TMobile S8 works fine, except the screen won't turn on - Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions and Answers

My brothers TMobile S8 screen randomly stopped working. It has no signs of damage anywhere as well. Weirdly, I managed to get the screen to go on one time by pressing some button combos to try to follow a guide to get it into recovery to factory reset it. Upon the phone booting, the battery had 3% and when I went to show him, it was dead. Now after letting it charge, the screen does not work once again and I can't seem to get it to come on in the same way it did before, the bright blue recovery screen.
Is there any software I can use to just attach the phone to it and factory reset it? I mean, I've seen bad phone screens before that have still had images show up on them, even if heavily damaged physically or it no longer responding to touch and showing dim lights. But this one simply doesn't turn on, except the one random time it did, and it was perfectly fine, showed no sign of damage. Any thoughts would be greatly helpful

Is the battery known to be good?
If not replace it. The system will not boot if there's not enough current. It takes a fair amount of power to boot up. A charger can't provide enough to do so...

It boots up fine, I can hear the initial TMobile boot audio as well as the notification sound the phone makes when it gets to the lock screen. I also had it stop charging @80% not too long after buying the phone on release, with some custom ROM I installed. Ofc its a possibility its battery related, since I can't see anything on it, but it was taken care than the average person I am sure

With a custom rom all bets are off. Makes troubleshooting much harder. Possible rootkit.
Firmware and malware aside if it's booting but no display, possible loose ribbon connector, failed display or mobo. That's assuming the battery is good...

Well I did disable/uninstall Superuser from the phone, and I used it for a couple years before giving it to my brother to use. That is a good point about the cable, I will search for images, maybe I can squeeze a few spots to just see what happens

moccor said:
Well I did disable/uninstall Superuser from the phone, and I used it for a couple years before giving it to my brother to use. That is a good point about the cable, I will search for images, maybe I can squeeze a few spots to just see what happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes just reseting a connector is all it takes. Those are low voltage lines and a perfect contact is needed.
If the battery is more then 2-3 yo it's probably at the end of its usable service life.

Thanks for the input, I will open it up if nothing else works and I will report back if it helps

Related

Dead Screen, weird noises

My girlfriends EVO just died today. She couldn't turn it back on after it went to sleep and she heard some odd static type noises coming out of it. Backlight for the capacative buttons works, but the screen is dead. Won't even display anything if we attempt to boot into HBoot or Recovery. Sadly I wasn't there to hook it up to my computer and try to get a logcat or a screencast from Droid Explorer. She's having Sprint replace it. Anyone run into anything like this?
Stats on it:
New phone (less than a month old)
Running MIUI 1.9.23
No drops, no water, no nothing.
Did her battery die, as in super duper drained? Did you try a different battery, or removing the battery for 5 minutes, then then try to power it on?
gilliduck said:
My girlfriends EVO just died today. She couldn't turn it back on after it went to sleep and she heard some odd static type noises coming out of it. Backlight for the capacative buttons works, but the screen is dead. Won't even display anything if we attempt to boot into HBoot or Recovery. Sadly I wasn't there to hook it up to my computer and try to get a logcat or a screencast from Droid Explorer. She's having Sprint replace it. Anyone run into anything like this?
Stats on it:
New phone (less than a month old)
Running MIUI 1.9.23
No drops, no water, no nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ye man sounds like a lemon phone. Unfortunately quality of work is down the ****ter. I would just take it back I wouldn't mention anything about it being rooted, though it shouldn't make any difference. I would also ask other users using the miui rom, and if they had issues with it..
I thought of that too, but doesn't seem battery related. Charging LED displays normally. Pulled the battery, let it charge, etc etc. 99% sure that something very random and possibly bizarre happened inside and the screen died as a result. I'm almost positive it's hardware related. Couldn't find any other posts online anywhere that described a similar situation.
gilliduck said:
I thought of that too, but doesn't seem battery related. Charging LED displays normally. Pulled the battery, let it charge, etc etc. 99% sure that something very random and possibly bizarre happened inside and the screen died as a result. I'm almost positive it's hardware related. Couldn't find any other posts online anywhere that described a similar situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its possible, though still worth trying. Best I have, since I haven't seen that problem before.

