[Mr. Chitlin]

A friend gave my daughter an 8820 that had been sitting up for probably a year or so. I have plugged it up to charge it, but the screen just lights up dimly and shows a battery with a slash across it. The unit never turns on. Does this sound like a dead battery or some other problem?

It won't even come on with the AC charger plugged in. The charger works, as it charges my Bold just fine, and it also does the same thing with my Bold charger hooked up to the 8820. The guyy said it worked just fine when he put it up.

Thanks for any help.

[epeter1]

Sounds like all you need (or I guess your daughter needs) is a new battery. I'd also take the battery cover off and check the connections for corrosion or other possible visible issues.

[Mr. Chitlin]

Thanks for the quick reply. I did check the connections, so I guess it's a new battery. It will be Monday before I can make a trip to the ATT store.

Will these not turn on when running off the charger alone if the battery is completely dead?

[epeter1]

If there is no charge, there's nothing to power the phone. So if the battery is waxed then you'd need to leave it plugged in for awhile (overnight) and then try it. I'm assuming you got the phone today or the day before and you've had it plugged in for awhile to try and charge it up. If that's the case then the battery isn't gonna take a charge and probably needs to just be replaced.

I know that I've had my current 8820 battery for about 11 months at this point and the charge it holds is slowly starting to be less and less. Assuming that the BB battery is like all other technology (and it sorta is), it needs to be used to keep working effectively, but will still wear out over time. If the phone sat with the battery in there for a year or some extended time without being used, that battery may not be any good anymore. It might not hold a charge. And then, well, we're just back to where we started

[Mr. Chitlin]

Yes, it was given to me today. It has been sitting unused (and uncharged) for probably at least a year or so. I thought it might just turn on and run using the charger power even if the battery was shot.

I'll head out late tomorrow afternoon or Monday to try to find a battery. I looked on fleabay and can pick up a new battery for ~$10 or so. If I can't find one locally at a decent price, she might just have to wait another week or so.

Thanks for the reply.

[epeter1]

no problem/my pleasure