Galaxy S7 Unresponsive

How do you unscramble eggs? So...woke up to my GS7 unresponsive. Only thing seemingly active was the notifications blue light in the upper left hand corner. Without getting into too much detail, at this point I haven't a clue... After reading this, that, the other, and trying one, two, three, and four button combinations of all shapes and sizes, somehow my phone said I have somehow switched to "custom settings," at least the screen said that and has an unlocked lock icon. Something, something, something "warning," if I remember correctly, that the boot has been blocked by security. And, actually, at this point, upon pressing any button, combination or not, the screen is just black with that blue light still showing. So, HELP!!! Oh, and upon plugging into a computer, nothing happens. Any of that help? Oh, and, HELP!!! Thanks!

 

I'd just like to reboot the thing! It won't turn off. Period. Maybe then it'll cycle past whatever is causing this. If I need a new phone, so be it. I was riding this one 'til it dies. Maybe it has. But, I'd like to, you know, get all of my info off of it to throw on my next phone. At present a computer won't recognize it. Good times! Hope I don't have to actually wait 'til the battery runs out. Maybe I'll leave it out in the sun so it gets hot enough to power itself down.

 

Yep, the phone is sealed so the battery can't be removed. So I wait and I wait, I suppose. On the possibly positive side, that blue notification beacon is gone. And the phone no longer says "custom". It's back to the regular Android logo. Still won't reboot, though.

 

I've done so many combinations of button pushings that I've managed to put the phone into "custom" mode and back again. No clue. Power button, power+volume down, power+volume up+home to get to recovery mode... They all seem to work to some extent or another but still won't power down or reboot the device. Suppose I could gently crack the dam thing open and try to disconnect the battery, but I'll wait on that.

 

Well, at one point I got to recovery. Somehow. Amongst all the button mashing combinations I read/viewed. Whatever I did upon getting there must not have been the correct option. Maybe that was what put my phone in "custom" mode which somehow corrected itself later. Presently, the phone battery finally died. I think. I plugged it in for a charge and for a hot second a circle with a lightning bolt showed as if it were charging, but then it went away and I have no idea what the hell it's doing now, charging or not. I'm going to leave it "charging" overnight to see if it does anything. As of now, it won't power up. Me thinks my options are slim for success. May have to take it somewhere for repair, if it can be repaired.

 

Here's an update. Just 'cause. So, took it to a shop. They cracked it open and said the battery's bad. Perhaps when I let it completely drain in order to try to reboot it since that was the only way to go seeing that the phone was impossible to power off no matter what was done, that caused an all ready old battery to discharge enough so that it couldn't revive? Anyway, they tried a new battery that was sitting around for a few years. Didn't work. Apparently it may have been around for too long and gone bad so they're getting in a fresh one to try. They say it's most likely not a software issue but a hardware issue. But, if that's true, then why would a new battery work to power it up? Is a battery considered "hardware"?

 

Yeah, I dig what you're saying. I'll bring that up to the shop. What sucks is that after eons of desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and myriad other devices, this is a first for me. And it sucks! Duh. Guess I should count myself lucky on my track record for electronics! Knock on wood. It is an older device, yes, but, fun fact, we still have a...GS4! Believe it! It's still as pristine as the day it was activated. And that's a few generations older! Ah, the wheel of fun, when it gets spun, it can land on anyone. Put that on a t-shirt!

 

Strangely, outside of, maybe a few websites and/or apps, the S4 still holds its own. And, the battery not being a marshmallow (which is damn funny)? Maybe because it's not on Marshmallow? Giggle. Wasn't that one of the OSs? Ha! Seriously though, probably because you could still replace the battery back then! Anyway, the S7 will supposedly have an answer shortly as to its fate. I gotta say, all these electronics repair places need to be a lot less shady with their "customer service" persona. They all suck! But, when you have no choice, you go to them. Ughh. I don't know when these devices stopped working straight from being plugged in, no matter the state of the battery, but I doubt this S7 is going to work after being "serviced". We shall see.

 

Seems the repair shop is waiting for the back panel to come in before they try the new battery, even though they've said, twice, they have the new battery they're going to try it. Makes no sense! If it won't power up, screw the back panel, it ain't gonna matter! But, they can't return the device without it being as it was when it came in. Apparently the S7 is notorious for it's build or paint or something - or so they say. This is transparent customer service?! I could've probably cracked it open myself and tried a new battery since, supposedly, that's the problem. Whoops! Perhaps all will be well in the end. I doubt it. I'll give it a few more days, just shy of two weeks, before I just ask for my phone back and cut my losses.

 

No, they don't need to send it anywhere. They just needed to wait on the parts, in this case, the backing panel. As in, they really didn't
want to return it to me in any other condition than the way it came in. Since they had to crack off the back panel (or peel it off), they had to get a replacement to "make it right". Apparently they did try two batteries and neither one worked. They just failed to tell me that. Great communication! So, it would seem the hardware went belly-up and gave up the ghost. I now have the phone back in my possession but it's little more than a paperweight now. I had them leave off the back panel in case I get curious and try, try, try some other way, however, if they couldn't get it to work, I doubt it's possible. Hell, all I wanted was my info/pictures/contacts from the system memory. Sadly, seems that ain't gonna happen.

 

Interesting. Why not try, right? Can't be that hard. Gotta find a screwdriver, though, to get to the battery. At least, I think I do. Unless that pad covering it is nothing more than the coil for wireless charging. In that case, I could probably just rip it off. It's dead anyway. So you're thinking, perhaps, bypassing the battery may work?

 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of that. If I remember correctly, older mobile phones didn't work like that. Laptops don't. Or at least didn't. Most battery backup systems I've used are like that. Your electric out? No problem! The battery will take over. Will it really? It never doesn't run from the battery. So if your battery gets old or dies, guess what? That's right! You have to plug directly into juice for whatever you're backing up to continue to function. Kind of a strange Catch-22. Bah! I digress. I ordered a kit with tools and battery, but seems I had the tools I needed and the phone is now ready to go. Just need the battery. And, after some searching, I know what the leads and what I believe will be an easy way to try this. Some say it'll work. Some so nope. We shall see! Whatever happens. It's all ready dead. I'm just gonna say it now. It ain't gonna work.

 

Replace the battery? If the wires (USB) are taking the place of the battery to power the device, how am I replacing the battery?