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[Q] Samsung Galaxy S2 - Multiple Problems

I am using Samsung Galaxy S2 unrooted (bought in India). The phone behaved properly for 2 weeks and then started giving these issues.
1. Switching Off does not really switch-off the phone. A battery symbol comes similar to the one that comes if you are charging once the phone is switched-off. However, there is also an exclamation mark (more like a thermometer) which blinks. There is no charger or USB connected.
From the above state, you cannot switch - off / on the phone unless you plug in the power adapter / USB.
2. I have noticed that while that even when USB Charger is attached, the Battery Status (Menu-> Settings-> About Phone->Status) shows "Charging(AC)".
3. A related problem to the above may be the fact that "Samsung Kies" does not start when you plug in the USB cable with the computer. The phone does not even connect to the computer via USB mode (allowing USB debugging). I have re-installed Kies / USB connectivity drivers for my PC (Win XP) a couple of times and see no change in the behaviour.
4. When charging is removed, the battery health using Z-Device Test (3rd party software) shows "Over Voltage".
I am not sure if anybody else has seen similar problems. Appreciate any help.

I have exactly the same problem. I will go with my SGS2 at the warranty this week.

Me too having same problem... Guyzzz please help us...
please do reply..
Please give some solution to the problem..

Same freaking problem here...
the battery doesnt even charge full.. it goes up to 70% and shows its completely charged..
then it drains fast too..
someone please find a hardware or software DIY fix for it...

Same problem here... I can't believe this is happening after less than a month of buying it.

I've been reading through different forums and some people got it fixed by cleaning the usb port:
go to androidforums and paste this in the URL.
samsung-galaxy-s2-international/377331-spurious-battery-temperature-warning-2.html
xdadevelopers won't let me post url's since I'm still too much of a n00b.
Here is a quote from the forum if the link does not work:
Anybody still having difficulties with this and finding this thread, go down the clean-it-yourself route. Worked for me. You will need: some isopropyl alcohol (disk cleaner), wooden toothpicks, some compressed air.
First things, remove the battery, sd and sim card.
Soak the tips of a couple of toothpicks in the isopropyl. then use them to carefully scrape the top 'tongue' in the port, the bit nearest the screen. you'll notice the toothpick gets quite dirty. Do this a few times with fresh toothpicks (or cut ff the dirty bit with sharp scissors).
Once the toothpicks aren't getting dirty any more, gently ease the tongue up, towards the screen a little, don't force it too much.
Use the compressed air to give it a good blow and leave it to dry for a while.
Its solved my problems, Battery Monitor Widget recognises that the usb is unplugged properly and no more warning triangles or poor battery performance. The phone, also gained an extra 20% of battery out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Credit goes to user andycorps from androidforums.
I hope this helps someone else, mine is still not working.

Update:
I've been constantly cleaning the USB port very carefully. Behavior has changed in several ways. The port is still acting crazy, sometimes if I turn it off, the phone will boot up by itself, BUT...
I had it recognized by my laptop a couple of minutes ago and able to move files from and into it. Just as if everything was fine.
It came down again because of the crazy behavior of the port.
I would undoubtedly say that this is a hardware issue. I'll go buy some pressured air today to blow the port and make sure it's clean and dry.

Had the exact same issue
In Addition to battery drain, unexpected MTP app pop apps with USB connecting sound (that could go on and on for minutes). and not being able to connect USB mass storage (PC complains on device malfunction...)
After reading quite a lot forums I found out that this is a well known issue (at least for the users). I called samsung they didn't want to take any liability for the issue, and even worse they said my device is non-US device, thus I can't get support even if I wanted to pay for it.
I figured it is a HW issue, and did a little study on what replacement part are being sold on the market, short analysis showed display (well that is true for most devices, cause we tend to break them, ain't we?) and USB PCB. the latest matched my suspicion on USB HW defect. I bought the PCB for 7$ replaced it and tadam: that fixed my phone.
Samsung should check themselves, people pay 600$ for the device, if there is a manufacturing issue, they should recall and fix, just like big companies do, just like Intel did with Pentium and just like Toyota did with braking systems. nevertheless they should find an arrangement to give their customers service anytime everywhere! or better make their products not requiring service

and the problem is...
i have the exact same issue, and when i contacted samsung about it not only they did not took any liability on this matter, but they said that the warranty was voided because they found sodium residue on the usb port at the bottom of the phone, and for those of you who do no know sodium = salt = sweat, so according to samsung i voided the warranty on my gs2 because my hands sweat. not only is this complete nonsense because it is an exposed micro usb port but because this will be in contact with sweaty hands when you are holding the phone in landscape mode, so after i did some research about this problem i found that the issue is not only that the usb port is exposed but that the usb flexor and the port that it connects to are very lo quality cooper(which should be gold plated) and can very easily have corrosion problems, so the solution is to clean the usb port if detected early, but if you have been having the issue for a long time like me you need to change the usb port, flexor and the port that the flexor connects aka "the usb chip", as well as the battery since having over voltage on a battery for an extended period of time can ruin it.

