Among the frequent requests from service center technicians, there are problems when, for some unknown reason, the phone does not turn on and also does not charge. Of course, this causes a lot of problems, if only because the gadget turns out to be completely inoperable. Especially if important data is stored in memory without a backup copy.
Let's look at why this happens and how this situation can be corrected at home, without outside help.
- System problems related to the Android OS itself. This can include viruses, crashes, and update errors.
- Hardware components, that is, those related to the hardware and filling of the phone - breakdown of the display, battery, or any other mechanical damage. The latter arise due to falls, contact with water, oxidation and various deformations (torsion, compression, impacts).
- External problems - most often due to a broken network adapter or power cord.
We will try to look in detail at each of the reasons why the phone stopped turning on and charging, and give practical guidance on how to behave in each case. However, if you are not sure that you can do everything correctly, contact the service center. Only a qualified technician can give an adequate assessment of the condition of the cell phone and advise the correct repair methods.
You may have to replace some parts, flash and install a working operating system, or buy a new charger.
Screen breakage
Often the root of problems with turning on is precisely the breakdown of the display. It is often misinterpreted and blamed on other problems. Multi-colored stripes may appear on the screen, it will stop responding to the owner’s taps or even show the picture.
It is in the latter case that many begin to believe that internal components have broken, the firmware has failed, or the battery has become unusable. But that's not true.
It’s worth noting right away that screen replacement is one of the most expensive repair procedures. Sometimes its price reaches half, or even ¾ of the cost of the device.
What should you do if your phone gets hot in the sun and won’t turn on?
What to do if the phone does not turn on
- Check
if liquid has entered - Check charging and battery
- Remove the memory card and SIM card
- Let the smartphone cool down
- Force reboot
- Connect to computer
- Reset to factory settings
- Update the firmware or roll back to the old one
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Main reasons
This group of causes includes more serious breakdowns, the detection of which will require a more thorough study of the condition of the equipment. For the most part, malfunctions are associated with physical defects in some electronic component. We recommend that you fix this in a workshop rather than doing self-repair.
Connector is broken or clogged
The socket for connecting the phone to power often becomes clogged with small debris. Especially if the user carries the gadget in his pockets. Crumbs, clothing lint, seed husks and other small objects often get stuck in it. Carefully examine the port opening. Try blowing with air pressure or gently cleaning with a needle.
The second option is a breakdown of the power connector. If the connected USB cable is loose and loose, there is most likely no normal contact with the motherboard. The cause of the breakdown may also be a fallen off or damaged power cable inside the case. In any case, it is better to carry out repairs and diagnostics of such a malfunction in a specialized workshop.
The battery has failed
An old battery suddenly becomes a problem, due to which the smartphone simply does not start.
This is usually preceded by:
- Increased battery charging time,
- noticeable decrease in battery capacity,
- Sudden shutdowns immediately after removal from the charger,
- The charging level does not reach 100%, although it has been hanging on the adapter for 3-5 hours,
- The battery may simply run out and not start for a long time. For example, if the phone has been left without power for more than a month. To start such a gadget, you need to charge it for 10–15 minutes. If it doesn’t help, you’ll have to revive the battery from the pusher, more about that here.
All this can be solved by replacing the battery with a new one.
The power button is broken
Another simple breakdown that turns a gadget into a brick: a broken power button. With such a malfunction, the key stops clicking, as if it becomes impossible to press, and the tactile response disappears. All the troubles are due to a stuck contact or a broken microbutton.
If the button is connected by a cable, you can repair it yourself. But if the element is soldered to the motherboard, you should take the device to a repair shop, since drinking too much at home is still an adventure.
Charge controller burned out
Batteries contain a special chip - a charge controller. It can be integrated either into the battery itself or located separately on the board. The chip controls charging levels, current and a bunch of other parameters.
Often, when using non-original accessories (power cables, chargers), the controller receives current with increased characteristics. The board burns out or deteriorates. The phone stops working. Only an experienced technician can fix this problem.
Motherboard is faulty
The motherboard is the main control component inside the smartphone. In addition, this is the most expensive part, along with the gadget display. With such a malfunction, the case may become hot, but the screen will remain black.
The motherboard fails for various reasons:
- Consequences of a strong blow. The printed circuit board may simply crack.
- Contact with water or other liquid. The contacts close, some chips simply burn out.
- Poor quality repairs. The insides of the smartphone resemble a layer cake. The boards are located on top of each other. If you take a bolt of the wrong length, you can simply break through some area of the motherboard under the screwed-in chip.
iPhone owners often encounter this last point. This gadget has more than 3 types of different bolts. And they all have different lengths.
Mechanical damage or drowning
A strong shock or moisture becomes a death sentence for the motherboard. Reasons for failure of internal modules:
- Severe fracture. For example, when you carry your phone in your back pocket.
- Falling from height. Sometimes it’s enough to drop the device from the table onto a concrete or tiled floor.
- Wetted with water, tea, beer, coffee, and other liquid substances.
After such manipulations, the gadget may simply turn off and not respond to hardware keys or touches on the display. Be careful with your smartphone. Do not place it near food or drinks. Keep your cell phone in your bag or inside pocket of your outerwear.
