Database Users

My surround died last night

Like the title says... woke up to the HTC boot screen and it wont boot past it. I bought it on Nov. 18th so it has been 34 days and ATT will not replace it in store because it is 4 days past the return date. Warranty will cover it, but this is frustrating right before the holidays. BAck to the old Tilt2 I guess.
Watch out and always sync your pics and such to your zune software!

Woke up this morning, once again with a dead Surround. This was my replacement device that warranty covered from December. Another one is on the way from ATT, but I was wondering if there is some lemon law where I can get my money back or something? If my phone is going to keep dying every few months I don't want it.

kdj67f said:
Woke up this morning, once again with a dead Surround. This was my replacement device that warranty covered from December. Another one is on the way from ATT, but I was wondering if there is some lemon law where I can get my money back or something? If my phone is going to keep dying every few months I don't want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in texas theres a lemon law but i dont know if you have one

The rep on the warranty line said after 2 or more FRU's they will negotiate a replacement device. Which is fine, as I may be negotiating for a different phone if this one dies.

Was it plugged in when it died?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

The first one died unplugged, moments after I woke up and shut my alarm off and unplugged it. The second one was plugged in and the bright white screen woke me up in the middle of the night. Both of them acted funny before they self-bricked, like forgetting my IE favorites and deleting some apps randomly.

I had this same problem. Replaced under warranty and so far I haven't had that same issue. I did have a different issue though, where it didn't read the whole memory properly as referenced in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916865
I'm worried this device is prone to failures, as I've now had two devices acting up. I'm trying to get AT&T to give me a different device, but they said I can only do same device exchanges under warranty.

vel0city1 said:
I had this same problem. Replaced under warranty and so far I haven't had that same issue. I did have a different issue though, where it didn't read the whole memory properly as referenced in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916865
I'm worried this device is prone to failures, as I've now had two devices acting up. I'm trying to get AT&T to give me a different device, but they said I can only do same device exchanges under warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do in fact have a policy for device replacement for multiple FRU's. Meaning, if you are like me, and have already replaced two under warranty (meaning you are using your third device) if you have problems with the third they can negotiate an alternative device if it is still under warranty. Call the warranty exchange number over and over until you get someone who is knowledgeable and is willing to work with you. And keep calling with every complaint so they have it on file!

Good to know. I guess I'll just go and exchange it now and hope the next one either lasts forever or calls it quits ASAP. Warranty is running short these days :\

The warranty is one year from original purchase date or 90 days from activating the replacement device, whichever is longer.

My Surround also wouldnt boot up. happened last week. It was on my desk and not in use. I watched as it said goodbye and shut off. Battery drained and turned off, no big deal as I tend to let that happen before plugging it in for the night.. Only this time it wouldnt get past the white HTC screen. I did the whole volume button reset thing and still nothing. Ended up talking with HTC and getting it shipped to Texas to get it looked at. next day it was in the mail back home. Should be here in the next day or so.
Im curious to see if the paperwork will let me in on what happened. Although I sort of doubt it.

Awesome! I was under the impression it was just 90 days.

Talking about HTC Surround acting funny?
Well, mine likes too.
1. I used my phone as a alarm clock. Every night I connect it to the wall charger and leave it turned on resting on the night table. The next day guess what, I woke up late. The phone never sounded the alarm, in fact it won't make any sound at all. Have to reset it to return it to normal.
2. There have been a couple of times where I have not received calls in hours. When I press the power button to check the status, the phones goes throughout the complete power up sequence. But the phone was already powered on the last time I checked a couple hours ago and the battery is full. Its like it powered off by itself at anytime without warning!
3. Try to use the phone while charging and you'll notice touch screen response gets a a little jittery. But I found a "cure" for that. Hold your phone in away that your fingers make physical contact with the metal frame around the display. This will minimize the jittering effect on the touch screen.
4. Camera autofocus needs prescription lens. My HTC Surround digital camera have a hard time trying to focus on objects more than 15 feet away. It gives focus confirmation but the pictures always look blurry.
Those are some of the bugs I found in my HTC Surround purchased from AT&T last November. I'm sure they are not the only ones!

