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So I'm having a bit of an issue. Had my nook for a few months now with relatively no problems. After upgrading to the new u-boot and .32 kerneled CM7, however, I noticed the power button became finicky. At first I thought it was software related, since it happened as soon as I upgraded, however I am not fairly sure it is hardware related. Frequently after pressing the power button to turn the screen on, the power menu pops up as if I held down the button. Often, it eventually powers down like I held down the power button. Furthermore, if I apply pressure near the power button, it acts like I pressed the power button. Needless to say, this sucks. So my questions are: is this most definitely hardware related as opposed to a software problem? And if so, is there any way to fix this by taking the nook apart? Or am I completely screwed? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
My wife is having the same issue on her NC running CM7. I am restoring it to stock now to see if the problem continues. If it does, I'll try to get it repaired or replaced...
I'll post back once I'm done and have had a chance to test things out.
I hate to bump this but did either of you ever get a fix? Mine's having the exact same issue...
Mine had a similar problem, but the power button completely stopped working after I applied an update. I had to send it back for a warranty replacement unit, which was a pain to deal with!
Similar issue but with the "n" button.
And from all looks the thing is completely stock, aside from being rooted. but thats it. my problem is the phone will not wake for any reason other than having a charge cable plugged in. If i'm away from a power/sync cable the phone is just pretty much wasting the battery. I dont know jack about these phones, so any help would be appreciated. Also, i tried the search, and didnt come up with any similar results
anyways, i'd appreciate some help.
Does the power button work when you have it connected? Some evos have problems with the power button.
If it's the power button, install "no lock". This will get rid of your lockscreen but allow you to wake the phone with the volume buttons.
If you want a lockscreen, you can use WidgetLocker and there's an option to wake with the volume buttons.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
DRFritch said:
And from all looks the thing is completely stock, aside from being rooted. but thats it. my problem is the phone will not wake for any reason other than having a charge cable plugged in. If i'm away from a power/sync cable the phone is just pretty much wasting the battery. I dont know jack about these phones, so any help would be appreciated. Also, i tried the search, and didnt come up with any similar results
anyways, i'd appreciate some help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flashing a rom might actually solve your problem. and sense you don't know much click on the link in my sig. hope it helps ^_^
The power button doesnt work what so ever other than to turn the phone off from a battery pull. But other than that, no dice. I've also come to discover that the volume down button has broken off on the inside. but i still got volume up. But as off now something is up with it and i can't even get it to turn on. The White evo 4g screen will pop up briefly and then go out just as quick as it came up. its been doing this for a few days now. So glad this isnt the only phone i have. oh and apparently this thing has taken a swim at some point in its career. Its a good thing i shave my head cause i'd be bald pulling my hair out at this point.
My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 months now. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
knarfrabot said:
My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 months now. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
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Click to collapse
I AGREE! I thought it broke a while ago but I did a complete wipe and put a brand new rom on it. Heck I almost sent it to Sammy but for some reason it stared working. I dont think its the dalvik cache though. I have a feeling its ClockworkMod Recovery because sometimes it says a key was disabled and I had problems after that. I couldnt lock my phone.
knarfrabot said:
My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 monthsnow. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, you solved your own theory in your statement. since when does smacking your phone equate to a software issue? my power button went in august, mostly. it started showing the behavior that you described about 4-6 weeks beforehand. i say mostly, because the physical button doesnt work anymore(rarely a response from it). but ive figured out how to work it to my advantage/needs. i can wake my phone by shaking it now, and put the screen to sleep. also can be done with a light smack in the right place on the back of the phone. but to be practicle, i remapped my search button to use as a power button and wake my phone with the volume button. really, the only hard part is navigating in the bootloader menu since the volume buttons wont work there with the power button broken. so ive learned to work it by lightly, very lightly, tapping on a certain place on the back of the phone near the power button. this "loosens" the volume buttons and lets me navigate the menu. then i tap the phone again to make a selection. this in no way indicates a software issue/conspiracy to me. when it just started displaying this behavior, i thought it might be a software issue too. but it turned out to be all physical damage.
You know, the funny thing about when it stops working is that it's never all at once.
It's a degrading process of malfunction until it takes repeated button pressing, not so much force, to work. After that it works so seldom that I'm forced to do something about it. It's for those reasons I think it's something more than a hardware problem.
From your experiences, even after a full wipe/new rom installation, your power button still doesn't work, if only for a brief time?
