Electronics

[BunSnoop]

A year ago I moved up from a flip phone to a Trac Fone - guess you call it a "smart" phone.  As you can tell I don't know much about this stuff.

Today I'm trying to charge the phone, but it will not charge.  Do I just need a battery or do you think I have a bigger problem?   (I do not use this phone often,  about 1 hour total a week (at the most)  I charge it whenever I notice the battery getting  low).  

I did try using a different battery charger in case that was the problem, but it will not charge using either charger.

Is this typical - do phone batteries die after about a year?

[Nightowlz]

Could be the battery. Take it out & put back in that does help sometimes.

The one in mine would not hold a charge so I ordered a battery off Ebay it works a lot better. I ordered another one for backup but it won't hold a charge.

Hope you can find one that fits your phone.

No they don't typically die after a year.

[waterlily]

@Nightowlz is right, I have a Tracfone and removing the battery and reinserting it seems to fix an array of problems.

[software]

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@BunSnoop wrote:

A year ago I moved up from a flip phone to a Trac Fone - guess you call it a "smart" phone.  As you can tell I don't know much about this stuff.

Today I'm trying to charge the phone, but it will not charge.  Do I just need a battery or do you think I have a bigger problem?   (I do not use this phone often,  about 1 hour total a week (at the most)  I charge it whenever I notice the battery getting  low).  

I did try using a different battery charger in case that was the problem, but it will not charge using either charger.

Is this typical - do phone batteries die after about a year?

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I bought my Tracfone about a year ago, I just ordered a new battery.

If you are saying it won't charge at all, it may not be the battery.   Even a somwhat dead battery will take some kind of charge.

I had a Sony phone for years, loved that phone, the connection inside the phone went bad, couldn't charge it.   And it couldn't be fixed.   I really miss that phone.

[hckynut]

@BunSnoop

I have had Tracfone, with many different brand name phones (yes smart phones for quite awhile). Like yourself I rarely use mine, never have.

You have to be aware that "smart phones", with all the graphic content and features, use a lot more battery power than the old, phone only flip phones. 

Never had a battery problem with any of my 12 with Tracfone, BUTT!!!   The CORDS? That is a common problem with even the high $$$$ Samsung Galaxy phones my wife has owned. Cords are cheap, and I always keep them well stocked.

Might be your battery, but my experience has always came down to the cord between the charger and phone and/or tablet, never a battery, including our tablets.

hckynut(john)

[BunSnoop]

Thank you!    Taking the battery out and then putting it back in has seemed to resolve the problem.  I wrote down all of the battery information and will purchase one so I'm ready when it does have to get replaced.

[hckynut]

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@BunSnoop wrote:

Thank you!    Taking the battery out and then putting it back in has seemed to resolve the problem.  I wrote down all of the battery information and will purchase one so I'm ready when it does have to get replaced.

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@BunSnoop

If as you say, you don't use your phone much, it might be cheaper to buy a new phone/with minutes etc. You get a new phone/minutes/texts/data/charger/case, and they do come with a new battery.

I had 1 of my Samsung phones for 3 years and never replaced the battery. My wife had a Samsung Galaxy S1 and S2. The S1 for 3+ years, the S2 for over 2. She uses the almost every waking minute. Never replaced a battery.

Unlike flashlights, the battery is not a part of this electronic that needs to be replaced. I keep extra cords, as I mentioned in my other post, because they have been the weakest component of every cell phone my wife and I have ever owned.

Glad you found the problem.

hckynut(john)