Bricked Pandora (won't even power on)


So I take it there's nothing else I can do? It's pretty much dead for good?
It's possible that it did damage, but we haven't ruled out other issues like bad battery or poor contact and what not.. You could arrange for a repair through EvilDragon's shop.. 
 
it should power up without the battery inserted when running on the DC jack.
Does your pandora power on when you remove the battery and put the mains charger in?
I have been curious about the percentage of each model (if that matters) that have this ability.  I have searched, and found a thread or two where people listed that their Pandora did or didn't, but nothing with enough feedback to give a good idea if most really can be powered this way.  For the record, I currently have a CC that can power on without a battery.

Also, because I feel this can never be said enough: DON'T PUT YOUR BATTERY IN WHILE POWERED ON WITH THE CHARGER!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
To clarify, is it ok to put the battery in when its off and closed with the charger in? Because thats what I did, I didn't put the battery in and out while powered on with the charger.
 
off and closed with the charger in
I may be misunderstanding you, but I think if you plug it in it is powered on.  When you close it it doesn't power off.  Are you saying you turned it off but the cable was still plugged in?  I don't know if that is bad or not.
 
To clarify, is it ok to put the battery in when its off and closed with the charger in? Because thats what I did, I didn't put the battery in and out while powered on with the charger.
There is no off when the DC jack is plugged in, if the Pandora was powered off and you plug in a DC or USB power source it will turn on and boot up.. and if you shut off the Pandora when a power source is plugged in, it will just turn back on..  This is essentially how all mobile devices work, except the Pandora lacks a lower power charging boot mode.. Like on a phone where you are not quite fully booted into the OS and you just see a battery charging image or animation. But really this doesn't make a difference, because the potential for damage could still happen even if it was in an off state.


So it could potentially be an issue, but it sounded like you were having issues prior to this so it's hard to say if this scenario really damaged it or not. If you had access to a voltmeter to check the battery or the charger.. I would be curious about getting a current measurement when it's plugged into the charger, but that isn't an easy thing to setup if you are not experienced doing so.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
To clarify, is it ok to put the battery in when its off and closed with the charger in? Because thats what I did, I didn't put the battery in and out while powered on with the charger.
There is no off when the DC jack is plugged in, if the Pandora was powered off and you plug in a DC or USB power source it will turn on and boot up.. and if you shut off the Pandora when a power source is plugged in, it will just turn back on..  This is essentially how all mobile devices work, except the Pandora lacks a lower power charging boot mode.. Like on a phone where you are not quite fully booted into the OS and you just see a battery charging image or animation. But really this doesn't make a difference, because the potential for damage could still happen even if it was in an off state.


So it could potentially be an issue, but it sounded like you were having issues prior to this so it's hard to say if this scenario really damaged it or not. If you had access to a voltmeter to check the battery or the charger.. I would be curious about getting a current measurement when it's plugged into the charger, but that isn't an easy thing to setup if you are not experienced doing so.
 I'll see if I can borrow one, I know someone who'd likely have one. Is it possible that if I disassembed the entire unit I could directly attach some sort of bench power supply? I'm not sure how exactly to go about it but would that sort of thing be possible?
 
Well, I can't even get it open. A 2 screws came out fine but the rest I've nearly stripped the heads on trying to get them out. I'm just going to have to assume its faulty or I bricked it, there's no LEDs or anything and it stopped working when the firmware flash stopped halfway through. Anyone know where I could send it for repair and how much it would cost if it even can be repaired.
 
I've nearly stripped the heads on trying to get them out.
Unfortunately this is common.  It really sucks that you are having so much trouble with your Pandora.

I don't see where you answered this:

Is this a second hand Pandora?
Depending on when, and from whom you got it, it may still be under warranty, so they may take a look at it and fix it.  Did you purchase it from DragonBox or Ithic?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
While it's still under warranty, it was bought 2nd hand privately.
 
While it's still under warranty, it was bought 2nd hand privately.

Just send it to ED, his customer service is unrivaled :) His repaircosts are very reasonable or sometimes it is even for free (I always donate something to compensate him though)
Off topic, where is the donation button for Pyra again? 
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Now it refuses to power on, the LEDS don't even come on and it doesn't appear to even be charging. It's completely dead.
 Hello.

I have the same thing.

Did You solve your problem?
Sometimes that issue is just a battery that was ran too low...

Have you tried taking the battery out for 5 minutes, putting it back in and then let it be on the charger for a couple of hours to trickle charge(you won't see any LEDs until it gets enough of a charge to power on). ***Warning Don't put the battery back in the Pandora while on the charger, you can damage the charging circuit***
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Now it refuses to power on, the LEDS don't even come on and it doesn't appear to even be charging. It's completely dead.
hi fett,maybe this Link help you:

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17755-bad-flash-bricked-jtag/
Hello, after days of trying my pandora is dead. Or my SD's so bad or hands or it is another case of bricked pandora.

Now it refuses to power on, the LEDS don't even come on and it doesn't appear to even be charging. It's completely dead.
 
Hello.


I have the same thing.


Did You solve your problem?
Sometimes that issue is just a battery that was ran too low...


Have you tried taking the battery out for 5 minutes, putting it back in and then let it be on the charger for a couple of hours to trickle charge(you won't see any LEDs until it gets enough of a charge to power on). ***Warning Don't put the battery back in the Pandora while on the charger, you can damage the charging circuit***
No, my battery is good.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No, my battery is good.
Battery has nothing to do with it. It's to reset the charging circuit so it will properly charge and eventually power up. There is a cap that will keep that charging circuit go for a while even after the battery is taken out, it's best to remove the battery completely for a minute or two so it drains and resets.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top