Newbie question: Nexus 4 Charging LED Light Color??? (Can't power on phone)

[tlc000]

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but, i have just received the phone, it won't turn on, and i'm not sure if it is charging.

Hence, i am wondering what the color of the led light is suppose to be when it is charging whilst powered off.

I am asking this because i plugged it in at first and it was a solid red, hwoever after a few minutes, i pulled out the usb cable and plugged it back in and it became a blinking red light with the white charging indicator. THen i tried to power it on again but it returned to a solid red light and i haven't been able to replicate the charging indicator again.

Now i'm not sure i my phone is faulty or i'm being super paranoid and the phone just needs charging???

It'd be great if any of you guys could give me a heads up.

Thanks

 

[Victor Cabral]

I am getting the same issue. Any one know what the red light and it not turning on means?

 

[Dramer77]

Mine had 83% battery when I first powered it up... my led doesn't light up while charging, unless you have to have the phone off... are you holding the power button down long enough?

Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using Android Central Forums

 

[willdogs]

It probably means that your battery is really really depleted.

Leave it charge for a little while and try powering on again

 

[N4Newbie]

Why do I keep reading about a red charging light???

THERE IS NO LED CHARGING INDICATOR ON THE NEXUS 4 UNLESS YOU ADD A THIRD PARTY APP LIKE LIGHTFLOW!!!

If the phone is in "power off" mode (not just sleeping but OFF), when you first plug in you should see an animated battery icon drawn in white on the otherwise black screen, about 1-1/2" tall and right, smack dab in the center. The screen will go blank after a minute or thereabouts and the icon will return occasionally for brief periods.

If the phone is sleeping when you plug in, it should wake up and you will see a small white lightning bolt drawn across the green battery icon at the top right of the display. Depending on your settings, the display will stay on, turn off, or go into "daydream" mode while charging. If the phone goes to sleep while charging (based on settings or because you used the power button to make it so), it will come back to life when you disconnect the USB cable.

 

[N4Newbie]

And, in case it is not clear: when your phone is in power off mode (as opposed to simply sleeping), to bring it to life you must press and hold the power button for about five seconds until the phone vibrates one time, then let go. The phone will boot up, display "Google" in the middle of the screen followed by the multi-color "X" icon, followed by the home (or lock) screen.

Again, there is no charging LED indicator on the Nexus 4 nor on the stock power adapter. None. Red, blue, green - none.

 

[dbareis]

I for one am willing to believe that you don't have to be an Android expert to know a red light when you see it....

I'd leave it on the charger for ages (24 hours), then try booting it up. The animation mentioned may not come up when the battery is very low, otherwise you may have a hardware issue with the battery or the charger, usb port etc...

 

[kniahlz]

dbareis, you are correct. I'm not an android expert, but I watched enough Sesame street to recognize a red flashing light when its the only indicator on my otherwise lifeless phone.

My theory is that the red light does indicate both a charging state and a state of battery depletion but is only used when the battery is too low to render an image on the display. This is based on what I experienced earlier today. I got my Nexus 4 today, do not have any special mods or customizations, am not rooted, etc.. Just standard app store fare like facebook and such. I have been using my phone all day. I was using it while it was charging via my laptop's USB port, and out of no where, it made a popping noise, the screen when black, and it became unresponsive. Power button did nothing, volume buttons did nothing. The only indication that it was working at all was a flashing red light below the screen, just above the USB port. I unplugged it from the laptop, and tried to power it on. Pressing the power button made a solid red light come on, but nothing on the screen. I plugged it into the laptop again, and got a red flashing light again. When the light stopped flashing (about 1-2 minutes later, pressing the power button would display a battery icon on the screen that seemed to indicate it was charging (battery progressing from empty to full) but no lightning bolt. I plugged it into the wall instead of the USB port and got the familiar lightning bolt. 1 minute later, it booted and indicated a 1% charge.

