Evaluating Galaxy S3 without battery +

[shakushinnen]

Hi,
I bought this phone without a battery, and have two questions:
1. Is there way of determining if this phone will work, without buying a battery?
When I plug it into the computer USB port, it hums and the light comes on for a couple of seconds, then it goes dead.
2. I have the SGH-1747m model. If I do buy a battery, should any battery for a Samsung S3 do?
Any help is appreciated.
..... john

 

[ocnbrze]

anything that is made for the s3 is going to be old. nobody, even 3rd parties, are not making s3 batteries now. sure it will say new because it has never been used. but these batteries have been sitting on a shelf for a very long time. and most manufacturers of batteries will not make a s3 battery on demand. it does not work that way. so even if you find s3 batteries i doubt they will last very long.

and i would use a charging brick than your computer to charge the phone.

 

[nickdalzell]

You can still get decent batteries on Amazon for Samsung SIII. I was using an SIII until February 2023 (screw you, AT&T) and it held enough charge for a day and a half standby, or a full day of average use, about the same I got from my first in 2013.

Old doesn't mean bad. I don't know why all of a sudden something being old means it's useless to people here. A lot of times, the older stuff lasts longer, and is far more repairable, and oftentimes has many more features than the 'modern' versions. If anything, modern tech encourages disposability (see: laptops glued together, soldered RAM, non-removable batteries, smartphones: non-removable batteries, OEMs against right to repair, Apple iPhones having screen replacement DRM that disables Touch ID and so on)

disposable =/= sustainable

Also, a phone from 2012. Not old. 2012 ain't that long ago. Is anyone left around anymore who remembers when something had to be 30 years old to be 'ancient?'

For the OP:

The Samsung Galaxy SIII requires a battery to power on. If you connect the cable to a charger without a battery it shows a screen saying it needs a battery. You can't get past that by holding the power key.

Sadly, the Galaxy SIII isn't VoLTE (Voice over LTE) compliant, and is essentially a wifi-only glorified Galaxy Player today. Putting a SIM into it might even hotline the SIM due to network incompatibility (AT&T actually hotlined two, one that was in mine originally and a new BYOP that I tried after, shortly after getting a text message within 5 minutes telling me it's not supported (ironically it was working for those 5 minutes prior fine so is it really not supported, AT&T? Or do you just hate vintage that much?))

the earliest phone that is a Samsung that can work with VoLTE/Wifi Calling/HD Voice is some specific variants of the Galaxy S4, and all Samsung Galaxy S5's.

If you truly want to use an SIII as a phone there are means to work around this. One that I know for sure is putting a data-only SIM into it (for a 'tablet plan') and use VoIP calling apps that are supported by the version of Android on it. There are a few left on Play Store, and I was able to use my Note II as a phone on Wifi with one of them (Freecall) and these apps work with data or Wifi. Google Voice is no longer supported, I've tried. It did work, last year. Another app that works is Viber. It costs a few dollars to dial any phone and not just Viber contacts, per month, but it's cheap. (Viber Out subscription)

 

[ocnbrze]

i did not say old is bad.....sheesh!!!!!!!!

all i am saying is that batteries labeled "new" for the s3 are not "new". batteries will slowly discharge overtime. and the older the battery gets, the less of a battery life it will have......so don't expect to much out of a "new" battery for the s3.........that is all i am saying.

and with batteries YMMV. the same battery may work for you with a day and a half battery life. but i will most likely not have the same results even though they are the same battery.

Hi,
I bought this phone without a battery, and have two questions:
1. Is there way of determining if this phone will work, without buying a battery?
When I plug it into the computer USB port, it hums and the light comes on for a couple of seconds, then it goes dead.
2. I have the SGH-1747m model. If I do buy a battery, should any battery for a Samsung S3 do?
Any help is appreciated.
..... john

so again:
1. try plugging the phone in not thru the computer via usb, but with a charging cable plugged into a power brick that is plugged into a wall.
2. at this point if you can find any battery that works with the s3, i would go with that. there are no brand names for phone batteries.....especially as all the big manufacturers have gone with non-removeable batteries......so no big companies really make phone batteries these days.

 

[nickdalzell]

From experience you cannot power an SIII on without a battery. You'll get a screen saying so if you try.

