[Howto] Fix "Battery Low - Cannot program"

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crazyVII

Senior Member
Jul 16, 2008
300
18
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=926012

Works for me.

Charge only the battery with USB-cable.

I think it`s saver because you can only kill your battery.

im on it right now. i think the same ... may blow up / kill your battery, but not your entire phone. under the condition that the phone just needs power^^ ;)

plug it in another room... nobody knows, but battery acid, i think is not quite what anyone wants on his /her skin ;)) good luck guys
plan: plugged for 30mins :) hope this works :)
edit: plugged for 45 minutes... in my case, sry - didnt work, rsdlite wont recognize now either... ://(
 
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PaY87

Senior Member
Nov 25, 2006
958
234
Thanks for this tip. I ran out of battery after flashing so many times the defy today! :D

Was it right to connect one micro sd cable to the phone and usb port and the mcgiver cable to another usb port at the same time?
Hopefully this was not a bad thing for my battery :D

Damn I got 50% in just a few seconds :D

/edit
Also the battery % dropped again in seconds to five, but hey I was able to flash my defy again :D
Now I will let it charge over night and finish the update tomorrow.. :)
 
Last edited:

crazyVII

Senior Member
Jul 16, 2008
300
18
some more screens

i think this is a "secure way to do this" .. was my way, didnt rescue my defy, but
VOL UP key before BATTERY IN ... may have... maybe this helps someone :)
charged first, flashed later
 

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kashavsehra

Member
Dec 15, 2010
49
3
Birmingham
Maybe there is a way to make a combination charging and USB data lead. I would guess that you can use a standard data lead and add a resistor to the ID pin of the USB plug to make it look like a charger. Does anybody here know the configuration of the mains charger, i.e. what resistance there is between the charger ID pin and GND/5V pins? I tried to google this but find nothing useful. I knwo that the standard motorola USB charger has 440k (google for "Motorola EMU EZX"), I suspect it may be the same for the micro USB charger.
 

kashavsehra

Member
Dec 15, 2010
49
3
Birmingham
Just doing some further reading up on this, take a look at the following webpage (in a different language however)

h t t p ://w w w . faq4mobiles.de/forum/motorola-forum/32137-motorola-ueber-die-usb-schnittstelle-laden-so-gehts.html

The interesting statement is in section "3.2.1 Power"

... A Factory Mode can be entered by applying VBUS voltage to the USB_ID pin. The purpose of Factory Mode is to allow power-up to occur without a battery...

The document is for the Razr, but if they use similar protocols then this might also be valid on the defy...
 

snooze16v

New member
Dec 16, 2010
1
0
São Gonçalo
thank you!!!!

I try update for 2.2 CN and dont turn on my Defy!!! i a stupid and try flash defy with 50% of batery and die. But before i charge with method and "IS A LIVE!!!"

Thank you man!!! nice work!!!!:)
 

unrafa

Senior Member
Dec 17, 2008
370
72
Galicia
LineageOS
I did it; But i readed somewhere Red cable to - and Black cable to +; it Blew my Laptop's lesft 2 USB connections internally. Then i did the same with Black to - and Red to +; with my remaining laptos's (right side; 2 usb ports) ..

It worked! im just glad after 1 week, i see my phone is in perfect state, and that mistake only took out 2 usb ports but i still have other 2, its a little inconvinient to have the mouse connected to the right side of the laptop.. anyway.. be carefull
 

pstantonphone

New member
Jan 12, 2011
3
0
does this mean the battery-question mark problem is software and not hardware?

my phone started doing this just after a normal reset (i haven't tried to mod/flash the phone) .. is this a potential solution for my problem?

thanks.
 

Ericmelonzon

New member
Jan 29, 2011
3
0
OK I'm new at this and i just want to make sure this is going to work even though i don't have any other options.

So my phone ran out of battery when i was flashing the UK firmware and now nothing happens when i try to turn it on. I tried charging it but only the white led turns on when plugged in to a computer.

Will this get my phone charged enough so i can get it to programing mode?
 

pritesh_100_in

Senior Member
Aug 17, 2009
56
3
Mumbai
Guyss tht too Dangerous to do never think of doing doing like tht i got a ultimate solution to that charge a battery i dont know that is it called probably a battery holder and charger i post the pic in a while
 

viper.