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
@simms22
Hmm my guess is that there are multiple issues that result in a malfunctioning power button. Props to remapping your search button to lock your phone. It would be a great work around if my phone ever had this problem again. Have search to lock the phone and volume keys to wake it. I'm unsure how you remapped your search button though. Maybe you can tell me how?
knarfrabot said:
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed! If you have no access to a computer with adb/fastboot control the touch ClockWorkMod recovery would be very useful.
knarfrabot said:
You know, the funny thing about when it stops working is that it's never all at once.
It's a degrading process of malfunction until it takes repeated button pressing, not so much force, to work. After that it works so seldom that I'm forced to do something about it. It's for those reasons I think it's something more than a hardware problem.
From your experiences, even after a full wipe/new rom installation, your power button still doesn't work, if only for a brief time?
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been using twrp recovery for a while. even the non touch version has a no power button option. but i dont believe that theres anything else but hardware issues here. it is a degradation. at first it comes and goes, later it mostly just comes( ) and doesnt go. i can even hear a slight rattle in the power button area now if i shake the phone.
about after flashing.. at first, 50% of the time it would work after flashing, but it was just coincidence. but now no. btw, i flash many times a day, even then when it first started acting funny. flashing, wiping, it just doesnt make a difference, its coincidence.
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Tw1tchy said:
@simms22
Hmm my guess is that there are multiple issues that result in a malfunctioning power button. Props to remapping your search button to lock your phone. It would be a great work around if my phone ever had this problem again. Have search to lock the phone and volume keys to wake it. I'm unsure how you remapped your search button though. Maybe you can tell me how?
Agreed! If you have no access to a computer with adb/fastboot control the touch ClockWorkMod recovery would be very useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ButtonRemapper app, available here on xda for free http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9399440&postcount=1
you want v0241. i have all the power button functionality with my search key except waking the device(volume rocker wakes my device). short press screen off, long press power menu, long press plus volume down for screenshots.
@tw1tchy, I totally agree it is multiple factors, which is why I can only speak for myself based on my experiences, although your overall experience seems to be similar to mine.
@simms22, I have never noticed a rattle in my phone, its likely that you and I have different causes attributed to the power button failure.
Not trying to beat a dead horse but just for the sake of being thorough, have you tried ODIN? I noticed a substantial difference when I ODIN'ed back to stock.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Me everytime I drop my phone on concrete my battery door opens and the battery falls of my phone...And you know what's the most odd part ...I get scratches on my phone when I pick it up .....Does anyone else gets this ??
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus S avec Tapatalk
I really like my Nexus S, but I kinda hope this power button self destruct kicks in soon. I see it as a feature - to make buying a Galaxy Nexus easier to justify. Good looking out Sammy.
I've had a similar problem for the last 4 months or so. It started when I dropped my nexus without the cover onto concrete floor. Not good I know.
But anyway...ever since then the power button been funny. Sometimes it didn't work at all and I couldn't turn the screen off and on. It was really bad. It took a while but now I kind of know how to handle it. Still annoying mind u.
Basically with mine the trick is to press the button really really hard towards the top end and it works fine. I've also noticed what some others are saying about changing rooms and doing resets etc. It seems to help as well.
But yeah...I still love my nexus. Lol. I think by me dropping it is the reason for my problems. It probably landed badly and loosened some part of the connection in that section or something. But as I said...all Is good now that I know the trick to it.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I've had my NS since Christmas Eve 2009 and the power button completely stopped working 2 days ago. I did notice over the past few weeks that it wasn't responding properly. TBH, my NS has been through a LOT in the past 14-months (multiple impacts, spillages, kids etc), I'm surprised it's lasted this long
I'm now using the ButtonRemapper app to use 'search' as the power button. Works great! Plus my volume keys wake the phone up so all is ok.
I love my NS and wish I bought another one when CPW had them for £150 sim free!
It might be time for me to let go of the NS , just have to decide which phone is next (but thats for another thread lol)
ugh mine is under a year old. im very angry that this happened so quickly. im gonna try giving samsung a call. hopefully the will replace it. i shouldn't have to hack my phone in order to make it usable.
@rener78 You seem to have a vast misunderstanding of how sarcasm works. Just as future reference, posting dry, tasteless irony up on the internet as a smart-mouthed statement of ill will is about as practical as a chocolate teapot.
