Flashing Colors on screen

[BillyJoeJimBob]

Hi folks. I tried posting on the XOOM XDA forum about this problem I'm having, but nobody has responded there yet, so thought I would try here in hopes an answer might be found..

I picked up a XOOM off of EBay last week. The device ran well once I got it charged, it did software updates and was running on 4.0.3 with no issues until last night. I went to pop in a micro SD card, and when I pressed the power button to get it out of sleep mode, the screen began flashing colors, cycling between all colors, a checkerboard test pattern at one point, gradients from light to dark, etc. I did a bunch of Google searching last night and found one link where someone had the same issue, but no solution was mentioned. I have also looked here, but no luck. The one link I found last night seems to indicate it's some files from ICS getting corrupted during the update to 4.x, but it wasn't really clear whether that was the case or not.

I have tried the power+vol up button trick; that turns the screen off after a second or two, then the light show begins again. I can't find a way to shut off to be able to get it into recovery mode, and I have tried installing the Lord AIO tool but on running it, it seems to be stuck at the 'list of devices attached' section. Any ideas, other than letting the battery run down to nothing, then maybe it being able to get put into recovery mode? The place I bought it from on EBay does have a 14 day return policy, so I still have a few days to figure this out. I tried running the battery down to 0% to see is maybe then it would allow me to do a normal boot, or get it into recovery mode, but I never get the Motorola 'M'/dual core screen. I only get what looks like some sort of screen test mode.

I really like the XOOM, it feels like you're actually holding something real & solid, compared to other tablets, and I want to get this back up & running again. Someone posted on here a while back (http://forums.androidcentral.com/motorola-xoom/196392-xoom-stuck-ics-flashing-colors-wont-boot.html) with what looks like the same problem I'm having, but the one reply says to do something that I can't do (fastboot oem unlock), as the device isn't seen by adb. I'm guessing that the XOOM didn't have the USB debugging box checked, I only had the device charged up & running for about one day and hadn't gotten around to playing with it much.

Any ideas what I can do, other than returning it to the EBay seller?

 

[MrHost]

Debugging isn't required for fast boot mode. Do you know the sequence to get into fast boot mode?

I think it is power on device, count to 2 or 3 then radio volume down for about 3 seconds.

I'd have to look it up to be sure. You should be able to do an OEM unlock, which resets the device and allows you to root.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Android Central Forums

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

Problem is, the tablet won't actually shut off. It's stuck in this color screen cycle mode. If I press the power button the screen will go off, but if I press it again, it immediately is back to the rainbow screen. I don't get the 'M' screen anymore. I have tried the power + Vol Up, as well as Vol Down, it just never gets out of what looks like some sort of screen test mode. I have rooted my other tablets (Nexus 7, Nexus 10) before, so I do know that it can be tricky. And like I said, I ran the battery down to 0% on the chance that the OS had crashed and was unable to reboot for whatever reason. Whatever this is, it seems to be in full charge of the hardware. From what I have read, to be able to do the OEM unlock, adb has to be able to see the device. I have tried it, and it just seems to not want to see the device (even though Windows has detected it, and installed any required drivers previously). I am certainly willingly to try any ideas you may have, as I am at a loss at this moment.

 

[MrHost]

Have you tried connecting the HDMI to see if you get video that way?

Sent from my Xoom using Android Central Forums

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

No, I don't have an HDMI capable TV.

 

[Live2ride883]

Hi folks. I tried posting on the XOOM XDA forum about this problem I'm having, but nobody has responded there yet, so thought I would try here in hopes an answer might be found..

I picked up a XOOM off of EBay last week. The device ran well once I got it charged, it did software updates and was running on 4.0.3 with no issues until last night. I went to pop in a micro SD card, and when I pressed the power button to get it out of sleep mode, the screen began flashing colors, cycling between all colors, a checkerboard test pattern at one point, gradients from light to dark, etc. I did a bunch of Google searching last night and found one link where someone had the same issue, but no solution was mentioned. I have also looked here, but no luck. The one link I found last night seems to indicate it's some files from ICS getting corrupted during the update to 4.x, but it wasn't really clear whether that was the case or not.

I have tried the power+vol up button trick; that turns the screen off after a second or two, then the light show begins again. I can't find a way to shut off to be able to get it into recovery mode, and I have tried installing the Lord AIO tool but on running it, it seems to be stuck at the 'list of devices attached' section. Any ideas, other than letting the battery run down to nothing, then maybe it being able to get put into recovery mode? The place I bought it from on EBay does have a 14 day return policy, so I still have a few days to figure this out. I tried running the battery down to 0% to see is maybe then it would allow me to do a normal boot, or get it into recovery mode, but I never get the Motorola 'M'/dual core screen. I only get what looks like some sort of screen test mode.

I really like the XOOM, it feels like you're actually holding something real & solid, compared to other tablets, and I want to get this back up & running again. Someone posted on here a while back (http://forums.androidcentral.com/motorola-xoom/196392-xoom-stuck-ics-flashing-colors-wont-boot.html) with what looks like the same problem I'm having, but the one reply says to do something that I can't do (fastboot oem unlock), as the device isn't seen by adb. I'm guessing that the XOOM didn't have the USB debugging box checked, I only had the device charged up & running for about one day and hadn't gotten around to playing with it much.

Any ideas what I can do, other than returning it to the EBay seller?

I had this happen to me awhile back when mine was under warranty, I had to send it back to Motorola, don't waste your time trying to figure it out just return it.

Can I ask why your so interested in a Xoom? Yea they were nice tablets for their time but they are getting old now. So unless you're getting a really good deal I would recommend an N7 over the Xoom.

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

I did send it back to the person on EBay I picked it up from, they did the refund without any hassles. As for why I picked it up, I just liked the build of the XOOM when it came out. We were looking for a couple of tablets here at work a year or so ago, and one weekend I went out to a couple of the big box stores and tried all the tablets available. The XOOM just felt like a really solid device, whereas most of the other ones I played with felt like you could snap them in half without any effort. So I recommended the XOOM, as well as one of the ASUS models, for what we wanted. I was overruled, we ended up getting a couple of Samsung's (nice, but again, felt like you could break them like a cracker).

Yes, the reason I picked up the XOOM was I got a pretty good deal on it (~$130). I'm a bit of a gadget hound I ended up picking up a different XOOM about a week later, the 4G model, for about 5 bucks more than what I paid for the first one. And I agree with you on the Nexus 7 being a good choice, I have one of those And 8 other tablets. Did I mention I'm a gadget hound?