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Help S2 Won't Turn On or Charge

Leafar

Lurker
Nov 13, 2011
5
0
Hi all,

I downloaded an apk file (Plant V Zombies) and tried to Install (had very little amount of space left on phone). During installation phone just turned off (had 50% charge).

I pulled battery than plugged in, it showed Samsung logo, loading bar and then turned off again.

Now phone doesn't turn on nor charge. Tried hard reset by holding power and volume down or power and both volumes. Nothing.

What could be the problem?
Please help, appreciate it very much.
 
When you said "downloaded an apk" did you mean you installed it from the Play store, or you actually downloaded it from a file sharing site?

If you tried the play store and it wouldn't install because it was either incompatible or there wasn't enough room and you tried to force the install you possibly have a situation where it will continually loop trying to finish the install. If you got a file from a less than reputable source, it's quite possible that you've got a bit of malware there.

since you posted in the S2 for T-Mobile forum, I am assuming you have the SGH-T989 model (you can confirm that by looking behind the battery inside the phone). To boot into recovery, turn the phone off and pull the battery for a few seconds. Then with the battery in and the power/USB cable UNplugged, hold the vol up and vol down and then press the power button until the screen flashes the Samsung logo. Release the power button but keep holding both volume buttons until recovery pops up. You can select reset from there. Use the volume keys to highlight and the power button to select.

If you can't get there, you will need to reflash your phone and to do that you'll need to get into download mode. Let's just make sure you can do that. With the phone off, hold the volume down button and plug in the USB cable attached to your PC. It should give you a warning about flashing custom firmware. If it does, we can get into download mode. To get out of that screen, just hold the power button until the phone shuts off and then boot up normally (or pull the battery).


EDIT: Sorry, just re-read your description and you are saying that if you try and power the phone on nothing happens? You might have have a bad battery. If you don't have a replacement, take it to a t-mobile store and ask them to pop a good one in to see if that's the problem.

Let us know. :)
 
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I don't think it's the battery. Some repair shop guy took my battery and just "halfway" attached to a Sprint version of this phone (since its not the same size) and my battery powered on his phone. Then said it's probably my LCD but I don't think it is. or could it?

Went to T-mobile store and they don't have any batteries to test it.
They said my warranty expired also. said to call T-mobile.

also when I plug to computer it recognize (make USB beep sound) but said driver failed to install.

please advice.
 
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I don't think it's the battery. Some repair shop guy took my battery and just "halfway" attached to a Sprint version of this phone (since its not the same size) and my battery powered on his phone. Then said it's probably my LCD but I don't think it is. or could it?

Went to T-mobile store and they don't have any batteries to test it.
They said my warranty expired also. said to call T-mobile.

also when I plug to computer it recognize (make USB beep sound) but said driver failed to install.

please advice.


Leafar go here, click on the blue link that says "see all downloads". Down at the bottom of the page, download and install that usb driver and see if you're pc will recognize your phone.

Or, you can download and install Kies and it will install drivers.
 
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Still not recognized. It just doesn't turn on.

I called some service place. Customer Support said it might be the digitizer? it cost like $220 to replace... who knows.

Do I need to get this in for repair?

If it was the digitizer/lcd assembly, the phone would still work, you just couldn't do anything with it. To check this, put your battery in and press and hold the power button for about 20 seconds. Then let it sit for a minute or two to give it time to start (if it is the screen, you won't know it's starting up). Then call your number from another phone. If it's only the screen the number should ring through before going to voicemail. If it goes to voicemail right away, then you phone's not on and you'll probably have to send it in for repair.
 
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If it was the digitizer/lcd assembly, the phone would still work, you just couldn't do anything with it. To check this, put your battery in and press and hold the power button for about 20 seconds. Then let it sit for a minute or two to give it time to start (if it is the screen, you won't know it's starting up). Then call your number from another phone. If it's only the screen the number should ring through before going to voicemail. If it goes to voicemail right away, then you phone's not on and you'll probably have to send it in for repair.

So I tried to go to some repair places and they all seem like they have no idea what to do with a phone that doesn't turn on. One place said that my motherboard is probably bad and they don't fix that.

