Motorola W385 Troubleshooting

The phone will not start up when prompted.

Make sure the battery has a good connection to the phone by cleaning any debris on the leads. If the battery is in correctly and the phone still does not turn on, connect the phone to the battery charger and connect it to a power source. Leave it on the charger for 12 hours. If the phone still will not turn on after this, repeat the above steps with a different charger. If the phone responds on the new charger, it is the original charger that is the problem. If the battery holds no charge, then a new battery is needed.

Remove the battery and check a small round sticker on the bottom corner. If it is not white, then your phone has water damage. Usually the color that signifies water damage is red. If there is water damage, do not attempt to turn on the phone. Take apart the phone and let everything dry out (this can be done by using a hair dryer or letting the components sit in the sun for several days). Clean the logic board with any ammonia based product (Windex works great). Dry the board out again. After being certain everything is dry, put the phone back together.

The phone may either have intermittent static or no sound at all

Check that the phone is not muted during the call. The phone may not be getting good reception causing static and/or no sound. Make sure the phone has a solid connection to the network.

The connection from the speaker to the logic board may have come loose. Take apart the phone and check that the connection between the speaker cable and the logic board is secure. If the fore mentioned solutions do not work and the phone speaker is still not functioning correctly, the phone's speaker will need to be replaced.

The phone freezes, or loses information unexpectedly

Your firmware might be corrupted or need updating. If the phone fails to perform any basic tasks, contact your carrier or device manufacturer to make sure that you have the most recent firmware installed.

The phone doesn't allow you to receive or make any calls

Make sure that the phone has reception with the carrier before trying to use the network. If there is no service the phone has to be activated through Verizon Wireless. Dial *228 and follow the instructions of the automated voice machine to activate the phone.