PhoneSoap 3 troubleshooting: bulbs, power and charging.

Nine times out of ten this is dormant bulbs rather than a dead unit. UV-C bulbs that have not been electrified for a few weeks are slow to strike, and the unit will sit there with no light at all.

1. Wake the bulbs. Open the unit to natural light for 10 minutes, or shine a flashlight on the bulbs for 2–3 minutes, then close the lid and let the 10-minute cycle run. The video below shows how to do this.
2. Rule out power. Try another outlet, another USB wall adapter, and a second cable. A weak adapter is a common cause.
3. Check the tubes. Silver discoloration at either end means a bulb has burnt out; a crack or chip means it is damaged.
4. Let it cool. After several cycles back-to-back, unplug it and leave the lid open in a ventilated room for 20 minutes before trying again.

If the bolt still will not light after two or three wake attempts, a bulb has failed. We replace bulbs and make repairs in house, and burnt-out bulbs are covered for the life of the unit — send us your order number and the serial number from the base.

The lightning bolt on the top of the unit is a safe window onto the UV-C light inside. If the bolt does not light up, the most likely cause is a burnt-out bulb — but wake the bulbs before you assume that.

1. Wake them first. Open the unit to natural light for 10 minutes, or shine a flashlight on the bulbs for 2–3 minutes. Bulbs can go dormant without use and need reactivating. The video below shows how to do this.
2. Silver or grey shading at either end of a bulb points to burnout. Burnt-out bulbs are covered by our bulb warranty.
3. A crack or a chip will also stop the unit working, but cracked and chipped bulbs are not covered by the bulb warranty.
4. A bubble in the glass is normal. Almost every bulb has one and it does not affect performance.

Bulbs are wired into the housing, so there is no at-home fix and we do not sell them loose. If your bulb is covered, you ship the unit to us for repair — start that through our warranty system with your order number, serial number, and a photo of the bulbs.

If a cycle only starts after a reseat — or the light flickers when you wiggle the cable — the power port or the cable has an intermittent connection. Try a second cable and wall plug first. If the behavior follows the unit rather than the cable, it needs service; contact us with your order and serial number.

Dimming over time points to bulbs near the end of their life. Compare it against the brightness when the unit was new, and look for discoloration at the bulb ends. This is covered by the lifetime bulb warranty.

The current PhoneSoap 3 ships with a USB cable and no wall plug. Any standard USB wall adapter or a computer port will run it. Underpowered adapters are a common cause of a unit that looks dead, so start with a phone charger you know works. Some older units shipped with a plug in the box — if yours did, use it.

PhoneSoap products run upon closure to ensure the internal sanitizing bay is always sanitized and ready for future use.

There is no heat involved and the power draw is negligible, so an empty cycle costs you nothing and there is no need to unplug it.

Charging runs through the port inside the bay, not the outer Power port. Plug your phone's own charging cable into the inside port and route it through the channel so the lid closes flat.

• Confirm the unit itself is plugged in and powering up.
• Try a different charging cable.
• Try charging a different device from that port.

If none of those work, the inside port needs service and the unit should come back to our warehouse.

A full PhoneSoap 3 cycle runs 10 minutes and shuts off on its own. If the lid is opened mid-cycle the run stops for safety and restarts when you close it again.

No — the bulbs are wired inside the housing and are not a user-serviceable part, so we do not sell them loose. Burnt-out bulbs are covered for the life of the unit; cracked or chipped bulbs are not. Start a claim through our warranty system with your order number, serial number, and a photo of the bulbs.

Your order number (or the Amazon order ID), the serial number from the label on the bottom, and a short video or photo of what the unit is doing. That is usually enough to resolve it in one reply.

A PhoneSoap 3 that shows nothing at all is usually a power problem rather than a dead unit. In order:

• Is the socket live? Test the outlet with a lamp or another device.
• Is it in the right port? Power goes into the port marked Power on the back. The port inside the bay is for charging your phone, not for powering the unit.
• Is it in the right mode? Confirm a cycle should be starting on its own rather than waiting on a button press.
• GFCI outlet? On a bathroom, kitchen, or garage outlet, press Reset on the outlet itself and test again. A tripped GFCI is a common false alarm.
• Adapter and cable. Swap in a wall adapter and cable you know work.

If none of that brings it up, the unit needs service. Contact us and we will troubleshoot it with you and set up a return if we need to.

We always attempt a repair first. If we cannot repair the unit, we send a replacement. Bulb replacements and repairs are handled in house. Burnt-out bulbs carry a lifetime bulb warranty; cracked or broken bulbs are not covered.