Phone died after attempted software update, will not turn back on - what happens to the stored contacts?

[#1]

Hi, I don't know if this has been asked already, but I have a huge problem.

I connected my X10 to my computer two days ago and was prompted to perform a software update which I chose to do believing it would get rid of some ongoing issues I've been having with the phone

The computer found the phone ok, then PC companion prompted me to disconnect the phone from the USB cable, making sure the battery was at least 50% full (it was), switch off the phone and wait at least 5 seconds (waited 30), then plug it back into the USB while pressing and holding the "Back" key.

All of this I did according to instructions, and the information on the screen said it was downloading the update, but broke down and stated that an unexpected error occured during installation. I was prompted to try again, which I did, same thing happened.

At this point the phone just shut down and point blank refuses to turn back on. I tried removing the battery and putting it back in, nothing, I also tried to charge it thinking maybe it was drained during the attempted update (power surge?) and again, nothing.

When I try to switch it back on while it is not connected to a charger or the computer the light flashes red three times. When I connect it to the computer it turns green for a few seconds then goes off again. Currently it's flashing red every few seconds, but will still not switch on.

My biggest problem is - if I take it in to be serviced, will they be able to retrieve my contacts from the phone memory? A backup was done but I no longer have access to this either as I had to reinstall my computer system and this data disappeared (i have a bunch of empty SE folders on my backup disk)

I'm in Croatia and support here are very, very fond of flashing the software as the easiest way out and swearing blind there is nothing they can do to keep the data - if nothing else I'd appreciate feedback from anyone else who has experienced this problem and got their phone back with contacts intact so I can argue more coherently when I take it in to the store tomorrow

I honestly don't care about any of the other data than my contacts, the rest is replaceable, but I have no way of contacting a lot of the people to get their numbers again.

Help please?

[suze]

Did you save your contacts to your SD card using the phone before the update, or did you use either SE sync or Google Sync cos they should still be up in the 'cloud' waiting for you to sync them back once your phone is repaired.

If not and they perform a reset then they are gone I am afraid, unless they have special software that allows them access to the phone memory before they do anything with it.

[#3]

This also happened to me, but unlike you, i chose to do a repair.

I had the same problen not being able to turn it on, the flashing light, etc. but found an answer to it in this forum. it's been working for me since.

- Leave SIM card inside.

- Connect to your computer (with pc companion installed).

- At this point nothing happens.

- Press and hold back and on buttons a few seconds (green light turns on and pc companion says "buscando telefono.." ("looking your phone..").

- After a few seconds, phone must restart and now it will work again.

is it also difficult to turn on your device in general? coz it is for me.

if you didn't update you shouldn't lose your contacts. Hope this works.

I didnt realize this phone would be so difficult to deal with!

[aajarandilla]

I had exactly the same problem, but I don't mind loosing my contacts. I dont want to loose my phone for ever!!! Please help!!!

[Dannyboy1]

Hey guys, this thread is a wee bit old, but I had the same problem - phone pretty much died while tried to update software.

I have a Sony Xperia SL, and was asked to update the software through the computer (it wouldn't let me update it straight from the phone).

Anyways, I was asked to unplug my phone, then turn it off, then wait a few secs and then plug it again to the USB cable, while pressing the Volume Down button.

At that point the green light turned off and I couldn't turn my cell phone back on again.

The solution was to press the volume up AND the power button together for a while. At some point the green light turned back on again, and the computer started updating the phone.

Needless to say, the whole time I was pressing those buttons, the phone was connected to the comp with the USB cable.

I followed what Sony PC Companion kept saying in order to finish the software update, and now my update is done, and my phone is functioning normally again.

Hope this helps somebody in the future.

Dan