S4 won't turn on unless replacing battery, then turns off after two seconds?

nickkpoon

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So my Galaxy S4 turned off randomly today during charge. I attempted turning it back on via the power button and it would not respond.

Then I tried taking out the battery and replacing it, the device vibrates with the Galaxy S4 logo showing up for about a couple seconds, then the screen goes blank again.

I even tried placing a battery from a different S4 - still doesn't work.

Anybody know what's wrong with my device?
 

B. Diddy

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Welcome to Android Central! How old was the other battery you tried? It'd be ideal to try a brand new replacement battery--but if the one you tried is known to be reliable, that probably rules out the battery as the problem.

Try removing the SD card and booting up again. A corrupt SD card can cause problems.
 

nickkpoon

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Hello Diddy, thanks for the welcome!

Both batteries are around a year old.

Just tried removing the sd card, didn't help with the problem. Also I have tried getting into downloader and recovery mode, still no response.
I can get into download and recovery mode via inserting the battery, though.

Such a strange problem. The device has been running with a flashed rom and rooted, and has no problems leading up until today's failure.
 

B. Diddy

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Try booting into Safe Mode, which disables all 3rd party apps. If the problem stops, then something you've installed is raising heck. If the problem persists, then something is wrong with either your hardware or firmware. Steps for Safe Mode at the bottom of this article: Reset: Samsung Galaxy S 4 | T-Mobile Support
 

nickkpoon

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Tried safe mode, could not get in.

Screen shut off after a couple seconds as usual. Is the device hard bricked? What might have caused this problem?
 

B. Diddy

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How far along did you get in the Safe Mode boot process? Did it actually reboot into Safe Mode, then shut off? Or did it not even get to reboot?

How old is your phone? If it's still within warranty, it's probably time to talk to Samsung.
 

nickkpoon

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It didn't even get into safe mode.

However, it did get into recovery mode or download mode, ONLY when I replace the battery to turn it on. It would show the screens for the respective modes, but turns off promptly in a few seconds.

I believe that my phone is still under warranty, however it has been rooted and flashed rom. I would also like to retain the data that I have on my phone, that's why I want to attempt to fix it before resorting to claiming the warranty.
 

dom2114

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Just wanted to add to the thread that I'm having the absolute identical issue.
Only way to get any life out of the phone is to remove and reinsert the battery. It turns out for about 2/3 seconds then dies. Holding down the various combinations of buttons to get into recovery/bootloader etc. does work, but again, the phone dies after 2/3 seconds.
Phone has been working perfectly for over a year, is on Verizon, MDK baseband and has been running a custom ROM the entire time.

If anyone has any advice on how to fix I'd be grateful. At this point, I'd just like to wipe the phone to remove any pics/files etc. so I can return for a replacement.
 

RMatSLU

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Just happened to me this week. I had to get a replacement phone. Most of everything transferred as it was backed up but I had a bunch of pictures saved in created folders and these were not on the SD card.
Has anyone figured out a fix? I don't want to send the damaged phone back yet as I'd love to get these pics. I have 3 weeks to return the phone back to tmobile. Thanks.
 

dharmil

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I am having the same issue with my phone. I have a Att samsung GS4.

When i turn the phone on the samsung screen comes on and than just goes blank. When i try to go into safemode or recovery it does the same thing. The phone loads into the respective modes and than screen goes black before I can do anything.
 

dharmil

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I found the solution to the problem. You guys will have to open the phone and clean out the power switch. The problem is that the power switch its stuck or pushed down permanently, this was a known issue in the S3 guess they never fixed it in S4. It took me 10 mines to take it apart and clean it and now the phone works perfect!
 

Herbas

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dharmil, how easy is that procedure? I have the same problem and i would have to get to court if o want samsung to solve this problem for free here in my country, since it's been more than a year of purchase.
 

scarmona

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I found the solution to the problem. You guys will have to open the phone and clean out the power switch. The problem is that the power switch its stuck or pushed down permanently, this was a known issue in the S3 guess they never fixed it in S4. It took me 10 mines to take it apart and clean it and now the phone works perfect!

This started happening today out of the blue to me, I did open the phone to some extent and cleaned as best as I could the power button with satisfactory results. But I still think the job was partially done and we could benefit from your experience, can you post a guide with the steps you followed to clean your phone?
Thanks!

Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
 
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NOPE! I know what's wrong everyone. It is the power button. it is stuck in. therefore when you take out the batter and put it back it, the button is already pushed in causing it to turn on by itself. But since it turns on the button is still pushed in causing it to turn off immediately. SOLUTION: take the phone and put it sideways where the power button is facing down on a table or some flat surface and don't slam it! but lightly hit it maybe a couple of times and the button will come unstuck. The phone should turn on by itself but the button isn't stuck so it will turn on perfectly fine. I am having the same problem right now actually and it is very frustrating but if do this then it should work.
 

Syafiq Boy

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me too>>>!!!!

hi i have a samsung galaxy s4. I just put the batteries into mobile phones and it presented itself .There is anyone who can help me for this problem? he only lived a short while before it closed and it came back to life and it closed again and continued .i hope somebody can help me in this problem.
 
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Fridder S

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My phone is doing the same ****. How can I clean this power button? I have my phone opened up, and the button looks mint. Everything around it (on the board) is mint. I plugged just the screen in and it does the same thing when I put the battery in, even though the button isn't even touching anything. I tried pulling the button out slightly with tweezers, and it still doesn't help.

edit.. I ripped the button off the board lmao all is working good now
 
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