20 days, 2 bricked Nexus 6P

I assume bricked is the right term. And I'm pleading for some help here on what I can try before I call Google Support again.
Here is the quick run down: Bought 2 Nexus 6P, (Gray - Me), (White - Wife). Wife bricks her phone in 15 days, screen seems to work when held at different angles, can't seem to get it to stay on permanently, acts almost like an old VCR where it will partially draw the screen horizontally. Almost like a loose connector. It only stays on for milliseconds at a time, not long enough to factory reset or do anything remotely useful. Holding power for 8 seconds doesn't help. Holding power and both volumes does not help. Just to clarify, device is running, screen is black. Not a boot issue per say as a screen issue. Could previously hear her get alerts, can't right now (only see a battery icon). Since the screen is the main issue, I'm flailing in the dark as to where I am at any given point in time.
I assume how she uses the device because mine has been perfect and I can't seem to find a vocal crowd with this issue. However, after she bricks hers, she uses mine for an entire week and doesn't have any problems. Google support is extremely helpful and sends out an entire new device. I set it up and restore the apps, within 3 days (Friday -> Sunday) she has the exact same issue again - bricked. Now I'm completely flabbergasted. This device is still spotless, she has barely used it, it hasn't hit a surface hard, hasn't even been sneezed on. I can't even begin to stress how short a time period this is for a device to brick in. I can't help but feel this is a software app and the restore brought over the delinquent app. However, how come I can't reset the device and get back to a clean slate? Can anyone give me a trick?
Please, please help. She wants me to switch back to Verizon because of these device issues. However, even with 2 people, we are saving a ton on Project Fi and I really need this to work. Everything else has been a joy.
So I got it working. But I have a few questions...
Process:
1. Connected it to charger
2. Held power and both volume connectors
3. Held power again
4. Did both of these actions for upwards of 30 seconds at a time hoping for some response from the device.
5. Put it down on the table to write my forum post (still charging).
6. Battery image came on and off the screen randomly
7. Picked it up and held power one last time and it started booting normally.
I'm not sure which sequence of events led to what and I'd really love to know how to reliably reset it in the future. If this is the case then it means it was a software issue all along that persisted over several reboots.
Additionally, I'm frantically pulling software off of her phone - Elmo Calls, Sesame Go, Snapfish, Pinterest, etc. Fearing that one of these apps that I don't run on my device could be causing this. Is there any way to troubleshoot the software itself and see what device could have had access to the screen power and perhaps been powering the screen off as soon as I attempted to power it on (causing a flicker)?
Thanks.
your experience is really unusual you bought 2 phones but the one you are using does not have problems but your wife has, you switched phone then the problem occurs there is a chance a program is causing it as you already received a new one and it still occurring try to let her use the phone with the same software you are using and avoid which you dont use see if there is any progress.
Did you try factory resetting either phone?
Sounds like a software issue if they both had the exact same issue.
does she have some kind of serious strong magnet in her body or purse? haha
Soulfly3 said:
does she have some kind of serious strong magnet in her body or purse? haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was going to say. Seems consistent to what a strong magnet would do to a screen. My next guess was a rogue app.
No magnets, nothing crazy. It started happening again yesterday a few hours after fixing it, I've hard wiped the device and bypassed the restore. Only updated the base applications and it is sitting on a charger - waiting to see if it will happen again.
Get a new wife?
VerucaSalt said:
Get a new wife?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or, as OP seems to like to get things in 2, get 2 new wives so that if you brick one, you still have one left without having to wait for RMA.
All jokes aside, is there any specific oddities in how your wife uses phones (Does she work at a metal scrapyard with a big ass magnet? Okay, I promise, last one.) Or you could be extremely unlucky to have bought a defective unit, which was replaced by another defective unit.
