XZP not turning on - Sony screen flashing

[AegriSomnia]

Hi all, I have a Sony XZP for about 4 years now and has worked fine for the most part.

Today I was using it as normal and got the warning for the battery level dropping to 15% so I plugged the charger into the phone, and as soon as I did the screen went black and the charging light didn't come on.

The white Sony screen appeared like the phone was restarting, but turned off again after about 5 seconds, and kept flashing on and off after that.

I disconnected the charger and held down the power button - got the faint vibration that usually signifies it's turning on; again Sony screen flashed on and off. After a couple of attempts (holding power button, power + volume up etc.) it stopped turning on at all.

I reconnected the charger and there was a faint flicker of the green charge light, but again all I got was the repeating Sony screen.

I'm still using the original charger cable that came with the phone - there was an issue with about a year ago where the charger cable kept popping out, I thought it might have been an issue with the port itself or the cable but all it was was compacted dust etc. in the port and once I cleaned that out it slotted in nicely and hasn't given any issues since.

Hopefully someone has some suggestions, thanks!

[EMS_MO72]

Hi there, sorry to hear about your issue.

Try to remove the SIM card and SD card if you have any, and enable your device on safe mode by pressing and holding on the volume down button once you see the Sony logo in the restart loop, and check if it will power on properly or not.

[AegriSomnia]

Hi, thanks for the reply and the suggestion:

I've removed both the SIM & SD but it didn't have any effect on what's happening. Similarly, holding the volume down key during the Sony screen had no effect.

In the meantime I've tried both a new cable and USB plug (the latter being the one off my old Xperia Z2) to see if either of those were at fault but again no difference. There was a bit more of a solid "click" with the new cable but it didn't change anything. However the phone behaves differently depending on where I plug it in:

When I plug it into an electrical outlet I get a faint flicker of the green power indicator, the slight vibration that usually happens when I turn the phone on, and then the Sony screen appears for approximately 4 seconds before going black. After about 7 seconds of a black screen the cycle repeats.

However, when I connect it to a computer or laptop it's slightly different; I get a solid, bright red power indicator light (the type that would appear when the phone is charging) and the Sony screen appears immediately but goes off slightly quicker at 3 seconds, along with the red light. After the red light goes off I again get the same faint green flicker from the power light followed by a solid red flash, another green flicker and then the solid red light along with the Sony screen again, and the cycle repeats. Also, the computer doesn't seem to detect the phone as there is no sound/icon like when a USB item is attached.

[Strampke]

The ultimate attempt to set things right is a software repair with Xperia Companion.

If that fails, hardware problems are the cause.

Here is a link to the manuals where you can find Xperia Companion as well.

BTW What about a broken connection inside the phone from the USB power connector?

[AegriSomnia]

Thanks for the reply - I had Xperia Companion installed from before, but it no longer detects my phone when it's connected to the PC

Although what's happening now is slightly different to yesterday - now, instead of the light flickering and the Sony screen flashing on and off, when I connect the charging cable to the phone I now get the solid red light that would usually indicate the device is charging, and also the large battery icon appears with 1 red bar in it. The light stays on for as long as I leave it connected and any time I press the power button the battery icon appears but nothing other than that happens.

[Strampke]

Not recognising in Xperia Companion means tick 'device is not recognized or is a smartwatch'.

[EMS_MO72]

Yes exactly, as long as the device was not detected by the Xperia Companion, you have to tick the option " my device is not detected or a smartwatch.

Check this video for the instructions: software repair

[AegriSomnia]

I tried that - followed the instructions about holding the volume button before connecting the phone and continuing to hold it after but it still never detected it.

I decided to try and change the charging port & the battery myself - changed the port first but that had no effect; still the empty battery icon when I connected the charger.

Changed the battery after that, but all that did was bring the phone back to how it was when it initially stopped functioning - the Sony screen flashing repeatedly, no charging etc.

Not sure what else I can do at this stage, it's very annoying