My only guess is that it wasn't charging faster than I was depleting it despite being plugged in, and the battery hit a critically low point. It didn't get any warnings, probably because it was charging and warnings about battery level are disabled while in a charging state, even if that charge isn't strong enough to stop the drain. As I never saw the right light at the same time as the batter icon on the screen, Its safe to say the red light may be used to offer a battery status when it doesn't have enough power to render an image on the screen. I am not certain what the difference is between the flashing and solid states, but from my brief and unexpected observation, flashing does indeed indicate it is charging, and solid means that it doesn't have enough power to render a more helpful status indicator on the screen.

I never trust a theory until I can prove it three times, and am reluctant to drain it again. Does anyone know for sure what the flashing red and solid red LED indicates?

 

[dbareis]

Given the popping noise I'm going with the something is dead theory, start with different cable, power source and hope for the best. If I knew about the meaning of the LED, if have said so

 

[Alex Wagner]

Dude shut up. it does have a red flashing light, as im having the same problem.

 

[dbareis]

Dude shut up. it does have a red flashing light, as im having the same problem.

Dude, learn to read.

 

[vanhoud]

Red light = dead nexus 4

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[EddiePanetti]

Right. Dead Battery. This happened to me as well. Just charge it for an hour and power it up. Should be fine. Ignore the f@cktards on here. They probably don't have one or can't afford one so they be trollin.

 

[N4Newbie]

Right. Dead Battery. This happened to me as well. Just charge it for an hour and power it up. Should be fine. Ignore the f@cktards on here. They probably don't have one or can't afford one so they be trollin.

Actually, I have two of them which I ordered three minutes after the first batch went live. Search my threads.

Second, I can report you for the use of "f@cktards" so be careful.

Third, okay, I will grant that there is a red charging light ONLY in the case of a totally deader-than-a-doornail battery. Frankly, I have never seen it since I have never yet let either of my N4's reach that state. However in other threads on this board, it is apparent that new owners were looking for a "normal use" LED charging indicator like most phones have and I was growing weary of pointing out that no such indicator exists. Sorry for my rant.

a) Can't charge? Please test at least once with the original charger AND cable which came in the box with your new phone

b) Won't turn on? Please make sure you hold the power button for five seconds until haptic feedback then let go.

c) No red charging indicator? Most likely because your battery is not totally dead. There is no LED charge indicator during normal battery operation.

 

[palitsyn]

I had the same issue after my phone ran out of battery and I didn't charge it for almost 12 hours after it did. Left it charging for some time and it eventually turned on and i got the battery animation.

 

[zerozeroonezerozero]

I found this thread whilst googling so I'm rezzing it.

First off, I have (had) a pulsating white led while charging IF the screen was off (not powered down). I wanted a led notification while the battery was charging and I was using the phone, preferably without a third party app (recommended in this thread).

I used tasker (task: alert -> set light) to create my own blue pulsating led (front bottom led) while charging and turning it off again if the cable is disconnected or the battery full. If you want to play with the big boys you could even make it so that the led became green or something when the battery is fully charged.

Recommended, no further apps needed. Also, every phone should have tasker installed

 

[JayJ-1974]

Mine won't boot...

I was working nights last night and at around 3:30am I was using my Nexus 4, it had 25-30% battery remaining and the screen went out. I pressed the power button but nothing happened so I tried again this time a little longer but still nothing so after half a dozen attempts I long pressed the power button hoping it would boot but nothing...
I tried to boot holding volume down and power, I tried boot holding both volume up and down and power but still nothing so I plugged my Nexus 4 into the AC adapter, the LED started to blink red??
I tried booting again with the power cable plugged, I tried holding combinations of the buttons whilst plugging in the micro USB but still nothing other than the flashing red LED.

Now I was starting to be concerned so I Googled "nexus 4 red flashing LED", I found several posts on different forums including this thread suggesting that the battery was critically low but as above it was 25-30% when I picked it up and I received no 15% warning. The consensus was that some had success after leaving the Nexus 4 to charge some considerable time whereas others had received replacements from Google.
I left my Nexus 4 on charge whilst at work, approx 1-1hr 30minutes and still it would not boot. I got home called Google support and it was confirmed it was a battery issue.
The support agent ran through a few procedures to try getting my Nexus 4 to boot but we were unsuccessful.

