Two nights ago I plugged in my FP3+ to charge and noticed that the white corner light was on but it wasn’t charging. I restarted it and that made it do some update (weirdly not the latest FB update, I don’t know what it is or was) which made everything uglier and after that the module beneath the camera was overheating so I turned it off. The next day I plugged it in again while switched off and it charged, but when it was back on the battery drained much quicker than usual and the network signal had a little x in the bottom corner. That evening it wouldn’t charge again. I tried several chargers and cables. I’ve disassembled the phone, cleaned the bottom module and it still doesn’t work. The phone was perfect for me in every respects before then and I really want to get it back to how it was. It also has some very important things on there which yes I know I’m foolish for not backing up more thoroughly but it was so reliable until then. I’m very, very worried and I know it’s awkward seeing people in these levels of desperation but please help.
You don’t say what OS you are using or what version
So the phone is still working, do you have an SD card and is it formatted as Portable, if so transfer all your personal media etc. and contacts vcf file to it. Else get an SD card format it as portable and save stuff…
It sounds like you may have received an update. Please check Settings > About phone . . . . bottom entry to see what version you have and report back
Hi, thanks for responding. The phone is only kind of working because it’s unchargable and there is only 12% battery left. I prefer the last version before the update but I’m most worried about the charging/battery. I’ve switched it on to find the information you mentioned. At the bottom of the about phone section it says “build number 8901.4.A.0019.1 release-keys”. It’s using Android 11. Is this more likely to be a hardware problem or a software one or is it hard to tell? I don’t know if the update and the charging problems are related or not because it stopped charging just before the update (it could have been hours before, I don’t know). I did spill some ethanol on it that day but not too much, wiped it off quickly and it seemed fine but I have worried that could have caused the charging problem, again I don’t know, I’m totally illiterate when it comes to this stuff and panicking because I have to leave the country in a few days (and use the phone to do so) but obviously that’s nobody’s problem but my own I’m just wondering if it’s worth getting a new bottom module and/or battery (assuming they come charged, use that battery power to back up)…apologies for rambling, thanks again.
I don’t think I can back up on the battery I’ve got and I definitely can’t charge to 80%. Is this phone doomed or is there some way to save it? (Desperately hoping there’s some way to save it)
Do you regularly charge to 100% and / or leave it to charge all night?
Can you still charge the phone if you leave it turned off?
That could easily be the result of an update. Updates typically result in high background activity which will likely cause the battery to drain quicker than usual and the phone to become hot. Normally this behaviour eases off after a day or two.
Do you regularly charge to 100% and / or leave it to charge all night?
Yes, basically every night. I also almost never turn it off.
Can you still charge the phone if you leave it turned off?
It allowed me to once after the problem started (the next day), but not since that one time (today). When it’s on and plugged in the corner light comes on but the phone doesn’t say charging, and when it’s off and plugged in the corner light doesn’t come on but it starts saying it’s charging on the screen and then keeps restarting the charging after a few seconds.
I’m really desperate to get this fixed as soon as possible, would you recommend getting a new battery, bottom module and/or separate battery charger as mentioned by the user above?
I’d recommend getting a new battery and an external charger. That’s your safest bet.
With luck you won’t actually need the external charger.
For future reference: batteries get “stressed” when they’re pushed beyond a certain level of charge, and when they’re discharged beyond a certain level. They’re most “comfortable” when charged to 50%, that’s the reason for the recommendation to charge them to 50% when removing for long storage without use.
Your battery will last longer (in years) if you manage to keep it most of the time between 20% and 80%. Charge it more on days you really need to, but not when you can avoid it.
You might consider getting a power bank from which you could top up the phone if it gets low during the day (as long as it charges normally).
You can reduce the phone’s power consumption at night by putting it in Airplane mode, if you don’t need to receive calls or messages.