[2ndCell]

Hello: My Nokia 2160 is a PayAsYouGo secondary phone, bought in Spring 2008. Has worked fine all this time. It is not a "Smartphone" for internet-surfing, but just a simple phone for voice usage.

Last night I was looking thru Menu & must have clicked something I shouldn't have, because afterward I noticed a capital "G" in upper left corner of screen & only 1 bar below it.

It also had full bars on the right (full battery).

Never saw that "G" before & could not figure out how to make it go away. Too tired to mess with it so I went to bed.

10 hours later I check phone & it is totally black, will not come on, will not do anything, pressing any/all buttons does nothing, totally black screen.

So I plugged it in anyway, hoping that will fix it. But it's been plugged in 1-hour now (3:48pm my time) & still totally black, zilch, nothing.

Did I "kill" my phone last night by messing around in Menu & accidentally making that "G" appear? :-/

Help & Thank You!

[2ndCell]

Oops, It's Nokia 2610, not 2160. Sorry about that.

[singhnsk]

Well, you did nothing wrong. The G there is just to say that you were connected to the internet.
Have you tried Removing the battery and re-inserting it after a while and then try to turn on the phone?

[2ndCell]

Thank you, "Professor" singhnsk, for the consolation.

And yes, I did eventually take the battery out & sim card out about an hour ago, & put back in, but phone was still dead. So I did it a 2nd time around, took them out & put back in, but still zilch, dead phone. Plugged it in again, too, but still nothing.

I'm thinking it needs a new battery(?)

Does T-Mobile site sell replacement batteries? I'm on my way there now to find out.

Thanks again for your kind reply.

[2ndCell]

I see you said to put battery/sim back in "after a while." Hmm, maybe I didn't wait long enough(?) How long should I wait before reinserting battery/sim?

[farby]

A couple of minutes should be more than enough ..

[2ndCell]

Hi farby "Mobile Overlord" (lol on those titles).

Thank you for the reply. I did it again & left them out 35-minutes; just put them back in a minute ago, plugged in, but so far zilch, still a dead black phone.

I'm thinking 2 things:

1. T-Mobile cut off my service after I accidently made the "G" appear; because I had a "pay as you go" voice plan only, not an Internet plan.

2. Or, phone battery just happened to die later on the same day that I accidently made the "G" appear.

***

Thinking to call T-Mobile tomorrow & ask re #1 above.

And I checked the T-Mobile site & even though they still show Nokia 2610's in their online "shopping" dept., they do not show any batteries for it (BL-5C). They only offer cases for the 2610.

Thanks again guys!

[farby]

1. Assume that your service is Cut-Off by T-Mobile but still the phone should anyways switch ON. Only that the SIM gets blocked...so the first point can be ruled out. 

2. If the Battery has drained -out you mentioned in OP that it was left on charging for about 1 hr. ..so it should have gained some power..atleast it should start showing inthe display that the Battery is charging (when connected to charger) .. so don't think there is any harm ruling out this too..

Think its something gone wrong with the Phones OS. 

If you really want to try new Battery, you may search on eBay. I can see these available atleast in my region (India).

Other point to note is, you may visit your local Nokia Care or give them a call if you have one nearby..but they may not be able to help regading this phone that was launched almost 7 years ago ..Try your luck.

..or Get a new phone as a New Year Gift to yourself...

[2ndCell]

Thank you farby for your excellent analytical breakdown re all points in question.

1. Ok, check! Phone definitely is not showing ANYTHING but black screen. No nothing, even after several hours plugged in.

2. Ditto.

3. Yes, I saw batteries in google search at ebay, etc. Thanks.

4. What would make the OS go haywire & die all the sudden in 1 day? It seems suspicious this would happen the same day I screwed up the Menu/"G" thing.

5. Thanks for the New Year Gift idea. Cute. Don't want to go through the time-consuming hassle of researching phones. Ugh. Such a pain. This simple Nokia_2610 non-smartphone "throw-away", "pay as you go" was fine. I don't want all the fancy stuff as I have an iphone for that. But thanks anyway!

[singhnsk]

The batteries can sometimes die completely and they just refuse to return any current. So, there can be a little chance that it just completely died and won't change too.. If you have a friend using a Nokia, you can try his battery on your phone to see if that's a reason. Won't recommend you to purchase a new battery if you can't confirm its a battery issue or not.

When you re-insert the battery and press the power button, does your phone makes a little vibration? If it doesn't there's no problem with the OS as even the OS is completely erased, the phone still is good enough to vibrate and then sleep again or show an error.

You either have a hardware issue (probably power IC) or your battery is completely dead. Now if you can arrange for a spare battery, do try that first. otherwise, you have to visit a Nokia Care center and they'll be able to check what's the issue. Usually there's no consultation fees

[2ndCell]

Hi again singhnsk, thanks for those additional diagnostic thoughts.

1. No friends with Nokias.

2. I don't think I have a "power button." Phone was always simply in Standby-Mode, I think. In other words, all I ever would do is touch ANY button on phone, & it would light up. So where is the "power button" so I can "hold" & see if it vibrates?

