Power button is broke...looking for advice

[bhawks]

Ok everyone, so I have the original droid that I got for Christmas last year (so it is just over a year old), and the power button has stopped working. I have been using a customizable widget with a button to turn off the screen, and have been sliding the keyboard open to wake it. However the problem comes when the phone dies and I try to swap out the battery with a fully charged one, then there is no way to power on the phone. The only way is to plug it in, which boots it, but this is no help when I am on the road away from a charger.

I need some opinions on my options. First off I'm pretty sure the droid warranty covers this, but how long is the warranty(is it expired by now?), would I have to pay anything to fix it?, and would I have to worry about sending in a rooted phone?

Also I have insurance with Asurion, but I would have to pay $80 bucks for a new phone. I am kind of reluctant to do this because I plan on getting a new phone in 2-3 months, and have my phone the way I want it now (I dont want to deal with the hassle of re rooting, and possibly loosing my wifi tether capabilities)

So basically what would you guys do here? Should I just cough up the $80 for a replacement? Is there a work around here that will allow me to power up using a different button? Thanks for your advice in advance!

 

[AngryHatter]

Me?
I'd wait the three months.
Or get another A855 for free.

 

[bhawks]

Me?
I'd wait the three months.
Or get another A855 for free.

How would I get another for free? I searched a bit and it seems the Motorola warranty expires after one year, so to my knowledge the only option I have is to pay $80 for an insurance replacement

Does anyone know if its possible to set a different button, like the camera button, as my new power button?

 

[bhawks]

OK not many responses but I'm still looking for some last minute advice

I checked with Motorola and somehow I'm still under warranty even though the phone is over a year old. They said I would have to ship them the phone and they would repair it in 5-7 days then ship it back. Only problem with this is that I have no backup phone to use in the meantime. Also would I have to worry about shipping a rooted phone to them?

I have insurance through Asurion and they said it would cost a $50 deductible and they could ship a replacement phone to me tomorrow. The problem I have with this is I would have to re root and set everything up again (I am not very tech savvy I just read a lot and followed instructions during the first root) (really do not want to go through all that again)

The third option would be just to keep the phone for now and somehow find a new way to boot the phone without the power button (is this possible??)

What would you guys do? Any last minute advice before I make a decision would help a lot. Thanks!

 

[Laur3nNewm4n]

If it were *me*, I'd wait out the 2-3 months and get your new phone like you were planning on. If you send in the phone to Motorola, they might not cover the repair when they find out it's rooted (since rooting voids your warranty). It sounds like you'd rather not have a hassle replacing it, and would be willing to wait the couple months, so I'd go with that.

EDIT: just noticed you said you'd send it to Motorola, not Verizon to get repaired. I'm not sure what their policy is on rooted devices and warranty.

 

[AngryHatter]

I meant through Verizon.
Mine was a refurb for free.

 

[MFGuilbault]

Why not repair it yourself?

[video=youtube;dE81IaQHEHc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE81IaQHEHc]‪Motorola Droid A855 Take Apart & Repair Directions by DirectFix.com‬‏ - YouTube[/video]

 

[christim]

Interesting first post. Welcome to DroidForums.

The original poster of this thread, Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum - View Profile: bhawks , has not logged on since Jan 15th of this year and you are responding to a post that is over 6 months old. It is highly likely this issue isn't so important to him anymore and he's moved on. Good link for anyone interested in knowing if they can repair their phone themselves.

 

[MFGuilbault]

Thanks

Thanks. I'm having a similar problem with my first gen. Droid and this post popped up on my Google search. Thought it might be helpful to some. I have no affiliation with the makers of the video or the products they sell.