Giant question mark icon?

**Theresamorrison** · 01/27/2010, 08:57 AM

Trying to update my WebOS to 1.3 via Doctor because regular downloads haven't been working. Various things have happened, none good, and now I'm at a place where my screen is occupied by a giant question mark when my Pre is plugged in, dark when it's not. I have no idea what this icon means and haven't been able to find an explanation in the manual or here in the forums. I will be happy to take the next step, but I have no clue what the next step is. If you can help, I thank you.

**Spader** · 01/27/2010, 09:45 AM

I believe that is the screen you see when the battery is completely dead.

Try leaving the Pre plugged into a wall charger for a half hour or so and see if it starts up on it's own. If not, try turning it on at that point manually... I don't know if this will help as I don't know at what stage in the Dr. process it started this.

**Theresamorrison** · 01/27/2010, 10:01 AM

Thanks for your quick response. I left it plugged in overnight, but nothing changed--the question mark is still there when it's plugged into an outlet or a USB port on my computer. (But not the Touchstone, where it appears completely dead.) And it won't turn on t all.

I get that this probably has something to do with power, and so I've tried reseating the battery. But it makes no difference. Should I try a different battery, do you think? I have a Centro with a charged battery in it that I can use.

**Theresamorrison** · 01/27/2010, 10:06 AM

I should add, btw, that the giant icon I'm getting does not look like others I've seen described, with a red lightning bolt, for example. This is b/w, a big rectangle with a bump on top and the large question mark inside.

**Spader** · 01/27/2010, 10:23 AM

Ah... I see... Have you tried the "up-volume button" trick?

- Pull the battery
- Plug into computer USB
- Hold the UP volume button (don't let go)
- Power on the Pre
- USB symbol should appear
- Let go of Volume button
- Run WebOS Doctor

It may not work, but it's something to try.

**Theresamorrison** · 01/27/2010, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by Spader

Ah... I see... Have you tried the "up-volume button" trick?

- Pull the battery
- Plug into computer USB
- Hold the UP volume button (don't let go)
- Power on the Pre
- USB symbol should appear
- Let go of Volume button
- Run WebOS Doctor

It may not work, but it's something to try.

I get the question mark icon as soon as I plug it in to the computer whether the battery is in or out. I tried the volume button thing, but nothing changed--icon still there.

**Achill3s** · 01/27/2010, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Theresamorrison

I get the question mark icon as soon as I plug it in to the computer whether the battery is in or out. I tried the volume button thing, but nothing changed--icon still there.

If that didn't work, take it back to Sprint. You might have a defective battery which will be replaced at no charge.

**Theresamorrison** · 01/27/2010, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by tomi666

If you turn off the Pre, take out the battery, connect it to your computer, and turn on the Pre again, that's the icon you see. If you see it with the battery still inserted, there's either something terribly wrong with the battery or the connector points of the Pre.

I have tried reseating the battery several times, but there's no change--and I get the icon without turning the phone on; it appears automagically. Should I try my Centro battery? I read somewhere that they work in the Pre.

I really do appreciate all the suggestions from you both; many thanks.

**djsoto** · 03/16/2010, 11:27 AM

There is a FIX for this...
I had the same problem, What happens is the Pre looses contact with the battery. This also happens when the Pre resets (turns off) by itself.

What you need to do is, Cut a small peace of business card/or plastic and put it on the end of the battery. It makes the battery tighter to the connector and allows contact with the pins

This work for me! So the problem with the question mark is the Pre is NOT detection battery due to loose battery issues.

Hope if works for you...

**shanachelle** · 03/24/2010, 10:00 PM

so i was having this problem with a pre a friend gave me. i called tech support and they were no help lol hadnt even heard of it. but now i feel like a complete ***** cause it was just that the battery was in backwards!! so simple solution.. make sure the battery has palm facing out!! lol i know i'm ********!!

**brothertoncompany** · 05/02/2010, 11:14 PM

the giant question mark think happened to me last night as I was just on the phone talking away...I took the battery out several times and finally got it to power on after 20 tries...once it came on the battery said it was down to 0% then all of a sudden it said 75%...after about 5min the phone shut off, I turned it back on and the phone gave me the question mark symbol again...I took it to the sprint store and they told me they had to order me a new phone!

