the touch screen is no longer working. I am getting desperate... Can you point me in the right direction for, at least, getting the screen to work again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, don't panic just yet. Try to remember if you'd done anything (flashing, loading or playing around with software) or anything had happened (tab drop etc...) before the tab started acting up. AFAIK, the TS board doesn't fail that often, but is fragile and thus prone to physical damage, especially the connectors and cables. The least movement in the wrong direction would wreck it. Pushing the cables in at the wrong angle would bend the pins beyond repair, to give you an idea. And you should've disconnected the battery or turned the service mode switch off before even touching anything.
At this point, my guess is either the battery is dead (not charging)*, or some weird software is screwing up the reading. Apparently, the main circuitry is intact since you can turn the tab on with the charger attached. If you can access recovery, and assuming you have CWM (TWRP requires touch), you can try wiping the battery stats.
Regarding the touch screen, there are a few possibilities. Check the surface of the mainboard if there's anything that's burned. Check the cables to make sure you did not displace any of them while pulling or pushing the battery connector. If you reconnect the cable or boards make they are seated correctly. Don't pull on the amber ribbons coming out of the digitizer. Last time I checked, the green part pasted to the face of the touchscreen can detach with the force you use to peel a protective screen off your tab. I kid you not. Above all, do not force a cable in, do not snap them in. They should slide in easy if you do it at the right angle. If nothing is damaged, I wouldn't worry too much about it now.
If you have access to a keyboard, you can go into the /etc/firmware/touch/ folder to see what's in there. This only shows the correct info if you're on stock rom. Then note the model of the touchscreen printed on the white sticker on the ribbons.
Again, turn the service switch off first.
* not charging could be caused by the battery itself or the chip controlling it on the mainboard. But we want to examine the obvious first.

wow this trend really old.
...just rediscovered my old asus transformer n upgraded it android 7 and gave it to my niece...
lonq story short she dropped it. and now the device dead. I opened it and reconnected the battery and still the screen looks dead.
when I connect it to the laptop, windows detects it and even shows it's charging
... did I miss something or? everything looked connected when I opened it
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Stuck in recovery/volume down stuck

So I dropped my phone in water a few days ago. After leaving it in rice overnight, nothing seemed wrong except for the fact that my volume down button didn't work half the time, and sometimes it would go off by itself (I would be browsing on my phone and suddenly the volume would go all the way down by itself, as if someone was holding the volume down button). The problem disappeared soon, so I forgot about it. But today, when I tried to change my volume, it wouldn't work at all, so I decided to restart the phone to see if that would fix it. Bad idea, because now no matter what, the phone always boots to recovery. It seems like my phone is registering that the volume button is always being held down, so every time I boot it up, it goes to recovery. Is there any way to bypass this? I can still press down on the button like I normally would be to, so it's not physically stuck.

Pop the back off of it and check the volume down tab to see if its physically stuck or not. The moisture may have caused some corrosion buildup in the tiny aluminum piece that gives it the spring back when released. If its stuck you can try and play with it to see if it'll come loose or try replacing the ribbon cable all together.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

18th.abn said:
Pop the back off of it and check the volume down tab to see if its physically stuck or not. The moisture may have caused some corrosion buildup in the tiny aluminum piece that gives it the spring back when released. If its stuck you can try and play with it to see if it'll come loose or try replacing the ribbon cable all together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get yourself some Bacon? Haven't seen you since my early Evita days.
Transmitted via Bacon

Yep, frying bacon good to see a familiar face. I've been on nexus 5/6 forever and steered away from HTC/Samsung. The oneplus is hot tho, Google is going to need a miracle device to get me back! Asus has me sold tho, I'm 4sure grabbing one of their new zenphones to tear into and explore!!

18th.abn said:
Yep, frying bacon good to see a familiar face. I've been on nexus 5/6 forever and steered away from HTC/Samsung. The oneplus is hot tho, Google is going to need a miracle device to get me back! Asus has me sold tho, I'm 4sure grabbing one of their new zenphones to tear into and explore!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I love this phone, it's a real beast. You doing any dev work here?
Transmitted via Bacon

18th.abn said:
Pop the back off of it and check the volume down tab to see if its physically stuck or not. The moisture may have caused some corrosion buildup in the tiny aluminum piece that gives it the spring back when released. If its stuck you can try and play with it to see if it'll come loose or try replacing the ribbon cable all together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I've opened the back (which was painstakingly hard), and the button seems to be fine. It seems like there's no difference between that one and the other buttons - it still springs back up when pushed. What do you mean by replacing the ribbon cable? Any other ideas?

timmaaa said:
Yeah I love this phone, it's a real beast. You doing any dev work here?
Transmitted via Bacon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I come here and mostly just read thru the forums. My schedule isn't as nice as it used to be so I don't get to play much anymore. I'm looking forward to the zenphone tho because I'm thinking the x64 Intel processors will re-light some new excitement for me.
prolarbears said:
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I've opened the back (which was painstakingly hard), and the button seems to be fine. It seems like there's no difference between that one and the other buttons - it still springs back up when pushed. What do you mean by replacing the ribbon cable? Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would probably remove the motherboard and sister board and give them a close look over for some sign of damage or corrosion and maybe use a q-tip with rubbing alcohol to wipe over any I find. Just don't get it on any around the base of the chipset. I think the ribbon cable is soldered to the board if I remember correctly so replacement would be difficult. If its not, replace it.

