Nexus 5 Troubleshooting

The phone won't start to boot at all and the screen remains black

The most common issue with the phone not able to even start would be a battery that isn't charged, try plugging in the charger firmly, ensuring that there's no obstructions in the port and letting the phone build a charge for a while.

If the device still won't turn on after charging the problem may be a dead battery, or a cord that can no longer carry a charge. The manufacturer can sell both a new battery or replacement charger. Remember to try another power outlet when charging as you may have a dead socket.

Battery life is determined by many variables. Age is one of the biggest factors, but in considering age you are considering average use and average charge cycles.

Usually there will be specification on the average charge cycles of most batteries. But at the end of the day this information is irrelevant to the user because nobody remembers how many times it has died and recharged. The best thing to do is look out for these major indicators:

• Is the battery not getting a full charge, even after it has been plugged in all night?

• Is the battery icon giving you false readings? I.e. says 100% then 20 min later says 70%?

• Not holding a charge at all?

• Battery is swollen, meaning has an irregular shape/roundedness to it?

All of these are common issues seen by these devices. This is common in most every battery.

If you have answered yes to any of the above questions then you stand a good chance that you need a new battery.

Sometimes after the phone turns off improperly it has a difficult time restarting, try using the device recovery steps to reboot the phone correctly by.

Hold down both the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons for 30 seconds or until you see the android lying on his back with his belly open. This is the bootloader. Use the volume keys to navigate to "Power off," and touch the power key. Trying powering up normally.

If it worked when you plug in your phone you should see indication of it charging.

If the above steps didn't work, another option is to wipe data to reset to factory settings (which means you would lose all your data currently on the phone!)

Once again hold down the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons for 30 seconds until the android icon appears. Using the volume up and down buttons navigate to "Recovery mode," and press the Power button. The Google logo appears, followed by an Android with a red exclamation mark. Hold the Power button down and click the Volume Up button to enter Recovery. Use the volume buttons to highlight "Wipe data/Factory reset" and click the Power button.

The Nexus 5 has had many problems with overheating. This includes your device warming up rapidly while playing music or using applications that require high resolution graphics. Some solutions or preventative measures to take include to avoid leaving or using the device in direct light and charging while using high resolution apps.

After using an app for a while it might help to close the app and restart your phone to reduce strain on the device. If you find that your device also overheats in sleep mode there is a high possibility that there is a defect and you should try exchanging or getting the device inspected.

If your device does overheat, leave it out with the power off in an area away from the sun or heat sources in order to cool off before trying to use it again

When you start to turn on the phone it appears to work, but shortly in to the booting process it stops and turns off.

Sometimes after the phone turns off improperly it has a difficult time restarting, try using the device recovery steps to reboot the phone correctly by;

Hold down both the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons for 30 seconds or until you see the android lying on his back with his belly open. This is the bootloader. Use the volume keys to navigate to "Power off," and touch the power key. Trying powering up normally.

If it worked when you plug in your phone you should see indication of it charging.

If the above steps didn't work, another option is to wipe data to reset to factory settings (which means you would lose all your data currently on the phone!)

Once again hold down the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons for 30 seconds until the android icon appears. Using the volume up and down buttons navigate to "Recovery mode," and press the Power button. The Google logo appears, followed by an Android with a red exclamation mark. Hold the Power button down and click the Volume Up button to enter Recovery. Use the volume buttons to highlight "Wipe data/Factory reset" and click the Power button.

While using an application your phone stops responding and will no longer work

Sometimes the application is out of date and just needs to be updated. Try the easiest fix first by looking for an update.

They application may have also downloaded incorrectly, to fix this issue uninstall the application and try re-downloading it to see if it solves the issue.

If you don't know if an app is responsible, try booting into Safe Mode. With the phone turned on, press and hold the Power button until the "Power off" message pops up. Tap and hold the "Power off" message until "Boot into Safe Mode" appears. Click okay.

When your phone reboots, most applications and customizations will not be running. Run the phone for a while. If the problem you encountered doesn't recur, it must be an application. Reboot normally and start uninstalling the most recently installed apps.

If you haven't updated your phone in a while, some applications may conflict with older software on your phone. Updating your phone might make the application run smoother without problems.

Start by opening your settings menu and navigate to the 'System' option. From there select the 'About Phone' option and select 'System Updates' to check if your device has any available system updates.

If there is an update available install it (Your phone might have to restart afterwards once or twice). Repeat this process until when you try again it displays that your phone is up to date. Then try and run the application again.

If you just can't seem to exit out of an app, open the settings menu and select 'Apps', you can select the application that's giving you problems from the menu and then select 'Force Stop' to terminate the program manually.

Static noise accompanying the audio you are trying to hear

If you haven't updated your phone in a while. Updating your phone might solve the issue.

Start by opening your settings menu and navigate to the 'System' option. From there select the 'About Phone' option and select 'System Updates' to check if your device has any available system updates.

If there is an update available install it (Your phone might have to restart afterwards once or twice). Repeat this process until when you try again it displays that your phone is up to date. Then try and run an audio test.

If your listening to music and frequently have this problem, try changing your audio equalizer(EQ) settings. On both the phone and application you are using. Turning off virtual surround sound may help. Often conflicting EQ setting can cause speaker malfunction.

The good thing about speaker (in the sense of hardware) either they work or they don’t. But sometimes you get an in-between state. This is when you speaker(s) has failed.

• It will create an awful static noise accompanying the audio you are trying to hear.

At this point you need to replace the speaker. Possible explanation of failure. The speaker on most devices are located at the bottom of the phone which is most likely exposed to moisture. Once this happens corrosion will set causing an imbalance on the speaker diaphragm this is a common source of the static noise you can hear.

The camera application will open but it won't be able to connect to the camera itself

If you haven't updated your phone in a while. Updating your phone might solve the issue, several users with the same problem have been able to solve it by updating.

Start by opening your settings menu and navigate to the 'System' option. From there select the 'About Phone' option and select 'System Updates' to check if your device has any available system updates.

If there is an update available install it (Your phone might have to restart afterwards once or twice). Repeat this process until when you try again it displays that your phone is up to date. Then try to use your camera again and see if this solves the issue.

This error typically arises when using the camera application and exiting out of this application by pressing the home button. Another possibility for this error message to occur is when you install multiple camera applications. Overall ensure to exit any applications which make use of your camera before using it again.

This issue occurs most frequently when using the device in HDR mode but it could happen in other situations as well.

Go to Settings>Apps> and swipe along to All. Scroll until you find the camera application you are encountering issues with, tap it, and in the next set of options select “Clear Cache” This should also be used for the gallery Application. Then try using the camera again

Using the microphone in phone calls or recording gives poor quality with low sound or static

Some people have indicated that updating to a newer software package has given better results with the microphone. While it may not always be the cause of the problem it's still an easy possible solution that is generally a good idea for your device in general

Start by opening your settings menu and navigate to the 'System' option. From there select the 'About Phone' option and select 'System Updates' to check if your device has any available system updates.

If there is an update available install it (Your phone might have to restart afterwards once or twice). Repeat this process until when you try again it displays that your phone is up to date. Try recording a message on your phone and play it back to see if the quality has improved.

Using a can of compress air, blow out the grill on the bottom to the right of the micro-USB port.

While speaking, cover the microphone hole on the top of the phone with your finger.

See the teardown guide for this device to access the microphone.

Check the Nexus 5 device page for other guides and techniques.