Login | Register For Free | Help
Search for: (Advanced)

Mailing List Archive: Maemo: Users

spontaneous reboot while charging

 

 

Maemo users RSS feed   Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded


qobi at purdue

Aug 2, 2009, 10:20 AM

Post #1 of 4 (1399 views)
Permalink
spontaneous reboot while charging

A few months ago, my N810 started spontaneously rebooting when it is plugged
into the charger. I haven't updated any software on it in over a year and made
no major configuration changes to it in over a year. It doesn't spontaneously
reboot when not plugged in. When plugged in, it sometimes does and sometimes
doesn't spontaneously reboot. When it does, it will go through several (about
a half dozen) reboot cycles and then stop. It sometimes stops in a powered on
state and sometimes stops in a powered off state.

Separate from this, I have noticed some strange behavior of the battery charge
indicator on the home screen. Often, it will indicate a full, or almost full
charge, and then after a very brief period of use, switch to indicating a very
low level of charge. Sometimes so low that it switches off. Then I plug it in
and reboot and unplug and it indicates a full charge again after being plugged
in only briefly. But this means that I can't reliably take it with me in my
pocket and use it for several hours a day as I have done for much of the past
year and a half.

I thought that the battery might need replacement since it is the original
battery from when I bought the N810 a year and a half ago. I purchased a
non-Nokia battery that claimed to be compatible (BP-4L I think). When I put it
in and plug the charger in, it always power cycles and begins a reboot about a
half dozen times in a row (it doesn't finish the reboot before spontaneously
power cycling) then eventually stops in a powered off state. The battery never
charges.

Any ideas? Should I try a new Nokia battery? Should I try a new charger? Is it
likely a software problem or a hardware problem? Except for the
charging/battery problem, it works as reliably as it has since I purchased it.
I rely on my N810 as a pocketable laptop (with a bluetooth keyboard) on almost
a daily basis. But I don't want to purchase a new one since I plan to purchase
the N900/Rover when it comes out.

Jeff (http://www.ece.purdue.edu/~qobi)
_______________________________________________
maemo-users mailing list
maemo-users [at] maemo
https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users


dufkaf at seznam

Aug 3, 2009, 12:40 AM

Post #2 of 4 (1283 views)
Permalink
Re: spontaneous reboot while charging [In reply to]

Jeffrey Mark Siskind wrote:
> A few months ago, my N810 started spontaneously rebooting when it is plugged
> into the charger. I haven't updated any software on it in over a year and made
> no major configuration changes to it in over a year. It doesn't spontaneously
> reboot when not plugged in. When plugged in, it sometimes does and sometimes
> doesn't spontaneously reboot. When it does, it will go through several (about
> a half dozen) reboot cycles and then stop. It sometimes stops in a powered on
> state and sometimes stops in a powered off state.

Hi Jeffrey,

Charging is possible when device is booted normally to desktop {i.e. you
use it and then plug the charger in while it is on) or there is special
charging only mode when you plug in the charge when device is off. I'm
not sure which of those two ways of charging you use.

I guess those reboots happen in charging only mode but I am not sure. If
this is so, try to plug the charger in only when the device is turned on
to avoid that special charging only mode. If battery is low and device
turns itself off before fully booted, turn it on via power button and
plug the charger in immediatelly after screen lights up.

>
> Often, it will indicate a full, or almost full
> charge, and then after a very brief period of use, switch to indicating a very
> low level of charge. Sometimes so low that it switches off.

This may indeed be a sign of poor battery.

> When I put it
> in and plug the charger in, it always power cycles and begins a reboot about a
> half dozen times in a row (it doesn't finish the reboot before spontaneously
> power cycling) then eventually stops in a powered off state. The battery never
> charges.
>
> Any ideas? Should I try a new Nokia battery? Should I try a new charger? Is it
> likely a software problem or a hardware problem?

I'd guess it is a software problem (and reflashing may help as a last
resort). Same problem was also discussed in thread "N800 Power cycles"
last month in maemo-developers.