@staplebox Lol! Well played, sir or madam. I can't say posting a thread containing the words conspiracy theory doesn't grant me at least a well placed snarky comment. Although to be fair, I was kinda bored when I wrote it.
@ALL Yes, I get it, we've all dropped our phones before. I guess I expected a bit more from Sammy since my little old HTC hero that I beat halfway to hell is still going strong, while I pampered this nexus and its already giving me problems >1 year in but that's a whole different discussion I suppose.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
great mine just went out yesterday... had mine for a ltl over a year now.
No tapping certain areas or anything works.
I did notice it slowly degrade over the past few weeks.
I used the fix my power button app so my volume keys wake up my phone, but sometimes after using that 5 or 6 times it will stop working too so i have to plug my phone in the charger to turn it on. Is there another way of getting the volume keys to act as a wake button??
edit: i'm gonna try out that button remapper i saw in an earlier post.
tankmaster90 said:
great mine just went out yesterday... had mine for a ltl over a year now.
No tapping certain areas or anything works.
I did notice it slowly degrade over the past few weeks.
I used the fix my power button app so my volume keys wake up my phone, but sometimes after using that 5 or 6 times it will stop working too so i have to plug my phone in the charger to turn it on. Is there another way of getting the volume keys to act as a wake button??
edit: i'm gonna try out that button remapper i saw in an earlier post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are using an ics rom go to the main settings, security, lockscreen.. now disable the lockscreen. you can now wake your device with the volume button. its a feature built into ics.
interesting did not know this. Thanks, I think I'm still gonna use the button remapper to change the function of the search key to the power so I can reboot and stuff and go into recovery and such easier since i'm running cm9.
tankmaster90 said:
interesting did not know this. Thanks, I think I'm still gonna use the button remapper to change the function of the search key to the power so I can reboot and stuff and go into recovery and such easier since i'm running cm9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what i do. my search button has all the features of the power button but being able to wake the device.
Here's another question what if i need to pull the battery?? I'm rooted and running CM9 what if i go into a boot loop and i need to pull the battery with no charger around (i know how to do it with a charger) would the button remap solve this?
tankmaster90 said:
Here's another question what if i need to pull the battery?? I'm rooted and running CM9 what if i go into a boot loop and i need to pull the battery with no charger around (i know how to do it with a charger) would the button remap solve this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. the button remapper app doesnt do anything when off or the screens off. honestly, i no boot many times a week(because i test the trinity kernel as its being developed before release), ive figured out a system of light taps near the power button to let the volume buttons let me scroll, and to select in the bootloader.so for me its a non issue. to power up from being powered up, i dont do anything. a, pluging in powers it. b, tapping the back powers it when no usb is available. c, it powers up by itself usually, seconds to a few minutes after powering off.
Being a heavy user of my nexus s since July 2011, the power button died last Sunday.
One of the most important problems i had after that was that i was unable to lock bootloader before giving the mobile to samsung service, because the stuck power button caused problems to fastboot commands and the bootloater usage(menu) in general.
Finally i decided to go to the service and give the phone. The result was that in about an hour they replaced the button and gave me back the mobile. The repair was covered by the 2 years warranty and the unlocked bootloader did not cause any problem to that.
Up to now i have a "brand new" nexus s and i hope that the new button will last much longer.
My samsung Focus is about 1.5 years old.. I plan to switch carriers at the end my of contract since AT&T is giving me lots of dropped call at the new place we moved to.. The phone is obviously out of warranty, so I am looking to see if I can fix it myself.
The power button on my Samsung focus is behaving very funny lately. When I hit the power button with the phone awake, it thinks I did a "long press" of the power button and shows me the shutdown pull-down image! If I pull-up the image, the phone still reboots...
If I press the power button when the phone screen is OFF, instead of turning on the phone, it again shows the pull-down image, and the same behavior ensues - regardless of what direction I pull the image in, it shuts down the phone.
Some things I have already tried:
I have tried a hard-reset (camera+volume+power, and format the device), but the behavior continues.
I have removed my SD Card (I am using the AT&T approved one), performed hard reset, and problem continues
I have tried a different battery (from my wife's focus), and problem continues
At this point, I am guessing that most likely, the power button connector is loose.. but I am not 100% sure.. Any suggestions on things to try?
Seems like the spring in the power button is gone. I suggest when you want to press it, lean the phone to the right (with the power button towards the ground) so when you press it, gravity helps popping it back.
Or replace the power button.
