S8 Won't Restart

[gardengal4]

I am suspecting battery dead based on other posts and phone age, but I am really not sure. I have a battery health app and I checked it a couple of months ago and it was in the low 80%s. When I first got that app a couple of years ago, it was in the high 80's when the phone was 3-4 years old.

When a battery dies, does it usually die so suddenly? The phone was a little peculiar before the "death". I was having trouble logging into my Arlo app so I decided to restart the phone. I vaguely recall hitting RESTART. I wish I could rewind my actions and recall exactly what I saw/did. The next time I picked it up screen was black and it won't start. Long Press on Home results in a jiggle as if it is going to engage/unlock but it does not. Long press power button does nothing. It was in the charger overnight. and I don't ever need to look at battery level til later in the afternoon/evening. It might be in the 30%s on a busy day.

I know the phone is old by Samsung standards, but it suits my purposes fine. I have no interest in new features or spending extra money. What's involved in getting a new battery? Will the Verizon store send it out? Other options for on site battery swapping? What if it isn't the battery? Am I potentially throwing away money trying?

(I don't backup my phone other than what Google has. Sure hope I'm not screwed. I would miss my multi-year conversation threads. Pictures are fine, they go to SD card and dropbox. Some contacts are stored on phone; most are in Google.)

advice?

 

[B. Diddy]

Try pressing and holding Power and Vol Down for 30 seconds -- this will force a shutdown in case the phone is actually frozen on a black screen. Then wait a few seconds, and press and hold Power for another 30 seconds to see if anything happens.

If nothing happens, it could be the battery or something on the motherboard. Considering that the phone is no longer under warranty, your best bet if you want to keep the phone is to bring it to a local repair shop (not Verizon) and see if they can determine what the problem is, and give you an estimate.

 

[gardengal4]

WOW Yes !!!!! YAY!!! something happened. Maintenance Boot Mode. 4 choices showed up:
1. normal boot (restart your phone normally)
2. Factory Reset (uh no thanks!)
3. Safe Mode (disable 3rd party apps)
4. Power down: turn off your phone

I think I'll try #1

 

[gardengal4]

oops.... i can toggle thru the options, but I can't figure how to select it. It says "lower left key to select". No keys showing. ????

 

[gardengal4]

It's booting!! OMG! happy dance.

Lower Left key was on the side of hte phone underneath the volume buttons.

Back in business. THANK YOU SO MUCH.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Select is usually Power, or possibly the Bixby button (if you have one).

EDIT: Glad it's working! BTW, this is a good reminder to make sure any important data on the phone is backed up or synced somewhere, in case something really fails without warning.

 

[gardengal4]

Select is usually Power, or possibly the Bixby button (if you have one).

EDIT: Glad it's working! BTW, this is a good reminder to make sure any important data on the phone is backed up or synced somewhere, in case something really fails without warning.

You're so right. Good reminder. Lost a work laptop a week ago. (Fortunately, no data lived on it, just internet usage and important passwords/bookmarks). What's the third thing going to be? Ha ha!

 

[B. Diddy]

You're so right. Good reminder. Lost a work laptop a week ago. (Fortunately, no data lived on it, just internet usage and important passwords/bookmarks). What's the third thing going to be? Ha ha!

Uh-oh, don't jinx yourself!

 

[gardengal4]

Thank you androidcentral for making it so easy to find this thread and B Diddy for the answer. I just had the same problem as this thread several months ago and I knew it was a repeat.

This time I knew the black screen was not death because I was in my car when I discovered it and got a text on bluetooth! That actually helped trigger my memory to this prior event!!