Frantisek
_______________________________________________
maemo-users mailing list
maemo-users [at] maemo
https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users


wolfmane at gmail

Aug 3, 2009, 10:36 AM

Post #3 of 4 (1289 views)
Permalink
Re: spontaneous reboot while charging [In reply to]

On Sun, Aug 2, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Jeffrey Mark Siskind<qobi [at] purdue> wrote:
> A few months ago, my N810 started spontaneously rebooting when it is plugged
> into the charger. I haven't updated any software on it in over a year and made
> no major configuration changes to it in over a year. It doesn't spontaneously
> reboot when not plugged in. When plugged in, it sometimes does and sometimes
> doesn't spontaneously reboot. When it does, it will go through several (about
> a half dozen) reboot cycles and then stop. It sometimes stops in a powered on
> state and sometimes stops in a powered off state.
>
> Separate from this, I have noticed some strange behavior of the battery charge
> indicator on the home screen. Often, it will indicate a full, or almost full
> charge, and then after a very brief period of use, switch to indicating a very
> low level of charge. Sometimes so low that it switches off. Then I plug it in
> and reboot and unplug and it indicates a full charge again after being plugged
> in only briefly. But this means that I can't reliably take it with me in my
> pocket and use it for several hours a day as I have done for much of the past
> year and a half.
>
> I thought that the battery might need replacement since it is the original
> battery from when I bought the N810 a year and a half ago. I purchased a
> non-Nokia battery that claimed to be compatible (BP-4L I think). When I put it
> in and plug the charger in, it always power cycles and begins a reboot about a
> half dozen times in a row (it doesn't finish the reboot before spontaneously
> power cycling) then eventually stops in a powered off state. The battery never
> charges.
>
> Any ideas? Should I try a new Nokia battery? Should I try a new charger? Is it
> likely a software problem or a hardware problem? Except for the
> charging/battery problem, it works as reliably as it has since I purchased it.
> I rely on my N810 as a pocketable laptop (with a bluetooth keyboard) on almost
> a daily basis. But I don't want to purchase a new one since I plan to purchase
> the N900/Rover when it comes out.
>
>    Jeff (http://www.ece.purdue.edu/~qobi)

I've been having battery and charging issues with my N800 for a while
now, and have experienced the same symptoms you describe. I bought a
new genuine Nokia battery but it didn't make any difference. The most
annoying thing is that it stopped charging from anything but the
factory charger. I can't charge in the car (unless I use an inverter
with the factory charger) or from a USB port any more.

Mine came out of the reboot cycle after I took the battery out and
left it out for a long time a couple of times. After a bunch of
attempts it finally booted with the charger plugged in.

It was really scary because the battery was almost dead and every time
I plugged in the charger it immediately went into the reboot loop. I
now have a spare battery...

Mark
_______________________________________________
maemo-users mailing list
maemo-users [at] maemo
https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users


qobi at purdue

Aug 9, 2009, 6:12 PM

Post #4 of 4 (1205 views)
Permalink
Re: spontaneous reboot while charging [In reply to]

Thanks Frantisek & Mark. I'm cc'ing Rainer from the thread on maemo developers
since I'm not able to post there. (Rainer: see my post on maemo users for
context.) Any help, especially from Nokia devs, would be appreciated.

Charging is possible when device is booted normally to desktop {i.e. you
use it and then plug the charger in while it is on) or there is special
charging only mode when you plug in the charge when device is off. I'm
not sure which of those two ways of charging you use.

I guess those reboots happen in charging only mode but I am not sure. If
this is so, try to plug the charger in only when the device is turned on
to avoid that special charging only mode. If battery is low and device
turns itself off before fully booted, turn it on via power button and
plug the charger in immediatelly after screen lights up.

With the original factory battery, I usually charge when booted to the
desktop. It is in that mode that I see spontaneous reboots. The reboots happen
when the device is fully booted and happen approximately every few minutes
(a reboot takes maybe 20 to 30 seconds) and each reboot succeeds in getting
back to the desktop.

The reboots don't always happen. And I haven't figured out what situations
they happen in. I have a hunch that it might be related to email. I have a
WiFi access point at home and about the time the reboots started happening I
changed my setup to configure the N810 to automatically connect and
periodially fetch email (with the standard Chinook software from the standard
Chinook menus).

With the original battery, I sometimes, but rarely, charge when the device is
off (with the green LED and the white battery icon and the word Charging on
the black screen). That is usually successful but sometimes (but not always
and quite rarely) I have observed that the device will spontaneously boot when
in that device off charging mode.

