- Apr 12, 2016
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So I've had the S5 for years now (got it a few months after it released) and I've been constantly having more and more problems with it. I can't figure out if it's a battery issue or a device issue, and whether it's even worth trying to save it or just get a new phone.
Now, I'd say I've taken great care of it over the years, never once dropped in water, no scratch marks on the screen (compared to friends' smashed screens
), and always kept in its Spigen case.
Nevertheless, I'd say for about 2 years now, I've had a green flickering in the bottom quarter of the screen whenever my brightness is completely turned down. I keep my brightness set to about 15% now, so it's not noticeable at all.
Next, last winter I noticed that my phone wouldn't turn on whenever it was cold (by cold, I'd say anything under 10C/50F). The notification light would blink and the white LED lights would turn on, but the screen would stay black until I warmed the phone up. During the summer, this issue doesn't happen at all, ever. It's only noticeable during winter.
Now, since the start of this year, I've been noticing that on good days, I'm lucky if my phone can survive staying in idle for an hour before the battery drains (even though it estimates 8+ hours initially). Sometimes I catch it dying when there's still ~30% battery left. Other times, it gets stuck in a loop of restarting, where it shuts off on its own, powers back on, only to shut off and restart again (each time it does this, the battery drains by like, 10%) until it dies. Taking out the battery doesn't stop this loop, since when I power it back on, it just starts doing it again until I connect it to a charger.
Weirdest of all, a couple days ago I witnessed it going from 100% charge to ~22% in less than 5 minutes (no apps were running). When I went to the battery usage to see what the cause was, there was only the standard 1% Android System, 1% Android OS, and 1% Screen. Battery Usage only accounted for 3% usage, yet somehow 75% drained on its own with no record that quick.
I'm wondering if it's the battery that's the problem or the device. The battery physically looks fine, no bulging nor can I spin it on a flat surface. Most of my friends have iPhones, so I can't test it out with theirs. I'm wondering if replacing the battery would fix anything, or if it's the device itself that is causing something to drain that quickly.
Has anyone had similar experiences, or has some insight on what the costs would be to fix something like this? Or would my money better be spent buying a new phone?
Now, I'd say I've taken great care of it over the years, never once dropped in water, no scratch marks on the screen (compared to friends' smashed screens
), and always kept in its Spigen case.Nevertheless, I'd say for about 2 years now, I've had a green flickering in the bottom quarter of the screen whenever my brightness is completely turned down. I keep my brightness set to about 15% now, so it's not noticeable at all.
Next, last winter I noticed that my phone wouldn't turn on whenever it was cold (by cold, I'd say anything under 10C/50F). The notification light would blink and the white LED lights would turn on, but the screen would stay black until I warmed the phone up. During the summer, this issue doesn't happen at all, ever. It's only noticeable during winter.
Now, since the start of this year, I've been noticing that on good days, I'm lucky if my phone can survive staying in idle for an hour before the battery drains (even though it estimates 8+ hours initially). Sometimes I catch it dying when there's still ~30% battery left. Other times, it gets stuck in a loop of restarting, where it shuts off on its own, powers back on, only to shut off and restart again (each time it does this, the battery drains by like, 10%) until it dies. Taking out the battery doesn't stop this loop, since when I power it back on, it just starts doing it again until I connect it to a charger.
Weirdest of all, a couple days ago I witnessed it going from 100% charge to ~22% in less than 5 minutes (no apps were running). When I went to the battery usage to see what the cause was, there was only the standard 1% Android System, 1% Android OS, and 1% Screen. Battery Usage only accounted for 3% usage, yet somehow 75% drained on its own with no record that quick.
I'm wondering if it's the battery that's the problem or the device. The battery physically looks fine, no bulging nor can I spin it on a flat surface. Most of my friends have iPhones, so I can't test it out with theirs. I'm wondering if replacing the battery would fix anything, or if it's the device itself that is causing something to drain that quickly.
Has anyone had similar experiences, or has some insight on what the costs would be to fix something like this? Or would my money better be spent buying a new phone?
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