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Repair guides and disassembly information for Google's Pixel 4 XL smartphone, released in October of 2019.

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Restoring photos from a completely unresponsive Pixel 4 XL?

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is a dumb question but is it possible to restore photos from a completely unresponsive Pixel 4 XL? My Pixel 4 XL just died 6 months after I received it from Google as a replacement unit (refurbished).
Now I can no longer switch it on at all. I tried holding the power and volume down buttons and even replacing the battery but no luck.
What's worse is that I cannot even see the phone in the Device Manager when I connect it to my PC. :'(

Unfortunately I made a rookie mistake by not turning on the backup on the phone so I can't see any photos saved in my Google Photos account.

Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

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Hi @australia38585

If your photos are already backed up to Google photos you should be able to access them using a computer, by going to Google photos and signing in.

If they're not and they are only stored in the phone, the phone would have to be in a working condition to access them.

Since it is unresponsive and I presume not even indicating that it is charging when a charger is connected it may be something as simple as a faulty charge port board. A faulty board would prevent the phone from working when a charger was connected as there would be no power available to either operate the phone or to charge the battery, which would have become depleted. It would also prevent communications with a computer.

Of course it could be something else as well. In any case the phone would have to be opened and tested as to what it may be.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any schematics of the phone available online (or none that I could find anyway) so you may have to contact a reputable, professional repair service who knows Pixel phones and ask them.

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Hi @jayeff,

Thanks heaps for the prompt reply.

Unfortunately my photos didn't get backed up to Google Photos.

The phone shut down suddenly on a Wednesday afternoon, with battery of roughly 40% left in the tank. I can no longer switch it back on so I suspect it's a fried motherboard rather than a dead charging port?

I am wondering if I can get my photos back by simply replacing the motherboard? This may sound stupid but somehow I can unsolder my memory/storage and solder it to the new motherboard?

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@australia38585

Just because it had 40% left doesn't mean that the battery couldn't have just failed.

I don't know about Pixels but in some other makes the charge port board does more than just connect the charger to the motherboard and also to charge the battery. It checks the battery voltage and if below a certain threshold it won't allow it to"charge" as there's no point anyway and also it won't supply power to the mainboard

Don't know how easy it would be to remove/replace the nand memory if the problem is on the motherboard, but personally I would try to get it fixed first before trying something like that.

Looking online it seems that replacement boards aren't really that cheap

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Hi @jayeff.

Many thanks again for the comment. I will definitely check again if it were the charging port. Also following what Jerry W suggested below, I've just posted a new question searching for an expert to repair my board.

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Hi Australia,

Replacing the battery was the right first step; you've eliminated that as the source of the problem by doing so.

Ordinarily I might suspect the charging port, but two things are saying no, that's not it. The fact that it shut down with 40% charge left on the battery tells me it's not the amount of charge left in that battery that was the problem, but it could have been the Battery Management System, the little board mounted on the battery that holds the temperature sensor and charge indicator. However, replacing the battery should have eliminated that as a possibility.

Also, replacement batteries are usually sent out with some charge in them, so plugging in the new battery should have given it enough power to at least turn on. So no, it's not the battery, as you've already concluded, and probably not the charging port either as we just discussed.

You can double-check that it's not the charging port by setting the phone down on a wireless charger. The wireless charging uses a different circuit and different motherboard connector, so it should still work even if there's a problem with the USB port. I don't really expect that you're going to find any difference, but might be worth a few bucks to find out.

So, as you've surmised, what we'd be left with is a logic board problem. It would probably be more straight-forward to get the existing motherboard fixed rather than try to swap memory chips with another motherboard. Newer phones are encrypting the memory chips and tying them to the CPU so that if you move them to another board you won't be able to read the data. I don't know for sure if they're doing that with your phone, but it is a growing trend and a distinct possibility.

I'd say your best chance is to try and find a repair shop that's experienced with board-level repairs on Pixels. That's going to depend a lot on where you're located.

Good luck; let us know what happens.

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Hi Jerry W,

Many thanks for your insightful and detailed diagnosis.

The tip on checking the phone with a wireless charging is a great tip! I will get myself a wireless charger and report back.

Re the logic board, please correct me if I'm wrong. The memory chips are soldered on the logic board. So if we were to replace the board then it basically means that I will never ever be able to get my photos back, correct? :'(

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@australia38585 Yes, if you replace the logic board without moving the memory chips to the new board, you will have lost your pictures for good. If the existing board can be repaired, that's what I would try first before attempting to move the memory chips, which may or may not work.

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Hi Jerry W,

Correct my local authorised Google repair store confirms that my data would be lost if the mainboard on the device is faulty. Therefore there is no option to back up my data to migrate it into a new phone. :'(

I will ask if they can attempt repairing just the logic board first.

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@australia38585 Good call, Australia. If they can't or won't repair the board, there are a lot of experts on this site who either do that sort of work or may be able to suggest someone who can.

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@Jerry W, the repair shop said "if the logic board or the mainboard is faulty, unfortunately the data would be lost.".

Do you know which section of the website I should post to get in touch with the experts? The only problem is that I'm located in Australia.

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Sorry for the delayed reply. Restoring photos from a completely unresponsive Pixel 4 XL can be a challenging task, but there are several steps you can try to recover your photos. Here's a guide to help you:

Check for Physical Damage:

Make sure that the unresponsiveness is not due to physical damage, such as a broken screen or water damage. If the screen is damaged, you may need to get it repaired before proceeding with data recovery.

Use a USB OTG Adapter:

If the phone is unresponsive but still powers on, you can try using a USB On-The-Go (OTG) adapter to connect a USB mouse to your Pixel 4 XL. This may allow you to control the phone and access your data, including photos. Once you have control, you can transfer your photos to an external USB drive or another device.

Seek Professional Help:

If the above methods don't work, and your Pixel 4 XL remains unresponsive, you may need to seek professional help from a smartphone repair shop or data recovery specialist. They may be able to recover your photos, but it can be a costly option.

Hope this will help.

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Australia will be eternally grateful.
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