To reliably reset the 6P you just hold the power button until the phone vibrates as it starts to boot again. Did the screen flake out as it booted up too?
ttminh1997 said:
Or, as OP seems to like to get things in 2, get 2 new wives so that if you brick one, you still have one left without having to wait for RMA.
All jokes aside, is there any specific oddities in how your wife uses phones (Does she work at a metal scrapyard with a big ass magnet? Okay, I promise, last one.) Or you could be extremely unlucky to have bought a defective unit, which was replaced by another defective unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although these posts are funny as hell, honestly you would be surprised how many common every day things you come into contact with that can wipe data right off any storage medium. Although its definitely a possibility that you received a crap refurb phone, when you get the next RMA I would take some time to monitor your wife's daily routine with her cell (not her tinder activities), she might just be placing it near/on something that is wiping the phone or corrupting the data. Could also be a really junk app, but google is pretty good about keeping them out of the play store the best they can.
dl200010 said:
To reliably reset the 6P you just hold the power button until the phone vibrates as it starts to boot again. Did the screen flake out as it booted up too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, it was flaking out on the 8 second hold reboot - I performed it dozens of times without getting my screen back. What works reliably for me is to hold power and both volumes and then hit power again once the diagnostic screen shows up (whether I can actually see it or not). The reboot off of the diagnostic screen seems to bring the phone back to life consistently.
She is using the phone w/ just the base apps from yesterday - I told her to try breaking it without loading new apps - will see how this plays out today.
jaaaaaaaaf said:
Yea, it was flaking out on the 8 second hold reboot - I performed it dozens of times without getting my screen back. What works reliably for me is to hold power and both volumes and then hit power again once the diagnostic screen shows up (whether I can actually see it or not). The reboot off of the diagnostic screen seems to bring the phone back to life consistently.
She is using the phone w/ just the base apps from yesterday - I told her to try breaking it without loading new apps - will see how this plays out today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was that diagnostic screen flaking out too? I suggest to get more aggressive and factory reset through recovery and than ONLY connect her google account to get her contacts. Run like that for about a week. Otherwise your other choice would be to unlock the bootloader and try a custom ROM. I would suggest Cyanogenmod, DLROM (mine), Pure Nexus Project, or even Noob Builds.
ttminh1997 said:
Or, as OP seems to like to get things in 2, get 2 new wives so that if you brick one, you still have one left without having to wait for RMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haaaaaaaa, very good
---------- Post added at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 PM ----------
Soulfly3 said:
does she have some kind of serious strong magnet in her body or purse? haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was actually going to say this too, is there somewhere she goes or sits which has some kind of strong magnetic field? It's odd that it happened to one and then to the next one, unless they're just both from a faulty batch.
Suppose I will add a follow-up. Since I ripped all her software off the device it hasn't crashed once in the same fashion. So I mean, that is the conclusion. I'd love to say I knew how to dive deep enough into Android to pinpoint exactly which app had such incredibly disruptive and adverse affects (far worse than complete OS crashes). But I don't know Android well enough. Google has the original phone. It definitely seems like an app should not have been able to take over the display so completely.
I'm going to move forward and have my wife install more of her apps. Just wanted to shoot an update out in case I don't revisit this. Thanks everyone who posted.
Maybe a combo of rogue (rouge?) apps? I mean some apps do have the ability to draw over screen, so that might have caused whatever problem you had.
And OP, don't leave us

