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Common Nokia Lumia 928 problems and some easy fixes

Nokia Lumia 928 bottom right angle
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s always a honeymoon period with a new smartphone. You’ll gaze lovingly at that touchscreen, caress it gently, and maybe even whisper sweet nothings into its microphone, but that feeling won’t last. Soon enough those flaws will emerge. It might be a small irritation that becomes unbearable over time, or it could be a big deal-breaker that has you shopping for a replacement. In this article we take a look at some common Nokia Lumia 928 problems and try to find fixes, or at least workarounds, to stave off that painful breakup.

Audio problems

There have been a number of reports about audio problems with the Lumia 928. Some people have found that the headphone jack doesn’t seem to correctly identify headphones when they are plugged in and the speaker keeps working. Others have noted a loss of volume and some crackle or pop in the speaker during calls. This is most likely down to a hardware fault, so you’ll need to return the faulty phone.

Solution:

  • Contact your carrier or Nokia and try to arrange a replacement as soon as possible.
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Not receiving text messages

This isn’t really phone specific, but lots of people with the Lumia 928 on Verizon have run into this issue and it’s super easy to solve for most people.

Potential solutions:

  • Restart the phone. Press and hold the volume down and power buttons together for about ten seconds and the phone will vibrate and restart.
  • If you switched from an iPhone then make sure that you disabled iMessage from the Settings menu under Messages on your iPhone.

Windows key backlight looks bad

A lot of people are reporting that when their Lumia 928 Windows or Start key lights up it looks ugly. Most people are getting some degree of yellow blotchiness, which is visible when the backlight comes on. This doesn’t have impact on performance, it just looks bad.

Potential solution:

  • There are mixed reports on people getting replacements for this issue and being fobbed off with the claim that it isn’t a fault. If it bothers you, then try contacting the carrier or Nokia and insist on a replacement handset.

“Find My Phone” not working

There seems to be some kind of bug with Microsoft’s “Find My Phone” service. A lot of people report that Find My Phone appears to be Off under Settings, but it is actually on and vice versa. There is also the possibility that functionality will be limited. This might be due to multiple accounts, but there’s no solid agreement on the cause right now.

Potential solutions:

  • If you have an old account you could start by deleting it (assuming you no longer use the device). You can try deleting your devices from windowsphone.com and then perform a factory reset (make sure you back up anything important first). Go to Settings >About > Reset your phone. This has worked for some, but not all of those experiencing the issue.
  • Even if it says Off it might be on. You can check by logging in at windowsphone.com and trying to find it. If it is working then you might be best leaving it alone and waiting for a software update that will fix it.

Random reboots or freezes

Some people have been suffering from random reboots where the phone just turns itself off and on again. There have also been complaints about the screen locking up or freezing and being unresponsive to touch unless it is reset.

Potential solutions:

  1. Try a soft reset by holding down the volume down and power buttons together for about ten seconds until the phone vibrates.
  2. If it keeps happening then try a factory reset (after backing up anything important) by going to Settings >About > Reset your phone.
  3. Bear in mind it could be caused by a specific app. Look for a pattern and then test it. Does it always happen when you perform a specific action or boot a specific app? If so, then you may need to remove it until there is an update available. It’s also worth contacting the developer and letting them know.
  4. If it still happens then contact your carrier or Nokia and ask about a replacement handset.

Reset stuck on gears

If you perform a factory reset on your phone and it ends up sitting on the spinning gears screen for a very long time then you are not alone. It shouldn’t really take longer than around 30 minutes. If yours has been going for more than an hour then you can try the following solution. Make sure that your phone is charged before you try it.

Potential solutions:

  1. Hold the power and volume down keys for ten seconds to reboot the phone and if it returns to the spinning gears then press Volume up then Volume down then Power then Volume down again. It may take a few seconds, but your phone should now proceed past the gears and boot up as normal.
  2. If that doesn’t work then let the battery run down completely. Now remove the SIM card. Plug the phone into your wall charger and wait until it powers on itself.
  3. If it still won’t boot up normally then you need to contact your carrier or Nokia.

Won’t connect to Wi-Fi

Lots of people have problems connecting new devices to their Wi-Fi networks at home or work. There are so many combinations of routers and settings that it can be tough to find the culprit. Basic things to try first are as follows:

Potential solutions:

  1. Reboot the Lumia 928 and your router. Press and hold the volume down and power key for ten seconds.
  2. Go to Wi-Fi > Advanced on your Lumia 928 and then press and hold on the network you’re trying to connect to and delete it. Now try rebooting both your phone and the router and set it up fresh.
  3. Make sure that your router has the latest firmware (check with your ISP). Beyond this there are various router settings you can look at, such as changing the channel or mode, making sure mac filter is off, or setting a static IP address.

Won’t charge up or turn on

There have been a few reports that the Lumia 928 won’t charge or won’t start up when it is plugged in to charge. Bear in mind that using the USB port of a computer is going to be slow. You should try the following:

Potential solutions:

  1. Plug it into the wall charger using the USB cable and charger that came with the phone and leave it for an hour before trying to do anything.
  2. If it doesn’t come on as normal,  try holding down the power key and the volume down button for ten seconds until the phone vibrates.

That’s it for our roundup of Nokia Lumia 928 problems and solutions, but if you’ve encountered anything above and you have an alternative fix, or you have a different problem entirely, then please post a comment and share your knowledge. You can find some extra information in the official user guide and we’ll update this article as we discover new Lumia 928 problems and fixes.

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Simon Hill
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all things tech. He is currently the Associate Mobile…
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