Now this is what I don't get, my Nexus 4 is less than a month old and I assumed it would be replaced under warranty and that is what Google support told me but I expected it to be done there and then on the phone but I was told she would get the replacement procedure started, passing this on to another department and asked me to leave the device to charge for next two hours. She also stated I would receive an email, if my Nexus 4 booted normally after the further two hours charge time to reply to the email and the replacement procedure would be cancelled.
Firstly I was under the impression as above, that warranty claims were handled during the phone call, not later by another department and secondly after a further four hours of charging my Nexus 4 will still not boot and the LED is still blinking red....

I have now replied to said email, stating the whole scenario and that after an extended period of charging my Nexus 4 still will not boot. Waiting for a reply....


Sent from my 32GB Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[badbrad17]

Mine won't boot...

I was working nights last night and at around 3:30am I was using my Nexus 4, it had 25-30% battery remaining and the screen went out. I pressed the power button but nothing happened so I tried again this time a little longer but still nothing so after half a dozen attempts I long pressed the power button hoping it would boot but nothing...
I tried to boot holding volume down and power, I tried boot holding both volume up and down and power but still nothing so I plugged my Nexus 4 into the AC adapter, the LED started to blink red??
I tried booting again with the power cable plugged, I tried holding combinations of the buttons whilst plugging in the micro USB but still nothing other than the flashing red LED.

Now I was starting to be concerned so I Googled "nexus 4 red flashing LED", I found several posts on different forums including this thread suggesting that the battery was critically low but as above it was 25-30% when I picked it up and I received no 15% warning. The consensus was that some had success after leaving the Nexus 4 to charge some considerable time whereas others had received replacements from Google.
I left my Nexus 4 on charge whilst at work, approx 1-1hr 30minutes and still it would not boot. I got home called Google support and it was confirmed it was a battery issue.
The support agent ran through a few procedures to try getting my Nexus 4 to boot but we were unsuccessful.

Now this is what I don't get, my Nexus 4 is less than a month old and I assumed it would be replaced under warranty and that is what Google support told me but I expected it to be done there and then on the phone but I was told she would get the replacement procedure started, passing this on to another department and asked me to leave the device to charge for next two hours. She also stated I would receive an email, if my Nexus 4 booted normally after the further two hours charge time to reply to the email and the replacement procedure would be cancelled.
Firstly I was under the impression as above, that warranty claims were handled during the phone call, not later by another department and secondly after a further four hours of charging my Nexus 4 will still not boot and the LED is still blinking red....

I have now replied to said email, stating the whole scenario and that after an extended period of charging my Nexus 4 still will not boot. Waiting for a reply....


Sent from my 32GB Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

I think the reason for the delay in getting the return happening was just to ensure it really wasn't just a charging issue. I've read many posts where people have an issue like yours then after a full nights charge it's all good.

They don't want to RMA a perfectly good phone.

Anyway I hope you get it sorted out soon.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[bobjohnson201]

Third, okay, I will grant that there is a red charging light ONLY in the case of a totally deader-than-a-doornail battery. Frankly, I have never seen it since I have never yet let either of my N4's reach that state.

i can vouch for this. its happened to me like twice, wasnt able to power it on for a little bit.

 

[bobjohnson201]

Now this is what I don't get, my Nexus 4 is less than a month old and I assumed it would be replaced under warranty and that is what Google support told me but I expected it to be done there and then on the phone but I was told she would get the replacement procedure started, passing this on to another department and asked me to leave the device to charge for next two hours. She also stated I would receive an email, if my Nexus 4 booted normally after the further two hours charge time to reply to the email and the replacement procedure would be cancelled.
Firstly I was under the impression as above, that warranty claims were handled during the phone call, not later by another department and secondly after a further four hours of charging my Nexus 4 will still not boot and the LED is still blinking red....

you should have gotten 2 emails from the google person you were talking to. one has a link (and an RMA file attached), where you have to place an order for the replacement nexus, and the other is a prepaid shipping label so you can send your defective one back.