S5 GM900V Screen Flickering

I've read a lot about the screen flickering issue, suggestions range from changing options in developer options, removing your SD, squeezing certain parts of the phone, slapping it, replacing the screen etc. I was rooted on lollipop using this method: http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/general/root-method-og5-ok3-t3290370 and after the root the screen returned to normal for about 20 minutes. Over about a month or so after this the problem got worse, I'd have to press the power button 20 or more times to get the screen to come one and as of 3 days ago I haven't been able to use the phone at all. Today I was messing with it and found that if I reboot the phone holding the power and volume down buttons, the screen flickers and I see the yellow triangle with an exclamation point briefly, and flickers out again until the samsung boot screen, every time I do this, the phone stays on. I have USB stayawake on and if plugged in the phone will stay awake for hours until I push the power button to turn off screen, and then repeat the reboot process. Just in case there was a software issue I upgraded to the latest update by using odin, I'm now on 6.0.1 and the phone was working perfectly for an hour before it returned again. If the issue is the flex/ribbon cable that connects the screen or other hardware issue, I don't see how rebooting would help, but if its a software issue, I don't understand why its only after I turn off the screen. Regardless, even when the phone was working it would still flicker on the lowest brightness, but at least the power button would work. Anyone have any ideas?
I've been in this type of your situation believe me all those solutions you mentioned above non of them really work, infact i nearly got my phone twisted because of one stupid yellow flickers. As of now the only perfectly working solution according to my extensive research is first of all never put it in auto brightness, you can reduce the brightness to a minimum, this happens on many samsung devices like s4,note 3 and even some s6 due to the amoled screens you'll notice when you reduce your brightness to the lowest it start immediately. I only got one report on this same issue damaging a s5 but it rear so dont be scared of loosing your phone. I'll upload a sreenshot of my minimum brightness to give an ldea.
nura380 said:
I've been in this type of your situation believe me all those solutions you mentioned above non of them really work, infact i nearly got my phone twisted because of one stupid yellow flickers. As of now the only perfectly working solution according to my extensive research is first of all never put it in auto brightness, you can reduce the brightness to a minimum, this happens on many samsung devices like s4,note 3 and even some s6 due to the amoled screens you'll notice when you reduce your brightness to the lowest it start immediately. I only got one report on this same issue damaging a s5 but it rear so dont be scared of loosing your phone. I'll upload a sreenshot of my minimum brightness to give an ldea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The not using auto brightness does stop the screen from flickering so if I have to turn it down, I turn it down to just below where it starts happening but I still have the issue of the screen not coming on with the power button consistently, it flashes on for a second then back off, not nearly long enough for me to unlock the phone, except for when I restart it using power+vol down
EDIT: I see now this probably should've gone in the help and troubleshooting sub-forum, if any mod sees this, please move it for me.
It worked perfectly for me except your is getting worse by the week. Never mind i just got a new way may be it'll work on your phone, move your brightness tray to the highest or at the middle, keep using it as normal for every day use for at least a week. It worked for my indian friend as he told me. Keep in touch.
nura380 said:
It worked perfectly for me except your is getting worse by the week. Never mind i just got a new way may be it'll work on your phone, move your brightness tray to the highest or at the middle, keep using it as normal for every day use for at least a week. It worked for my indian friend as he told me. Keep in touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first day it didn't seem to make a difference but I didn't check on it a lot, after that I've checked a few times and it does seem to make a difference it comes on much more frequently now, almost every time, but what could be the cause of the issue then? When I thought it was the ribbon cable connecting the screen I wasn't opposed to replacing it if I have to, but now I'm not sure how to go about fixing this or if I even can other than just leaving brightness up
Just to update, keeping it on max brightness did a lot to solve the issues, but it was still under warranty through Samsung so I sent it in, its on its way back, but according to the report they replaced the LCD