EnderPsp said:
Seems like the spring in the power button is gone. I suggest when you want to press it, lean the phone to the right (with the power button towards the ground) so when you press it, gravity helps popping it back.
Or replace the power button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried the first trick... didn't seem to help..
Any tips on where I can find a replacement power button and how I can replace it?
See my response here (and the thread referenced in my second reply). Seems to be one of the issues that appear in time... And in another case it was the battery...
EnderPsp said:
See my response here (and the thread referenced in my second reply). Seems to be one of the issues that appear in time... And in another case it was the battery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks EnderPsp!
I have ordered a new battery for now to see if it helps.. its a non-OEM battery off eBay.. Don't want to spend too much without knowing if that is indeed the problem..
I can't find a power button replacement part anywhere... I went over the video and the instructions to reach the power button housing does not seem very bad.. definitely do-able if I can find a replacement part..
walletless said:
Thanks EnderPsp!
I have ordered a new battery for now to see if it helps.. its a non-OEM battery off eBay.. Don't want to spend too much without knowing if that is indeed the problem..
I can't find a power button replacement part anywhere... I went over the video and the instructions to reach the power button housing does not seem very bad.. definitely do-able if I can find a replacement part..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The button itself is plastic (you can find some on ebay), and I don't know how it works, actually (If it's a spring or otherwise).
I suggest you watch a take apart guide and maybe, just maybe it's just dirt, which you can clean.
You'll know more and afterwards please share the result with us.
EnderPsp said:
The button itself is plastic (you can find some on ebay), and I don't know how it works, actually (If it's a spring or otherwise).
I suggest you watch a take apart guide and maybe, just maybe it's just dirt, which you can clean.
You'll know more and afterwards please share the result with us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And now its completely gone... the power button won't respond at all.. the phone has been shut all day. If I take the battery out and put it back in, the SAMSUNG logo shows up for a few seconds and then the phone turns off again.. No way to turn it back ON using the power key..
I sat down to open the circuit yesterday only to realize that I don't have a #000 screwdriver... the smallest one I have is #00 which is too big for the 7 screws that hold the back panel
Off to Grainger today to see if I can find a 000 driver.. It can't get any worse now, so might as well open the phone!
Sure thing - I will update the post later with what I find...
walletless said:
And now its completely gone... the power button won't respond at all.. the phone has been shut all day. If I take the battery out and put it back in, the SAMSUNG logo shows up for a few seconds and then the phone turns off again.. No way to turn it back ON using the power key..
I sat down to open the circuit yesterday only to realize that I don't have a #000 screwdriver... the smallest one I have is #00 which is too big for the 7 screws that hold the back panel
Off to Grainger today to see if I can find a 000 driver.. It can't get any worse now, so might as well open the phone!
Sure thing - I will update the post later with what I find...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't say if the same happens with the wall charger connected.
Now, If you're going out, try and drop near a phone shop. Ask them if they can help you test with one of their batteries, either for a Focus i917 or from a Galaxy S i9000
Good luck mate.
Dang i thought i was the only one with this issue...
Mine started acting up about 3 weeks ago and it was seriously annoying especially when driving. I would press the lock button to change songs, but it thinks i did a long-press and does the "slide down to power off" thing. Even if i swipe up, the phone would switch off.
Then today, i take my phone out my pocket to send a text and find it's powered off. Won't even switch on now
Ender:
Plugging the phone in does NOTHING. The screen remains black.
Reinserting the battery causes the SAMSUNG logo to appear on-screen but again, goes black after 4-5 seconds.
Holding down the power/lock button has no effect, it's unresponsive.
I'm so pissed off this is happening 6 months before my contract is up. -_-
Don't know what else to say... I hope you still have warranty?
EnderPsp said:
Don't know what else to say... I hope you still have warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not extended no... :/
I've managed to get it into "download mode" now though, and my laptop recognises it as "SAMSUNG CDMA Technologies"... Huh?
---------- Post added at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------
If i have it plugged into my laptop,
hold vol down, power, and camera while inserting the battery i get to the hard reset screen. But then that disappears in the same 4-5 second window.
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
EnderPsp said:
You didn't say if the same happens with the wall charger connected.
