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Dead phone-what are my choices?

A

amg2000

Newbie
2 questions (one phone specific and one MetroPCS specific)
Woke up this morning and turned on my phone (completely stock Samsung Galaxy Light, bought almost one year ago today) showed the "Galaxy Lite" startup screen and stayed there. Let it go for about 5 minutes, and tried to turn it off, I was unable to do it from the power switch, so I pened the back and took the battery out, and after 5 minutes or so put the battery in. Just to be sure, I plugged the charger in to see if the battery was charged, the startup screen came up even without pushing the power button. After that, same story, the startup screen never went away. Took the battery out again and rebooted into recovery mode, tried rebooting from there (same thing) then tried again and used the "wipe cache" option. Same result, never made it past the startup screen. Was going to try it a third time and do a factory reset from the recovery menu and now the phone doesn't turn on at all.

First question: Anyone ever see this? I have a feeling my phone is dead/bricked but if anyone has any other idea, I'd love to hear. I'm technically Android savvy (I've rooted a few of my older phones). I'm pretty sure this phone is dead though.

Second question: Buying a new phone is definitely going to be difficult financially, I'll be lucky if I make a 5 figure income this year! I need a phone, currently I'm on the $50 unlimited promo plan, I was living in NYC where I needed all that data, but now I'm out in the boondocks, and don't get much of a signal at home so I'm mainly on wifi at home, and my data usage shows it. I've been using on the average between 400mb and 700mb data when I'm in town, so I'm not averse to changing to a plan with less data ($30 plan?).
My main problem is going to be finding a phone I can afford that is at least as good as the Light. I see the prices on the MetroPCS website, but I'm not sure they are going to be the same price if I'm already a Metro customer. I don't use my Metro phone number, I've had a Google Voice number for years now, so changing plans (and new phone number) isn't a big deal. I just need to be able to afford it. I'd even consider changing providers if I had to.

Really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks so much in advance!
 
amg2000 said:
2 questions (one phone specific and one MetroPCS specific)
Woke up this morning and turned on my phone (completely stock Samsung Galaxy Light, bought almost one year ago today) showed the "Galaxy Lite" startup screen and stayed there. Let it go for about 5 minutes, and tried to turn it off, I was unable to do it from the power switch, so I pened the back and took the battery out, and after 5 minutes or so put the battery in. Just to be sure, I plugged the charger in to see if the battery was charged, the startup screen came up even without pushing the power button. After that, same story, the startup screen never went away. Took the battery out again and rebooted into recovery mode, tried rebooting from there (same thing) then tried again and used the "wipe cache" option. Same result, never made it past the startup screen. Was going to try it a third time and do a factory reset from the recovery menu and now the phone doesn't turn on at all.

First question: Anyone ever see this? I have a feeling my phone is dead/bricked but if anyone has any other idea, I'd love to hear. I'm technically Android savvy (I've rooted a few of my older phones). I'm pretty sure this phone is dead though.

Second question: Buying a new phone is definitely going to be difficult financially, I'll be lucky if I make a 5 figure income this year! I need a phone, currently I'm on the $50 unlimited promo plan, I was living in NYC where I needed all that data, but now I'm out in the boondocks, and don't get much of a signal at home so I'm mainly on wifi at home, and my data usage shows it. I've been using on the average between 400mb and 700mb data when I'm in town, so I'm not averse to changing to a plan with less data ($30 plan?).
My main problem is going to be finding a phone I can afford that is at least as good as the Light. I see the prices on the MetroPCS website, but I'm not sure they are going to be the same price if I'm already a Metro customer. I don't use my Metro phone number, I've had a Google Voice number for years now, so changing plans (and new phone number) isn't a big deal. I just need to be able to afford it. I'd even consider changing providers if I had to.

Really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks so much in advance!
Click to expand...
Hi, I can't really answer your first question, but I will help with the second question. Your cheapest choice for a new phone will be the zte obsidian for $19 in store plus activation and tax, so $19+$15+tax. That phone also allows you to be on the $30 plan. Yes this price is also for existing customers. Also there's the lg leon $29, the kyocera hydro wave for $39, and the Samsung Galaxy core prime for $49 really depends on your budget, but the zte obsidian is the cheapest. Spec wise it is 8 gbs of storage and 1 gb of ram just like the light. It has a mediateck quad core processor . Here's a review on it his English is a little off, but he knows what he's talking about
. If you need any more help, just ask. I hope this helps.
Anthony.
 