Crooked firmware
Custom or crooked firmware often turns a phone into a brick. It stops responding to button and sensor presses.
In this case, there are three ways to bring your cell phone back to life:
- Hard Reset procedure if hardware keys work;
- rollback to the old firmware or install a new OS via a USB cable from a computer;
- going to a repair shop when the first two methods did not help.
Carefully read the reviews on the model you are interested in and the stability of the custom firmware on it before updating the OS.
Viruses
You should not exclude the possibility of your device becoming infected with viruses or other malware. Often the gadget stops turning on after downloading suspicious files from the network or installing third-party applications.
FastBoot
It is extremely rare that Android goes into FastBoot mode after an unsuccessful flashing and refuses to boot further. In this case, watch the video instructions:
Applications
If your phone gets hot quickly, sometimes the problem is related to the apps. They may not have been installed correctly, or they may have bugs that were not discovered by the developers. You may have downloaded malware, especially if you searched for applications online on questionable sites.
See what actions cause the case temperature to rise. If this happens when using certain applications, try updating them, reinstalling them, or completely uninstalling them if they are not essential or can be replaced with analogues.
Increased heating may be due to a large number of applications running in the background. If you do not close games, browser, videos, but simply minimize them, they continue to work. In addition to them, the phone also operates other software - some you use, others are updated, connect to the Internet to check messages, update data (for example, weather widgets, etc.). So many active applications cause the smartphone to become hot.
To avoid the problem, close rather than minimize apps and games. It is also recommended to open the settings and limit background operation for most applications, with the exception of those that really need such functionality (messengers, etc.).
An alternative solution would be to install and use special utilities with which you can check the operation of RAM and close unused software. You can get acquainted with their best representatives in a separate article.
High load
Running resource-intensive games or applications is one of the most common and common reasons for a smartphone to overheat. At this time, the processor operates at maximum and generates a significant amount of heat. At the same time, mobile equipment does not have a cooling system as such, so the device begins to heat up. If a cover is put on top, the temperature increase can be very significant.
If you notice that strong heating occurs only under heavy loads, this is normal. However, it is better to remove the case to improve ventilation of the case. Avoid overheating for a long time to avoid causing damage to your smartphone. Take breaks, and if you are performing other complex tasks on your phone while gaming (for example, downloading something), pause the gameplay.
While watching a movie, try placing your phone on a vertical stand, removing the case to improve ventilation, and shutting down other apps running in the background. Streaming data while watching videos online, as well as constantly having the screen on will lead to an increase in temperature, and other running software will increase this process.
All kinds of animated wallpapers, screensavers, widgets and other design elements can load the processor and lead to an increase in the temperature of the device. Disable them and see how the smartphone works. If the problem resolves, remove these items.
Charge the battery
The phone might just be dead. Therefore, when you press the power button, you will not be able to turn on the device. Connect the charger and wait until the battery charges. If your phone has a “missed notification indicator”, a light indication will appear when connected to the network in the off state.
Phone charging indicator
Important! After a deep discharge, it sometimes takes up to 30 minutes before the phone starts charging. Since initially charging occurs at a low current. A battery tester will allow you to see how much power is being pumped into your phone.
Testing the battery charge
The problem with complete discharge occurs if the battery is not recharged in time. More often, the charge runs out due to 1-2 active processes that can drain the battery in a day. Less often, the power controller in the phone or on the battery fails. In this case, you need to re-solder the controller or replace the battery.
Phone heats up when using the browser
Often, a smartphone can heat up while working in the browser due to an uncleaned cache recycle bin and the presence of virus software. Phones are especially vulnerable in this regard, since users rarely assume that when downloading a file from the Internet, they can also introduce a virus.
It is necessary to periodically check your smartphone for viruses. This can be done by downloading a special application that will not only scan, but also delete malicious files.
All devices, be it a smartphone or a laptop, tend to heat up. A low temperature of up to 40-45 degrees is not outside the normal range, but a higher heating temperature, which burns your hands and slows down the operation of the device, is a reason to take action.
Every gadget needs to be given a periodic rest.
The reasons can be either internal (virus, incorrectly installed software, frequent use of the phone and a large number of application tabs open at the same time) or external (exposure to direct sunlight, problems with the charger and battery). If the problem cannot be solved on your own, then you should contact a specialist who will tell you what exactly is causing the heating and how best to eliminate this problem. Intervention on your own may cause your phone to explode due to overheating.
Extracting information from a broken Android
Even if the problem can be solved without financial investment, by simply flashing it, users have an important question - how to save the data stored in the phone’s memory. There are no problems with the memory card: you just need to remove it from the device. But how to save data from the internal drive? For example, pull out contacts.
Increase
If you backed up your system or at least turned on Google synchronization, then getting your contacts will be very easy. All you have to do is go to the Contacts app on Google to see the full list of synced contacts. If you want to transfer them to another device, all you need to do is add a Google account to it.
Increase
To make it as easy to get other information, you need to periodically backup Android. Then if the phone reboots and resetting does not help, you can safely reflash it without worrying about the safety of the information.
