1. Matt Peachey's Avatar
    Hi Guys, SO my BBPB has been dead for ever because of the problem stated above! When i hold the power button No leds flash and nothing happens!! Haanyone fixed this before? If so please share!
    09-06-13 07:56 AM
  2. FF22's Avatar
    You can try Stack Charging. Also, how old? Maybe warranty?

    The PB has a one year warranty to the original purchaser (some countries, by law, 2 years). It also has 90 free Tech support. I do not know how Rim deals with "quasi-tech support v. warranty"

    Rim Support
    Tel:
    Canada Toll Free: 1-877-644-8405
    United States Toll Free: 1-877-644-8410
    Puerto Rico Toll Free: 1-855-651-4936
    Email: [email protected] (this route generally does not work and a call is necessary)

    (UK Support) 0800 096 2805

    Playbook French Support
    Smartphones BlackBerry Z10 - Tous les T�l�phones Portables BlackBerry - FR - France
    Phone : 0800 914 533 (within 90 days from activation)

    BlackBerry� Customer Support Center
    Austria:0800-297-476
    Belgium:800-77-980
    RIM (Brasil Support toll free number): 0800-022-3161
    Bulgaria: 00800-118-1115
    Denmark: 802-50198
    France: 800-914-533
    Germany: 800-181-6530
    Italy: 800-789-272
    Luxembourg: 800-2-2187
    Netherlands: 800-022-7316
    Norway: 00-1-647-426-7058
    Poland: 00-800-112-43-59
    Portugal: 800-827-760
    Russia: 8-800-100-9643
    South Africa: 0800988892
    Spain: 900-866-969
    Sweden: 02-079-4448
    Switzerland: 0-800-802-492
    United Kingdom: 08000962805

    Phone-Numbers of BlackBerry PLAYBOOK- Helpdesks...

    Germany: 0800 1816530 (Geb�hrenfrei)

    North-America: 1 877 255 2377 (Toll Free)

    UK: 0808 100 7466 (Toll Free UK only)

    Outside UK: +44 1753 558400

    Worldwide: 1 519 888 6181

    [email protected]

    (BTW: Helpdesk for BlackBerry devices -except PlayBook- for Germany:
    0180 3302626)

    ------------
    I will post a whole slew of Stack Charging ideas:

    Locked, bricked Stack Charge Charging

    More Mapsonburt (a pb user) who posted this info:

    Don't keep trying if you get the Red light/5 Yellows... you'll soon drag the battery down past where you can start it again. Leave it off, plug it in and let it charge (with at least a 1.8A charger). Once you get the flashing (once every few seconds) green light, you can power it up - on the charger. If you do drag it down below the red flash/5 yellows, plug it in for 1 minute, unplug (at the wall) for a second or so, plug it back in and repeat for 20-30 minutes. You'll eventually get the red/yellows and then leave it plugged in (and off) until you get the flashing green. It's a PITA but the PlayBook has a very conservative charging algorithm when the battery is below 2.67 Volts to prevent explosions (I'm guessing). I've never been unable to start one with that method.

    Mapsonburt:


    The PlayBook OS currently shuts down at 3.5 volts. When the battery gets below 2.67V it won't show power lights or even try to start because there isn't enough juice to even power the processor to run the code on the BIOS. The BIOS is software hard coded on a chip within the PlayBook that tells it how to load the PlayBook OS and is coded such that it only recognizes signed PlayBook boot images (which is why it is so hard to root and that nobody has been able to get one to boot Android or WebOS. The BIOS software also contains some charging algorithms for when the OS is not running - ie device is powered off but plugged into a charging source. This code ONLY runs when the battery is above 2.67 volts because the processor can't run below that.

    The root of the problem is that this design issue prevents the device from accepting any charge longer than 60 seconds when the battery is too low to run the charging algorithms on the BIOS or on the OS (one runs before the device is powered on and one runs afterwards). RIM did this because Lithium Ion batteries have a nasty habit of catching fire if not charged properly so they wanted to ensure that the processor could be in control of the charging. Makes perfect sense and they probably thought they were avoiding situations like where early Li Ion batteries on laptops were catching on fire. The problem is they were a bit too aggressive in dealing with the problem at design stage. If the battery is below 2.67Volts their protective algorithms can't run but you also can't put enough charge into the battery to charge it! Hence all the reports of people having success with stack charging.

