N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Hey there. So, my N900 has stopped working, *again*. I have no idea why, but it's not starting up at all. I can hold the power button for a day, or try to put it in update mode all I want, but it won't turn on. The only sign that the battery isn't bad is that when I connect it to my laptop, I can always see an orange light. But nothing other than that. How do I fix it?

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

check your battery connectors. I had similar behaviour and after thightening them up everything is fine.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Thanks, but how exactly do I do that?

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

take out the battery and scratch the pins with a needle and pull them if required

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Thanks, but that doesn't help.I pulled them so close they were almost touching (all three of them). On connecting a charger, same as before behavior.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

With nothing else to go with than that, I would say that the battery is completely flat and needs recharging. I won't insult you by asking if you've tried that but... have you perhaps tried an offline charger or another battery?

Another question: Does it respond to flasher? You don't need to actually flash anything, just try one of the query commands.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

The damned thing doesn't even get into Update Mode. As for another battery, can I order and use this? http://tinyurl.com/n900bl5j The model's the same, but the phone model is something else.
PS: What's an offline charger? The one you plug into the wall outlet? Didn't try that yet. *facepalm*

EDIT: With the wall charger, it turns on for a few seconds! I get a super-dim Nokia screen, like the one on the Update Mode.
EDIT 2: The exact thing that happens is like this:
Connect charger >few seconds> Dim Nokia Screen + Orange light fades off >few seconds> Nokia screen fades off.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

get a new battery :)

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Thanks. Does the battery I linked to work in the N900?

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Yes, BL-5J is what you want.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

Polarcell seems to be the best replacement.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=65568

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

There is one more thing you may want to try before investing in a new battery. As I mentioned in post #6, try charging the battery offline. That is, in a standalone charger, out of your phone. Most people don't have a standalone charger for BL-5J batteries, but you can use virtually any digital camera charger, provided the batteries have the same nominal voltage (~3.7V) and you have two short pieces of wire and the necessary skills to connect it with the right polarity. Don't leave it unattended and on or near flammable surfaces though. Not recommended to people who don't have a clue about electronics. Risk of fire or explosion.

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

If you're meaning that it might be the phone, tough luck. The battery doesn't work in my grandad's Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (strange name), and the battery of the 5800 works in the N900 (IT WORKS!).

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

No I meant it to prove that it was the battery. But you proved it yourself a different way (I seem to have missed that). Well done!

Re: N900 not starting up at ALL
 

cheers mate:)