Many replacement batteries are available on Amazon, some even Samsung OEMs. They take a few weeks to arrive due to restrictions on the transport of Li-ion batteries (especially after a few in-flight fire incidents)

 

[shakushinnen]

Hi ocnbrze/nickdalzell,
I probably should have explained myself better. I'm not interested in using this phone as a phone, only as an mp3 player, a voice recorder, and a camera, for when I don't feel like dragging out the dslr ....... it will never see wifi or a phone plan.
I tried to fire it up using the brick method (My brick's maxiumum setting is 5V/2.4A) and the wall adapter is 5V/1A). The result was the same as using the computer USB port, the light came on and it vibrated for about a second.
So, assuming that I can't fire it up wthout a battery, I still want to know if 'any' battery advertised as for a Samsung S3 should work; in other words, that battery is not model dependent?
The other thing I'd like to know is ..... does it have a decent camera; because if it does not, I'm not goinig to go any further with it.
Thanks again,
.... john

 

[nickdalzell]

It has an OK camera, not a GREAT camera. It's 8 Megapixels, no optical zoom, no EIS/OIS, and a sort of crap autofocus. Dark pictures or low light shots? Nope to those.

So long as the battery is for SIII it should work. Doesn't matter the variant/carrier branding. Try to find one that's authentic Samsung vs. a third-party Chinese battery. One of the two used SIIIs I played with last year came with a third-party 'spicy pillow' (swollen battery) and couldn't be used. Even a weak/shelf life-deprived Samsung battery is far better than some cheap aftermarket one.

 

[Fox Mulder]

The camera was typical for its time, it will still work but if you need or expect high resolution you'll be disappointed.
As for power all phones work the same way, the battery is always the power source and whatever external power is plugged in is only used to charge the battery and cannot operate the phone by itself without a battery installed.
While it is possible to use the phone in an application (such as a webcam) where it is constantly plugged in to external power to keep the battery up, this will eventually result in a swollen battery due to the constant charging.

 

[nickdalzell]

If you use a DSLR you probably know the nitty gritty settings many people don't regarding cameras. I always say it's not the camera, it's the photographer that makes the pictures. If someone was really into vintage, they could, with the right experience, make great shots with a Kodak Brownie.

 

[shakushinnen]

Hi Nick,
Thanks for the advice. And yes, I couldn't agree more, it is the photogapher that makes the picture.
Thanks again,
Thanks Fox.
..... john

 

[shakushinnen]

Hi all,
I found a site which told me how to fire-up the S3 without a battery. Briefly ... connect the red and black wires of a USB cable to the 1st and 3rd posts (counting from the left) of the battery terminals, then plug it into the computer. Voila! When I did that I got the 9 dot locking pattern; so I reset the phone. After doing that I was allowed (very limited access) which would not allow me to do anything without installing a SIM card; which I'm not going to do, because I have no intention of using the phone 'as a phone'. So, that's were I am. If I could bypass the SIM card screen and use the other features, that would be all I want; but when I hit 'skip' it tells me that 'unfortunately setup has stopped' ... end of story. Is there anything I can do here?
Any help is appreciated.
..... john

 

[nickdalzell]

Ah, the ol'e 'carrier has locked specific settings to require a SIM card and without you can't even use Wifi' mess. That means it's likely a carrier phone and wants 'activation'. The easy way to get past that 'setup screen' is to just use a deactivated SIM card and when it complains it can't connect just tap 'skip' or 'later' and continue and it should turn you loose and you can use it like a Galaxy Player (which was a similar device from the same time, that was an SIII, minus the phone; their attempt to compete with iPod touch)

When you factory reset it you need to also clear the 'cache' partition otherwise sometimes some system apps crash which could also cause your issue. I've evaluated many without SIMs and the only time something complains that it stopped means I forgot the clear both data and cache partitions.

 

[Hadron]

According to my quick web check the I747 is the ATT s3 variant, so might be best to try to find an old ATT SIM (unless you know it's been unlocked).

 

[shakushinnen]

Ah, the ol'e 'carrier has locked specific settings to require a SIM card and without you can't even use Wifi' mess.

Hi Nick,
Yes, that seems to be the case.
Alright, I'll trying clearing the cash first.
Is a 'deactivated SIM card' any old SIM card?
Thanks,
.... john

 

[shakushinnen]

According to my quick web check the I747 is the ATT s3 variant, so might be best to try to find an old ATT SIM (unless you know it's been unlocked).

