HTC One M8 turned off, won't come on, charge loop

[wittleweez]

So, this all happened super suddenly, (it was about 70% I believe when it turned off) and I was immediately buried in google looking for answers. I found one person who I could see for sure had the exact issue I'm having. Not a solution in any of those comments or any others I found throughout the net worked for me I've tried everything, so many different times.

I had been acting super impatiently, though, and finally 'gave up' and decided to leave my phone to charge for a while. After about 20ish minutes, it finally seemed to 'catch' the battery and looked to be charging (green battery indicator level looping as usual).

So I thought, hey, undeniable progress, and decided that must have fixed my issue and tried turning it on (while still supposedly charging), only for it not to come on and be back at square 1 (still not turning on and 'charge looping' as I'm putting it).

I'm happy that progress was made, but now, all I can think to do is let it charge to 100% and try it then. I'm afraid that when I end up turning it on while still on the charger, it will start all over. So I'll have to wait again, then UNPLUG it that time and try turning it on. If those things fail, I'm still stuck as a duck.

I hope my situation makes sense through text; I'm desperate and rambling. Has this happened to anyone else?
Thank you so so so much in advance.
-Natalie

Sent from my TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

Hi Natalie,

Your phone may be suffering from a problem that was common in phones manufactured by Motorola a few models back. The symptoms are similar. The problem results when the battery charging and metering system gets out of sync with the actual battery levels and capacity. These batteries have a unique characteristic in which if the charge levels dip below a certain voltage level they become somewhat immune to charging at normal rates and instead will only charge very slowly until the voltage crests above that low limit.

The reason they won't start charging normally is because the battery voltage is so low it's not enough to start the charging system. Since it takes power to start the charging circuit and also to turn on and display the battery icon, the power used to start that screen winds up pulling the voltage down and using up most, if not all of the power that the charging circuit was able to push to the battery. This can prevent the charging circuit from fully powering up and starting the normal charging rate.

The problem can often be reversed if it is left on charge overnight or longer (as you experienced), and eventually will begin charging normally again. If the charge levels dip even further the battery can slip into "protection mode", and become essentially unable to charge at all under most cases. Let it remain on charge and do not attempt to power it back on until it has reached a full 100%. To check the charge level once charging begins, you may be able to wake the screen by pressing either the up or down volume buttons, but do not initiate a powering up of the phone until charging is complete.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

Deleted the following thread, as it is a duplicate. I have move this thread to the HTC One M8 forum. Please don't post the same information in more than one thread as it causes confusion and duplication of efforts from members.

HTC One M8 turned off, won't come on, charge loop

 

[wittleweez]

Unfortunately, when my phone did show the charging level for a minute there before I tried to power it on, it was still around 70% so it can't be discharged

Sent from my TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

I understand that, but this is more evidence that the problem is related to a divergence between the meter readings and the actual battery levels. In other words, if my suspicions are correct even though the meter said it's 70%, it's really below 0%. The thing is, 0% isn't the same as 0 charge level. A fully discharged battery actually has about 3 Volts as measured but it's not enough to power the phone, so since it's below what the phone needs, it is called 0%.

On the other hand, 100% will produce a voltage of around 4.4 Volts. The battery could actually be charged to a higher voltage however doing so shortens the battery's life and depending on how much higher, potentially puts the battery at risk of catastrophic failure. So, in order to protect the battery and user, and to prolong the battery's life once the voltage reaches the highest safe level, the charging circuit stops charging the battery and changes into a maintenance mode, keeping the level between 90% and 100% of that maximum voltage.

And on the other end, once the voltage reaches about 3 Volts, the phone shuts down to protect the battery and preserve the ability to charge. In your case, the meter still believed the battery had power incorrectly (70%), and as a result it caused more power to be pulled from the battery which pushed the voltage well below that c. 3 Volt threshold. Now there's not enough power, along with the very small charging that it's receiving initially to jump start the charging circuit. This is what causes that charging loop you're experiencing.

What you will need to do is simply let it stay on the charger like I said, for at least an overnight period, if not 24 hours or more. You will see in your video that the LED on the screen flashes briefly upon the startup of the display each time, something that shows the phone is trying the startup but fails.

If there is a way to briefly show the charging process progress, you may do so briefly, but don't try to power it up under any circumstances until the battery icon shows 100%.

 

[wittleweez]

Okay thank you so much, I will update when there's something to tell

Sent from my TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

Okay thank you so much, I will update when there's something to tell

Sent from my TF700T using Tapatalk

Please re-read my previous post, as I edited it to provide a better understanding of what you may be up against and how to resolve it.

 

[wittleweez]

Alright, that's very interesting to know actually! As of just now, and I mean JUST now, my phone finally brought up the 73% and quickly, as usual, charged to 80% which it's at now and still charging

Sent from my TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

OK. Now what you'll need to do is allow it to get to 100℅. Then once you power it up you'll want to use it normally throughout the day but don't put it onto the charger until it actually tells you to at about 15℅ typically. When it tells you to, then power it off again and just plug it in and let it charge again to 100℅ while powered off. After that it should be back to normal. Let us know how it goes.

Good luck.

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