    Unfortunately there are a lot of wrong ways to do this floating around out there and getting repeated everyone someone posts a new thread on the issue. It really should be made a sticky. What is the right way?

    1) ONLY use a source that provides 1.7Amps or more of charge. The original charger provides this. The rapid chargers provide a lot more. Your phone charger only provides a fraction of this. Anything less is going to take forever to charge the battery above 2.67 volts and may not have enough juice to charge the battery AT ALL once the processor starts to run above 2.67Volts or even worse once the OS starts to run above 3.5Volts. Forget about using your computer to charge it when the OS isn't running as the computer looks for the hardware to identify itself and won't put out a full charge current unless the device indicates it can accept. Once the OS is running, you'd often CAN get enough power from the USB on the computer but that is because the OS has signaled it is OK for the computer to send it. When the OS/BIOS isn't running, the PlayBook won't take much/any charge from a computer. The rapid chargers are best as they quickly charge but more importantly do not use the (too) flimsy USB port. A lot of problems are caused by this port getting wobbly over time and the device not getting a charge at all. Everyone should have a rapid charger.

    2) Until you get your device WELL above the 3.5Volts that let's the PlayBook boot, do NOT try to start it. Every attempt drags the battery down some more and that attempt sucks much more charge from the battery than you can put in in those 60 seconds before the hardware shuts down the charging. How can you tell where your battery is? Well if you are getting no lights on the playbook on your first charging attempt you are below 2.67volts. If lights go on and then it doesn't start the OS it is below 3.5Volts. If it loads the OS and then dies it is just above 3.5Volts. If the device loads the OS it is somewhere below 5.0Volts. Depending upon where you start (how low the battery is) various techniques work best. They are: REAL stack charging (plug in for 60 seconds, unplug, plug in for 60 seconds, repeat until the processor starts accepting charging (the big battery symbol on the screen). Again, DO NOT try to turn the device on until then. You are just working against yourself and it will take much longer. You should get the charging symbol within 20-45 minutes of repeated REAL stack charging. Forget you ever heard of plugging in for 2 mins and then off for 2 mins and similar as those 2 mins of off time are COMPLETELY worthless. I have put a multimeter on the PlayBook in this state and it NEVER takes more than a minute of charge when under 2.67volts but will accept another minute of charge after a short (1-2 second) disconnection. Just do it right.

    3) Once you see that charging screen leave it plugged in to the charger (stop stack charging) for at least an hour before you try to start the PlayBook. If you don't you may end up in a situation where the attempt to start drags that battery back down below 2.67V and you have start stack charging again. Be patient, you are almost there!

    4) Fully charge your Playbook after this to ensure your PlayBook gets back to 100%.

    Unfortunately, there isn't a lot RIM can do about this now. It's a hardware design issue. I'd be interested in knowing if the fixed it with the 4G versions. I don't think I've ever seen that complaint with one of those but I've "fixed" both of mine a few times (the kids keep trying to power them on after letting them shut down on low battery despite me saying time RUN not walk and put it on a rapid charger when ever it hits the flashing red battery signal (9%). I've also helped many friends and people on the web and NOBODY who has followed the instructions has failed to get their PlayBook to charge.

    I'm convinced this fault is the reason so many PlayBooks are returned to the stores and through RMA. RIM has been very good about this but it should never have happened. Happy Charging!


    ........................
    The battery is likely below 2.65 volts. That happens if the PlayBook has sat for a while. Plug your charger into the playbook (make sure it's the stock charger and not a computer or other charger as you need to pump in lots of amps - more than 1.7amps - the more the better). The rapid charger is even better as it can go to 5 amps.