**GQGeek81** · 05/09/2010, 02:52 PM

I've been having this problem for the last few days among others.

I just got it to work as follows:

With the battery out and USB plugged in continued to get the battery/question mark.

I took a piece of metal and tried to short out the battery contacts which didn't appear to do anything in and of itself.

I then put the batter back in at which point the screen changed to the PALM start up screen.

This may or may not help others.

For the record, the other issues I've been having are these...

Pre shuts down randomly, either while in my pocket, when on a call or mostly when sliding open the device.

When I slide open the device the screen does not come on but the keyboard lights up.

When I slide open the device the screen comes on and touch works but the keyboard does not light up and is unresponsive.

When I slide open the device the screen comes on but has a 4-8 second delay when its touched.

When I slide open the device the touch screen does not respond at all.

I have no idea if these other problems are related to the battery symbol condition.

**RUSH** · 05/09/2010, 03:17 PM

your batt is not tight enough in the batt compartment,find a way of getting it tightly fit inside. This is a known issue that's causing a lot of reboot/lunar start.

**GQGeek81** · 05/10/2010, 03:59 PM

if you're referring to me I disagree.

The aftermarket battery has zero wiggle and I've used the shim in the stock battery. It seems to be an OS glitch.

Since yesterday I've had it happen a few more times and at least in my case I can get it up and running again easy now. (still hateful)

With phone off plug in usb (doesn't mater if the battery is in or out really)

The symbol comes up on USB power. Pull the battery (the phone doesn't appear to notice) and reinsert. The screen jumps to the boot screen.

I don't think the cause is battery related but it appears that the battery communication hangs when it happens and this resets it somehow.

**fastspinecho** · 08/29/2010, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by GQGeek81

I've been having this problem for the last few days among others.

I just got it to work as follows:

With the battery out and USB plugged in continued to get the battery/question mark.

I took a piece of metal and tried to short out the battery contacts which didn't appear to do anything in and of itself.

I then put the batter back in at which point the screen changed to the PALM start up screen.

OMG!!!!!!

I had the same problem, and I was about to give up and return the phone today after telling my wife we would not be able to get her pictures off the phone.

I just tried the "short the battery contacts" trick and IT WORKED!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

**verwon** · 08/29/2010, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by GQGeek81

if you're referring to me I disagree.

The aftermarket battery has zero wiggle and I've used the shim in the stock battery. It seems to be an OS glitch.

Since yesterday I've had it happen a few more times and at least in my case I can get it up and running again easy now. (still hateful)

With phone off plug in usb (doesn't mater if the battery is in or out really)

The symbol comes up on USB power. Pull the battery (the phone doesn't appear to notice) and reinsert. The screen jumps to the boot screen.

I don't think the cause is battery related but it appears that the battery communication hangs when it happens and this resets it somehow.

Just to add a little more information, the battery issue he was referring to is actually ONLY known to effect some of the very early, first released Pres on Sprint. Palm was made aware of it and they fixed it with later production runs and in the Plus models, so unless you have a very early Pre, it would not affect you.

And on that note, if you had a very early Pre that had the problem, you would likely have noticed by now.

Just wanted to let everyone know that, yes the problem did exist, but it is very unlikely to do be the root of these issues.

**cdritch24** · 09/02/2010, 12:47 PM

Just got a 2250mah battery off of ebay, plugged it in and got the ? symbol. Put the old battery in and it fires right up. Bad battery?

**cmilette** · 09/02/2010, 01:06 PM

i suggest you just put your phone into usb drive and back up all of your data on your pc and then call palm or your carrier so they can send you a new or refurbished one. they're usually VERY understanding about this. especially if you say you're going to leave.

**RUSH** · 09/02/2010, 01:21 PM

I hope with all those informative response, you were able to fix the issue at hand. ^_^

**cdritch24** · 09/02/2010, 01:24 PM

Man, I'm holding a hammer and giving it the stare down right now!

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