Now, If you're going out, try and drop near a phone shop. Ask them if they can help you test with one of their batteries, either for a Focus i917 or from a Galaxy S i9000
Good luck mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes' same thing with wall power. New battery arrived and did not help. Went to a local cellphone repair and the guy said main board needs replacement.. he suggested to buy another phone since repair will be more expensive.. he said that he needs to remove soldering on the board reinforce an auxillary power button battery and resolder it in.. no guarantees and will cost atleast $150
Jfran71 said:
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lucky you!! This seems like a common problem with several Samsung phones based on a quick google search
Also bummed that this happened with 6 months remaining ...Now I am somewhat stuck since I want to switch from AT&T due to call issues with several months remaining.. and dont want to buy one till wp8 is out...
Just for fun... I am going to find a 000 screwdriver and try to re-jig the power button.. nothing to loose with the phone refusing to start anyway!
For what it's worth, my power button had been getting increasingly creaky over the course of the last few months, and although not sticking, was requiring ever more pressure to operate. Also, the sound of rusty bedsprings every time I went to use my phone was getting somewhat embarrassing.
I found the sturdiest piece of paper that I could wedge in between the button and the rest of the phone, put a bit of PB Blaster on the paper, and wedged the paper in. The button has since been as good as the day I took the phone out of the box for a couple of months now.
*Edit: Should probably mention that the paper isn't supposed to stay in there - it was just used to apply the lube without soaking the phone.
Jfran71 said:
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So its working completely fine now? No issues? I'll try that but im not hopeful.
I've been having the same issue, started yesterday. There appears to be no issues with the actual button itself, it doesnt appear to get stuck or anything to cause this, even without the external shell and just compressing the sensor itself.
walletless, you said that you tried reformatting it and everything? Damn. I was expecting it to be a software issue. I'll mess with the button mechanism a bit and see if theres anything weird with it
Phone is dead
re-jigging and cleaning around power button did not help.. I ended up ordering a chinese knock-off of HTC Note instead
Does any have this problem, but on a normal stock rom?
I was thinking it might be just custom roms, I don't think that would have anything to do with it
Its worth a shot though
titanhydro said:
Does any have this problem, but on a normal stock rom?
I was thinking it might be just custom roms, I don't think that would have anything to do with it
Its worth a shot though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone died last month. I only installed updates that came through Zune up to 7.5. I went into AT&T and they told me too bad because it was out of warranty. I called Samsung, and they wanted me to 'volume down, camera, power' reset my phone, which didn't work. Samsung told me to send it to them for $70 because I was out of warranty.
Instead I entered a developer competition for a Lumia 800 and won. Now I just have a dead focus, and a new 800. I'd still be interested if anyone finds out a way to fix the focus problem.
A friend has an S4 GT-I9505. It was bought second hand few months ago.
Lately it has been acting up. Shutting down randomly but now it won't turn back on. We sometimes manage to get it back on, but no always.
It isn't the battery since I have inserted my battery into the phone and it still won't turn on. It won't turn on even when connected to the charger.
We figured it might be the power button so we took it to a guy to check it out. The guy took the phone apart looked at the button and said the button is ok.
He put the phone back together and it somehow worked without problems for a few days (up until now).
He said that the phone might be shorted somewhere. The thing that led him to that conclusion is that he noticed that when inserting the battery the phone would try turn on without pressing the power button.
He also said the boot might be dead because the phone won't go into recovery nor into download mode. Even if it manages to boot into them, it will turn off almost immediately sometimes.
The phone is running 5.0.1 GPE custom rom with Googy-Max kernel. No tweaks or mods.
I know this sounds a lot like a hardware problem. The only thing that makes me have doubts is that it works occasionally without any problems.
He looked at the power button. Honestly it's no surprise he didn't find anything wrong with the power button because the problem with the power button is inside the tiny metal casing making up the button, and it's something that can't be seen.
Get a second opinion from someone other than the guy you took this to. However, I believe this to be a power button issue, easily fixed by replacing the button.
As I said, He took the phone appart, took the motherboard-logic board, whatever you want to call it, out and looked at it. He also took that tiny metal casing that forms the power button out, leaving a tiny white "something" exposed. I guess that's what you're talking about
But I really hope you're right and it's the power button.
Edit: We were the whole time there while he took the phone apart and looked at it. So we saw everything he did. And he didn't do anything special except take it apart and put it back together and it somehow worked for a few more days.
I guess it really is the button. I managed to change the rom, kernel, bootloader. The phone booted up. I pressed the button once to lock the screen but nothing happened. 1 second after that the boot menu appeared. The next second the phone shut down and now it won't turn on again. Except for a brief moment to show the S4 screen and then turns off again.