Those are known bugs, but seemingly have no correlation between devices randomly dying or not. My first surround had all those bugs and died, my second one showed little signs of any of those bugs and died anyways. Hoping my third one dies within warranty so I can get a new phone :/

Odd Issue & Fix for Seemingly Dead RMA'd TF

Rather than reply to a handful of threads where this might be interesting, figured I'd just post it here/once.
I sent my TF into Asus for RMA repair, the power and volume buttons had lost their "springy-ness" and had to be pushed in hard/just right to get anything to happen.
It delivered to Asus on a Friday and I got it back the following Friday, pretty quick considering that time included a weekend and that it had to ship from TX to PA.
First thing I did was try out the buttons, they felt perfect! I was pretty excited, but couldn't get the TF to turn on. Ok... I figured the battery was dead so I plugged it in, nothing.
I left it plugged in over night... nothing. No combination of button pressing, holding, docking, undocking, etc.... nothing made a difference.
I called up Asus, explained the situation. It was clear the tech had nothing to offer and suggested I send it back. I was ok with doing so, but I was supposed to pay the shipping again. I explained the various ways that made no sense and eventually had to ask for a supervisor (I was very polite and calm, I've worked in the IT industry my whole life so I know how it goes).
Got the supervisor and he was also fixated on this policy that customers are responsible for shipping to them. I requested his supervisor. I was told that they'd have to call me back, so I got the relevant names and case number/etc and agreed.
I got a call back about an hour later. They person admitted they were not a supervisor, but a higher level tech who thought he could help. I was open to fixing, of course... who wants to be without their toys.
He said that the board and related connections in my TF were replaced and that the contacts for the buttons are very stiff when new (and that the device goes through very little re-testing after repair) and that things were probably in contact when they shouldn't be.
His advice was to sort of break it in... alternate between pressing and holding (gently, not with force) the power button for about 10 seconds and then releasing and pressing it continuously for about 10 seconds. He asked if it was ok if he called back in an hour to see how I was since I was still waiting for a supervisor anyway. No problem.
I was very pleasantly surprised that after following his advice for about 20 minutes (almost non stop... I got a lazy and discouraged a few times, lol) the device came on! The batter was nearly full... not sure if that was from me charging it or if it was already full.
The device seemed to work fine and from that point on, the power button worked perfectly. Quick press turning the screen off and on, longer presses initiating shutdowns/startups. I had the same positive results with the volume buttons (for clarity, they also did not work at first but after about 5 minutes each, they began working too).
So anyway... hopefully that is helpful to someone, I was really glad to avoid sending it back again. Sorry for all of the separated "paragraphs," seemed like it'd make it more friendly to casual interest readers.

Wow this is sad. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
You're not mad about this at all? It's perfectly acceptable to you? That you have to **** around with the buttons for 20 minutes to get it to turn on? That doesn't make you the least bit uncomfortable about what really might be causing the issue and whether it will get worse in the future? Stiff buttons? Were they carved out of marble like the nipples on Michelangelo's "David"?
(and that the device goes through very little re-testing after repair)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.............
That's it, I'm done. I'm speechless. I have no idea what to say. This had better be a joke. So how exactly do they know it works after putting it together? Maybe this explains why a member just received the tablet and dock back both non-functional.
From breaking **** and making up stories about how things arrived broken, to not testing them or not even repairing things in some instances and demanding that the customer pay return shipping everytime they make a mistake, I'm ****ing done with this company. All expectations for my device are gone. I expect to receive a piece of paper that says "I.O.U.: TF101". The lousiest company I've had to deal with in ages.

