SMT5600 Dead??

[merwin]

OK, so I bought an Audiovox SMT5600 on EBay and received it today. I powered it on, and it had a very low battery. It shut itself off after about 30 seconds. So, I attempted to charge it and the charging light didn't come on. I waited about 5 minutes. Then I tried charging it USB (powered off). Windows did the USB recognition sound, then the unplugging sound. It repeated that over and over. I unplugged it and tried to turn it on... it turned on and i instantly put the usb charger in. Nothing happened. 30 seconds later it shut off, and now it's not turning on or charging or anything.

Any clue what could be wrong?

[Mike Temporale]

I have found that if the battery is really empty, it can't be charged by USB. Try plugging it into the wall. You should have better results.

[merwin]

Tried that as well (in fact, that's the first thing i tried... before usb). I know with some phones, if the battery is bad or completely drained, you can't even charge the phone.

I ordered a new battery, with hopes that it's the solution to the problem. If it doesn't solve the problem, well, at least I'll have a 2nd battery after I exchange the phone ;-)

[merwin]

Quick Update:
I tried manually charging the battery (not the smartest thing in the world to do... but i'm not always one to follow the rules) by using 2 D batteries and leads connected to the positive and negative of the battery.

After about an hour of sitting on the homemade charger, the phone booted up and ALMOST got to the main screen before it died. It even showed the orange charging LED for a few seconds.

My guess is that the battery is SO dead that it just won't hold any kind of charge anymore. If that is the case, it seems like crappy manufacturing to require a good battery to use the phone even when plugged in. It should at least attempt to charge it, or turn on when plugged in, etc.

I'll have to wait another week before my new battery shows up. Oh well.

Can anyone confirm that their 5600 phone won't power on when battery is removed but charger is plugged in?

[Mike Temporale]

I can try and test that out later today and let you know. Post back at the end of the day if I haven't replied. (Just to remind me ;) )

[Kris Kumar]

Okay I beat Mike on this one. :lol: ;-)

Tried to power up my phone (its SP3i same as SMT5600) with the battery OUT and power IN - it will NOT power up. Infact I do not even see the charging light come on.

Put the battery IN and Power IN and now the phone powers UP. :-)

[Kris Kumar]

Lithium Ion batteries are not supposed to have charge memory. But looks like you have defective battery.

I am sure the new battery will fix the problem, based on your analysis/tests. :-)

All the best! Keep us posted.

[Mike Temporale]

Okay I beat Mike on this one. :lol: ;-)

Actually, I ran this test just after lunch today. However, I didn't get a chance to post about my results. ;) And for the record, I had the same expereince as Kris.

[merwin]

Looks like I might have a bad phone :( I just got my new battery in and the phone turns on, all works, but it won't charge via usb or power outlet. Sucky.

[Mike Temporale]

8O eek! Are you able to return it?

[merwin]

After further review, I don't think I have a bad phone. Here's my theory:
Phone arrived at my place with a bad battery AND a bad wall charger.

That would effectively make it not charge AT ALL, since the USB charger will only work if the phone is 'on'.

After some more playing, I discovered that you have to install Active Sync for the USB charger to actually work. I wasn't aware of that. It still won't charge that other battery, or charge either battery with the wall charger, but this new battery is charging perfectly fine with the USB charger.

What are the odds? lol. I'll have to hop down to the local T-Mobile store and borrow one of their blackberry chargers (same mini-usb charger on the new blackberry phone) and see if it'll charge using that.

In any case, I'm able to use my phone now, which rocks. I wasn't too keen on the idea of getting stuck with a $250 paperweight.

[Kris Kumar]

I'll have to hop down to the local T-Mobile store and borrow one of their blackberry chargers (same mini-usb charger on the new blackberry phone) and see if it'll charge using that.

Good to know that the problem is with the charger.

I must advice you that SMT5600 (basically all the HTC Typhoon series devices) require a special USB Charger. Ordinary USB chargers won't work. The SMT5600 Charger has a special wiring configuration without which the phone will NOT charge. So look for an SMT5600 charger. :wink:

[merwin]

Wonderful... yet another thing I need to buy :-)

Thanks for the tip!

[merwin]

Just an update for everyone interested. That was the issue. A new OEM Audiovox charger worked fine.

[Kris Kumar]

Just an update for everyone interested. That was the issue. A new OEM Audiovox charger worked fine.

Awesome! 8)

[Mike Temporale]

Speaking of Audiovox chargers....

I was digging through my box of cables the other day and I came across a miniUSB to USB cable. Not sure what it is from, but it's been in the box for at least a year. :) Anyway, I was going to buy another Sync cable for my gadget bag, so I thought I would try this one first. And, it works great. Not that this would help you out at all. I just wanted to mention that I found a misc cable that actually worked on my phone! :lol:

[Mark Larson]

Yeah, aren't standards nice? :) I discovered that my camera's USB cable works with my phone too. :D