How do I get my Samsung Note 4 working again?

wburkett

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Oct 19, 2014
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Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

I need some quick help and advice. My Note 4 slid off the between-seat console of my car on a turn, hit the dash (I think - not sure) and landed on the floor. From that point on, the screen was black and unresponsive. There was no apparent/visual damage to the screen - the unit looked just fine. And it seemed to work fine, too: I could hear it power up, it received call (that I couldn't answer), and sounded like it received messages.

Took it to a repair shop: they said there was probably a hairline crack in the screen, so they replaced the screen. Twice, apparently. They said they had it working, but then when I went to pick it up: just a black screen (that responded to the pen, interestingly.)

Here is something else that's interesting: I turned off service to the phone (because I moved it to an old phone), bluetooth and wireless are off. Yet, when the phone is turned on, it beeps like it is receiving messages - but there is no connection at all.

The repair shop told me that there a lot forums are talking about software problems with the screen, but all I can find is loose screen connections to motherboard.

Has anyone else had experience with this or know anything about it?
 

SpookDroid

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

Don't mean to sound, well, mean...but this is a Note 4. Why are you replacing the screen and not replacing the whole thing? It's very well still in Warranty...

Well, was, now that you've tampered with it :(

I'm sure the repair shop has an HDMI cable available to test, but all I can think of is testing that: if the screen shows up on the TV, it's a loose connector. If it doesn't, it's either software or the display driver went kaboom.
 

wburkett

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

Thanks for the response, Spook: perhaps I didn't press the question enough with them, but when I took it into the AT&T store to see if they'd replace it, they basically told me I was SOL and told me to go get it repaired - they didn't say anything about the warranty.

What does is mean the software or the driver went kaboom? How would software go bad?

wrt the HDMI cable, will the phone actually reroute the video from the phone display to a TV/monitor? Would this be a usb-mini to HDMI cable? (these may be naive questions, but I just don't know that much about the subject.)
 

SpookDroid

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

Yeah, well, if you say you dropped it and it stopped working, they'd wash their hands :( But if no visible markings were on the screen you COULD have gotten away with a 'dunno, just stopped workin' '

Software glitches like are HIGHLY uncommon, but they could happen. In any case, a factory reset would fix that IF the software for some reason decided to no longer recognize the screen. The driver, on the other hand, is the hardware chip that handles video output. Basically translate the software signals into the right electrical impulses to light up the right portions of your screen or to deliver video via HDMI output.

The HDMI cable does use the microUSB port for this (it's called an MHL cable, just make sure it's one compatible with your Note 4 as a few years ago Samsung decided to change the pinout on their phones and older MHL cables no longer work on newer devices). This allows you to display your screen on a TV or Monitor with HDMI input. If THAT doesn't show, then most of the time means that the hardware driver is no longer outputting video, but in rare cases might mean that the software is just not sending the instructions anymore. But if the TV shows video, it means that the software is doing it's job, so there's something in the hardware that's not taking those images onto the phone's screen, most of the time, a loose connector or a poor screen replacement.

Another thing that you should have asked for (or could still ask for if you didn't let them keep the 'broken' screen) is to test YOUR screen on another device. Repair centers usually have units set up for this, to test screens and stuff. It's just a matter of plugging the screen up to something else and test that the screen really works. Just to see if your screen works and maybe it shouldn't have even been replaced.
 

wburkett

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

thanks for the additional explanation, Spook. Will the MHL cable display work even if the phone screen is broken/not working? And is the "loose connector" the connector between the screen and motherboard?
 

SpookDroid

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

If the display driver is not damaged, yes, even if the screen is broken the MHL cable should still be able to output video to an external screen. The 'loose connector' can be from the screen to the motherboard, from the motherboard to the video chip, inside the screen itself...
 

H3aTeRzz

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Re: Samsung Note 4: Dead Screen

What I honestly think, is that his thinga-ma-bob, that delivers, shin-a-bargs to the, fola-do-dad, is no longer shizniting! Just get a new one. :-D
 

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