[afzzainizzam]

Mine dead as well few days ago. Plug in to normal wall charger provided with PB with continuous green LED for hours and its stay like that without booting. Tried stack charge with 60s on/off without success after more than 1hour. Dont know what to do now. Maybe a smack with a hammer on the screen would help. Lol

Posted via CB10

[FF22]

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

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

[afzzainizzam]

F2, when I plugged in to wall charger, there will continuous green ( or yellow) LED blinking. I presume the PB already in charging state. I leave it on charger overnight and after pushing the power button, still the empty battery icon appear and gone blank after roughly 20s and the green/yellow LED blinking continues. Should I leave it on charger longer or am I do it wrong?

Posted via CB10

[FF22]

F2, when I plugged in to wall charger, there will continuous green ( or yellow) LED blinking. I presume the PB already in charging state. I leave it on charger overnight and after pushing the power button, still the empty battery icon appear and gone blank after roughly 20s and the green/yellow LED blinking continues. Should I leave it on charger longer or am I do it wrong?

Posted via CB10

It might be that your Playbook is bad and no longer holds or takes a charge. If you could find the Travel Rapid Charger, that might help. They can sometimes be found fairly cheaply - about $15 on Amazon. But otherwise they are a bit expensive. Crackberry still sells them, I believe.

Maybe someone else will have another idea but I've posted what I've read and learned over the years.

Good luck

[jpash549]

Another reference is the Trouble Shooting Tool Kit.

http://www.troubleshootingtoolkit.co...?lang=1&id=223


Sounds like it should be charging if it is blinking yellow. Leave it alone while it is blinking yellow and don't push the power button. Maybe something is wrong with your charger. Be sure and inspect the microusb port. Highly recommend the Rapid Travel Charger and the Battery Guru app to all PB owners.

[afzzainizzam]

I think the option now is to get the rapid charger. Thanks.

Posted via CB10

[FF22]

I think the option now is to get the rapid charger. Thanks.

Posted via CB10

As I wrote in the other thread - your charger does not sound right for the Playbook. It is less than half the amperage of the one I got with my PB purchase.

[afzzainizzam]

So i got the rapid charger (charging dock). This is the behaviour of the PB when i did REAL 1 minute stack charging:
- when plug in, red LED appear followed by an empty battery symbol with lightning sign in the middle of PB screen.
- the battery symbol dissapear after roughly 20s followed by single green LED and the screen stays black until 1 minute complete
- continue the 1 min stack charging up to 20 min
- the PB behaviour was the same for that 20 cycle of stack charging
- after 20 min, i leave the charger completely on
and roughly at the 21min &30s, the PB was restarted by itself (the BlackBerry Playbook wording appeared with various background color as usual starting) but it didnt complete the starting and the screen went black halfway .
- nothing happened on the PB, no LED, no battery symbol after that. Its stay black.

Now i will leave it on charger for a few hours and see what will happened.

Posted via CB10

[Ishan singh]

So i got the rapid charger (charging dock). This is the behaviour of the PB when i did REAL 1 minute stack charging:
- when plug in, red LED appear followed by an empty battery symbol with lightning sign in the middle of PB screen.
- the battery symbol dissapear after roughly 20s followed by single green LED and the screen stays black until 1 minute complete
- continue the 1 min stack charging up to 20 min
- the PB behaviour was the same for that 20 cycle of stack charging
- after 20 min, i leave the charger completely on
and roughly at the 21min &30s, the PB was restarted by itself (the BlackBerry Playbook wording appeared with various background color as usual starting) but it didnt complete the starting and the screen went black halfway .
- nothing happened on the PB, no LED, no battery symbol after that. Its stay black.

Now i will leave it on charger for a few hours and see what will happened.

Posted via CB10

I have the exact same issue.

After stack charging it starts but never completes the boot and then no led symol or anything.

Were u able to find any solution??

[afzzainizzam]

Ishan,
Not yet. The PB been left on rapid charger for 2 hours now. Will keep on updating.

Posted via CB10

[Ishan singh]

Ishan,
Not yet. The PB been left on rapid charger for 2 hours now. Will keep on updating.

Posted via CB10

I have left it overnight to no success, the same thing continues.

[Ishan singh]

Ishan,
Not yet. The PB been left on rapid charger for 2 hours now. Will keep on updating.

Posted via CB10

Any success??

[afzzainizzam]

Any success??

Ishan, no success. Need to keep on trying. Are you on rapid charger as well?. Previously when i did the stack charging with normal PB charger, it not even boot by itself so i presume now the battery volatage just above the 3.5v and when the boot failed, the batt voltage drop again to region where it can take the charged more than 1 min. 1 thing i could think now is doing the 1 min stack charge a bit longer so it can have enough voltage to boot up.

Posted via CB10

[Ishan singh]

Ishan, no success. Need to keep on trying. Are you on rapid charger as well?. Previously when i did the stack charging with normal PB charger, it not even boot by itself so i presume now the battery volatage just above the 3.5v and when the boot failed, the batt voltage drop again to region where it can take the charged more than 1 min. 1 thing i could think now is doing the 1 min stack charge a bit longer so it can have enough voltage to boot up.

Posted via CB10

I am using the stock playbook charger which came along with the tablet. Its a 5V 2 A charger.

I tried extra stack charging also but nothing changed same sequence of events.

One thing I noticed that during the boot process when it stops, screen is actually not turned off instead the backlight is still on. You can see it in a dark room. Its grey because of the backlight. Its just not responsive or hung.

[afzzainizzam]

Attemp on stack charging for 1.5 hours, after that leave the PB boot by itself but still fail to complete the boot. What else I should do. Sigh

Posted via CB10

[afzzainizzam]

How can I prevent the PB from boot by itself whenever i leave the charger on? I think that action (boot by itself) had drain the battery even further, thats why it cant complete the boot.