Thank you Anthony, that's very helpful!
I like the price of the Obsidian (and the fact that it is good on the $30 plan), but I think I might rule it out, it looks okay but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with ZTE.

Think I'm debating between the LG Leon and the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime (with the Kyocera running a distant 3rd). I was almost tempted to switch over to Cricket (my girlfriend has ATT and she actually gets a signal (very weak) in our general neighborhood (around Holland Township, NJ). I could get a 2nd gen Moto E for $49 which could hopefully end up free (as long as I'm able to bring my Metro number over to Cricket). Still it would take at least 8 weeks to get my $49 back, and I'm not sure whether I could port my number anyway.

I'd rather stay with Metro though, even on the $50 unlimited. My bill is due the 25th (bought my Light last year during the Black Friday sale).

I need to get into a Metro store (closest to me is Easton, PA). I notice some phones on the website say "get XXX rebate instantly IN-STORE" and other phones say "buy one, get second 1/2 off IN-STORE". Unfortunately both the Galaxy Core Prime and the Leon both say the second on the website (although I could have sworn I saw something different earlier this morning.
I could afford the Leon at $29.95 plus $15 fee plus tax, the Galaxy Core looks to be a slightly better phone, but it would be a little more of a stretch paying $49.95 plus $15 fee plus tax. I guess either one depends on whether I can get the instant rebate in store.
 
amg2000 said:
Thank you Anthony, that's very helpful!
I like the price of the Obsidian (and the fact that it is good on the $30 plan), but I think I might rule it out, it looks okay but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with ZTE.

Think I'm debating between the LG Leon and the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime (with the Kyocera running a distant 3rd). I was almost tempted to switch over to Cricket (my girlfriend has ATT and she actually gets a signal (very weak) in our general neighborhood (around Holland Township, NJ). I could get a 2nd gen Moto E for $49 which could hopefully end up free (as long as I'm able to bring my Metro number over to Cricket). Still it would take at least 8 weeks to get my $49 back, and I'm not sure whether I could port my number anyway.

I'd rather stay with Metro though, even on the $50 unlimited. My bill is due the 25th (bought my Light last year during the Black Friday sale).

I need to get into a Metro store (closest to me is Easton, PA). I notice some phones on the website say "get XXX rebate instantly IN-STORE" and other phones say "buy one, get second 1/2 off IN-STORE". Unfortunately both the Galaxy Core Prime and the Leon both say the second on the website (although I could have sworn I saw something different earlier this morning.
I could afford the Leon at $29.95 plus $15 fee plus tax, the Galaxy Core looks to be a slightly better phone, but it would be a little more of a stretch paying $49.95 plus $15 fee plus tax. I guess either one depends on whether I can get the instant rebate in store.
Click to expand...
The instant rebate in store they will give it to you. The lg leon is a good choice. I'm not sure yet what black Friday sales metro will have. However I did find something interesting looking at the black Friday ads that were leaked. Best buy will have the Moto E 2nd Gen for Verizon for $10 there are tricks to get it to work on GSM I've done it before. If you could get your hands on one there's another good choice for you just a tip. I hope I'm helping you. Let me know what you think.
Anthony.
 
Think I've had to rule out the Leon, as the camera doesn't autofocus. I was surprised that any of the major brands still had cell phone cams without autofocus. Thinking the Galaxy Core Prime might be my best choice, although I'm a little worried that it doesn't have Gorilla Glass.
 
Back to your SG Light, what happens when you press and hold the power button for about 20 seconds? Any response at all? even a screen flicker?

You could try and going into download mode, which is vol. DOWN + HOME + POWER.

Try this ... pull the battery and give it a minute. Then replace the battery and hold the volume DOWN button and, with your USB cable attached to your PC, plug the other end into the phone. Anything?
 
Thank you, I just tried that. I'd left the battery out for several hours, put the battery back in and held down the power for longer than 20 seconds, and nothing, no LCDs lighting up, no nothing. I also tried download mode, and then I tried holding the down button and plugging the USB cable into the phone (with the other end plugged into my PC). Nothing. Pulled both the SIM and MicroSD (and put them back in again) just in case something was loose.

