Phone dies when taking pictures with Flash

[paulshwang]

I know there is another topic about this, but VZ doesn't seem to be replying to that thread anymore.

I am getting the same problem that many others are reporting where the phone dies while taking pictures with the Flash on.

I checked the SD card that came with the phone and it came with the class 4.

This seems to be a huge design flaw. Others are reporting the same issue on other forums.

[JoeNe]

What was your battery percentage when it happened?  I have also seen posts that it happens when the battery is lower than 40%.  I tried, but couldn't duplicate it last night, however it has happened to me before.

[paulshwang]

It was at 70% on the samsung extended battery.

Try turning on flash and covering up the camera and just rapidly take pictures. I just did that and on my 10th picture it froze.

[Loveshackle]

Girlfriend & I both have new Charges & are having same clearly discussed issues from other thread. Due to reading done there, will try a new battery. Definitely occurs more frequently under low battery conditions & surely seems to be factor of flash drawing more battery than is available. Will report back. Suspect Samsung will provide an OTA fix/update eventually.

[bluevolume]

Here's the dirt.  I'll post in the other threads once I've had a few days of testing.

It is the BATTERY.  I have gone through extensive testing of devices, SIM cards, SD cards, software, etc.  Finally, I was able to swap with a known-good battery and the problem went away.  And my old battery was then put in a known-good Charge and it began having the flash-crash problem.

After I have had a few days to make sure my Charge is stable, I'll post more on this.  But I am 90% sure the battery is the problem.  I am an engineer, with experience in device testing, and what I'm saying is the real deal.

[fiorucci]

Hi,

What ended up being the solution for this? Will Verizon provide a new battery?  My 2 month old Droid Charge dies everytime I try to take a picture with the flash.  It's terrible!  And it takes several tries of the on button (like 5-8 presses) to try to get it back on.  It's the original battery that came with the phone and it's really a bummer.  Not only will it not take the picture, but then I have to pry open my case to get out the phone (really difficult) and then take out the battery to try and get it to turn on again.

Help!

[JerryF]

fiorucci,

You asked if Verizon would give you a new battery.  Go buy a new battery yourself.  Why would you punish yourself while waiting for Verizon to give you a new battery?  Then come back and tell us the results when using the new battery.

Do NOT immediately use any new battery in the phone.  First, charge it overnight (8-10 hours) BEFORE using any new battery in a phone.

JerryF

[fiorucci]

Thanks for the reply.  But the question is - Is it really the battery?  Or something else?  My phone is 2 months old.  I just tried to take a flash again, after yesterday and it died...AGAIN.  Is this something else in my phone.  Again - my battery is fully charged or 75% charged when I try to take a picture with flash.  

[JerryF]

Florucci,

Your battery at 75% charge might be meaningless IF the battery cannot put out enough AMPS.  That's why my test keeps the charger plugged to help on the amperage output.  The 75% is calculated using the batteries voltage level.

Just try it.  Who knows, it may not stop the lock ups but at least you tried.

Let us know.

JerryF

[fiorucci]

JerryF,

Thanks so much -  will do the test you suggested in the other post on this- and let you know.  As mentioned, there are 3 DROID Charges in my family, so it's important to me to find a solution to this.

Thanks so much for your help.  I will let you all know.

Fiorucci