Tubular said:
You're not mad about this at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, definitely not mad in any literal sense. It takes a lot more than that to get me mad, otherwise I'd be mad all the time. If this is the worst thing that happens to me in a day, I'm a lucky guy.
Less literally speaking, it's a little frustrating and annoying. I've been buying Asus parts for over 15 years or so and I love their products.
No question it is disappointing to hear that they don't do a lot of testing on repaired units. No question that it is frustrating to be told to pay to ship a unit that you just got back in the same or worse condition than when you sent it.
The guy was obviously being more candid with me than most would be, which I appreciated. I bought the product from a company, but then you're dealing with people from there on out. He isn't going to change the reality of the company's approach to this product, so at least he tried to help instead of reciting scripted verbage to me.
As far as down the road is concerned... I guess it's an issue that is different for everyone... before the end of the year I will have already replaced the TF and given it to someone to mess with. Same for that future device in another 6-10 months. So for my own personal situation, I tend not to think too much about the future of the device.
All of that said, my TF really is working very well now and it performs wonderfully. It's a lot of fun to mess with and is lighter to carry around than whatever book I might be reading at any given time.

Shouldn't the tablet turn on by itself anyways when you plug in the charger?

frosty5689 said:
Shouldn't the tablet turn on by itself anyways when you plug in the charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently not, if the button is sort of pressed in without actually being pressed in. I suppose you could put the TF on it's side, press the button in then while holding it in plug it in with the other hand and see if it powers on. I didn't really think/care to give it a whirl.

This sounds like they do this on purpose so the device doesnt turn on until it is ready to ship. I assume many hands will touch a TF in the manufacturing stage and its probably set up to turn on after 30 presses. This way the TF doesnt keep turning on and have to be turned off. Probably before they box it for good a worker presses the buttons 30 times each until it turns on they shuts it down and boxes it to ship to stores.

Oyeve said:
This sounds like they do this on purpose so the device doesnt turn on until it is ready to ship. I assume many hands will touch a TF in the manufacturing stage and its probably set up to turn on after 30 presses. This way the TF doesnt keep turning on and have to be turned off. Probably before they box it for good a worker presses the buttons 30 times each until it turns on they shuts it down and boxes it to ship to stores.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hrm... interesting thought. I've never heard of such a process anywhere, but stranger procedures have certainly existed.

To replace or not.....

I have posted in a few spots detailing my screen issue and I'm normally a very decisive person but this time I'm really on the fence and would like some input
About a week and half ago I began to notice a small red airbrush looking circle in the middle of my screen. It was centered left to right and favoring the bottom half of the screen. It appeared on dark backgrounds only. Over the next 12 hours it came and went, varying in intensity. Of course I researched it and found numerous accounts of a similar phenomenon where a blue dot was appearing on Moto X 2014 phone's and it was caused by blunt force to the screen or back of the phone. That couldn't possibly be my cause, it just didn't happen. I searched here for the Pure and found a single thread talking again about the "blue blemish" but that's it.
I immediately make up my mind it is not something I'm going to live with as I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. My wife, of course, said I was being to picky but she's lived with a dead pixel on her iPhone since it was brand new. So I don't respect her input here. Well I wake up the next day and it's gone. Totally gone. I tell myself maybe it was a fluke. Maybe I was too drunk and exaggerating things. I said F-it, I'll just let it ride. 8 days later, it reappeared first thing in the morning. I had a very busy day so the next time I picked up my phone around lunchtime it was gone and has not resurfaced. I called Motorola and they immediately offered a replacement which I agreed to and it's en route as we speak.
So here's the thing. I like this phone more than any other phone I've ever owned. I rooted it, I have it set up just like I want it and for the first time I am confident I'll use this phone for years instead of just months like I normally do. I just don't know how I feel taking a refurbished phone in its place. I normally don't balk at the idea but I had two bad LG G4's in a row with reception issues and now this Pure I'm considering trading in has a screen issue that is only around 1% of the time. If I return this one, it could easily pass the tests and get sent back out to someone else. Everything else about this phone is acceptable to me.
Would you take the refurbished one or keep this one? I still have the warranty in tact if the screen acts up worse down the road. I have to mail back the phone within 5 days so I'll have limited time to test it out.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

Go with the refurbished unit. You said the screen was really bugging you. You can always get another replacement if you don't like the one they send you.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