With the newly purchased non-Nokia battery (Cameron Sino Technology Model No.
CS-NK4LSL Part No. BP-4L) , I have never been able to boot. I remove the
original factory battery, let charge drain for a minutes or so, insert the new
battery, and plug in the charger. The device does not go into charging
mode. The green LED does not come on and the white battery icon does not show
up. Instead, I get a white screen with a little grey 770 icon, the blue word
Nokia, and a grey wrench. That appears for a few seconds and then disappears
and then reappears. It flashes on and off at about a 1 or 2 second duty cycle
ten times and then eventually stops. (When I charge the original factory
battery in device off mode, after the white screen with the little grey 770
icon, the blue word Nokia, and the grey wrench appears for a second or two,
some green text appears with version numbers, and a blue progress indicator
appears along the bottom of the screen. It then switches to the blank screen,
with the small white battery icon and charging logo. With the non-Nokia
battery, I never get either, i.e. I never get beyond the first white screen
with the grey 770 icon and the grey wrench and it repeatedly flashes that
screen ten times before stopping.) When it stops, the screen is blank (no
white charging icon), it does not respond to any button presses (even the
power button), and there is no green LED. I have let it sit in that mode
overnight and it doesn't charge the battery.

I'd guess it is a software problem (and reflashing may help as a last
resort). Same problem was also discussed in thread "N800 Power cycles"
last month in maemo-developers.

Does this give any indication as to what is happening?

user [at] oguguis>cat /proc/bootreason

pwr_key
user [at] oguguis>ls /var/lib/dsme/stats

32wd_to lifeguard_resets lifeguard_restarts sw_rst
user [at] oguguis>cat /var/lib/dsme/stats/32wd_to

5
user [at] oguguis>cat /var/lib/dsme/stats/lifeguard_resets

/usr/bin/Xomap -mouse tslib -nozap -dpi 96 -wr -nolisten tcp : 1
/usr/bin/bme_RX-44 : 107 *
user [at] oguguis>cat /var/lib/dsme/stats/lifeguard_restarts

/usr/bin/hildon-desktop : 8
/usr/bin/osso-connectivity-ui-conndlgs : 1
/usr/bin/hildon-input-method : 5
/usr/sbin/ke-recv : 4 *
/usr/bin/esd : 6
/usr/sbin/multimediad : 6
/usr/sbin/dsp_dld -p --disable-restart -c /lib/dsp/dsp_dld_avs.conf : 6
/usr/bin/metalayer-crawler -F : 1
/usr/bin/matchbox-window-manager -theme default -use_titlebar yes -use_desktop_mode plain -use_lowlight no -use_cursor yes -use_dialog_mode static -use_super_modal yes : 1
/usr/bin/clipboard-manager : 1
user [at] oguguis>cat /var/lib/dsme/stats/sw_rst

128
user [at] oguguis>

I've been having battery and charging issues with my N800 for a while
now, and have experienced the same symptoms you describe. I bought a
new genuine Nokia battery but it didn't make any difference. The most
annoying thing is that it stopped charging from anything but the
factory charger. I can't charge in the car (unless I use an inverter
with the factory charger) or from a USB port any more.

This is worrisome and indicates that something in the charging hardware might
wear out over time.

Mine came out of the reboot cycle after I took the battery out and
left it out for a long time a couple of times. After a bunch of
attempts it finally booted with the charger plugged in.

How long did you leave the battery out? I've left it out for about a minute
but still have never been able to charge the new non-Nokia battery.

It was really scary because the battery was almost dead and every time
I plugged in the charger it immediately went into the reboot loop. I
now have a spare battery...

I need to get a new battery because my original factory battery doesn't hold
much charge anymore. But I can't get it to charge the non-Nokia battery. Does
anybody know how I can get it to charge the non-Nokia battery? Or will I be
more successful if I buy a Nokia replacement battery?

Jeff (http://www.ece.purdue.edu/~qobi)
_______________________________________________
maemo-users mailing list
maemo-users [at] maemo
https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users

Maemo users RSS feed   Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded
 
 


Interested in having your list archived? Contact Gossamer Threads
 
  Web Applications & Managed Hosting Powered by Gossamer Threads Inc.