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Priv won't charge

Asked: Oct 16 2016 | 10:44 pm EDT 43115 Views 18 Answers View Best Answer

I have had my priv since 2/29/16. No real problems until today. The battery was getting low and then died. I tried to charge it in my car and it would not work. When I got home I plugged it into the wall charger and nothing happens...won't light up or take a charge at all. Completely dead. What to do??


9
By SusieQ67

Best Answer

42,173
Oct 16 2016 | 11:00 pm EDT FF22

Originally Posted by SusieQ67
I have had my priv since 2/29/16. No real problems until today. The battery was getting low and then died. I tried to charge it in my car and it would not work. When I got home I plugged it into the wall charger and nothing happens...won't light up or take a charge at all. Completely dead. What to do??
Plug it in and leave it alone for an hour or more or overnight and then check. Make sure that the charger is working by testing on another device.

After the charge cycle you might want to try a reboot

Hold the Power Button for 32 seconds.

From BB blog: How to reset PRIV by BlackBerry | Inside BlackBerry Help Blog

Three restart/reboot methods

The first method, which should be used 99.9% of the time when you want to reboot your device, is using the Reboot option that appears after pressing the Power key.

Press and hold the Power key for 3 seconds
Select Reboot from the menu that is presented

The second reset method should be used if pressing the Power key does not produce the menu with Power Off and Restart. For example, if an app or game you are using won�t close, use this option to restart your device.

Press and hold the Power key for 12 seconds

Third method: Should your device fail to respond, the final reset method is to press and hold the Power key for 32 seconds which is equivalent to removing the battery. This should result in your device booting up successfully.

If it fails to start, however, verify you are not pressing any other keys such as Volume Up, Mute, or Volume Down while performing any of the reset methods listed above. If you use a case for your device you may want to remove it as it might be pressing a button inadvertently.

And just for an extra measure, if needed:

Safe Mode:

The next step is placing your device into safe mode.

When used, Safe Mode will disable any third party apps or games you have installed. As a result of this, should your device not exhibit the issue while in Safe Mode it�s safe to assume the issue is specific to an app or game you have installed.

Press and hold the power key
Tap and hold Power off when it appears
When prompted, tap OK to reboot to Safe Mode

To get out of Safe Mode, press and hold the power key followed by tapping Reboot.

After testing, should your device not exhibit any issues, the next step is to remove recently installed applications one by one until the issue is resolved.

More Answers

14,479
Oct 16 2016 | 10:48 pm EDT Uzi

Could be hardware issue, contact BlackBerry support?

posted via the last true BlackBerry

2,060
Oct 17 2016 | 3:21 pm EDT coffee-turtle

Agree with SusieQ67 as I have had this happen to a BlackBerrry device or two over the many years and an Android device as well. I can't explain it, but her suggestion works:
"Plug it in and leave it alone for an hour or more or overnight and then check. Make sure that the charger is working by testing on another device."

9
Oct 18 2016 | 9:13 am EDT SusieQ67

You and @F2 are geniuses...it worked! Thanks for your help!

9
Oct 18 2016 | 9:14 am EDT SusieQ67

You're a genius...it worked...thanks!

42,173
Oct 18 2016 | 9:43 am EDT FF22

Originally Posted by SusieQ67
You and @F2 are geniuses...it worked! Thanks for your help!
Well.....

May I ask what part worked? Just leaving it on the charger for a longer while - or have to reboot, too?

Over the years various BB's have shown NO SIGNS OF LIFE it their batteries were fully drained. Sometimes they had to be plugged in for 15 or 20 minutes or longer before there was any sign something was happening. Just the other day I decided to use my Z10, long UNcharged. It took about 15 minutes plugged in before it showed any life.

50
Oct 18 2016 | 9:06 pm EDT msedaros

I had this recently too, except I think I somehow overloaded the battery and fried it (went from 80 to 100 in less than 5 min). Hours on the phone with Bb support, tried all the things. Ended up trying a clean install of the OS. Bricked it.

Out for 'repair' with Rogers now... Unfortunately Bb couldn't / wouldn't simply swap for me. So now I wait

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

20
Dec 30 2016 | 10:21 am EST jeff Devrieze

The only way I got the phone to Charge. Plugged the phone into the wall and when the battery with exclamation point showed up unplugged from wall and then plugged back in. just kept doing it till the battery changer to show charge. I would guess 20 to 30 times plugging in and out.

