How to troubleshoot Nexus 5 or 5X that won’t turn on Before Replacing

Nexus 5/5x won’t turn on even the battery is fully charged and the phone connected to the power outlet. Find the best troubleshoot checklist to fix the dead LG Nexus 5/5x. There are several threads and forums asking the solution for Nexus 5/5x power problem. Check a troubleshooting guide to fix a Nexus 5/5x which refuses to turn on, before you rush to the repair store.

Google nexus 5 and Nexus 5x Won't turn on
Google Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x

So, everything is going smooth in life and all of a sudden your LG nexus 5 stop responding. Things get worst when you find that you are unable to turn your Nexus on. Well before you consider to throw your Nexus 5 or 5X away. It’s always a better idea to apply some methods to fix the dead Nexus 5 android Smartphone.

But, before we jump to the solutions and troubleshoots, here I have collected a series of problems people are asking about Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x on the internet around.

Situation 1:

my Nexus 5 shut down while the phone was in use. I was able to reboot and it powered back up and operated normally for about an hour then shut down again. Since then it would not come back on or could not get tt to recovery mode.

I took it to a phone repair center. They thought it was the battery but at the time it last shut own was about 71% charged. New battery ordered and replaced but that was not the problem. So here I am needing a phone and not sure what to do next

Situation 2:

My Nexus 5X will not start after freezing with a low battery (about 14%). I plugged it in to charge it, but it still will not start. I can boot into recovery mode and have done a factory reset, but still only gets to the white “GOOGLE” text and then shuts off. Just after the reset, it got to the swirling colour orbs but then shut off. What’s the next step? No battery issues before this.

How to troubleshoot Nexus 5 or 5X that won’t turn on before going for a repair

How-to-fix-Nexus-5-or-5X-won’t-turn-on
fix Nexus 5 or 5X won’t turn on

You can find several other online portals where people are aking the same questions regarding Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x startup or dead problem. But, no one is talking about the solution.

Here is some working trick you can use to solve the Nexus 5/5X dead won’t turn on problem.

But, before we initiate, we need to check for some basic startup like:

  • Make sure the battery is fully charged
  • Check if the charger is working properly
  • Check for the moisture on the phone

Now, once you are sure about the above point it’s time to jump to the steps to fix a dead Nexus 5 or Nexus 5x mobile.

Step 1: Check if the Nexus 5 is charging


This is quite common that your Nexus 5/5x battery may be deep discharged. A deeply discharged battery is hard to recharge and sometimes you may find no charging indication even the charger is connected.

Check-if-the-Nexus-5-is-charging
Check if the Nexus 5 is charging

Plug in the charger and wait for 10 minutes to watch if the Nexus 5/5x battery is charging. You may need to switch the charger with higher Ampere. Also, check for the moisture in Charging port.

If there is still no sign of charging you may need to troubleshoot the power issue with the phone. This step cannot fix any physical damage caused to the power section of the Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x smartphone.

Wait for a while and let the mobile battery get charged. Try to switch on the Nexus 5.

Step 2: Check Charger for Proper output


If you can’t see any significant changes in the charging status of the Nexus 5. You may need to check the charger current. Make sure if the charger is giving proper output current. You can check your charger output by connection another mobile to the charger.

Also, make sure to use the original charger only to charge the Nexus 5 mobiles that won’t turn on.

Also, the devices with USB output devices like TV, Laptop or computers provide a low current flow. If you are trying to charge a dead Nexus 5 or Nexus 5x mobile from such a device, I must say this won’t work.

In order to charge a deep discharged mobile phone usually, you need a high power input. So, if the Nexus USB cable is working, try switching the charger unit.

If the charger seems to work and you see a symbol of life in your Nexus. There may be some firmware error that keeps your Nexus from turning on. You can head to the next step to check the firmware error by booting the Nexus in fast mode.

Even if the charger and USB cable id correctly functional, you might get a charging issue as the charging process is not controlled by a cable and current flow only.

The charger and current detection is a complex algorithm that is executed with a combination of mobile chips and software. So, in order to get your Nexus turned on you need to solve this problem.

RELATED: Solve Moisture Has Been Detected Unable to Charge Samsung

Step 3: Boot the Nexus 5/5x in Recovery mode


Even your Nexus 5 or 5x is not charging, you can still boot the mobile in recovery mode. Recover mode is a factory mode of Android mobile which boots the mobile in factory mode.

A recovery mode can help you to restore your phone in factory settings and get rid of inconsistencies that might be causing the problem. Here’s how you boot nexus 5 in recovery mode.

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys together until seeing the logo.
  2. If the screen lit up and display some text, it is almost certain the problem was with the firmware.
  3. Use the Volume Down button to toggle and highlight the option Recovery mode.
  4. Press the Power key to select it,
  5. Hold down the Power button and press the Volume Up key to display the Android system recovery menu.

Now, connect the charger and see if the Nexus is charging properly. Keep the phone in charging for a while in recovery mode and reboot the mobile in normal mode.

You can try to reset the Nexus 5/5x to factory mode if you are still not sure if the Nexus 5 won’t turn on back in normal mode.

Note:  Resetting Android to factory mode will wipe all data from mobile.

However, if your Nexus 5 couldn’t boot in recovery mode, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Go to the authorized repair store to fix the hardware issue

This is, however, the final step you can follow. There’s not much you can do for a phone that won’t turn on. If you have applied all the troubleshoots and still cannot turn on Nexus 5, it’s time to go to the local authorized store and get the moble checked for any hardware issue which might be causing a dead Nexus.

Nexus won’t Turn on-Final Words: 

This is a common bug on Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x Android phone which can cause your Nexus to get dead for no reason. In most cases, the mobiles get working once it is rebooted in recovery mode and charged properly. Follow the steps above to fix a Nexus 5/5x mobiles that won’t turn on.

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