    LEAVE the charger plugged into your PlayBook. Unplug it from the wall (to save the fragile micro-USB port) every minute for a few seconds and plug back in. You'll see lots of references on the web to plug in for 2 minutes and unplug for 2 minutes. Ignore those. I took the PlayBook apart and put a multimeter on mine when it was doing this. If the battery is below 2.65 volts, the PlayBook charging circuit charges for about 1 minute and then shuts down. NO AMOUNT of continued charging makes any difference. As soon as you unplug it (at the wall) and power it back up, it will take charge again for another 45-60 seconds. Repeat.

    Keep doing that for as long as it takes to get the screen to show the charging display. If it is just below 2.65volts, it will take somewhere between 20-45 minutes as the battery only takes a little bit of charge each cycle and you need to get that voltage up over 2.65 volts (at which point it will show the charging display and take a full charge). It may take more... but keep at it. Every time you plug it in for 60 seconds, you are adding a bit more power to the battery.

    DO NOT try to power the device on until the device has a full charge. You will just risk getting it into a situation where it can't fully boot before it drags the charge down below 2.65 volts again and you'll have to start all over.

    This works... and saves you from having to jump start it like I did the first time I got mine into this situation.

    ----------------------

    KB27705-BlackBerry PlayBook battery power charge, discharge characteristics, and guidance on extending battery life

    ..............................

    I was told about "stack" charging, 6 cycles of charge no charge, for 2 minutes each, charging for never more than 2 minutes.


    Plug the PB in with the factory charging cable (red light comes on for a several seconds, then goes off). Wait about 10 more seconds. Unplug PB for about 30 seconds.

    Repeat n times.

    n == 6 for me. Finally my PB light switched to green, then began to oscillate, signalling charging. After a few more minutes my PB came back to life.

    You might want to UNplug/Replug at the wall/socket end to avoid using or damaging the weaker usb port on the pb itself.


    Just talked to tech support, because i'm impatient sometimes. Here is the initial process they gave me to try.

    Plug in the charger for 2 mins, unplug for 10 sec -> Repeat 6 to 8 times

    Then while unplugged perform the Hard reset (POWER, VOL + and - at the same time) . **When the red light comes on PLUG IN THE CHARGER**

    The playbook is supposed to then start charging/boot.
    ...........................
    Along the same lines as just above, someone posted:

    FOUND A QUICK FIX HOPE IT HELPS

    WOW, i tried EVERY SINGLE Step out there and the one step that worked ... was HOLDING down the power key for 20 seconds, after 20 Seconds do not let go of the power button and plug in the wall charger, and then let go... should get a steady red light for about 10 seconds, then the battery icon with lightning bolt should appear.. the it will charge with just a flashing green..... lol wasted 4 hrs for nothing hope this works for everyone else


    .................
    Some have now found a shorter sequence works:

    Oh man I fixed it. I stack charged it! But not for 2 minutes.

    Every time my PB red signal goes off I removed the connection from the wall charger and placed it back within a second. I repeated it for almost 25-30 times and all in the sudden a big charger button showed up on the screen and a green light on the charging LED. I left th e power connection for 2 more hrs and started using it.
    ................
    And another posting that might help....

    There are a few solutions and some are mentioned above. SO try the things I am mentioning below.... Let me know if it works .

    Problem Scenario: 1. Blackberry wont boot or turn on, on pressing the power button, the red light stays for a few seconds and does not turn on 2. Sometimes you will see the red light followed by a green/ yellow light that blinks 5 times and does not turn on.

    Reason: The main reason why both of the above things happen is because the battery is completely drained out, you could call it " Flat out". The problem with playbook is that the playbook wont charge if the playbook is Flat out drained. whereas other tablets or cellphones does....Playbook has to fix that issue. Meanwhile we do have a solution to go around that problem and that requires some patience. Some of the solutions mentioned in the previous comments indicate to charge it via computer.... "It doesn`t work" not if the battery is drained out flat.... so dont even bother trying it if u see the above mentioned problem.

