Any chance to fix this phone?
September 13, 2021 10:52 AM Subscribe
I have a moto e4 phone - from maybe 2 years ago? - that has strangely "died" on me today. Any suggestions on how to resuscitate it?
Trying to decide if I should go buy a new phone or try anything else to get the phone back and working.
The last couple days I've had a few times where it lost all or almost all battery, basically b/c we only have one working charger in the house, I forget to charge, it dies. And generally, it doesn't hold a charge very well (being a couple years old now).
So today I was charging it from zero. I turned it on, it seemed fine and was charging. It got up to about 33%, and then turned itself off. Now, a few hours later, I can't seem to get it to come on at all, or even show the "charging" screen that has the lightning bolt and/or socket. Its not responding at all, as I press and then press and hold the bottom button the right. I have left if plugged in, went and bought a new charger, tried that. Still no response.
Is there anything else I could try, or a way to figure out if its dead dead? Some combo of buttons to reset or start it up? Any thoughts much appreciated.
Generally I'm fine with this phone so I'd like to get it working, but I also don't have so much time to not have a working phone.
Trying to decide if I should go buy a new phone or try anything else to get the phone back and working.
The last couple days I've had a few times where it lost all or almost all battery, basically b/c we only have one working charger in the house, I forget to charge, it dies. And generally, it doesn't hold a charge very well (being a couple years old now).
So today I was charging it from zero. I turned it on, it seemed fine and was charging. It got up to about 33%, and then turned itself off. Now, a few hours later, I can't seem to get it to come on at all, or even show the "charging" screen that has the lightning bolt and/or socket. Its not responding at all, as I press and then press and hold the bottom button the right. I have left if plugged in, went and bought a new charger, tried that. Still no response.
Is there anything else I could try, or a way to figure out if its dead dead? Some combo of buttons to reset or start it up? Any thoughts much appreciated.
Generally I'm fine with this phone so I'd like to get it working, but I also don't have so much time to not have a working phone.
If it is getting hot when charging, unplug it and put it in the freezer for a bit. Then start charging again.
posted by AugustWest at 11:18 AM on September 13, 2021
posted by AugustWest at 11:18 AM on September 13, 2021
Best answer: Typical battery in a smartphone lasts no more than 3 years without a significant reduction in battery life.
Moto E4 was first launched in June 2017. Given Moto E5 was released April 2018, I have to assume E4s were all made in 2017. Even if you didn't buy it in 2017, the battery life of such devices are probably shot anyway in 2021.
FWIW, I've had a Samsung Galaxy S6 that died by itself, while I was on a job, like that. It just turned off, leaving me stuck in a huge metroplex not my own, without a way to call or get a map. It somehow came back to life a few days later. So it was probably a heat issue.
Given the cost of replacing a battery is noticeable, it's probably easier to buy another phone.
posted by kschang at 11:38 AM on September 13, 2021
Moto E4 was first launched in June 2017. Given Moto E5 was released April 2018, I have to assume E4s were all made in 2017. Even if you didn't buy it in 2017, the battery life of such devices are probably shot anyway in 2021.
FWIW, I've had a Samsung Galaxy S6 that died by itself, while I was on a job, like that. It just turned off, leaving me stuck in a huge metroplex not my own, without a way to call or get a map. It somehow came back to life a few days later. So it was probably a heat issue.
Given the cost of replacing a battery is noticeable, it's probably easier to buy another phone.
posted by kschang at 11:38 AM on September 13, 2021
Occasionally, for reasons that I don't pretend to understand, you can "resuscitate" a seemingly-dead phone by plugging and unplugging it from the charger repeatedly. Worth a try, anyway. Plug it in, give it a second or two, unplug it. Repeat until you get bored.
If it doesn't work, I'd probably say it's dead-dead. Likely it's the battery, but it might be something else, and it'll probably cost you $75 to have the battery replaced just to find out. Not worth the risk of it turning out to be "something else" and wasting $75, when you could buy last year's Moto E model for $120.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:58 PM on September 13, 2021
If it doesn't work, I'd probably say it's dead-dead. Likely it's the battery, but it might be something else, and it'll probably cost you $75 to have the battery replaced just to find out. Not worth the risk of it turning out to be "something else" and wasting $75, when you could buy last year's Moto E model for $120.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:58 PM on September 13, 2021
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When/if it comes back on I've found going into my default/system apps and clearing the cache to help things somewhat.
Regardless of if it comes back on or not, this is a pretty clear indication that your phone is reaching the end of its lifespan. I wouldn't throw any more money at it and would instead put my cash/efforts at buying a new phone.
posted by phunniemee at 11:05 AM on September 13, 2021 [1 favorite]