I called Samsung and they said they can repair it for $70. All my info on the phone would be erased since they flash it straight away.

So I guess I should do that and lose my data? :(:(:(

Anything else I may try, or is there a good repair center that actually fixes these kind of problems before I mail it to Samsung?
 
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So I tried to go to some repair places and they all seem like they have no idea what to do with a phone that doesn't turn on. One place said that my motherboard is probably bad and they don't fix that.

I called Samsung and they said they can repair it for $70. All my info on the phone would be erased since they flash it straight away.

So I guess I should do that and lose my data? :(:(:(

Anything else I may try, or is there a good repair center that actually fixes these kind of problems before I mail it to Samsung?

If Samsung will do it for $70, then I'd say that's the route you need to go. Unfortunately there's little you can do to retrieve your data if the motherboard needs to be replaced as most components are permanently attached, unlike a PC whose individual components can be replaced.

Out of curiosity, did you try to call your phone?
 
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When you said "downloaded an apk" did you mean you installed it from the Play store, or you actually downloaded it from a file sharing site?

If you tried the play store and it wouldn't install because it was either incompatible or there wasn't enough room and you tried to force the install you possibly have a situation where it will continually loop trying to finish the install. If you got a file from a less than reputable source, it's quite possible that you've got a bit of malware there.

since you posted in the S2 for T-Mobile forum, I am assuming you have the SGH-T989 model (you can confirm that by looking behind the battery inside the phone). To boot into recovery, turn the phone off and pull the battery for a few seconds. Then with the battery in and the power/USB cable UNplugged, hold the vol up and vol down and then press the power button until the screen flashes the Samsung logo. Release the power button but keep holding both volume buttons until recovery pops up. You can select reset from there. Use the volume keys to highlight and the power button to select.

If you can't get there, you will need to reflash your phone and to do that you'll need to get into download mode. Let's just make sure you can do that. With the phone off, hold the volume down button and plug in the USB cable attached to your PC. It should give you a warning about flashing custom firmware. If it does, we can get into download mode. To get out of that screen, just hold the power button until the phone shuts off and then boot up normally (or pull the battery).


EDIT: Sorry, just re-read your description and you are saying that if you try and power the phone on nothing happens? You might have have a bad battery. If you don't have a replacement, take it to a t-mobile store and ask them to pop a good one in to see if that's the problem.

Let us know. :)
THANKS heaps for the very helpful advice. after googling galaxy s2 wont charge or turn on I came across this thread, I tried the method described (volume and power button) the only difference was my ph was plugged into the charger and now its charging and im so so thankful for your help.:)
 
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Last week, my friend download some apps from torrent site and his phone went into bootloop. Lucky him, he had the S=off and was able to replace the bootloader trough ADB. I hope that this is not the case in your situation. I am still learning about the S2 and I do not think that you can flash the bootloader like on HTC. Good luck with your phone.
 
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Just finished a visit to a Sprint Store about my battery problem. Tech said some of the cells exploded. He could tell because the case look/felt fatter than normal. He did not have a battery available to compare. The exploded cells are causing my troubles; phone shutting off, apps non-responsive, phone will not turn on... Tech said that the cells exploded because I left my phone attached to the charger for more than 4 hours. BTW, my phone is about 18 months old.

I read the manual just moments ago and NO warning was listed. What I am upset about is that Sprint wants $54 for a new battery and it will be mailed to my home. I went to Amazon and purchased an identical battery for $6 and it will be sent to my home.
 
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Hi all,

I downloaded an apk file (Plant V Zombies) and tried to Install (had very little amount of space left on phone). During installation phone just turned off (had 50% charge).

I pulled battery than plugged in, it showed Samsung logo, loading bar and then turned off again.

Now phone doesn't turn on nor charge. Tried hard reset by holding power and volume down or power and both volumes. Nothing.

What could be the problem?
Please help, appreciate it very much.
Hmm, I was able to resolve this by pulling the battery out, then putting it back in. I knew it wasn't either of my chargers, b/c they still worked with my Galaxy s4.
 
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