Fully charged but won't turn on HTC Thunderbolt

[icky_jk]

I've had the same exact HTC Thunderbolt since the day it came out. Never any problems

Broke the screen once, easy fix at home once I ordered the parts. Good as new

However, today my phone suddenly shut off on it's own, like the battery was dead. Last I checked it was over 50% still

I cannot get it to turn back on

When I plug it in, the orange light comes on. Quickly turns to green to let me know it's charged

I try to hold down the power button and I get nothing. Plug it back in, quickly goes from orange to green

This makes me think it's not the battery. Seems to be holding charge just fine if the light changes that quickly

I got the phone to turn on once since this has happened. After the boot up screen it died immediately

When I try to turn the phone on while on the charger, it vibrates once and then nothing

I was thinking it might be my power button? It's pretty flush with the phone after two years of use

But my phone did turn on once, and it does vibrate like it wants to turn on when I hold the button for a length of time

Does any one have any idea of what's going on?

Thank you

 

[natehoy]

Have you tried pulling the battery and leaving it out for a while? Might not help but it can't hurt.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

 

[oberkc]

Agree with natehoy...try pulling the battery. I have laptops that have the same issue and remedy.

 

[trter10-imore]

Any extra batteries also?

 

[icky_jk]

I have extra batteries. I've tried pulling them and leaving them out, then replacing them and trying to power back on. The problem seems to be the button itself. When the phone is on, the power button does not respond whatsoever. I'm running CM7 which provides the option to wake with the volume rocker. As long as my phone is on, it works with absolutely no problems. However, I cannot get it to turn on. I'm currently sitting here with a perfectly working TB with a full battery. I just can't get it to turn on. Is there a way to power it up without the button? I've taken it to a Verizon store and they were anything but helpful. I've tried to find new power buttons that I can repair at home but with no luck. PLEASE HELP!

 

[natehoy]

The replacement part is probably going to end up being the motherboard. Given the placement, it appears that it might be a switch soldered right on the motherboard of the phone.

Since you're comfortable taking it apart enough to replace the screen, though, you may be able to take it apart enough to expose the actual switch to see what's involved. You might be able to replace it with something similar enough to work, or solder leads on and put an external button (it'd look a little hokey, but I bet it's just a simple momentary-connect switch, and there are thousands of different buttons/switches out there that should work fine). You could be the first guy ever to have a big toggle switch sticking out of the top of your Thunderbolt!

Another possibility is just taking the back cover off and seeing if the additional travel is enough to turn it on. If that's the case, you just need to glue something on the top of the switch to allow it to travel down further. It'd buy you a few more months, anyway.

Alternatively, find some poor soul whose screen has broken but who otherwise has a good unit, and you've got the spare parts you need. Either solder his switch on your motherboard, or use his motherboard with your good components (just make sure that aforementioned poor soul keeps his bill paid up and has terminated his contract or transferred it to a new phone, because once you move his motherboard to your Tbolt it's his IMEI you are using, and Verizon won't let you re-use a phone that's still on a contract).

 

[dengbang]

It's more than likely the power button itself. If you plug your phone in to charge via usb or wall charger, and have the backplate off, wait until the orange light pops up (or green) and pull out the battery, once the orange or green light shuts off, immediately place the battery back in and the phone will reboot. I recently had the same similar issue you are having, and ive heard of similar ways to boot up a phone when the power button no longer works. The first time i tried this, it worked immediately. Good luck!

 

[itzed]

I've recently had this same experience, faulty power button. Did you find a solution? It's really annoying, and mine is still pretty inconsistent, works sometimes. You can hear the phone getting a text, but you can't light it up to see it and respond sometimes.

 

[Mike Giddens]

My phone has been having a similar issue. I can only use my phone while it is connected to the charger. When I unplug my phone I can only have it out for a few minutes before it shuts off. By shutting off the screen goes black like its timed out but I get no response when I press the power button. Any thoughts?

 

[Wizzi Pop]

I have an Android Tmobile Concord and it wouldnt open apps or messages so i went to my files and figured I was low on space so I tried to uninstall a couple apps.. I went to my Pinger app and it showed the uninstalling thing and then my phone randomly shut off. I tried to turn it back on and it showed the android symbol and then it just repeats the tmobile stick together icon thing.. I have tried hoooking it up to my computer. I had only had it for 1 month. and i have never dropped it, got it wet, or anything. What should I do.?:-\:'(

 

[gmc6969]

hope im not butting in cant find where to input a question... must be in the water... woke up this morning to a orange light with no responce did the battery pull now i have nothing no lights of any kind in fact frustrated i did the battery pull several times... any help