Before yesterday when I plugged the phone into the charger, the LCD navigation lights would blink on, but now nothing. Ruled out the cable and the charger plug, since they work fine on the CDMA LG phone that was replaced by the Galaxy Light. Also the cable still works fine transferring data to my USB mini hard drive.

I have a feeling that in spite of my nice protective case, the last little fall off the coffee table might have killed it :-(

Thanks Lunatic59!


lunatic59 said:
Back to your SG Light, what happens when you press and hold the power button for about 20 seconds? Any response at all? even a screen flicker?

You could try and going into download mode, which is vol. DOWN + HOME + POWER.

Try this ... pull the battery and give it a minute. Then replace the battery and hold the volume DOWN button and, with your USB cable attached to your PC, plug the other end into the phone. Anything?
Click to expand...
 
:(

Dang. I was hoping we could resuscitate it. I'm thinking that whatever bootloop you got stuck in, kept the CPU ramped up to 100% for a long period and it self-immolated.
 
lunatic59 said:
:(

Dang. I was hoping we could resuscitate it. I'm thinking that whatever bootloop you got stuck in, kept the CPU ramped up to 100% for a long period and it self-immolated.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I actually thought maybe it had gotten stuck in a bootloop myself, although it had never done that before. I did a factory reset on it about a month ago because it had gotten soooo slow. It was never a fast phone, but the reset really helped.
The phone always got pretty warm after using for a while, and it would also spontaneously reboot from time to time.
I don't know if it would have helped, but I should probably get in the habit of turning the phone off when I go to bed at night. My phone hardly gets used as a "phone" these days, much less at 3 in the morning!
 
Update on my phone situation...
Haven't gotten a new phone yet, but I have decided that since I get almost no coverage in my immediate area to switch over to Cricket Wireless and port my number. It's just a waste of money for me to be spending $50 a month and not be able to make or receive phone calls (or anything else) unless I'm either in my house and connected to wifi or go about 3/4 a mile up the hill behind my house. I have checked and several people I know who have either ATT or Cricket actually get 1-2 bars.

I'm trying to take advantage of the bring your number over and get a free phone. Only thing is that Cricket needs my 9 digit MetroPCS account number (which appears to not be my phone number!) I've tried messaging their Facebook page, looking on their website, to no avail. I can't call because I don't have a working phone right now. I can't check to see if it's on my SMS payment messages from Metro because my phone is dead in the water. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it. My Metro service is due the 25th of November, so I'm hoping to resolve this soon! Thanks
 
Your account is on your signup paperwork, or you have to call them for it.

You can call metro from any phone, just have to have your account pin and number.
1 (888) 863-8768
 
lunatic59 said:
If you go to the MetroPCS website, you should be able to sign in with your phone number and find out all your information. If you never signed up for online access, there's a link to do that, too.
Click to expand...
Thanks lunatic59! I finally got through from someone else's phone.
They were actually very helpful. I explained that my phone had died and that since I was living in an area that got almost no Metro service that it made sense that it was time to switch providers and port my number. They were very helpful in giving me the info I need to port my number over (my account number and the security number). They did try to get me to change my mind however, even offered me $25 off my next bill, which was tempting, but I really had to be honest with myself, that I was wasting money on a phone service that didn't work 80% of the time (which wasn't Metro or T-Mobile's fault, I'm just a little too far away from their towers and in a valley.)
Living in Brooklyn I always had great service, and I can't complain about the cost or the signal strength there. I really have little bad to say about MetroPCS. I've also been reading this forum for the last few years that I've been with Metro, and even though I rarely post anything, the user community here has been wonderful.

One more thing, I did actually try the website first, but I didn't see my account number anywhere. I also found the original receipt for my Galaxy Light (and Metro service) but the account number on the receipt had my phone number (which wasn't my account).
Still not finished yet, I need to buy my phone at the new provider and port my number, hoping it goes smoothly.
 
As long as accounts are in good standing most providers will be very helpful, provided you can get to the right person. ;) :) Porting your number should be very simple and Cricket or AT&T or anybody else will be able to handle that without issue.

Good luck!
 
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