[ABSURD!] Nexus 4 died for no apparent reason.

[outlooker]

I've had my T-Mobile Nexus 4 for around three months now, I've had to reboot it quite a few times because it would freeze. But now, I have a more interesting problem. I have a habit of heavily using my device for hours at a time, while it's plugged in. So, yesterday evening from around 10PM to midnight, I was playing a high end game on my Nexus 4, it was plugged in the whole time. Then, at around midnight, I unplugged my phone's charger and continued using my device, the battery was 100% charged at that time. After around four hours of internet browsing and hardcore gaming, it was 4AM and the battery was only 5% charged. By that time I was getting sleepy so I quickly plugged in my charger and went to sleep.
Now here comes the problem: I woke up at around 11:30 AM and went to check on my phone. It was plugged in as I had left it, and a the LED light was blinking (NOT RED, a different color, I don't remember which one, it may have been something because of the LightFlow app which is installed). After trying a few times to unlock the device by tapping the power button, the screen just wouldn't turn on. This wasn't the first time my phone had frozen so I held down the power button for a few seconds to reboot it. The screen wouldn't turn on but I could tell that the device had turned off because the LED light stopped functioning. I tried to reboot my device by using the power button, but it refused to turn on. After a few attempts, I finally got it to turn on, it showed the Google Logo, and then the Nexus "X" symbol which it usually shows while booting up. But, it just wouldn't go past the "X" symbol, it kept loading there. Assuming that something was wrong, I tried rebooting again (my device was plugged in the whole time). So while it was stuck booting up, I held down the power button to reboot it again, the device switched off. And there, IT DIED.
My Nexus 4 became completely unresponsive. It was still plugged in and I tried everything to bring it back to life. I held down the power button, the volume buttons, everything I could. While holding down the power button for around ten to fifteen seconds, the LED light would briefly blink red for less than a second. My device wouldn't respond in any other way.
Then, I connected my device to my PC via USB cable, when I turned it on then, the LED light would show red for a few seconds, no other response.
So here I am, with a Nexus 4 which just died for no apparent reason, the battery shouldn't have died because it was plugged in when the battery became low. So I just plugged it back into my wall charger, it's been around half an hour since I found out my phone died.
It's still under warranty, and it's not rooted or anything, my Nexus 4 is running plain Android 4.2.2, not modified in any way. What should I do now? I could ask for a replacement but I was hoping I could revive it.
Any suggestions? I would appreciate any information.
Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[nazem]

Best thing to do would be to exchange it for a new one with google.

 

[outlooker]

Actually, I was hoping I could revive it because I really don't want a new phone. I have like 7GB of personal data crammed into the storage and none of it is backed up. And besides, it probably has a fix (I just don't know it, I was hoping someone here does). I mean, com'on, this can't be the first time in the world someone's Nexus 4 won't turn on. There must be some way to fix it.
Also, I bought this from T-Mobile, so if I have to contact customer care, would I get in touch with Google or T-Mobile?

 

[nazem]

T-mobile, they'll probably just swap it on the spot. I wish i could help revive it but i've never been through a situation like this.

 

[pacechristopher]

A similar thing happened to me on a brand new Nexus 4 I ordered from Google. When you hold down the power key, after about 9-10 seconds, the led flashes red once. This repeats every 9-10 seconds. No combination of keys or power-on options or charging will work to bring it back to life. Mine had not even been powered on a single time. I plugged it in to charge when I received it, and the screen flashed the battery fully charged symbol (all green) and that was it. I spoke with support, tried all of their suggestions, but had to return it for replacement in the end. New one works great so far. I tried to find the flash codes in the hardware manual from LG but did not find anything conclusive. Based on my experience and your description, I would guess that it is some type of battery failure. If someone else experiences this failure and wants to attempt a battery replacement (your Nexus 4 is out of warranty) - see this video [How to Replace Your Nexus 4 Battery - YouTube ]. (Please note that this is a different behavior exhibited by the Nexus 4 than the common solid red LED that others have also experienced.)

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Actually, I was hoping I could revive it because I really don't want a new phone. I have like 7GB of personal data crammed into the storage and none of it is backed up. And besides, it probably has a fix (I just don't know it, I was hoping someone here does). I mean, com'on, this can't be the first time in the world someone's Nexus 4 won't turn on. There must be some way to fix it.
Also, I bought this from T-Mobile, so if I have to contact customer care, would I get in touch with Google or T-Mobile?

Have you tried a different charger? The stock charging cable that came with my N4 is wonky so I rarely use it, but the phone charges just fine on another one I have. If that doesn't work, I would take it to T-Mobile since you bought it through them.

 

[outlooker]

Have you tried a different charger? The stock charging cable that came with my N4 is wonky so I rarely use it, but the phone charges just fine on another one I have. If that doesn't work, I would take it to T-Mobile since you bought it through them.

Actually, my Nexus 4 charger broke a while ago and I've been using my mom's Samsung Galaxy Exhibit's charger for the past month or two. I've never had any charging issues with it though. Anyway, my Nexus 4 has been plugged in for two hours now (since I found out it is dead) and no changes. The only thing it does is blink the red LED for a second or two when holding down the power button. My device is under warranty from T-Mobile.
Anyway, just a quick question, this is my first phone and this is the first time I've encountered a major problem. So, how exactly do I get help from T-Mobile? Do I just walk into the T-Mobile store from where I bought it??

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Anyway, just a quick question, this is my first phone and this is the first time I've encountered a major problem. So, how exactly do I get help from T-Mobile? Do I just walk into the T-Mobile store from where I bought it??

That's what I would do. They may tell you that you'll have to contact LG for warranty work, but hopefully they can help.

 

[Rizy7]

Take the charger out and let the device cool down for a few hours. Once you think the device has had a sufficient cool down period try switching it on without the charger plugged in first and if that doesn't work plug the charge in and try switching it on

 

[newsman787]

My son's Nexus went through this red light of death. Carried out the variety of suggestions for revival but none worked. Call to Google support got the device replaced right away. Good luck!

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Manoj Singh Kommagiri]

I had the same issue with the nexus 4 completely unresponsive except the red LED light blinking after holding down the power button for 9-10 sec .i tried turning it on with the charger plugged in and had the LED light blink a couple of times and then got a full battery indicator on the display which disappeared in a few sec. I tried turning it on again and it started booting up with the google/nexus logo and everything works great now.i am not sure what caused this issue to occur but doesn't seem to be something which would brick the device altogether.

 

[Captainbob767]

Back up your data on your phone, just like your computer. Then if it crashes, you don't lose everything. Common sense.

 

[John Beirne]

This kinda thing scares me reading these posts. I still haven't got my nexus yet (its coming in 2weeks). Does anyone know what the cause is? Is it just a faulty battery? Has it only happened to people who got the phone many months ago or are there some recent cases.

Sent from my GT-I5800 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[outlooker]

The cause is pretty much unknown and there's not much you can do about it. It's all a matter of luck. If you're unlucky, your Nexus will drop dead for absolutely no apparent reason. Though it's still rare.