Screen completely black

Hello,
I have a Moto X Play which is in great condition, I use a case and a screen protector.
Today I went for a walk and grabbed my phone which I hadn't touched in awhile. Once I got outside I realized it wouldn't turn on no matter what I did. Strange, maybe I left an app on.
I get home, plug it in, and it's at 75%. I play with it a bit and put it back in my pocket.
A few minutes later, I can't get the screen on again. I figure, I'll plug it in, reboot it to clear the glitch, it's all good.
It just won't light up.
I can locate it, it's updating its location, I can call it, it vibrates, it responds to buttons (but not the screen) Nothing seems to be wrong with it other than the screen.
I've tried everything to do a reboot, I've plugged in the short circuit usb dongle thing that usually puts an android device right into debug mode. I think it is rebooting but no screen action.
I have the latest OS for the device (whatever the not-so-new one is) and I am unrooted, locked, whatever I haven't messed with anything like that.
What can or should I do? I am just recently out of the 1 year warrantee.
Thank you,
-Phil
Hold down your power and volume down buttons until it turns back up(night take some time) into the bootloader screen and try to factory reset it.
Sent from my Moto X Play using XDA Labs
I've tried this, so far no luck. A bit of an update:
I brought it to a shop, they gave it a light twist and the screen came back fine and was in the setup wizard (as I had remotely reset it). They said the display port may have plugged back in, gave it back free of charge. By the time i got back home it was off again. I brought it back in to have them open it and reattach it for real. This didn't help. They tried attaching a brand new screen, same issue. The screen doesn't light up for reboots, not for factory reset, nothing. I am guessing this is an issue on the motherboard but the fact that a light twist "fixes" the issue suggests to me a light soldering could solve the issue. The repair shop gave it back to me as unfixable but I don't want to give up on it yet. I did have an opportunity to get a Nexus 5 in good shape for 140$ so I did that for now. This gives me time to mess with the Moto X Play. Any ideas?
pcaston2 said:
I've tried this, so far no luck. A bit of an update:
I brought it to a shop, they gave it a light twist and the screen came back fine and was in the setup wizard (as I had remotely reset it). They said the display port may have plugged back in, gave it back free of charge. By the time i got back home it was off again. I brought it back in to have them open it and reattach it for real. This didn't help. They tried attaching a brand new screen, same issue. The screen doesn't light up for reboots, not for factory reset, nothing. I am guessing this is an issue on the motherboard but the fact that a light twist "fixes" the issue suggests to me a light soldering could solve the issue. The repair shop gave it back to me as unfixable but I don't want to give up on it yet. I did have an opportunity to get a Nexus 5 in good shape for 140$ so I did that for now. This gives me time to mess with the Moto X Play. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make a video on attempt to remove a non removable battery
Sent from my Moto X Play using XDA Labs
Ive been having the same issue with my x play, so try this out. turn it on, and have a look at the screen under a bright light, see if you can make out anyting. The backlight might not be coming on, but the screen will still 'turn on' so to speak, you can still make out whats on the display, touch input works etc. I have an issue with the display connector, with a bit of pressure it will work then not work, almost as if the backlight shorts out. it took me awhile to find out that that was the problem. as for a fix, if its the same problem I'm having, then you'd probably need a new mainboard. I've tried everything, new screen, new battery, swapping covers etc.. I have 2 x plays to tinker with and swap out parts.
I've tried using my new phone's flashlight to illuminate the screen with no success (though I will try again tonight, I'm not 100% sure it's on). Looks like mainboard run somewhere around 120$ before the repair cost, seems like it's not worth it. I'll post back after I double-check to see if the screen is there or not.
If it's shorting, I would think it could be fixed with some careful soldering? I do know that when I turn my phone on (remember it's been hard reset and has no SIM card) it vibrates every few minutes, I have no idea why. That's the only odd behavior it's been experiencing aside from the display not showing up.
I tried to look for any sign of the screen showing up by using string light and I didn't see anything that might suggest anything is showing up.

Is my Note 4 dead?