7
Dec 30 2016 | 12:46 pm EST lushbunny71

I had this exact issue a few days ago. Hold the power button and down volume for a few seconds simultaneously. This should do a reboot. I was able to charge after I did that. I took mine to the Rogers store to find this out.

1
Jul 18 2017 | 12:23 pm EDT RabHerald

Originally Posted by jeff Devrieze
The only way I got the phone to Charge. Plugged the phone into the wall and when the battery with exclamation point showed up unplugged from wall and then plugged back in. just kept doing it till the battery changer to show charge. I would guess 20 to 30 times plugging in and out.
Thanks Jeff. This did it. I have my charger plugged into a power splitter/surge protector, and the fix worked just like you said, oddly enough, and nothing else worked. I simply clicked the on and off button on the surge protector slowly, about every two seconds, on then off, and after a few times, maybe ten, the exclamation mark turned into the normal lightning bolt and the phone was fix. I was about to reset it, and read above how someone who tried it turned their phone into a brick. So really glad this worked and the phone is back to good!

2
Aug 09 2017 | 10:33 pm EDT bakersb1961

You're a Legend :-)
Did not know about the 32 second restart. That worked for me, it seems the Priv did not like getting dropped on the concrete, bouncing and catching my shoe which then drop kicked it another 10 feet onto the concrete driveway... Stopped charging after that- who knew these things could be so fickle.. LOL up and running and charging again is always a good thing

42,173
Aug 10 2017 | 1:48 pm EDT FF22

Originally Posted by bakersb1961
You're a Legend :-)
Did not know about the 32 second restart. That worked for me, it seems the Priv did not like getting dropped on the concrete, bouncing and catching my shoe which then drop kicked it another 10 feet onto the concrete driveway... Stopped charging after that- who knew these things could be so fickle.. LOL up and running and charging again is always a good thing
You should have had a video of that incident. (g)

8,958
Aug 10 2017 | 3:12 pm EDT misterabrasive

You're a Legend :-)

Oh Gosh!, don't say that to him. His head is already big enough.

1
May 11 2018 | 5:44 am EDT Kaz15r

tried all of the above but no effect. What to do?

2
Sep 14 2018 | 9:11 am EDT Yoli A

Originally Posted by lushbunny71
I had this exact issue a few days ago. Hold the power button and down volume for a few seconds simultaneously. This should do a reboot. I was able to charge after I did that. I took mine to the Rogers store to find this out.
This worked like magic for me. Thanks I was becoming so frustrated with the replacement I found at home. Now I am back in business and happy.

1
Feb 05 2021 | 11:14 am EST Alistair Macdonald

“Blackberry Priv not charging fully or not at all, now FIXED!!”
I love my BB Priv and have only joined Crackberry (5th/February /2021) just to share this info. and clear my conscience.
I have never posted before and quite possibly will never post again.

Here’s the fix:
There is a bug in the power management system (hard wired) and when it kicks in, the Priv won't fully charge (100%) from any standard USB outlet. No amount of resetting or cable / socket changing will make a significant difference; you might get to a workable percentage charge, but not 100%.
It's a permanent state and no update / reset will change it.
Easily FIXED though.
The work around: your Priv needs a clean DC 7.4V supply (not 7V as that won't push hard enough to reach 100% and not 8V (as that is just unnecessary & pointless extra voltage / stress on the other components in the device)) simple as that.
Just buy an “adjustable DC Power Supply” WITH A DIGITAL READOUT (under a tenner on ebay) and a “DC female 5.1mm jack to male micro USB adapter2” and you’re good to go. Once set up, AT 7.4V your Priv will charge from 0% to 100% in under 3 hours and you’ll never look back. Mine only needs charged once every 5 days now.
So there it is, I’ve done my good deed for the day by registering with Crackberry and writing this post, my conscience is now clear and I’ve nothing more to say than thank you for your priceless time taken to read this.

1
Mar 24 2021 | 9:50 am EDT Chrispy1226

Question. Do you always charge with the DC power supply at 7.4 V. I got an adjustable power supply and it seemed to work the first time I did it but, after some drain, I put it back on charger and it was actually draining the battery while it was on the charger.
Are you sure the 7.4 V won't hurt the phone. I am sort of afraid to put it on the power supply again but putting it back on a wall charger doesn't seem hold a charge very long again. I put in a brand new battery and I still have same problem. Also, the phone just quit wireless charging. Could that be the phone or the wireless charger just died ?