Posted via CB10

[FF22]

You pb may be damaged.

And since I've never run into your problem I'm not sure. Use either the rapid charger or the 1.8 one that came with the pb.

UNPLUG it. Make sure that the pb is actually OFF when you start the process. Take it into a dark room or closet without any light - the screen should be BLACK with no sign of light. It should not be dark gray that looks as if there's a light behind the screen.

Then try plugging it in. Leave it alone for a few minutes. Any signs of life? NONE - try Stack Charge. At the WALL, plug in (do you see any reaction). Keep stack charging. Half hour or even an hour. If the green led lights, just leave it plugged in.

If it starts up on its own, there is probably a problem.

Check the advise in this link:

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

After that, you can call for support:

The PB has a one year warranty to the original purchaser. 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)

[afzzainizzam]

F2, done it.
- from completely OFF ( black screen) plugged it to rapid dock charger.
- red LED flash 1 time for about 3 sec, followed by an empty battery symbol.
- empty batt symbol disappeared followed by single green ( or yellow) LED flash
- i leave the plugged in ON and after 2 min the PB boot by itself
- the booting process stop halfway and the screen went black with a little backlight
- the PB stays like that without any LED reaction

I presume by the time the green green LED appear above, the PB already start taking charging and when it reach enough voltage it try to start by itself but just dont have enough juice the complete the boot, or the OS have some problem. I'm on OS 2.1 by the way. Just update it several weeks before this battery down happened.

Posted via CB10

[FF22]

F2, done it.
- from completely OFF ( black screen) plugged it to rapid dock charger.
- red LED flash 1 time for about 3 sec, followed by an empty battery symbol.
- empty batt symbol disappeared followed by single green ( or yellow) LED flash
- i leave the plugged in ON and after 2 min the PB boot by itself
- the booting process stop halfway and the screen went black with a little backlight
- the PB stays like that without any LED reaction

I presume by the time the green green LED appear above, the PB already start taking charging and when it reach enough voltage it try to start by itself but just dont have enough juice the complete the boot, or the OS have some problem. I'm on OS 2.1 by the way. Just update it several weeks before this battery down happened.

Posted via CB10

I really am out of ideas. I think you have done everything that has been suggested. Unless someone else has ideas.

And the Debrick did not work either?

[afzzainizzam]

I really am out of ideas. I think you have done everything that has been suggested. Unless someone else has ideas.

And the Debrick did not work either?

Hi F2,
What is the Debrick method?

So far i had done
# 1 min stacking
# 2 min stacking
# stack until the red LED dissapear
# leave the PB overnight

I havent tried the connecting to dekstop manager method as im not with my PC right now.

Posted via CB10

[jpash549]

From KB 27705 :

Charge Behaviour:

The provided charger should be used to charge the device. The optional 12 volt rapid charger is may reduce charging times to approximately 3 to 4 hrs. Standard Blackberry smartphone chargers, other AC adapter USB chargers, or computer USB ports*are not recommended for the sole purpose of charging the PlayBook as with these methods it may take more that 12 hours to*charge the BlackBerry Playbook.

If*the battery voltage is below 3.53V(0%) then the charging behaviour is dependent on the software*version.* The charging code will limit the charging current to under 400 milliamps,*during which*time, it may take an hour to reach 3.53 Volts. Once the battery voltage rises past 3.53 volts, then high-rate charging will start.*If, after charging the Tablet for 4*to 6 hours still does*not*result in*LED*activity, attempt to force power on the*BlackBerry*Playbook by pressing and holding only the Power Button for only 20 seconds.




From this I would suggest if you have left it on the dock charger overnight and still do not see any activity you attempt to force power on the PB as suggested in the last sentence. If this does not work I would briefly push the power button and see if I could get the led activity suggesting voltage between 2.7 and 3.5 volts. If that didn't show led activity I would double check the pins on both the PB and the dock charger for cleanliness and alignment. I would then put the PB back on the charger and try to contact support which may not be easy in Malaysia. Aso we are assuming your power supply is 110 to 130 volts and 50-60 cycles.

[FF22]

Hi F2,
What is the Debrick method?

So far i had done
# 1 min stacking
# 2 min stacking
# stack until the red LED dissapear
# leave the PB overnight

I havent tried the connecting to dekstop manager method as im not with my PC right now.

Posted via CB10

Debrick does require access to the Desktop software. Any chance you could impose on someone with a computer to download and install it for you? Debrick can take a while so it might be an imposition. I will post it anyway.

Try the Debrick method....

Perform a backup of your pb if you can using Desktop Manager or, at least, manually coping any unique data, photos, voice recordings, documents, etc.

1) Turn your playbook OFF by holding down the power button
2) Let your playbook sit for about 10 minutes as earlier suggested.
3) After letting the PB sit (and still powered off) open up the Blackberry Desktop Software (the latest version)
4) Once the Blackberry Desktop Software is opened, use the USB Cable and hook the PB to the PC.. THEN power on the Playbook
5) A screen will show on your computer showing that the device cannot be found
6) Click on Update. It will take awhile

[afzzainizzam]

Jpash549 and F2, thanks.
I will try it later this evening and the debrick method once im home tomorrow. Im on 240V 50hz supply.

Posted via CB10

[John C Gilmour]

I don't get it. I know several people with Playbooks and they all have charging problems. My PB has had charging since I purchased it a couple of years ago. YouTube has lots of articles on this issue. Where is Rim? This appears to be a design defect and there should have been a product recall.

[Awilo]

hey guys. pls someone to invite me to video chat. I've not used the video chat since I had my PB like a year ago. my pin is 501DA39D