My Touchstone charging case hack [UPDATE: Not Recommended]

IMPORTANT UPDATE: After a month of running this, I have concluded that the Palm components are not compatible with this phone. I was getting frequent reboots and eventually some instability of my phone. A couple of times my phone went temporarily dead and would not revive until I plugged it into the wall. I'm leaving this up in case others want to try it, but be aware you may be asking for trouble.
Lots of people have hacked the Palm Touchstone inductive charging setup for their phones, but I've seen nothing specific for the One XL. I used this thread by android94301 to get started. It's good for background and applies for the One X up until he starts putting it in the SIII back. Go and read the OP, as I won't repeat much of it.
I used the charging case approach because I did not want to open up my phone or make any permanent modifications to it. I wanted something simple, removable, and non-destructive. I used a TPU case because a) it's flexible enough to accomodate the charging coil and b) it's what I had. Plenty of other cases ought to work.
I would not advise attempting this project unless you're pretty handy with a soldering iron. You have to solder all the parts together or your won't get a good connection, and it's hard enough even then.
The Touchstone base will not work with a phone charging cord or the USB port in your computer because it needs more than 0.5A. It will, however, work with a tablet charger--at least it worked with my Nexus 7 charger--so if you've got a spare, you can save a few bucks and use that.
What you'll need:
-a charging back from a Pre or Pixi--I used the Pixi; be aware the Pre coil has the polarity reversed.
-a soldering iron
-some thin wire. I used two different colors to keep the polarity straight.
-some method of keeping the leads in contact with the pogo connectors.
-a multimeter to check your work. You'll want to repeatedly check whether you're getting 5V from the charging coil, because it needs to be aligned correctly with the base.
-a utility knife, wire cutters, and small needle nosed pliers
1. Start by carefully removing the coil assembly from the back. Peel the tape off, and keep the silver tape--you'll need it later. Using a sharp knife, very carefully pry the coil up from the adhesive. Pry out the four metal discs (be careful here--the Pixi back is quite flimsy, and I ended up punching the precision screwdriver I was using through the back and into my finger).
2. Once you've got everything free, place the case on the base and arrange the coil and discs so everything is in position. Check voltage with your multimeter. (Note: I ended up reversing the arrangement of the coil in the final version--it doesn't make a difference which way it goes.)
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3. On the copper tape attached to the coil, you'll see two square contacts. Solder a wire to each one. On the Pixi, the contact at the end is + and the other one is -. Note that in this photo, red is + and black is -.
4. This should take you 10 minutes, tops. Now comes the tough part. By far the hardest part of this hack was getting a good connection with the pogo contacts. I came up with a workable approach, but you may want to try something else. Whatever it is, it needs to keep pressure on the leads to keep them in contact. Simply taping the leads to the contacts does not work, however.
What you see here is a piece of circuit board cut from an old 2.5" SATA hard drive adapter. I used it to fabricate a little pogo pin board by removing all but two of the connecters with my soldering iron. I pushed the remaining two through the board a bit further after melting the solder, then soldered the leads to the pins. You may note that the wires are reversed from the previous photo--this is because I accidentally soldered them in the wrong arrangement on the board, and immediately after this realization, the black wire broke off the coil. So I just unsoldered the red one and reattached them so the board would get the correct polarity. Again, check your work throughout this process to be sure you're getting a charge at the final connection.
5. Tape or hot glue everything into place. I taped my pogo board directly onto my phone just to make it easier.
This isn't quite the final product. I'm going to move it to an opaque case, and I'm going to try shaving down the pins on the pogo board because it's a bit thicker than I'd like. Still, it all works.

hmm, your images are broken.
Or they require a dropbox account I guess.

qberty said:
hmm, your images are broken.
Or they require a dropbox account I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, that sucks.
That might explain why no one replied lol.

