BOHICA - Bend Over Here It Comes Again(G1 Style)

[jlewis850]

Troubleshooting my G1 Android

First time poster, long time reader. That being said, I have not seen another thread that addresses the failure I'm having with my HTC G1

For starters, here's a bit of info about my phone:

- Unlocked running on ATT (and loving it)
- I live in Florida where the humidity is very, very high, thus turning my liquid indicators red and voiding any warranty from HTC
- This phone has never been submersed or dropped
- Android is such a step up from Apple!! (ok, that part isn't specific to phone but thought I'd throw it out there anyways )


Here's the problem - One night I thought to charge my G1 using the USB port on the front of my satellite box. The USB cable I used was not OEM from HTC. When I woke up, I noticed that my charge light was not green and the G1 would not turn on. Period. Not even any indicator lights would show while charging.

After calmly analyzing the situation (freaking out) for about thirty minutes, I thought to try my older spare battery. Wouldn't you know the phone fired up like a charm! I fully tested the phone and for 4-5 hours and had no problems whatsoever. Then, guessed it, it died again. I did have it hooked to my laptop for charging when it died. This time, however, the phone is acting differently.

Troubleshooting & outcome:

- With the phone unplugged, I get a blinking red light when holding down the power button or the power & home buttons. No other action from the phone.

- When the phone is plugged in to charge, I get a solid red light that does not change for about thirty minutes. (this is different from the first battery where no light came on at all).

- If I press the power button or power & home *while the phone is plugged in*, it will turn on for a few seconds, try to boot, then shut off.

- If I unplug the phone after charging, the solid red light stays on the phone until I remove the battery.

- I cleaned the battery/phone connectors with q-tip & alcohol, no change in performance.


*While I was writing this and about to hit submit, I noticed the red "charging" light turned off, even though the phone was still plugged in. Now the phone will not respond at all. That may change in a few minutes, who knows?...


I have a feeling some component of my hardware is burnt out but any other troubleshooting steps would be appreciated. I'm not opposed to opening the phone to clean the main board etc... (i'm fairly good with electronics), I've also seen a few sites selling replacement internal components for the G1. Any suggestions or further troubleshooting ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[muaruader12]

The problem is most likely that the battery is not being recognized by the device. Buy a brand new battery and then put it in your G1. When the battery is new it will have about 10-15 percent charge in it. Drain this to 0 by turning on all wireless connections and using the phone until it turns off. Make sure that when you press power the phone doesn't turn on, YOU WANT THE BATTERY TO BE COMPLETELY DEAD. Once this is done, Plug in the wall charger. DO NOT USE THE USB CHARGER FROM YOUR LAPTOP, WALL CHARGER ONLY. When you plug it in make sure that the device stays off while charging. Charge the phone over night and this will reset the batteries memory and get it working at peak efficiency. Do this with all of your old batteries as well and you should be good. Don't charge your phone with your laptop anymore cause the laptop doesn't supply the same amount of voltage to the phone as a wall charger does. If you have to charge it with the USB then do it with a regular desktop computer, cause then you would be getting the regular voltage. But Laptop and Satellite boxes are a major hazard to battery health. I HOPE THIS HELPS. IF NOT EMAIL ME at christianvetter12 thats at gmail.com or text me at 832-273-5518 AND I CAN HELP TROUBLE SHOOT ALMOST ANY PROBLEM YOU MAY HAVE

 

[moke]

vzw doesn't rely on water indicators soley any longer, heat can get those to activate too. corrosion on the contact leads is the method of choice, but it may be hard to get someone to substitute commonsense for corporate policy.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Under a strong light and with a decent magnifying lens -
Look for green or white coating on:
Battery contact points
Pins/sockets on the USB port

If you're comfortable taking the phone apart, inspect the soldering points on the usb port - any cracks or flaked areas are a sign of trouble.

Test the batteries with another charger and device if possible. A friendly tech at a T-Mo store may be able to help you there.

Past this, it would just be a crap shoot to diagnose without looking at it. Maybe consult an electronics repair shop and see if you can find one who works on phones.