My smart phone died a month ago on Naxos. It just crashed. Attempts to reboot it were hopeless. Only wearing out the battery stopped it from a hopeless and continuous reboot cycle. I used Shari's iPad to research the web. The technical term for my problem was "brick". That is, my smart phone was as useful as a brick; or a paperweight.
Occasionally it did boot up so I managed to do a factory reset. That's when you wipe out all your data and the Android operating system is re-installed. It seemed to work, but then it crashed again and the reboot never again worked. I figured it was a hardware problem that had to be fixed back home.
We made it back to Tucson and I looked up smart phone repairs. I decided to use a local outfit called "Quick Fix". Almost two weeks later and me having to call Trevor almost every day, he gave up. First they blamed the battery. A new battery did nothing. Then they blamed software and Trevor was their software man, a very busy software man. Hence the need to call him regularly. I had to remind him that I already did a "factory reset" with no beneficial effect. I asked him to swap out hardware parts to see if that was the problem. He insisted upon re-installing the operating system anyway, then admitted he had no access to the Verizon version of Google Android so he gave up. Neither Quick nor Fix.
This morning I took my "brick" to Verizon, not a Verizon franchise, but the Verizon-owned store itself where we bought my top-of-the-line Motorola Droid 2 for $624 less than two years ago. They are very helpful in that store. Andrew fiddled with my phone and concluded it was a software problem. We explored options of replacing my "brick" with an upgrade. Andrew spent a good fifteen minutes on the Verizon website looking for good deals. Have you ever tried to price smart phone service off a website? It's about as user-friendly as interpreting a phone company invoice. His conclusion was that I was looking at $500-$800 for a comparable phone after every discount that Verizon corporate permitted him.
What about just getting my "brick" fixed? Andrew didn't recommend sending it back to the factory, and I didn't ask why. His discouragement was enough. "Got any recommendations locally to get it fixed?" Andrew gave me three: All Mobile Matters (a local place inside Tucson Mall) and the national chains Best Buy Geeks and Batteries Plus Bulbs. Each one, Andrew assured me, was certified to reformat my phone and reinstall the Verizon version of Google Android.
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| Among the last photos my Droid 2 took on Naxos before its motherboard failed. It now serves as my wallpaper. |
I figured Gamers Warehouse was my last hope before returning to the Verizon store with Shari to pick out a new iPhone. The business name did not inspire much confidence and its Tucson Mall location is hidden on the second floor behind Dillard's in a corridor where no one goes. But it had a sign advertising smart phone repairs, and its window display consisted of a pile of many hundreds of discarded, disemboweled smart phones.
All this time, my "brick" kept trying to reboot and failing. The guy at Gamers Warehouse saw the pathetic reboot recycle, heard me explain that I had done a "factory reset" myself, and quickly concluded "motherboard". He explained that the labor for anyone to reformat and reinstall would be expensive, but a new motherboard would cost $112 including his labor. Bargain.
"Wait a minute, I may have one in back." He reappeared with an open Droid and explained he had cannibalized it for the camera. Its motherboard would fit just fine. I didn't ask questions.
An hour and a half later, I returned and the phone has been working ever since. I have new found respect for gamers. I also have a restored confidence in my own hunch, having done the factory reset and the damned thing still crashed, that it was a hardware problem.
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