Can old mobile phones be revived?

schiff

I have two rather ancient (by today's standards anyway) mobile phones.
A Motorola B320 and a Siemens S25. I have found them useful in the past as a standby if my current (more up to date) phone's battery has run down and an emergency applies.

Now I can't get a squeak out of either of them; they won't charge and the screens won't light up whatever I do. I don't have the experience to know what the fault is but it may be battery problems(?).

The question - what are the possible scenarios to 'bring them back to life' and what cost could be involved. I suspect they just need giving to charity (I believe they can realise something for them) but thought it worth asking just in case it's economically viable. I'm not too bothered about the Motorola to be honest but the Siemens is (still) a really nice phone (providing you don't need/want all the bells and whistles).

james123

it is probably the batteries, how long have u tried charging them for?? You will need to leave them on for some time just to get them to start to charge, if this doesnt work you'll have to get new batteries for them, had a quick google and found the s25 battery for £10 but you will probably find them cheaper if you look a bit harder

http://www.solware.co.uk/mobile-phone-batteries/siemens-s25-battery.shtml


HTH



Jim

chrisw

If the batteries have been left flat it's probably them. Try ebay for a new battery.

drahcir_2

you maybe able to kickstart the battery by connecting battery terminals to a regulated power supply (dc)
set it to the battery voltage and leave it for 30mins then put in phone and try to charge.
sometimes the phones s/w charging circuit wont allow the phone to charge a completely flat battery

billy_the_kid_2

Most of mobilefun's batteries for older phones seem to be about £10. About half the price of a budget phone.

schiff

Thanks everyone for all your help. I have sorted it out perfectly thanks to you!

Replacement batteries are really very reasonably priced but I tried james123's suggestion first before ordering. I had previously been put off because when I set the phone to charge, there was no sign of life (with a phone in daily use of course there is). Today I set it to charge with the screen showing no signs of life at all.

In due course when I looked again there was a lit screen and a bit later the sign that it was fully charged up. So thanks Jim!

I have a Motorola RAZR V3 tied to T-Mobile, a Nokia 6610i tied to a French provider and my faithful old Siemens S25. Checked this evening and they are all interchangeable (except that my French SIMcard won't work in my T-Mobile phone, which actually isn't so important).

So I'm in a great position and haven't had to buy a new battery (not that they are terribly expensive). Thanks again everybody.