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How to resurrect your dead smartphone

Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Picture this. You’ve just typed a very long message to your significant other berating them for not scrubbing the bath.

Or you’ve just poured your heart and soul into a message to your young relative, replete with hip speak (LOL), emojis (smiley face) and abbreviations (srsly, call me).

man smartphone revived

A dead smartphone can potentially be revived with some simple tricks. Photo: Shutterstock

And then, horror of all horrors, one or two years into its short life, your phone goes completely blank!

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Ding dong, the smartphone is dead. Or is it?

Tech expert Paul Lin, CEO of leading app agency Buuna, tells The New Daily that you shouldn’t give up on your unresponsive phone just yet.

“If your smartphone appears to be dead, don’t give up immediately. There are a number of handy tips and tricks for bringing your phone to life,” Mr Lin says.

WhistleOut editor Joseph Hanlon agrees, telling The New Daily it is possible to pull a Lazarus and resurrect that most dearly beloved — and expensive — of your technological possessions, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars in repair or replacement costs.

“Before you spend money on an expensive repair or a completely new phone, it is worth figuring out whether you can fix the problem yourself,” Mr Hanlon says.

Pull the battery

Try charging your phone in different ways and for several hours, from your standard phone charger connected to a wall power outlet, to a laptop to a car charger.

Is it the screen?

It might be a problem with your touchscreen, not the phone itself.

Get a friend to text or call you to see if that’s the problem, or get it checked out with a phone specialist. This is generally easier to fix than a completely dead phone.

Turn it off and on again

The next thing to try is a simple “soft reset”. Try pulling the battery out of your phone and putting it back in again.

If you can’t access the battery, your phone should have a button combination to restart it. Try pressing and holding down the power button for five to 10 seconds.

For iPhones, hold down the power button and the circular home button at the same time.

If that doesn’t work, Google your phone’s make and model with the words “soft reset”.

Wipe your phone and start again

If a soft reset doesn’t work, it’s time to ramp it up a notch by wiping your phone of any glitches.

This process, known as a “hard reset”, will also delete all of your apps, contacts, SMS messages, photos, videos — absolutely everything. This hurts, but is better than spending hundreds on a replacement.

For Androids, hold down the down volume button and the power button. When the phone enters recovery mode, select the ‘factory reset’ or ‘wipe phone’ option.

iPhone users will need to hold down the home button while connecting their phone to a computer with a USB cable and opening iTunes. More details here.

For all other phones, you know the drill — Google the make and model with the words “hard reset”.

Reload software externally

This one is best left to a very tech-savvy user, but if you’re feeling game and adventurous — or are desperately broke — you can try replacing the software in your phone.

Go to this forum and search for your phone model. All the software tools and updates you’ll need are there. Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart.

What then?

Check your warranty and insurance (if you have it) to see if you can get your phone fixed or replaced.

If your phone is faulty, you may be entitled to a refund or replacement.

For more information on your consumer rights, call the national consumer watchdog on 1300 302 502.

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