    Solution: try this step by step and this are 3 different solutions so one of this would definitely work. 1. Press the Power button and you will see the Playbook Logo ( chances for this are low ) 2. Press the power button and the volume together, if there is 1 % charge left there is a chance that it would boot on, when you see the logo, immediately charge the playbook ( chances are medium ) 3. This solution requires patience. plug the charger into the socket and plug the USB into the playbook, the red light stays for 8-10 secs. Remove the USb from the playbook wait for 2 to 5 sec and replug the usb back to the charger and wait till that red light comes and goes again. repeat this step atleast 20-30 times. you might be asking why? the only power that the playbook gets is when that red light is on when plugging the usb into the playbook, once that light goes the playbook is not charging.. so what you are doing here is forcing the playbook to get charged for 8 sec every time u plug it to the playbook....this way the playbook gets that power needed to boot. Once the Playbook has that power to boot. The red light stays and changes to green but this time it blinks slowly and keeps blinking. you would also see the playbook logo return.... this green light keeps blinking until there is enough charge for the playbook to stand on its own and then changes to a solid red until it gets fully charged.

    Knowledge Base Article: Article ID: KB27705

    KB27705-BlackBerry PlayBook battery power charge, discharge characteristics, and guidance on extending battery life

    KB27705-BlackBerry PlayBook battery power charge, discharge characteristics, and guidance on extending battery life

    ...................
    ManaO likes this.
    09-06-13 10:56 AM
  3. jrsegoviano's Avatar
    Forget stack charging that's bs and a waste of time. Just plug in your playbook to a regular phone is usb charger plugged into a wall outlet. It worked for me it takes about 6 hours to charge completely thou. After trying I don't know how many ways to stack charge I gave up plugged the playbook into my torch. Charger I saw the red led come on, left it overnight woke up next morning to a full charge.
    09-07-13 07:05 PM
  4. jpash549's Avatar
    From KB-27705:

    " Discharge behavior under 3.53V (0%):

    If the device is left to shutoff, the battery will continue to drain below 3.53V due to quiescent current draw from the motherboard and the battery fuel gauge
    With the battery between 2.7V-3.53V, pressing the power button causes the LED to flash a pattern (1 solid red light followed by 5 yellow blinks) *to indicate low battery (PlayBook Tablet OS*version 1.0.5, and above)
    Below 2.7V there is no activity, or LED pattern displayed."

    This would indicate your battery is below 2.7 volts. I would suspect stack charging would not be of much help. Believe would try leaving plugged into charger or perhaps external 5 volt battery for a week or more to see if it will come to life. Otherwise RIP.
    09-07-13 07:49 PM
  5. Polina Armen's Avatar
    Guys. I just had the same problem! I have 5 playbooks and this is the first time it has happened to me. I read everything here on the forums. What worked ( I just made it boot 30 mins ago). Was simple. I noticed that just after hitting the on button, the red led would go on for 5 seconds, then off again and I got the power icon on the screen. What I did was, everytime the red led came on, just after 5 seconds when it goes off, I would hold the on button with volume up button for exactly 6 seconds, then let go, the red led would come on again, and again I would press the on and volume up for 6 seconds, I did that 20 times, it actually charged the battery up to 5 % and playbook is on! Now updating. I guess when the red led came on for the 5 seconds, it means it would accept the charge. I used the rapid charger dock for that.

    Posted via CB10
    ManaO likes this.
    09-25-13 10:42 AM
  6. FF22's Avatar
    Guys. I just had the same problem! I have 5 playbooks and this is the first time it has happened to me. I read everything here on the forums. What worked ( I just made it boot 30 mins ago). Was simple. I noticed that just after hitting the on button, the red led would go on for 5 seconds, then off again and I got the power icon on the screen. What I did was, everytime the red led came on, just after 5 seconds when it goes off, I would hold the on button with volume up button for exactly 6 seconds, then let go, the red led would come on again, and again I would press the on and volume up for 6 seconds, I did that 20 times, it actually charged the battery up to 5 % and playbook is on! Now updating. I guess when the red led came on for the 5 seconds, it means it would accept the charge. I used the rapid charger dock for that.

    Posted via CB10
    So for clarity - while you were pressing the buttons, it was always connected to power (and in your case the rapid charger).
    09-25-13 04:46 PM
  7. playbookster's Avatar
    Yeah mine is completely dead. Wont stack charge, its done Im sad
    09-26-13 07:18 AM
  8. PatrickMJS's Avatar
    1. It is possible to replace the PB's battery but it requires some technical skill. I would call BlackBerry for advice. See #'s posted above.