My take on Nexus 5X bootloop, crazy possible fix

Ok guys maybe will work for your or not if u are reading this means that also u know what bootloop is. I am aware of the "new" way of fixing this by using only 4 cores instead of 6, well for me did not work so well. After a lot of scratching swears and other stuff i realized that actually this is a hardware problem, and i need to look at it as such.
01.So in the beginning i did try the oven charm, well was good for few hours... but after a short time it started to randomly reboot, specially after i was charging the phone(or getting intensive with it). (but not bootloop)
02. Second time i did use a strong hairdryer, to be more friendly, same thing few hours after it started with the random reboots. (but not bootloop)
so
03. i am suspecting that the problem starts from the snapdragon chipset, maybe a slow connection, so i added some pressure to the chip by adding some aluminum foil on top of it. Till now like this is working proper
CZ: So the main thing is: Because i set pressure on the Snapdragon chipset now my phone works again ^_^
IF situation changes i will let you know, but until now for me was the only way to fix this. (and believe me i did try all the software ways)
Later edit: almost two days since the massage and is rocking ^_^ jaja

I did that too, it worked for 2 or 3 days, then started to fall again.

If you want a permanent fix for your 5X you'll have to get the SoC re-soldered like these guys here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/4gb-ram-upgraded-nexus-5x-t3588743

Third day for me still working

Got a free replacement mother board from LG in India
I had a bootloop problem last week after upgrading to 8.0.0 through the beta route. Phone was manufactured in 2015 and bought by me in Apr 2016. Hence, it was out of warranty. The phone was bought through the Google store. Initially, it was completely dead. Maybe through bootlooping it exhausted the battery. Anyway I charged it for several hours and then put it in the freezer for 2 hours. It started and went into bootloop. I could get it to go to bootloader mode and recovery mode. I then rang up Google support and after two phone calls and discussion on chat they sent me an email which said that I should contact LG in New Delhi, India where I am located. Yesterday I visited LG repair center. They without any demurring or hesitation agreed to replace the motherboard. They only wanted to see the invoice and despite it being out of warranty they are replacing the motherboard. I asked the executive why I should trust a new motherboard as many people have reported problems after getting a replacement. He said, and I cannot confirm the veracity, that the there are some changes in the new motherboard and it should not go into bootloop. I will only know once I get the phone back next week and run it over a period of time. Will keep people updated. Even though I bought it in India and it was delivered from Singapore by Google LG has replaced the motherboard.

hahaha hair dryer
I baked my motherboard in my mom's baker.
It's last about week then i sell it.
RIP MY LG G3

Is it still running ? Could you upload some pictures on where you applied the foil ?

at the moment not is not running it started to randomly reboot, and i made another flame bake and is gone, i will buy another cheap dead phone to play with, anyway this method is good if u want to recover at least the files bla bla, i need to find a better way how to fix the chipset. anyway is fun

I just baked my wife's 100% stock locked 5x.. 2 minutes at 150°c (from cold to temp, timed after it reached temperature) and 30 seconds at 235° ( again not setting the timer until it reached temperature).. Used a hair dryer to slowly bring the temps down ( mine has a cold air button) then put it in the freezer for 5 minutes...
Booted, transferred files, installed apps and its still running several hours later.. I'm going to factory reset it, unlock it and mod it until it dies..
I bought her a Nokia 7 plus replacement phone..

Officially my Tab S3 has died (Screen of death)

I charge my tablet once or twice a week, however, since a week ago my tablet did not turn on after leaving it for a week without charging.
The tablet does not charge, does not turn on and I have tried:
- Different cables.
- Different chargers (official too)
- Direct charging from a computer.
- All possible button combinations.
- Leave it charging all night.
After all the above, still not working. But if I leaving it charging for more than an hour, the back feels a little warm, but does not give any signs of life, it has totally stock rom, never rooted.
Samsung refuse to repair because I loose my proof of purchase, fortunately I still kept my old tab s2
Now, I´m selling it for parts on ebay.