I've done the same thing ( buy a touchstone and a pre back)
I've gotten to the stage that the circuit board is removed from the phone back and I've soldered on 2 wires.
I'm having real difficulty trying to get a reliable connection to the pogo pins as they are so small and in a stupid place!
Would really like to see your photos to give me some inspiration but I can't. Any ideas?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

tinytom21 said:
I've done the same thing ( buy a touchstone and a pre back)
I've gotten to the stage that the circuit board is removed from the phone back and I've soldered on 2 wires.
I'm having real difficulty trying to get a reliable connection to the pogo pins as they are so small and in a stupid place!
Would really like to see your photos to give me some inspiration but I can't. Any ideas?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to try to fix the links. I thought they were working because I can see them fine, but that's probably because I'm logged into Dropbox.
Edit: I think they're fixed. Someone let me know if they're still broken.

Their fixed, I can see them clearly. A question on inductive charging... It's wireless charging right but what is it charging from? In the last picture I don't see a pad or anything

WhatTheAndroid? said:
It's wireless charging right but what is it charging from? In the last picture I don't see a pad or anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Touchstone base. It's actually quite small. Maybe 2" round and 1" high. Not much bigger than the coil in the first pic.

Someone who knows what there doing should make some of these and sell em.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app

dustinhayes93 said:
Someone who knows what there doing should make some of these and sell em.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wouldn't be that hard. You can get pins that are designed for pogo contacts for next to nothing, and building a little contact board for them wouldn't be complicated. I just went with what I had because I didn't feel like waiting on another parts order.

Update:
After a week or so on this thing, I'm mostly happy but I have noticed one interesting thing. It charges fine up to around 90-05%, but it simply won't charge to full. Once it gets over 90% or so, it starts waking up every few minutes but never gets to 100%.
I think what may be going on is that the chip controlling the voltage from the induction coil is not completely optimized for this phone (which should hardly be surprising). So when it goes to trickle charge as it gets close to being full, the chip gets confused and stops the current, then kicks it back on when the phone keeps drawing on it. This causes the phone to wake up as the charges goes off and back on again. This cycle keeps repeating, thus preventing it from ever reaching full charge.
It's not a big deal for me as the difference between 100% and 95% is not that significant. Still, if you like everything to work perfectly, this may not be the mod for you.

iElvis said:
Update:
After a week or so on this thing, I'm mostly happy but I have noticed one interesting thing. It charges fine up to around 90-05%, but it simply won't charge to full. Once it gets over 90% or so, it starts waking up every few minutes but never gets to 100%.
I think what may be going on is that the chip controlling the voltage from the induction coil is not completely optimized for this phone (which should hardly be surprising). So when it goes to trickle charge as it gets close to being full, the chip gets confused and stops the current, then kicks it back on when the phone keeps drawing on it. This causes the phone to wake up as the charges goes off and back on again. This cycle keeps repeating, thus preventing it from ever reaching full charge.
It's not a big deal for me as the difference between 100% and 95% is not that significant. Still, if you like everything to work perfectly, this may not be the mod for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you see the phone flipping between charging and not charging? I wonder if that's what I was seeing when I tried it on my phone. I was always nearly fully charged. I wasn't sure if it was my phone being picky or if there was something wrong with the charger. Same thing happens in my car charger too.

Valohtar said:
Do you see the phone flipping between charging and not charging? I wonder if that's what I was seeing when I tried it on my phone. I was always nearly fully charged. I wasn't sure if it was my phone being picky or if there was something wrong with the charger. Same thing happens in my car charger too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't watched it closely enough. It just seems to wake up repeatedly while sitting next to me on my desk.

Okay no worries, I'll try it again when the battery is a bit lower and see if it responds.

So no dice on the low battery test. I guess my phone is just picky

I tried this afternoon. In fact, it rebooted when I left it on the battery screen to see what would happen. I've had this happen more than once, and I'm starting to suspect the mod is responsible. It only happens when the phone gets up to 95% or so.
I would be careful about that car charger, if it seems to be inducing issues. At least two people I know of have had their phones hard brick while on their car charger.

Ok i purchased all the necessary items, but my Coil is different from the one you have in the pics.
take a look,
so i am a bit confused.
anyone able to help

rinnycoop121 said:
Ok i purchased all the necessary items, but my Coil is different from the one you have in the pics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that a Pre back? Looks like the power contacts are those two metal squares on the right.

Hi i'm sorry but it looks like the images are broken again. Can you maybe email them to me/pm or something? Really want to try this out...

This seems fairly straightforward
However, did you consider putting the coil in the actual One XL body? I have no idea how thick the coil and/or controlboard is, so I have no idea if that would even fit remotely.
It would also solve the pogopin problem, as there are some pads you can solder to (where the pogopin board is) inside the casing.
I just hate cases

piotrus22 said:
Hi i'm sorry but it looks like the images are broken again. Can you maybe email them to me/pm or something? Really want to try this out...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I checked on another computer that's not connected to Dropbox and they're still there. Might be on your end. Anyone else not seeing them?

