No Longer Powers On - No Matter What. What Can I Do?

[Dankees]

So, I've babied my phone. I never dropped it, it went right into a case, hell, I never even removed the plastic on the screen from when I got it on launch day.

Now, my phone will not turn on no matter what. I've tried all of the reset options, holding down buttons, etc. - nothing.

What is my next option?

 

[anon(238680)]

Web search seems to indicate a replaceable battery, have you done that? Are you sure your charger works? If yes on both then I'd head to a repair shop and see if they can power it up.

 

[natehoy]

Let's start with charging. When you plug your charger in, does the LED come on indicating it is charging the battery? If you press the power button, does the screen come on with the little picture of the battery and the little green bubbles flowing toward it, indicating that the battery is being charged?

If nothing comes on at all, try a different charger and cable. If nothing continues to happen with a new charger and cable, then your USB port may be bad or the battery might be completely dead.



Next thing to look at - the battery. Get a good quality replacement battery. I've had good luck with Anker. Swap the battery out and see if the phone will charge that.

 

[Dankees]

Yes, I have tried multiple chargers and other batteries (including an Anker one).

:-(

 

[natehoy]

Yes, I have tried multiple chargers and other batteries (including an Anker one).

:-(

I assume that means that nothing is lighting up when you plug in the charger?

Since you have tried multiple batteries, I assume one of them had at least some charge at one point. You could get an external charger and make sure a battery is fully charged and try that one, I guess, but it seems unlikely that you have only tried fully-discharged batteries.

Without a battery connected, absolutely nothing happens on the Note 4. If you know for sure you have put a battery in that had SOME charge and still got no response, it sounds like the next most likely diagnosis is a failed connection between the battery and the motherboard.

Pull the battery and check the 4 little gold bendy pins to make none of them are crushed, collapsed, or corroded. Gently push in with a finger to make sure they flex just a little and flex back (we're talking very small amounts of movement here). VERY GENTLY give them a light scrape with a fingernail or plastic spudging tool or something to make sure there is no foreign matter insulating them from making good contact with the battery.

If those are bad, they are soldered onto the motherboard, so you are looking at a non-trivial fix.


Edit to add: Step 11 of this Fixit guide has a good picture of the battery pins - as you can see they are soldered onto the motherboard, so it'll be hard to find replacement pins and unless you are good at microsoldering it's going to be a tricky fix.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Samsung+Galaxy+Note+4+Motherboard+Replacement/38884

 

[Dankees]

Wow, thanks.

I will try that.

So, that's not an easy fix to do, huh?

 

[catberryday]

Do you happen to have att? The latest security update killed my note 4. The update sent it into a boot loop. Sometimes it will power up only to start rebooting. Other times it will freeze on the boot up screen. It also will not charge or turn on at times unless I pull the battery but then it's back to freezing and bootlooping. Ended up switching to Verizon and getting a G6. ATT was no help. I am just wondering if possibly that affected your phone too.

 

[Dankees]

Do you happen to have att? The latest security update killed my note 4. The update sent it into a boot loop. Sometimes it will power up only to start rebooting. Other times it will freeze on the boot up screen. It also will not charge or turn on at times unless I pull the battery but then it's back to freezing and bootlooping. Ended up switching to Verizon and getting a G6. AvTT was no help. I am just wondering if possibly that affected your phone too.

No, VZW.

 

[natehoy]

Wow, thanks.

I will try that.

So, that's not an easy fix to do, huh?

The fix would not be easy. Diagnosing that specific problem should be. Of course, a dead motherboard cannot be ruled out - but if you see one of the pins broken or bent or something you at least know it's that and if you know someone who is decent at microsoldering they could probably patch something suitable in for you. It's something I'd do with the disclaimer that there's about a 50/50 shot I ruin the motherboard, but I don't have a good microsoldering kit.

Or you could use the guide I posted to replace the motherboard. I don't think the charging assembly is relevant because you said you tried other batteries that presumably have a charge on them. New motherboards may not be easy to find, though, and you lose all your files and stuff because those are on the memory chip that is soldered on the motherboard.

Alternatively, used units in good condition are up on Swappa for $160 or so... https://swappa.com/buy/samsung-galaxy-note-4-verizon?ref=mobilenations&data1=UUacUvbUpU5950661