Help Bionic doesn't power on

[CKwik240]

So looking for suggestions. My GF's Bionic doesn't always power on. She changes her battery semi-regularly when she needs to and now when she powers down to do so, it is hard to get it to power on again. I haven't been able to determine if there is a way to consistently get it to turn on using some sequence of pulling battery, combinations of buttons, etc. Once I get it to turn on, it functions normally. I've reproduced the problem both in swapping batteries and just powering down and trying to turn it back on again. Hoping someone may know of a solution. Worst case, we have the Total Equipment Coverage on this phone, but given I also have a Bionic and the ability to use common accessories makes it convenient to keep us both on Bionics and I'm hearing Asurion is out of Bionics. Sounds like they would offer a RAZR but given she needs to swap batteries on her Bionic often enough, a fixed battery isn't a great option. I'd prefer to be able to continue using the Bionic if I can given some of the potential compromises and the deductible I'd have to pay (and at least a new car dock to go with whatever phone she would end up with). Any suggestions on fixing the problem would be appreciated.

 

[Thom]

How many batteries are you dealing with?
Are they OEM batteries or third-party?
Are they fully charged when you install them back in the Bionic?
When a battery fails can you swap another battery in successfully?
Are the battery terminals clean?
Perhaps the battery being inserted has some film on the battery terminals and after you reinsert it a few times it gets clean enough to make contact.

With the Bionic powered on you should be able to remove the back, pull the battery, install a new battery, and power on with the button. (As in a "battery pull".)

... Thom

 

[SNeitzel]

That could also be a problem with the power button itself. If it is starting to fail, it could make turning on the phone difficult.

You mention you also have a Bionic, do her batteries work correctly in your phone? Do yours in hers?

I know a colleague here had to have his Bionic replaced by TEC, he was told just to go to a local store. They of course are out of Bionics and gave him the HTC Incredible 4G as a replacement. To them, that is an "equivalent" phone (I think he got f'd)...

 

[CKwik240]

How many batteries are you dealing with?

3

Are they OEM batteries or third-party?

OEM

Are they fully charged when you install them back in the Bionic?

Yes, we have an external charger. The problem occurs even when I get the phone running on a freshly charged battery and then power down again.

When a battery fails can you swap another battery in successfully?

Nope.

Are the battery terminals clean?
Perhaps the battery being inserted has some film on the battery terminals and after you reinsert it a few times it gets clean enough to make contact.

They are clean.

With the Bionic powered on you should be able to remove the back, pull the battery, install a new battery, and power on with the button. (As in a "battery pull".)

Nope. The state of charge of the battery appears to make no difference.

 

[CKwik240]

That could also be a problem with the power button itself. If it is starting to fail, it could make turning on the phone difficult.

I thought that as well, but once the phone is powered on, the power button responds normally.

You mention you also have a Bionic, do her batteries work correctly in your phone? Do yours in hers?

I haven't tried that, but will do so when she gets home from work. It seems unlikely to be the case as the other 2 batteries we have both have the same issue.

I know a colleague here had to have his Bionic replaced by TEC, he was told just to go to a local store. They of course are out of Bionics and gave him the HTC Incredible 4G as a replacement. To them, that is an "equivalent" phone (I think he got f'd)...

Ugh. I'm not sure I wanna deal with an HTC again.

 

[OutOfPhase]

When you can't get it to turn on what happens if you plug the bionic into a wall charger? Will it turn on, go to the battery charging symbol, or nothing?

 

[CKwik240]

^^^ IIRC (I tried this last week), it did nothing.

Some potentially good news is that this is not an Asurion claim. Its an extended warranty claim under the TEC, so Verizon handles it. And they informed me that they have replacement Bionics. So that issue is solved. So other than trying a few things they asked me to try (I did not have the phone with me when I called them), if the problem doesn't go away, I'm just gonna have it replaced.

 

[Thom]

Based on what you said it would appear to be a physical problem ... either the switch as OutOfPhase suggested ... or perhaps one if the battery connectors is loose an and gets misaligned. After you place the battery in it a number of times it is nudged back into position and stays that way until you remove the battery again.

... Thom

 

[CKwik240]

So I tried swapping in my battery into her phone and hers into mine. Mine works fine, hers still does not. Though, My extended battery appears to be bulging slightly. Its been a long time since I opened my battery cover so if someone can confirm for me that it should be flat, it would be much appreciated.

I called Verizon this morning and they said to try getting into the boot menu. Had to wait until this evening to try it, but when I tried, it immediately went in. I cleared the cache while I was in there and it seemed to work fine until she got back from the gym. Now I can't start t up again. I can't get into the boot menu wither, so I'm guessing I just caught it in a period where everything was working normally. I'm gonna try to do a factory reset as soon as I can get it to turn on and see if that helps.

For kicks I also plugged into my laptop while it was off. My laptop tried to install the phone, but it said it was installing the OMAP processor. It was also making the noise like I was plugging in and unplugging a device into the laptop. So I tried plugging my phone in while it was off and it caused my phone to turn on. Her phone seems royally Effed.

 

[OutOfPhase]

Sounds to me like a hardware issue ad you are going to have to use the warranty.

 

[doogald]

So I tried swapping in my battery into her phone and hers into mine. Mine works fine, hers still does not. Though, My extended battery appears to be bulging slightly. Its been a long time since I opened my battery cover so if someone can confirm for me that it should be flat, it would be much appreciated.

It should be flat. If you can put it on a table and spin it successfully, it needs to be replaced. Bulging batteries can be a fire hazard.

 

[SNeitzel]

So I tried swapping in my battery into her phone and hers into mine. Mine works fine, hers still does not. Though, My extended battery appears to be bulging slightly. Its been a long time since I opened my battery cover so if someone can confirm for me that it should be flat, it would be much appreciated.

It should be flat. If you can put it on a table and spin it successfully, it needs to be replaced. Bulging batteries can be a fire hazard.

I just checked and BOTH of my extended batteries are bulged.

That's probably not normal...

 

[CKwik240]

^^^ Looks just like mine. Ugh.