Droid won't turn on! I've tried everything. Please help!

[jessgirl24]

Hey all,
I am super stressed about this! I have had my Droid about 7 months and I have always had little problems here and there. For example, when I went to open my text messages, my internet would open. Or I go to open the navagation, and the camera opens up. Etc. Etc. There is obviously a short with my phone, but I've never done anything about it. Keep in mind this has been acting up since I first got the phone. Anyway, I usually do battery resets and one time I even had to do a complete factory reset. Both of those have worked in the past. But a few days ago, I dropped the phone about a foot (not in water, and nothing broke). I just was holding it and it slipped from my hand and seriously only fell a foot. No joke. ANYWAY, ever since then, all hell broke loose. The phone worked good right after that, and a few hours later the backlight that illuminates the phone was blinking while I was using it. And eventually, I went to use it, and the light wouldn't even turn on. I could tell the phone was on, but I couldn't really see anything because the light wouldn't turn on. I tried battery resets, probably about 10 of them, and nothing. Nothing would fix it. SOooo eventually my battery died, so I pulled it in, and the little white charging light came on, but the phone would not power on. I've had it on the charger on and off for hours at a time and I still get nothing. The little white charger light comes on every once in a while. Also, no obvious water damage, and no cracks or anything. Verizon is mailing me a new one because I live in a town where there is no store (Stupid, I know). They want me to send them my broken one so they can inspect it for damage. I am soooooooo paranoid they are going to charge me for the phone! First of all, I have had problems from the VERY BEGINNING with this damn phone. So there is nothing I did to cause this. I know dropping it, obviously, wasn't good for it, but I've dropped it before, and I think a phone should be able to drop a foot and NOT break, right? Anyway, I am super nervous to send it back. They said if it's damaged, they charge me the full retail price of $500. #$@*!! I can't afford that! I'm a poor college student. Any words of advice? Does anyone know if they actually PULL apart the phone and completely inspect it? Or do they just pull apart the back and look for water damage and other damage over the phone? Sorry for writing a novel! I'm freaking stressing here! HELP! HELP! HELP!

 

[hookbill]

I'm confused. Did you actually ever drop it in water? Your post is hard to read because you didn't break it up with any paragraphs.

If you dropped it in water then they probably will see that there is water damage because there are indicators in the phone for that purpose.

If you just dropped your phone a foot and there is no physical damage then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[DeadlyAP1]

Only way to find out will be to take it in and see what they say. If they want to charge you full retail, just buy one on ebay (make sure it has a clean ESN) for around $200.

$200 is a lot cheaper than $500 retail and not much more than what you would have paid for a few months of insurance and the deductible.

If the phone wasn't working when you first got it, the time to address that was then and there.

 

[myriad46]

I agree with Hook. As long as the water indicators aren't tripped and there are no gratuitous gouges/cracks on the outside of the phone, you should be fine.

 

[razztaz]

Droid Not working

So I had a very similar mishap. I did not get the phone wet, but while there are no cracks or gouges in the screen or in the case, once can noticibly see it has been dropped a few times.

This morning, I accidently dropped it from a small distance and from that point on it will not turn on at all. NO LIGHTS, no hint of working. It was fully charged last night and working early this morning. So I called Verizon who recommended I take it to a authorized dealer who can examine it closer after preforming basic trouble shooting.

Is there any chance they will replace it? Or am I SOL and forced to purchase a new Droid. I did ask about upgrading and I can upgrade for the reduced phone price which is approx $200 after rebates, but I really do not want to have to do that. Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[jessgirl24]

Thanks to (almost) everyone for your advice!
Verizon sent me a new, or "refurbished" Droid for free a few weeks ago and did not charge me for the old one... So that's wonderful. I am super happy about that!

To DeadlyAP1: I would actually NEVER buy a phone off of eBay and I would never recommend someone to do that. When you purchase the phone from Verizon, or Motorola, it comes with a 1 yr warranty for defects (in my case, it was a defect, I guess). But the warranty expires as soon as the phone is sold to a third party. Don't believe me? Call Verizon or Motorola yourself. Once the phone is sold to a different person than the original buyer, the warranty is void. It's not worth it to me. Because these phones are so technical and often have defects, I would never, ever purchase one that did not have a warranty.

Razztaz,
Verizon told me that even thou the phone has some obvious wear and tear, that's not a problem. Wear and tear is to be expected with any device, and my phone that I sent back and got replaced for free had a few scuffs and scratches on it. So don't worry about that. I searched and searched all over my broken Droid to find any indication of damage that I may have caused, and I found nothing. The water indicator sticks were still fully in tack (no water damage) and there was no cracks in the screen. The only thing I was worried about was what they would find if they actually opened up the phone (which is what I was told they MIGHT do). I called Verizon the other day to ask a different question and they said my account balance is $0.00 and I owe nothing for my broken Droid. I literally spent hours stressing about my phone, because like you, I did not want to pay to get a new one. But it turned out okay for me. I'd say if your water indicator stickers still look good, and there is not cracks or your phone is not in two pieces, I would say you are fine. Let me know what happens! Good luck!

 

[hawaiianbrowneyez]

This same thing happened to me 3 days ago. and i just got my refurbished one in today and it didn't work, so they're sending me one tomorrow