[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
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Dock not charging, tablet does (also through dock)

This has been going on for a while and hasnt bothered me too much, until now!
The thing is my dock hasn't been charging for quite a while, battery is stuck at 0%. The light is blinking orange when the tablet is docked in and/or the charger is connected. The tablet itself charges just fine, also through the dock.
I have already opened the dock, nothing strange. Battery appears fine (not swolen or anything) and nothing weird with the connection. I have been flipping the SW1001 swithc like crazy as well (even though by now I don;t remember the default anymore, open or closed... or what open or closed actually is. Even though on the backside of the PCB there is some 'open' print).
I have tried charging the dock (both seperately as with tablet docked in) with switch in both connections (for quite a few hours) but without luck. The led is blinking the same way, no matter how I put the switch.
Also tried flashing stock firmware again, no luck.
* Is there a way to test the dock battery? (Apart from switching the dock and tablet battery for example).
* Does anyone know what the default posittion of the SW1001 swithc is? (This is the switch on the right side of the left pcb inside the keyboard dock).
* Any other tricks getting the dock battery to charge again?
I have been thinking of ordering a new battery (or possibly entire dock, might be able to get one second handed) but would really like to have tried everything else first

To test the dock battery (or any battery), use a multimeter, find out what the voltage should be (I believe but don't hold me to it) that the dock and internal battery should be ~15v. Check on the internet (google, youtube, etc) for correct usage of a multimeter. If the battery is fine, you already have the multimeter in front of you, check the connections to the tablet from the battery.
If you don't know where to get a multimeter, (you probably shouldn't have opened the dock) you can get one at RadioShack, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Frys, decent gas stations, the internet. You get the idea: they're everywhere.

da3dsoul said:
To test the dock battery (or any battery), use a multimeter, find out what the voltage should be (I believe but don't hold me to it) that the dock and internal battery should be ~15v. Check on the internet (google, youtube, etc) for correct usage of a multimeter. If the battery is fine, you already have the multimeter in front of you, check the connections to the tablet from the battery.
If you don't know where to get a multimeter, (you probably shouldn't have opened the dock) you can get one at RadioShack, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Frys, decent gas stations, the internet. You get the idea: they're everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers, I do have a multimeter so will indeed give that a try.
Not sure how to actually measure this battery:
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but I'll see if I can find anything.
Also, perhaps I'll try swapping the battery from the tablet and dock as well anyway. Hard to tell if the battery is at fault or some other part (charging the battery).

As a last resort, because these batteries often won't charge up again if they drop to 0% would be to (safely) warm it up, might give it that 1% needed to kick start it
Used to put my pencil batteries on the hot radiator for an hour when they had run out, and normally got a little longer out of them until they cooled down
Not sure if that works with Li-Ion but wouldn't hurt
Ive had the 0% dead battery problem with the dock, but swapping between SW1001 switch positions every half hour eventually got it charging again

*Detection* said:
As a last resort, because these batteries often won't charge up again if they drop to 0% would be to (safely) warm it up, might give it that 1% needed to kick start it
Used to put my pencil batteries on the hot radiator for an hour when they had run out, and normally got a little longer out of them until they cooled down
Not sure if that works with Li-Ion but wouldn't hurt
Ive had the 0% dead battery problem with the dock, but swapping between SW1001 switch positions every half hour eventually got it charging again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip, nice alternative for the 'putting it in the fridge' one, will certainly give that a try too. I actually closed the dock again, but guess I'll be popping it open again this evening hehe.
Do you happen to remember/recall what the proper position of the SW1001 switch was?

Hmmm...thanks Asus, that makes everything easier....Usually red and black are +/-, there appears to be text on the battery cables. Check to see if any have + out, - out, + discharge, etc, etc. You want to see if it will output any current, because if it does, it is not really 0%, just really low. If you find which ones are charging inputs, give it a (small) jolt of like 0.25v - 0.5v higher than what it asks for a couple minutes and then switch back to normal.

dagrim1 said:
Thanks for the tip, nice alternative for the 'putting it in the fridge' one, will certainly give that a try too. I actually closed the dock again, but guess I'll be popping it open again this evening hehe.
Do you happen to remember/recall what the proper position of the SW1001 switch was?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can do one better - just remembered Id seen this a while back
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Disassemble-the-ASUS-Transformer-TF101-Keyb/?ALLSTEPS

Great, cheers guys!
Guess I'll have some playing to do. (Hell, it's prolly easier to just shell 30 bucks for a new battery but it's a matter of principle now )

lol yea, good luck - it's a pain because the actual battery is likely still fine, they just refuse to charge if completely drained, but, Ive managed it before and so have others, so you have some hope

