Motorola C290 Troubleshooting

The Motorola C290, released in April 2006, is a simple and affordable cell phone. It features the "clam-shell design" and was the first phone to support Vision for Sprint PCS. The Motorola C290 troubleshooting guide is designed to give quick answers to many questions about the cell phone. It will help aide in diagnosing cell phone problems.

There may be a bad connection between the battery and cell phone. Wipe the battery leads with a dry cloth to clean any debris that may impair the connection. See removing the battery repair guide. Try to turn on the phone. If the C290 will not turn on, try to charge the phone for a few hours. If the problem persists, repeat the charging process with another charger. The first charger may be damaged. If the problem continues a new battery may be needed. See installing the battery repair guide.

Remove the battery to check for water damage. There will be one sticker on the battery and one sticker on the phone inside the battery compartment. Both of these stickers should be white. Usually the stickers change to a red color when they come in contact with water. If your stickers are red, do not attempt to turn on your phone. First, disassemble the phone (see device page to properly disassemble Motorola C290). Next, allow all parts of the phone to dry completely. This can be done by placing the disassembled components in the sun for several days or by drying the components with a hair dryer. Additionally, clean the logic board with an ammonia based product (such as Windex). Ensure that all components are dry before reassembling the phone. See all necessary guides to help reassemble the phone. If done correctly the phone should work properly again.

Make sure the battery is installed correctly. It may be oriented wrong. Clean connection between the battery and phone to make sure connection is not obstructed. See battery repair guide.

If you batter is old, water damaged, has been dropped etc., then you may have to buy a new battery. A new battery for the C290 can be purchased at The Cell Phone Shop.

Try to charge your phone with another charger. If your phone charges, you will need to buy a new charger. If your phone still does not charge, then the power plug on your phone may have to be replaced.

You can also try to use your charger on another phone of the same model. If the other phone does not charge, then there is a problem with your charger. If the other phone charges, then there may be a problem with the power plug on your phone. The power plug is soldered to the logic board. Replacing the power plug would require replacing the logic board. See logic board repair guide.

Make sure the volume is at a reasonable level and not muted.

If you can't hear anything, than your speaker may be damaged or not properly connected. See speaker repair guide. If it is damaged, you will have to buy a new speaker.

Check for strong signal strength. A poor signal strength may be causing no sound or static.

Check for a secure connection between the logic board and the speaker. If there is still no sound, speaker and/or logic board may have to be replaced. See replacing the logic board repair guide.

Keypad may be out of place or have a bad connection. If keypad is still not working, keypad may need to be replaced. See keypad repair guide.

If all the buttons do not work, the problem may be due to the logic board. Check the connection between to the logic board and keypad. If keypad is still not working, logic board may need to be replaced. See logic board repair guide.

If you are frequently having reception problems in one location, such as at home or work, consider installing a cellular repeater. They pick up low cell signal with an antenna, boost the signal, and broadcast it over the coverage area. You can purchase one specific to the C290 at the Motorola Store, or you can search for your own.

Phone will tell you that there is a lack of memory, and will no longer have sufficient space.

You might not have enough memory to download or put any more memory on your phone. You will have to delete old, unused media from your phone.

The Motorola C290 is not equipped with external memory drives, such as SD cards.

These two processes can be used to reset phone settings to the manufacturer default. In addition, the master clear clears all memory locations and the resettable call timer. The master reset does not clear the memory or delete personal information.

1. Press the center select key

2. Scroll to and select Settings (may be Settings & Tools)

3. Scroll to and select Initial Setup

4. Scroll to and select Master Clear

5. If prompted for a Security Code, enter 000000 (or whatever you may have set it to)

6. Select OK to confirm

1. Press the center select key

2. Scroll to and select Settings (may be Settings & Tools)

3. Scroll to and select Initial Setup

4. Scroll to and select Master Reset

5. If prompted for a Security Code, enter 000000 (or whatever the customer set it to)

6. Select OK to confirm

Note: If you have changed and forgotten your Security Code, you will have to have your phone serviced at a local repair center.

If you forget your unlock code: At the enter Unlock Code prompt, try entering 1234 or the last four digits of your phone number, as your provider might have set it to this.