You can, for example, install custom Recovery and copy data to a memory card using the “Backup” function.
Intensive smartphone use and background applications
If your gadget is running many resource-intensive programs at the same time, Wi-Fi, mobile Internet, GPS are turned on, and you also want to play a game with colorful graphics, then your phone is doomed to get very hot. All this simultaneously puts a heavy load on the processor and video accelerator. To avoid overheating due to these factors, always close unnecessary background applications. You can do this through task managers or by pressing and holding the Home button. When you open the list of running applications, simply swipe aside the ones you don't use.
Restore factory settings
If the above recommendations did not help, then returning to the factory settings can eliminate the system error. All data and third-party applications are deleted, and the device is returned to its original “out of the box” state.
Before resetting, transfer all data to your computer. If the computer does not recognize the device, you must enter recovery mode using a specific key combination, as follows:
- Turn off the gadget by long-pressing Power or Power + Home + Volume Down (for Samsung).
- When the Android logo appears on the screen, release the Power button and continue pressing and holding the other two until the recovery menu appears.
- Use the Volume Down key to highlight the Factory Reset option in the menu.
- Press Power to confirm your choice. Wait until the phone completes the reset process, after which it will automatically reboot.
If this does not happen, contact a professional.
Solving the problem with a forced restart
Absolutely any screen can glitch. This issue can be resolved by forcefully restarting the device. Before you begin, it’s worth understanding how the forced inclusion algorithm is performed correctly.
To execute a forced command, you should quickly press the volume up button, and then also quickly press the volume down button. You need to perform actions one by one; you do not need to press two volume buttons at the same time. Then you should hold down the side button until the gadget logo appears on the screen. Next, a line will appear to enter a PIN code, by typing which you will be able to start the phone.
Even if a fingerprint is used to turn on the smartphone as standard, a forced restart is not possible without entering a PIN code.
Do not forget that such manipulation will only temporarily resolve the inclusion issue. This method should not be used permanently.
How to tell if your device is really overheating
Any Android and iOS phone can heat up during operation, but not more than 35°-40°. Sometimes, when performing resource-intensive tasks, the temperature rises to 45°. If this happens only briefly, there is no cause for concern.
The situation is different if the problem occurs constantly, and to such an extent that it is difficult to hold the phone in your hands. In this case, not the entire body may become hot, but only its individual parts. Often this happens not only during operation, but also when the device is inactive.
A significant increase in temperature seriously affects the operation of the gadget. Performance decreases, charging, camera, display or other important components stop working. Sometimes, if the heating reaches critical levels, a warning appears informing you that the phone cannot be used until it cools down. If you encounter the symptoms listed above, this means that the problem really exists and requires a solution.
Question answer
Let's look at a few questions that users have when trying to turn on their devices or recharge them from the network.
Cyclic reboot
If a logo appears on the smartphone screen for 1-2 seconds, after which it reboots again, and so on several times. This means the device caught a cyclic (endless) reboot. This happens due to both software reasons and hardware failures.
Repair methods:
- Battery or power controller failure. Often found on Lenovo mobile phones. It can be treated by replacing the battery or repairing it in a specialized workshop.
- Error loading Android OS. You can try to roll back the device settings using the hardware keys (Hard Reset). Or reflash the device.
- DFU mode. Used on iPhone. Similar to Hard Reset, only for iOS.
Red battery lights up
If a red battery image appears when you connect the power cord, the problem is most likely a “dead” battery or power supply. Try changing the charger and cable first, and then check the battery.
How to recover data
If the phone is “completely bricked,” then it’s worth trying to at least save the accumulated data and files. This can be done in three ways:
- Take out the SD card. Part of your personal gallery may be saved on it.
- Try restoring the OS using a USB cable. To do this, you will need to install special software on your computer. For Android this is the ADB set.
- Take the device to a service center. There they will try to recover information using a software method. If the programs do not help, then a donor smartphone will come to the rescue. The memory chip will be removed from your device and inserted into the motherboard of a working one. Very expensive, but often this is the only way to recover information from internal memory.
It’s better not to tempt fate and store all personal information on an SD card, periodically creating backups in the cloud.
The screen is black but it won't load
A completely black screen with a narrow white stripe may indicate that the device has downloaded new firmware. At the moment he is installing new components and getting ready for work. The procedure takes some time.
Hangs on the logo after resetting to factory settings
Sometimes the device tries to boot, but gets stuck on the manufacturer's splash screen. The device may not be compatible with your SD card. Try removing the flash drive and turning on your smartphone again.
If this does not help, and the system does not boot further, even after 1-5 minutes of being idle in this state, we recommend flashing the new version of the software.
If it does not respond to charging
Sometimes the phone completely stops responding to the charger, while it periodically vibrates (buzzes) or flashes (lit) the LED indicator. This could be due to a faulty battery. We recommend taking it out and trying to charge it on a universal charger (frog). If it charges completely, then the problem is a dead charge controller.
Sometimes the reason lies in the system board. It can be tested for functionality using a USB cable and special software: Phone Doctor Plus, Phone Tester or Aida64.