    2. Warning to all owners of devices with lithium-ion batteries: DON'T LET THE BATTERIES FULLY DISCHARGE. This includes all modern portable devices like cellphones and tablets. Lithium-ion batteries can last up to 4-5 years. But if it constantly allowed to drain to empty, the lifespan of the battery is reduced to 1-2 years.

    Posted via CB10
    FF22 and Carl Estes like this.
    09-26-13 10:16 AM
  9. danspeak's Avatar
    I had the same problem and fixed it. Watch my video and see.

    The fault was all I could see on the screen was an empty red battery, the red led would come on then turn off again, tried all the alternatives but it didnt work.

    So I decided to jump start it. Just make sure the battery 3.8vdc you use is the same voltage as the playbook battery and observe polarity!!!!!!!!

    This may be or not be a good idea but it worked for me,

    09-28-13 12:31 AM
  10. danspeak's Avatar
    Yeah mine is completely dead. Wont stack charge, its done Im sad
    I had the same problem and fixed it. Watch my video and see.

    The fault was all I could see on the screen was an empty red battery, the red led would come on then turn off again, tried all the alternatives but it didnt work.

    So I decided to jump start it. Just make sure the battery 3.8vdc you use is the same voltage as the playbook battery and observe polarity!!!!!!!!

    This may be or not be a good idea but it worked for me,

    09-28-13 12:32 AM
  11. castoridae's Avatar
    OK, this issue is scary, especially for those of us that have more than one PlayBook.
    - my problem was minor compared to what happened to people above:
    I went on vaca for about 3 wks.
    Took the 64g playbook with me & left the 32g at home. - Just left it unplugged and sitting on a table. It was not fully charged when I left.
    Picked it up when I got back and the battery icon showed empty and red.
    I was lucky, because I plugged it into its original charger and it started flashing right away and it re-charged.

    My question is this: Should we leave unused playbooks plugged in (maybe for months) if we aren't using them?
    If not, what's the safest way to prevent this battery drainage?
    09-28-13 09:09 AM
  12. FF22's Avatar
    OK, this issue is scary, especially for those of us that have more than one PlayBook.
    - my problem was minor compared to what happened to people above:
    I went on vaca for about 3 wks.
    Took the 64g playbook with me & left the 32g at home. - Just left it unplugged and sitting on a table. It was not fully charged when I left.
    Picked it up when I got back and the battery icon showed empty and red.
    I was lucky, because I plugged it into its original charger and it started flashing right away and it re-charged.

    My question is this: Should we leave unused playbooks plugged in (maybe for months) if we aren't using them?
    If not, what's the safest way to prevent this battery drainage?
    You can almost fully charge the "idle" playbook (some folks say to not fully charge but I don't know). Then POWER IT OFF! It will maintain a charge for quite a while. I went on a 2 week vacation and charged my 32g and turned it off. About a week later (3 weeks), it was nearly full. I don't know how many months it can go. But I would probably check (power on) it after a week and then a month and see how well it is holding charge to get some baseline info. Then go from there.
    09-28-13 10:31 AM
  13. castoridae's Avatar
    You can almost fully charge the "idle" playbook (some folks say to not fully charge but I don't know). Then POWER IT OFF! It will maintain a charge for quite a while. I went on a 2 week vacation and charged my 32g and turned it off. About a week later (3 weeks), it was nearly full. I don't know how many months it can go. But I would probably check (power on) it after a week and then a month and see how well it is holding charge to get some baseline info. Then go from there.
    So 2 questions, really stupid one first:
    1) to turn off the playbook, you mean press the physical on/off button? (sorry, if I this sounds lame, but I thought turning it on and off with the button and not the icon was not the best thing to do).
    2) If we look at sad-old-man's situation, he's away for several months, so what do we do in that situation, if you take one PlayBook with you, but leave the others at home?
    09-29-13 10:49 AM

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