Hello dear community,
I'm posting there because I have some doubts about my phone and i'd like some answers from you.
1 month ago, I was charging my phone. When it reached 100% battery, It was fine but the problem is when I was trying to press "power" to turn it on but It didn't want to. So, I removed the battery because I couldn't even turn it off. When I tried to restart it again, it didn't want to. No reaction to the "power" button.
I followed EVERY tips on Google but none worked. I also tried to change my battery but nothing. I tried also to connect it to my computer, it was detected but my phone didn't turn on.
So, I guess my phone is dead unless if there is a solution to make it working? Also before that, my phone was becoming very laggy and when it had a small lag, it was turning off and was rebooting.
Thank you in advance for your answers.
CSM Fol said:
I have mustered some conclusions about your phone based on what you typed:
1st claim: The power button no longer works anymore
•Reason: "... when I was trying to press "power" to turn it on... it didn't want to... When I tried to restart it again, it didn't want to. No reaction to the "power" button."
—Seems like you're gonna have to find another Note 4 and replace its motherboard with the Note 4 whose power button doesn't work anymore after 5 years.
But before spending, I would like you to try this method from a Youtube comment:
"... you'll just have to keep the charger [cable connected] on [your phone] while you take off the battery, and put it back after; then, remove the charger quickly..."
—————
2nd claim: The screen no longer works
•Reason: "I tried also to connect it to my computer, it was detected but my phone didn't turn on."
—If the phone is charged, seeing nothing but blackness, but you still see an emitting LED light on the top-left corner, that's a sign that it still works, just not the screen. So I would suggest that you buy a new screen and replace it with your old one. If you think you can't, then go to a phone repair shop and let others do the repairing.
—————
3rd claim: The motherboard is dead
•Reason: "... before that, my phone was becoming very laggy and when it had a small lag, it was turning off and was rebooting."
—The motherboard might be dead if these are happening, but I don't think this is the right reason unless the first two conclusions are proven to be true. If the first two conclusions are proven to be false, then the motherboard is dead, and you may either buy another Note 4 motherboard or get a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer.
To answer you clearly about all the points you clarified, there is no led light appearing when putting it on charge and I also tried the "Youtube comment" but nothing.
So I think, the motherboard is dead as you mentioned. I just don't understand how it died after a charge but as I saw on Google, it's a general problem on Galaxy Note 4, so I think i'm not surprised at all. It's been since 2015 I had it.
Thank you for your time and to have solved my doubts about the death about my phone.
xSLOom said:
Hello dear community,
I'm posting there because I have some doubts about my phone and i'd like some answers from you.
1 month ago, I was charging my phone. When it reached 100% battery, It was fine but the problem is when I was trying to press "power" to turn it on but It didn't want to. So, I removed the battery because I couldn't even turn it off. When I tried to restart it again, it didn't want to. No reaction to the "power" button.
I followed EVERY tips on Google but none worked. I also tried to change my battery but nothing. I tried also to connect it to my computer, it was detected but my phone didn't turn on.
So, I guess my phone is dead unless if there is a solution to make it working? Also before that, my phone was becoming very laggy and when it had a small lag, it was turning off and was rebooting.
Thank you in advance for your answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put in cold fridge for 30 min without battery, then try to turn it on. If not, try the cardboard method under the emmc chip (search youtube)
Timpaa said:
Put in cold fridge for 30 min without battery, then try to turn it on. If not, try the cardboard method under the emmc chip (search youtube)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this a serious thing ? (fridge)
I did the oven trick on my n910t. I left my phone stuck in the grill of my truck when I changed the brakes. I took it for a test drive and ended up running over the phone. Me being a noob at the time didn't know the AT&T Note 4 would not unlock Bootloader for custom roms or custom recoveries. I purchased the AT&T Note and was sorely disappointed there after. Flash 2019 I still have the motherboard for my note that I ran over. I can only get in to go into download mode and only when it was plugged in. I flash custom ROM or custom recovery and it would say would pass but it would just boot loop and boot loop. So I read somewhere where you can put it in the oven for around 5 to 6 minutes at about 200° and that it would settle any of the cracked solder that be around the emmc or anywhere else on the board. So I tried it. I stuck it in two different times at five minutes a piece, pull the board out and let it set for a day. I installed the board just a little while ago and she fired right up. It's amazing
I've recently replaced the motherboard on my N910F with a used one bought from AliExpress. As it's used I've no idea how long it will last but for £30 was worth a try.
It was pretty straightforward replacing the motherboard using one of the tear down guides on YouTube.

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