Is unstability caused by hardware or software issue?

Hello, as mentioned before, sometimes I cannot wake my device. The entire screen is blank. I have to keep pressing the power button many times to turn on the device. Sometimes I have to wait for 30 minutes or more and try again before the device turns on. Few months ago, I took it to Samsung. They said that it was due to a faulty screen. They replaced a new one for me but after about 2-3 weeks, same thing happen.
Recently, for a few days, the device also rebooted by itself like crazy. This happened especially when I used the stock Camera app to take photos. Sometimes it happened when I pressed the Camera app icon. In most cases, this happened when I pressed the button to shoot photo.
Few days ago, the screen brinked a few times and rebooted by itself. Even there were about 30% battery power, at one point it reported 0%. When I plugged the device to the power supply, the problem disappeared and the device charged.
Are these things due to software issue or hardware issue? As you know, the apps update by themselves often.
Info on my device:
SM-P905
Android 4.4.2
Base version: P905XXUANA7
Kernel version: 3.4.0-2454801
[email protected]#1
Fri Aug 8 11:53:36 KST 2014
Build number: KOT49H.P905ZSUANH1
SE Android Status: Enforcing SEPF_SM-P905_4.4.2_0040 Fri Jan 30 17:13:07 2015

petercohen said:
Few days ago, the screen brinked a few times and rebooted by itself. Even there were about 30% battery power, at one point it reported 0%. When I plugged the device to the power supply, the problem disappeared and the device charged.
Are these things due to software issue or hardware issue? As you know, the apps update by themselves often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery's capacity fluctuation, flickering screen, auto reboot, auto shut down, are common caused by cracked battery connector.
You can inspect the battery connector under magnified glass, push it slightly right or left to see if it's moving. A battery connector with cracked solders will move easily by this test.
A quick rework will take under 5 minutes to melt and add more solders to the 6 pins of battery connector. A repair shop or anyone knows how to solder can help you.
This is what this connector looks like:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
A quick test: slap hard on the back cover with your hand, your tablet will shut down immediately if the battery connector is badly cracked.
Be aware that some depot techs are technical incompetent to troubleshoot or repair a particular issue like this one.

Thanks. I performed the test you described. The tablet did not shut down immediately. I slapped it hard a few times. No shutting down. I suspect it is related to software because the issues seem to have happened in blocks of time. i.e. 1-2 days of problems. No problem. 1-2 days of problems, etc.

petercohen said:
Thanks. I performed the test you described. The tablet did not shut down immediately. I slapped it hard a few times. No shutting down. I suspect it is related to software because the issues seem to have happened in blocks of time. i.e. 1-2 days of problems. No problem. 1-2 days of problems, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The quick test I mentioned only work with badly loose battery connector, the one that can lift off easily or move if pushed. Other cases, cracked solders cause intermittent power or quick discharge or running hot battery. Your intermittent problems could be some pins have crack but not all of them.
Believe me or not, this is not software but hardware problem common seen in Galaxy Note and others, I try to point to the right direction but it's up to you to figure out.

I had no problem with my device for a few weeks. Recently, very often the device restarted when I pressed the built-in camera app. Don't you think this is a software problem?

petercohen said:
I had no problem with my device for a few weeks. Recently, very often the device restarted when I pressed the built-in camera app. Don't you think this is a software problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest way to verify, back up then reset your tablet. If problem starts again with fresh system, this is not software but hardware problem.
However, flickering screen and auto reboot is not software. These problems often cause by cracked battery connector.
You need to read the " Flickering " thread to see what is the source of your problem. In this forum, it has more than 30,000 views and another forum ( Android Central ), it has more than 100,000 views. These numbers will tell, you are not the only one to have it.

I found that when the battery level is low, the device flickering and reboot by itself like crazy.

petercohen said:
I found that when the battery level is low, the device flickering and reboot by itself like crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the only way to convince you this is not software problem: take the back cover off when battery is low, pressing directly on the battery connector, the flickering screen will stop immediately. Another user followed my advice, applied pressure on the battery connector helped his tablet to boot.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63123548&postcount=7

Hello, I cannot take the cover off. What is the best way to do it without damaging the device? From some online videos, it looks like there are some kind of plastic tool?

petercohen said:
Hello, I cannot take the cover off. What is the best way to do it without damaging the device? From some online videos, it looks like there are some kind of plastic tool?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pry and lift, you can take the back out easily
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSG0hHpAG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdctusUVv_E

Beut said:
Pry and lift, you can take the back out easily
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSG0hHpAG8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I saw this video. Where can I get the plastic tool without ordering the battery kit?

petercohen said:
Yes I saw this video. Where can I get the plastic tool without ordering the battery kit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are too many of them on Ebay or Amazon, you should have at least one Metal Spudger because other plastic tools are prone to break after few uses, but plastic tools cause less damages to the case with no experienced users.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5Pcs-Plasti...343597?hash=item4aeb4e17ed:g:d0UAAOSwNSxVchoR
http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Repair...47773485&sr=8-112&keywords=tablet+prying+tool
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Pcs-Repai...962745?hash=item2a45942379:g:uRIAAOSwj0NUejUP