Battery problems

[Angelic_Fille90]

I have been trying almost all week to charge my cellphone and it won't charge!

I used almost all the chargers that are mirco which can work on my Alcatel flip phone and the battery still dies!

I've had this phone for almost 3 years now and seeing this happen is not only a shock but upsetting.

What should I do?

[dhilscher]

@Angelic_Fille90 You can buy a cheap wall plug and usb cable from dollar store to check if it was your cable or adapter.

Like others have said 3 years is a longtime for a battery, It could just be dead. I recently replaced my google nexus 5 battery myself for like 10 bucks. Was pretty easy to do after watching youtube video.

Good luck!

[Luddite]

Only $60 at your nearest 7/11: http://www.speakout7eleven.ca/prepaid-cellphones/alcatel-a392a

Just double check the box to see that it says unlocked. It was a year ago when I bought one.

Or this $50 one from Telus: http://www.telus.com/en/on/mobility/device/pre-paid-huawei-ascend-y330/index.do?INTCMP=BetaCatalogCa... It's used but has 1 year warranty. Although it's a smartphone it's pretty much just for calling and texting because it has only 4 GB of memory.

[srlawren]

@Angelic_Fille90 I agree with @Luddite's assessment.  Regardless of the cause, you can either can it repaired for a fee, or buy a new phone.  I personally think the latter is more cost-effective, but that's up to you to decide.  Try googling some phone repair shops near your location, and call them for a quote.  Then you can decide if that's worth it to you, or if you'd rather put the money into something brand new with newer features and so forth.

[Luddite]

@Angelic_Fille90 Think your are down to 2 options:

- take it to a repair shop for an estimate

- buy a new phone with a charging cable

[Angelic_Fille90]

---

@JMCD wrote:

Are you sure it's the battery and not the charging port? Both are common points of failure, but generally batteries die gradually over time. Charging ports can just quit working, sometimes adding a small amount of pressure in one direction will get it to charge if you're having issues (temporary fix, new port would be needed).

---

I'm now starting to believe its the CHARGING PORT! 

I remember when I owed Andriod tablets from 2013 to 2015, it ALWAYS was the charging ports that dead!

I don't think my cellphone's charging port is strong as it two years ago! 

What can I do now?

[JMCD]

Are you sure it's the battery and not the charging port? Both are common points of failure, but generally batteries die gradually over time. Charging ports can just quit working, sometimes adding a small amount of pressure in one direction will get it to charge if you're having issues (temporary fix, new port would be needed).

[sm2016]

On top of the advice here, I also want to add that if you decide to buy a second hand phone (ie. Craigslist), make sure you do your checks. The most obvious things to look for

1. Make sure its either locked to telus or unlocked
2. The phone works on the telus network (frequency wise)
3. The phone is not stolen/blacklisted

I also don't want to scare you off from Craigslist, because I have personally bought phones on there and they have worked perfectly! Just know what you're buying 🙂

[sm2016]

On top of the advice here, I also want to add that if you decide to buy a second hand phone (ie. Craigslist), make sure you do your checks. The most obvious things to look for

1) Make sure its either locked to telus or unlocked

2) The phone works on the telus network (frequency wise)

3) The phone is not stolen/blacklisted

I also don't want to scare you off from Craigslist, because I have personally bought phones on there and they have worked perfectly! Just know what you're buying 🙂

[srlawren]

Nice find, @Luddite!  I didn't even think to look--I just assumed flip phones were a thing of the past.  My bad!

[Luddite]

@Angelic_Fille90 This phone from Telus will work on Public Mobile: Flip phone

[srlawren]

@kkum I'm a big fan of the OnePlus 3 also!  I'm not sure you'd really be very far ahead selling your S7E for one though.  OnePlus is also struggling to keep up with demand, leading to very long times to ship orders these days. Just an FYI.

For @Angelic_Fille90, the OnePlus 3 might be overkill, given that she [I'm assuming you are a female, based on the Fille part of your name--apologies if that's wrong] is currently still using a flip phone.  I'm guessing here needs could be met by a more basic and less costly phone.  Maybe a Zenfone 3 Laser?  Moto G4 Plus or G4 Play?  Or even a Blu Life One X2 (16GB, or 64GB)?  

[kkum]

@Angelic_Fille90

If you're in the market for a new phone, I highly suggest the One Plus 3.

It's as good if not better than the thousand dollar competitors but for as little as half the price! ($520 CAD before tax)

In fact, it's actually proven to be faster than the $1000+ Samsung S7 Edge according to this test.

https://9to5google.com/2016/07/21/oneplus-3-blazing-through-samsungs-galaxy-s7-edge-speed-test-video...

I only suggest this because I currently have the S7 edge which I paid over a thousand for and am debating if I should sell it for a One Plus 3 instead. That's a free $300 in my pocket AND a new phone!

Like @srlawren suggested, a used phone a few gens old can also be a good choice if you're on a tight budget. I suggest the older Samsung Galaxy models since they have a pretty good track record at a decent price (A new S5 goes for around $300 all inclusive and a used one, maybe like $250).

Good luck 

[srlawren]

Hi @Angelic_Fille90, sorry to hear about that.  😞  Did this happen suddenly?  I'm sure you must have been experiencing a gradual reduction in battery life over time, but then this suddenly went to almost nothing?  

Unfortunately, 3 years is a pretty long time for phone battery these days, and it may simply have failed.  There's also a possibility that the charging circuitry in the phone has failed.  Unfortunatley, at this point, I'm thinking you are probably needing a new phone.  But here are some options you could consider:

- Look through the Alcatel support pages for any relevant info:  http://www.alcatelonetouch.ca/product-support

- Contact Alcatel for support:  https://www.alcatelonetouch.ca/contact.  However, given the age of your phone, I'm 99.99999% sure you have no warranty remaining, and any support you get from them would be for a [probably large] fee

- Look for local phone repair shops near you (e.g. google "Phone repair shop near me" or "phone repair shop near 123 Main St, FictionalCity Ontario") and contact them to see if they can help

Unfortunately, these last two options are likely to not be cheap, and in all honest you may be better off just sourcing a new (or quality used) phone instead.

Does anyone else have any better suggestions?  😞  Sorry @Angelic_Fille90