Hardware Black screen after power on

[RitchieRitchie]

The vita was dropped by my son and now it only shows the blue light when switched on - black screen. I can power it on and off. I can't get into the reset menu - I've held the off button for longer than 5mins at a time and nothing! There isn't any sound coming from the vita, just the blue light. I'm assuming it's dead but just in case anyone can help that would be awesome!

 

[xy2_]

This can mean three things:

The Vita is glitched
1. Wait for battery to run out (this will take several days, due to the Vita's ridiculous battery life.)
2. Unsrcew the backplate, pull out the battery and put it in again.

The Vita is softbricked
Access the recovery menu. The correct way to access it is PS + R (shoulder button) + Power for five seconds.

The Vita is bricked/broken
No way to recover from this, sorry.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

This can mean three things:

The Vita is glitched
1. Wait for battery to run out (this will take several days, due to the Vita's ridiculous battery life.)
2. Unsrcew the backplate, pull out the battery and put it in again.

The Vita is softbricked
Access the recovery menu. The correct way to access it is PS + R (shoulder button) + Power for five seconds, not simply holding Power.

The Vita is bricked/broken
No way to recover from this, sorry.

Thanks for replying to me. Is it a difficult job to take the battery out and put back in again - I'm not very technical!

To access the recovery menu, is that from when it is off?

cheers!

 

[xy2_]

https://fr.ifixit.com/Teardown/PlayStation+Vita+Teardown/7872 up to step 8, then simply take out the battery.

Recovery menu has to be accessed when it's off.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

https://fr.ifixit.com/Teardown/PlayStation+Vita+Teardown/7872 up to step 8, then simply take out the battery.

Recovery menu has to be accessed when it's off.

Hi, I've ordered a screwdriver to open up the vita and take out the battery - before I do it though, have you any idea how common this problem is? Is it worth trying it?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply to me.

 

[xy2_]

Hi, I've ordered a screwdriver to open up the vita and take out the battery - before I do it though, have you any idea how common this problem is? Is it worth trying it?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply to me.

Given your current case (only blue led going on) I would say that this is the most likely approach. If this doens't work, the Vita is bricked: no way around it (since no hardware mods are possible currently) although you could sell it somewhere like eBay, or use your warranty if you have one.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

Given your current case (only blue led going on) I would say that this is the most likely approach. If this doens't work, the Vita is bricked: no way around it (since no hardware mods are possible currently) although you could sell it somewhere like eBay, or use your warranty if you have one.

Thanks for that. When I open the vita do I just remove the battery (I assume it's attached somehow) and then plug it back in? Should I wait a few minutes?

Cheers!

 

[xy2_]

Simply remove then put it back in; you don't need to wait. Also try to do so when the Vita is 'powered on'.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

Simply remove then put it back in; you don't need to wait. Also try to do so when the Vita is 'powered on'.

Okay... sorry but I thought I was supposed to let the battery run flat before I remove it? At the moment it's just sitting with the blue light on and I'm waiting for the charge to run out as you said in your first post.

 

[xy2_]

No, you can either let it run flat or remove it; this will stimulate the same thing. This is a little unclear as I marked them 1 and 2, but they are different options.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

No, you can either let it run flat or remove it; this will stimulate the same thing. This is a little unclear as I marked them 1 and 2, but they are different options.

Ah I see! So if I let the battery run out completely it will have the same effect as removing it! So once it has completely run out do i charge it (partially or completely?) and just switch it on normally? Or should I try to go into safe mode?

Really appreciate this advice!

 

[RitchieRitchie]

This can mean three things:

The Vita is glitched
1. Wait for battery to run out (this will take several days, due to the Vita's ridiculous battery life.)
2. Unsrcew the backplate, pull out the battery and put it in again.

The Vita is softbricked
Access the recovery menu. The correct way to access it is PS + R (shoulder button) + Power for five seconds.

The Vita is bricked/broken
No way to recover from this, sorry.

The blue light went off and I tried powering it on - nothing happened. I then put the charger in - the orange light began to flash and I couldn't power it on - a couple of minutes later the orange light stopped flashing and I was able to power on - same as before, black screen! Do you think it had completely drained the battery (i'd left it on for less than a day since a full charge) and should have left it longer or do you reckon it's completely broken?

Apologies for all these questions as I'm sure you must be sick of them!

 

[xy2_]

No chance the battery is drained. The vita needs a minimum amount of battery to be powered on (around 10%) so it won't power off suddently.

With this I think the Vita is dead/bricked, if safe mode doens't work at all and the screen doens't light on. If you can hear sounds from the Vita (try booting it normally then peel off (guess where the peel is with the non powered screen) to go to livearea) then it might just be the screen that's broken, but that's a risky gamble.

If you do manage to hear sounds, screen repairs are easy to do even for a non-savvy user, but if something else is fucked it might just be a waste of money.

 

[Razor83]

Sound more like the screen is damaged to me, I would try would xy2_ suggested to see if you can hear the menu sounds.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

I can't hear any menu sounds or anything else... I'm just trying to work out the best way to be sure that battery is completely drained. For example, after the flashing orange light had become constant I was able to switch it 'on' (blue light/black screen) and pulled the charger out. The blue light stayed on for a quite a few minutes and then went out - but when i pressed the ps button the blue light came back on so my question is... even if the blue light goes out does that mean it is in sleep mode and draining the battery slowly? And if it is, should I just wait a few days as you suggested in your first post before trying to switch it back on?

 

[Razor83]

Yes thats just sleep mode.

Did you try to unlock the menu? Tap the power button as you normally would to turn the system on (Blue light comes on) then swipe your finger across the screen from the top right corner down towards the bottom left corner. Make sure the volume is up, then If you hear the sceen unlock sound effect or the menu music the screen is broken.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

Yes thats just sleep mode.

Did you try to unlock the menu? Make sure the volume is up, then tap the power button as you normally would to turn the system on (Blue light comes on) then swipe your finger across the screen from the top right corner down towards the bottom left corner. If you hear the sceen unlock sound effect or the menu music then the screen is broken.

Yeah, tried that and no noise at all - do you think I should just leave it as it is without touching it for a few days to make sure the battery is dead?

 

[xy2_]

Maybe the touchscreen itself doens't work anymore. Boot up the Vita, then hold Power for about 3 seconds (to bring up the drop down menu) then press X twice. If your hear sound upon the second X press, the Vita is not bricked.

 

[Razor83]

Yeah, tried that and no noise at all - do you think I should just leave it as it is without touching it for a few days to make sure the battery is dead?

You have nothing to lose so may as well try it. It will probably take more than a few days to completely drain the battery though.

 

[RitchieRitchie]

No sound (or menu either). I'll leave the vita like this for a few days and give it one last try and then see if anyone wants to buy it for spare parts on ebay. Thanks again for all your help, Vivre la France! (my wife is French even though I'm a wee ugly Scottish guy)

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You have nothing to lose so may as well try it. It will probably take more than a few days to completely drain the battery though.

Will give it a go - cheers!

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You have nothing to lose so may as well try it. It will probably take more than a few days to completely drain the battery though.

Actually, is there a way to tell that it is completely drained?