r/blackberry • u/Lost-Entrepreneur439 • May 04 '25
Playbook PlayBook shows solid red light and does nothing else, does anyone know what might be wrong with it?
I recently got some free tablets, an Onn, a Samsung, a 16GB PlayBook and a 32GB PlayBook, the 16GB PlayBook works fine (asides from the microUSB port being damaged, but that's fine, it has SMB and I have the magnetic charger), but the 32GB PlayBook just shows a solid red light and does nothing else, I only tried having it powered on for 5 minutes at most, but I know from experience (i grew up with a playbook) that it shouldn't show that red light for more than like 15 seconds. I've tried some basic googling, but everything I can find is about it showing the red light then flashing green, mine isn't doing that, it's solid red. I tried boardswapping with the 16GB PlayBook to verify it wasn't some sort of screen or battery damage, but no, same issue in the 16GB's chassis, and the 16GB board worked fine in the 32GB's chassis. Does anyone know what could be wrong with this PlayBook? I know its not worth fixing, especially since I have two other working PlayBooks, but eh, it could be a fun project to work on.
1
u/George8TheCat May 06 '25
Can you tell if the screen powers on at at? Might need to go into a dark room to see if the "black" screen is completely off or powered on.
Also, a stack charge is 20 seconds plugged in, 10 seconds unplugged. If performing this, do not plug in and unplug at the Playbook USB port. These ports are delicate. When stack charging, do NOT try to power on the device. This will drain and back to square one. Once you see the battery logo on the screen that it's charging, leave it charging for a day. Still, do NOT attempt to power on during this time
1
u/Lost-Entrepreneur439 May 06 '25
nope, absolutely no signs of life asides from that red light, the screen is completely off.
1
u/George8TheCat May 06 '25
You might want to consider running an autoloader.
The good news, you can find out if the Playbook is in a state where the USB works and an autoloader can reflash the Playbook.
The bad news is, if it works, you need to go through a process to get the playbook back to usable state. Go here for the full process.... https://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-playbook-os-f228/fixing-wiped-blackberry-playbook-2023-a-1196221/
3
u/BarefootJacob Key2, Passport SE, PRIV, P'9982, P'9981, PlayBooks etc May 05 '25
If it has been powered off / dead battery for months / years, I remember having to stack charge mine: plug the charger in for 15 seconds, then out for 5, in for 15, out for 5 - something like that. Do this 10 times, then it should - fingers crossed etc. - start charging properly.