Daruniafx said:
I charge my tablet once or twice a week, however, since a week ago my tablet did not turn on after leaving it for a week without charging.
The tablet does not charge, does not turn on and I have tried:
- Different cables.
- Different chargers (official too)
- Direct charging from a computer.
- All possible button combinations.
- Leave it charging all night.
After all the above, still not working. But if I leaving it charging for more than an hour, the back feels a little warm, but does not give any signs of life, it has totally stock rom, never rooted.
Samsung refuse to repair because I loose my proof of purchase, fortunately I still kept my old tab s2
Now, I´m selling it for parts on ebay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just had this same issue, Samsung did fix mine though.. it was the LCD waiting on them to return it back to me.

treo4life said:
I just had this same issue, Samsung did fix mine though.. it was the LCD waiting on them to return it back to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, it sound like LCD issues, very simillar to LG G4 with his screen of death, I'm stay with my S2 for some time and see if it is a extended issue or my tab was the lucky one (ironic mode).

Daruniafx said:
Wow, it sound like LCD issues, very simillar to LG G4 with his screen of death, I'm stay with my S2 for some time and see if it is a extended issue or my tab was the lucky one (ironic mode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two reports after it has been on the market for nine months doesn't mean the sky is falling.

Two reports on XDA... probably I´m paranoid. I just wait, the tab s3 its a beautifull tab, thanks for your reply.

I had same experience for a moment. Then I realised that I had set my tab for minimum brightness while being in a bright room. One may laugh, but it is very difficult to distinguish if you have black wallpaper.

Mine would not boot, the screen did work though, I could go into download mode and everything.
Sent it in for replacement and they replaced the motherboard and the screen.
Either they were lazy to see that the screen worked, or there is a screen problem that can cause many problems.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Add me to the list of issues. Tablet wouldn't turn on after being dead for a few days. Let it charge overnight with no luck. I can feel it's on after hitting the power button because touching the screen causes it to vibrate as if I'm entering a wrong passcode on the lock screen. Has to be something wrong with the OLED panel.
Edit: Sent the device to Samsung. They are replacing the screen assembly and motherboard just as they did with the other poster in this thread. I hope this doesn't become a widespread issue.

I was taking my tablet out from a very tight case. After doing so, my screen went black, no video. Sent it in to be repaired. Due to being an intern9model, they refused to touch it. When I got it back, I prayed and slightly bend it in the center of the tablet. Voila, screen came back on!

Possible Black Screen of Death Solution
The link below is obviously a "shill post" from the makers of "phone recovery software" trying to sell it to you, but they have a page that talks about how to recover from the "Black Screen of Death".
[Solved] How to Fix A Samsung Tablet with Black Screen
"Usually on a phone that packs a removable battery, you can take out the battery and put it back in to solve the problem. But since tablet doesn’t have a removable one, this does not work for you.
In this case, just make sure that your tablet is completely turned off and then boot the device into recovery mode by holding Home, Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time for a few seconds. Then you can solve the issue manually."
Similar post on the Samsung Community Forums with a slight difference.
Galaxy Tab S3 will not switch on!
They say the same thing but say to use just Power and Volume Down for 7 seconds.
Even better, I found a confirming post on ifixit site. I trust ifixit a little more myself...
Galaxy tab 3, screen has power but is black.
This solution says to use Power and both Vol + and - at the same time.
I don't have this tablet but am thinking about getting it (less so now that I found this thread (Black Screen of Death? Yikes!)). Posting this info here on the hope that it helps someone else with this issue. If you try this solution, *PLEASE* post a reply and indicate whether it worked or not so others know if this solution is worth anything or not.

I've had my Tab S3 since August of 2017 and no issues. It is a work horse especially on the road (business travel).

Thanks for posting solutions. As to concern of a chronic issue, I'm unconcerned enough that I'm waiting for mine to arrive Mon. This thread was started back in Nov. I'd be surprised if Samsung didn't get a handle on it by now (if it's repeatedly been a problem), especially given that it was released as their flagship tab. I've read of issues with the S3 here and there, but for the most part, people seem to have a great experience with it.

Same issue. Had this since it's release - 3 yrs now. Worked great up to this. Now completely dead. For $600 not acceptable.