This is one of the most common power-related problems any Samsung Galaxy S3 owner may encounter. I have received reports from some owners saying that their phones are completely dead and won't respond when the power key is hit. When asked how the problem started, they just said that their phones just shut down one day and refused to come back on.
The problem may be caused by a serious glitch in the firmware but there is also a big chance it's a hardware issue. Basic troubleshooting is required to know what the cause really is and to determine how far the phone can go if powered on successfully. But as for me, if the phone powered on, that's almost a solution.
Here are some simple steps you can try to isolate the problem:
Step 1: If Samsung Galaxy S3 refuses to turn on, plug it in to charge for several minutes. This is necessary to rule out the possibility that it is just a drained battery issue. Either the phone displays the charging icon and lights up red LED notifications or doesn't respond at all when plugged in, just leave it for at least ten minutes. Once the time elapsed, attempt to turn the phone on. If not successful, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Pull the battery out and then press and hold the Power key for 1 minute. It may sound absurd but it's worth a try. This particular procedure is often referred to as "soft reset" as it drains electricity stored in capacitors and other electronic components inside the phone. Basically, it refreshes the phone and for minor glitches, it's very effective. It is necessary at this point since we don't know what the problem is and how serious it is.
Step 3: Find out if the phone can boot in safe mode successfully. You are going to do anything if the phone boots up in safe mode. Rather, you just want to find out if the phone can because if it capable of doing so, you can rest assured that it's not a hardware problem. Now, once the phone booted in safe mode successfully, just press and hold the power button and touch "Restart" to boot the phone normally.
Step 4: Find out if Galaxy S3 can boot in recovery mode. You only do this if the phone couldn't boot in safe mode or got stuck when restarted from safe mode. Still, this will tell you if there's a problem with the hardware or not. If there is, then the phone shouldn't be able to boot up in any mode. If the phone, however, can successfully reach the recovery mode, then consider the problem as fixed since you can both wipe cache partition as well as perform factory reset in this state.
Step 5: Send the phone in for repair. I would like to suggest you check the battery for any deformities, lumps or swelling but if there are any, then you should have noticed it when you pulled the battery out in step 2. If it isn't the battery that is at fault here, there is a big chance it's the USB charging port. It's a component that serves as a bridge for electricity as it receives current from the charger to the battery and from the battery to all components.
All you need is basic troubleshooting and once you find out the problem is with the hardware, there's nothing much you can do about it. I suggest you seek help from a technician but if the repair would cost almost a brand new phone, then perhaps it's time for you to upgrade.
I would love to hear your opinion or if you have concerns, leave a comment below.
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