(As a matter of fact, that is what prompted me to go messing around in MENUS & SETTINGS last night: After reading info on EMFs & cellphones, I was looking in all Menus for a way to totally "power down" the 2610 & make it "really" turn OFF. That's when I accidently turned on the "G" symbol. -- So, lol: I wanted the phone truly OFF, & got more than that > truly DEAD.

3. Thanks re possible hardware issue > "power IC." (What does IC stand for? "Internal Circuitboard"?)

4. Will check the Nokia Care link farby provided above (thank you for that) & see if there's one around here.

Thanks for all the assistance!

[farby · Accepted solution]

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2ndCell wrote:
2. I don't think I have a "power button." Phone was always simply in Standby-Mode, I think. In other words, all I ever would do is touch ANY button on phone, & it would light up. So where is the "power button" so I can "hold" & see if it vibrates?

Thanks for all the assistance!

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Oh there !!! Then you may be LUCKY ...

Press and HOLD the call end (RED) key .. You may refer Pg.12 in the User Guide

[singhnsk]

Hehe.. Now i think your problem should be solved by holding down that Red button for 2 seconds xD. Quick, follow farby
Hope for good. Maybe we'll see you happy next time

[2ndCell]

Oh my goodness!!!! You two guys are my HILARIOUS HEROS!!! HaHaHaHa!!

I should have checked back sooner!! Have been reading reviews for several hours @ Walmart & Amazon re other phones, or OEM batteries for 2610, or old used 2610's, etc. etc.!!!

Total hours "wasted" on this (my) 2610 insanity = 20 HOURS!! Let that be a lesson to any who read this thread, LOL!

YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT!!! Red button it is!!! Held it a few seconds as you said (thanks for the Guide link) & VOILA! BINGO!! YOWZA!! That baby started right up, white screen, then asked for PIN, then my "welcome message" appeared which I hadn't seen in years & wondered what happened to it, LOL! Then the beachy wallpaper/home screen with prior settings (silent, etc.) & all contacts intact!!! YES!! THANK YOU DEAR HEROS!! So nothing was lost except 20-hours of time, a few last nerves, & any remaining ladylike virtues after cursing like a sailor (Lol).

What a mess, I'm too old for gadgets. But now that you mention it -- in beautiful red bold no less > loved the emphasis! -- I think I do remember that I used to know that the red button is the Off button, but it's been so long since I ever turned phone totally Off, I completely forgot about it! D-U-H!

Red button > Red face (blush)!

I will be using that red-baby-button more often now as I just checked the SAR (electromagnetic radiation) for 2610 & this tiny older Nokia phone has a higher rating than my "older" iphone 3Gs:

Nokia 2610 SAR for USA = 1.10 (max allowed 1.6)

iPhone 3Gs SAR for USA = 0.79!! (the lowest of all iPhone models!)

Oddly, for EU, where max allowed SAR is MORE than USA @ 2.0, the 2610 EU models are LESS than USA models @ only 0.68! Go figure! (Is Nokia wanting to poison Americans w/more EMFs for some reason?

Check out ElectricSense dot com site for more info re EMF poisoning from cellphones, computers, TVs, refrigerators, smart meters, etc. Fascinating info that will "make your hair stand up," lol.

ONE MORE Q: Is there an "airplane mode" on the 2610? I don't recall ever seeing such wording in Settings. Maybe just turning OFF red button will lower EMFs when phone not in use, hopefully.

THANK YOU AGAIN MY WONDERFUL ANGELS/Gentlemen!!! You guys have a great sense of humor!! Thanks for those final laughs/comments, lol. They were much needed!

And I guess I should go buy 2-3 batteries anyway for backup for whenever I really WILL need them!

BLESS YOUR SOULS, Fellas!! I thought "2ndCell" was going to have to become "3rd Cell"! Now I can get some shut-eye in peace & bliss! Thank you, Thank you. It's been a blast doing business with you guys!

[2ndCell]

PS: I wanted to give you both 20 Kudos each! And give you both "Accepted Solution" status. Looks like only one of you can have that prize, technically, so farby with the Red Bold wins. Sorry about that singhnsk.

[singhnsk]

Look at it man! You have got more kudos than any solution here
Thanks for giving this forum a feel of some good English. Farby definitely deserved the credit for the best answer. He solved your query first..Plus that red to attract you.. Hehe.. bad luck 'singhnsk', you were late

Should thank you more for your thanking reply. LOL I wish you experience a slight problem again It will be a good time discussing that with you . Just kidding. have a good time with your phones and enjoy your life. Wish you won't experience a problem again, but I wish to see you again here sometime

Now as you liked that Red Bold text used by Farby, maybe you'll also like the Bold Red Lumia 920 as your next phone if you ever wish to replace your current Apple Believe me, its great.. I'm not a marketing guy from Nokia

For airplane mode, think there should be a flight option. Can you move to Menu> Settings> Profiles and see if there's a Flight option there? If its there, that will do the work. Still the better option is to turn it off. You'll also be saving some energy while saving yourself from radiations

[farby]

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singhnsk wrote:
Still the better option is to turn it off. You'll also be saving some energy while saving yourself from radiations

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..and NO worries now, since you know the Power ON switch 

BTW, more than anything I am happy to know that you are happy 2ndCell ..and YES, definitely worth what singhnsk has suggested for your next phone...