Haha, thanks Ah well, I do enjoy tinkering around with this stuff (but I'm also clumsy at times, accidently pulling out cables and/or ribbons ).
Multimeter didn't work btw, couldn't manage to get a reading (hard to make contact with any of the wires of the battery, as well as no clue which wires do what... couldn't really read the text). Did manage to connect the tablet battery with the dock connector, immediately got a green light instead of constantly blinking orange/amber one. Attaching the dock battery to the tablet only resulted in a boot if I connected the charger... Resulted in a 0% battery and message "please connect the charger" so yeah, seems the battery is indeed the issue.
Either indeed depleted to 0% or perhaps the wiring is broken. Anyway, the battery is in the freezer now and am going to take it out tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I'll put it on the radiator in order to heat it up a bit (or perhaps a blowdryer on a low setting, will see). If that also doesn't work I guess I'll have to order a new battery afterall (might as well to round things up).
Of course now I also noticed I only get sound from one speaker Hell, and to consider we don;t even use this tablet anymore haha.

Never heard of putting batteries in the freezer, putting the charger in the freezer works only because it resets the thermal cut out switch, but not heard it about the actual batteries
For storing them when not in use, Ive heard you charge them to 50% and seal them in an airtight zip bag and store in the fridge for maximum lifespan
Make sure you let it thaw out back to room temp before putting it on the radiator though or you'll end up with condensation inside of it
Don't know about the wire colours either unfortunately
Fun project anyway, keeps you out of mischief

Ah well, freezing and heating it up didn't seem to work either... So I just ordered a new battery anyway (and speakers, lol... might as well finish it up properly then). Will take a bit before they're in but at least then I can let this rest
Tnx for the assistance and tips though, was a fun project nonetheless.

Just to finish this up, got the new battery and speakers yesterday... Built them into the TF101 and all is working fine now again (Of course there is still a volume difference in left/right speakers, haven't been able to figure out the proper settings in the config file from that other thread so I guess I'll just leave it for now).
So all is ok, except the charger of course, of which I think I already had 3 or 4 ones breaking so I gave up on those and just use the DIY charger which works just fine.

Good to hear it's almost back to 100% - are you running stock firmware?
I remember the speaker volume differences with stock - the latest KatKiss KitKat ROM by Timduru has even speaker volumes and the KatApp volume booster he makes has more options to boost the volumes and makes a big difference
#23c is the latest KK ROM - make sure you have TWRP recovery installed before flashing it though

*Detection* said:
Good to hear it's almost back to 100% - are you running stock firmware?
I remember the speaker volume differences with stock - the latest KatKiss KitKat ROM by Timduru has even speaker volumes and the KatApp volume booster he makes has more options to boost the volumes and makes a big difference
#23c is the latest KK ROM - make sure you have TWRP recovery installed before flashing it though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers!
I am running kitkat btw, but even then there's a difference in volume... I think it's #23 but will have to doublecheck that, as well as the volume apps you mentioned. On the other hand, it's not that big of an issue (would be nice to really fix everything though hehe).

You could try the fix that used to work for stock - see if it has the same issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118010
Also I noticed some of the holes in the bezel that let the audio come out from the speakers are either blocked or tiny, I used a sewing needle to bore out the holes which improved audio levels too
Just watch you don't push right through the speaker, might be an idea to remove the bezel to do it

*Detection* said:
You could try the fix that used to work for stock - see if it has the same issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118010
Also I noticed some of the holes in the bezel that let the audio come out from the speakers are either blocked or tiny, I used a sewing needle to bore out the holes which improved audio levels too
Just watch you don't push right through the speaker, might be an idea to remove the bezel to do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have tried several values from that thread but without any real results (also pretty tedious to test the settings). Might look into drilling/cleaning the speaker holes though. Saw another thread where it was recommended to turn around the speakers and drill some holes in the grill as well, but that;s a bit too much for now.
Cheers for the tips and recommendations though

Yea I was thinking about turning the speakers around too, not sure why they positioned them pointing away from the holes to begin with, or why they put the holes in the side instead of the front - but that's ASUS for you
Hopefully you'll find a solution eventually

Well, this how I solved the dock battery issue, it worked for me so maybe will work for somebody else.
I unwrapped the black plastic foil of the battery pack and checked the tensions, one of the two units was under 1.0 volt so I charged for some seconds enforcing from a charger.
I reassemble all and dock now is at 1% and charging ok.
Please be careful and be aware that a wrong or too much time can lead to explosion.

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