Hi Hadron,
I don't think it's been unlocked. It has someone's name on the opening screen, if that means anything.
Thanks,
..... john

 

[ocnbrze]

Hi Hadron,
I don't think it's been unlocked. It has someone's name on the opening screen, if that means anything.
Thanks,
..... john

what do you mean it has someone's name on the opening screen? like a person? or do you mean carrier?

 

[Hadron]

If it's a carrier name then that tells us nothing except which carrier it was originally sold by. Unlocking does not get rid of carrier branding, just allows other SIMs to be used in it.

 

[svim]

In a typical Android device buried in the Settings >> Security menu there is probably a 'SIM card lock' option (name and menu location vary depending on manufacturer). Sounds like the previous owner did manually lock their SIM card. If that is the case, try getting a PIN unlock key (PUK) from your carrier:

How to Unlock a SIM: 5 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Protecting your SIM card with a separate password can help thwart anyone's attempts to use your SIM in another device. But what if you need to switch phones and forgot your SIM card password? The only way to unlock a password-protected SIM...

www.wikihow.com

 

[nickdalzell]

be careful. In my experience, carriers do NOT like giving the PUK codes. They treated me with outright hostility and that included accusing me of violating ToS or committing 'hacking'. I have NEVER successfully obtained a PUK, SIM PIN1, PIN2, or Subsidy Unlock code from any carrier at all. They treat it like some sort of FBI secret and often accuse the user of doing something illegal. This dates back to the era of Cingular Wireless to as recent as Walmart Family Mobile by T-Mobile in late 2020.

 

[Hadron]

be careful. In my experience, carriers do NOT like giving the PUK codes. They treated me with outright hostility and that included accusing me of violating ToS or committing 'hacking'. I have NEVER successfully obtained a PUK, SIM PIN1, PIN2, or Subsidy Unlock code from any carrier at all. They treat it like some sort of FBI secret and often accuse the user of doing something illegal. This dates back to the era of Cingular Wireless to as recent as Walmart Family Mobile by T-Mobile in late 2020.

I've obtained those codes just by calling my carrier. But then I'm not American - it wouldn't be the first thing that's been different with your carriers.

 

[nickdalzell]

The most recent was when I had to contact Walmart Family Mobile (a T-Mobile MVNO) about an error I got on an unlocked Galaxy Note 8.0 cellular tablet, with it showing 'enter unlock code'. They outright accused me of hacking and then hung up, and trying to call again was met with even more hostility. I never got my unlock code, having instead to switch carriers to Tracfone and use a BYOP SIM kit to activate this tablet.

Before that we are talking Cingular Wireless times. Back then, I had times where I SIM-swapped and met with requests for PUK codes, which carriers were even more hostile about. Apparently, even asking for one is grounds for account termination, and exactly that happened.

 

[mikedt]

Sounds like it might be a purely an American thing? But then US carriers always seem to do things differently to the rest of the world. Every SIM I've had, I'm sure the PUK has always been in the documentation that comes with the SIM, Sometimes in the form of a scratch-off card. And that's with SIMs from Vodafone, Three UK, Three HK, EE, Lycamobile, PCCW, Nihao Mobile, China Mobile, and China Unicom.

Although I can recall only ever having to actually use a PUK code once, about twenty years ago when dad forgot the PIN on his phone .

 

[nickdalzell]

The only 'scratch off card' that comes with a US SIM card is the SIM card number itself. PUKs are supposed to be carrier provided but as stated, here, they protect it like a government secret. They make claims that you should never see the request for a PUK, PIN2 or Subsidy Unlock unless YOU are doing something nefarious.

The U.S. is also the only country who still does cellular contracts, and gimps prepaid a ton so people would prefer a contract for the gimmicks.

Going farther, U.S. cable companies still won't let you use your own cable modem, forcing you to use their rented model. They make claims that you can 'hack the system for free internet' if you use your own modem. They only allowed you to use your own router recently.

I'm not gonna hide the truth--the U.S. sucks a ton lately.

 

[olbriar]

That must be provider specific. I use my own modem and router with my cable provider.

 

[nickdalzell]

Both Spectrum and ATT DSL frown on you using your own equipment. Their stated reasons are stupid too.