Senior Member
Feb 10, 2010
364
76
USA
LG V30
Sony Xperia 5 IV
Last edited:

perdar

New member
Mar 12, 2011
1
0
Wow... this stopped me from acquiring a small black motorola branded paperweight.
Thanks!
 

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    Disclaimer: This worked for me, your mileage may vary. You might end up ruining your phone and even hurting yourself in the process. Do this on your own risk, I cannot be held responsible for whatever illness, fires, explosions or biblical plagues that may or may not befall you after following these steps. You have been warned.

    Props to these guys for leading the way: http://modmymobile.com/forums/8-gui...w-flash-phone-battery-low-cannot-program.html

    Well this was scary... I installed the System Recovery app last night but after clicking "recovery boot" I just got the Motorola "M" logo and nothing else. Booting into recovery, I got the message "Battery low - Cannot program". Odd... there was about 80% charge left when I rebooted. Ah well, I let it sit in the charger overnight. This morning: "Battery low - Cannot program". Not good. After some googling I found out that I had two options:
    1) Send it in for repair, claim that it just suddenly stopped booting. Cross my fingers they don't fix it and see it being rooted, running a custom rom with JIT, deodex, overclocking, undervolting and just about every single hack available for the Defy.

    2) Go McGyver. This is what I did:

    Get a USB cable, cut the off the B plug (the one that plugs into the device) and strip away the shielding, revealing the 4 individual wires inside: White, Green, Red and Black. Red is +5V DC and Black is ground. strip a few (1-2) mm's off each and gently push them into the + and - slots on the battery. Apply some tape to keep them in place, but don't cover the other connectors. Now plug the battery back in, a tight fit, but possible if you've peeled back the shielding and the white and green wires so that only Black and Red are actually being crammed in there with the battery.

    mcgyver.JPG


    Be VERY careful that the wires are ONLY touching their appropriate terminals. Otherwise you might fry your phone and/or make your battery explode. Red goes to the + terminal, Black goes to the - terminal

    Plug the business end of the newly modded usb cable into your computer, thus allowing 5V DC to flow directly to your phone and battery. This is basically like jump leads for a car, but 5V and for a phone :)

    Get the bootloader going (Volume up + power on) and you should now see a message along the lines of "ready to program, connect USB data cable". This is where you connect your phone to the micro USB cable you have lying around (Please tell me you didn't just kill that cable to make your USB jump leads) and connect the other end to your computer. Using RSD Lite, you should now be able to flash an SBF to the phone, and be on your merry way soon hereafter.
    4
    This is the safer way to charge just a battery.. you dont need to cut any wires anymore. USB battery charger for Defy http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BF5X-Battery-...289712?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item4157863df0 or just a charger for 3.99$ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Motorola-Defy...307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63866163
    Motorola_MB525_MB520_DEFY_Battery______.jpg

    Motorola_BF5X_Defy_15.jpg

    I have used the similar charger for xperia x1 and it really works good ! :)
    3
    It still makes me smile when a new users posts that this has helped him/her save a phone :)

    Edit: Don't y'all be afraid to click that "Thanks" button in the OP ;)
    3
    some more screens

    i think this is a "secure way to do this" .. was my way, didnt rescue my defy, but
    VOL UP key before BATTERY IN ... may have... maybe this helps someone :)
    charged first, flashed later
    2
    OK, I did the same... Ran out of battery in the middle of the flash... System does not boot up, does not charge, does not leave bootloader because of corrupt flash...

    Good thing I have a lab power supply (regulated, stabilized voltage from 3-30V) on my desk (don't ask ;)) and some nice clips to connect the power.

    Some notes:
    • 3V is enough to flash. (Battery was down to 2.5V, which is not enough)
    • 5V (USB) might be a bit much (battery has 3.7V rating) - so don't leave it connected for too long...
    • Please don't connect the battery to this setup. Unregulated charging of Li-Ion/Li-Pol battery might result in fires!

    Well, system restored, charging again! HAPPY!