Note 3 randomly shutting down

[rcwilkinson]

Hello

I bought my note3 from an online retailer 2weeks ago, new.

The past week it has shutdown, on a several occasions, unexpectedly. I havnt seen it shudown unprompted, but have noticed that it wont 'wake' from sleep when I touch the screen (the screen remains off / black).

To turn the device on I have to hold the power for a long time (longer than when you usually turn it on).

When I bought the phone it prompted me to do a number of updates - but I assume this is normal (updating version of android etc).

I was wondering.....

Is there anyway to detect why my handset is turning off randomly? Is there anything I can to do to prevent this from happening? Or should I just ask for a refund? (i dont really want to do this, because the phone is GREAT, but dont want to live with somethign that shuts down without warning!

Sorry for the rambley message - any help would be greatly appreciated (please let me know if you need more info)

Thanks

Ross

P.S. This has happened twice today, but not once in the past 4days. (but had happened before then) Hope this makes sense

P.P.S I have booted in recovery and wiped the cash, but the issue has happened since

P.P.P.S I dont have an external SD card installed

P.P.P.P.S I have turned off "Scanning always available" (under advanced WIFI settings)

 

[dynomot]

Hmm, curious. We really need more info to go on. What is your exact model number and what are the three lines you get when dialing *#1234#. It would be helpful if you could post a screen shot of the "about device" screen. If you don't know where this is it is from a home screen, left menu soft key>settings>general>about device. I presume the device is brand new.

My initial guess is it is a "rogue app" you have installed that is not playing nicely, but it could be other things as well. Whatever it is all the things you can try, but we need the information requested.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks so much for replying, here are my responses to your questions:

1. I tried dialing #1234# but I got the message 'Connection problem or invalid MMI code'... is there any way to get around this?
2. Screenshot attached - let me know if this is OK
3. Device is brand new

Thanks for all your help - please let me know if you need any more info

Ross

 

[rcwilkinson]

Sorry, i didnt do *#1234# (school boy error!)

Three lines of code are:

AP: N9005XXUGNG1
CP: N9005XXUGNG1
CSC: N9005OXAGNJ3

 

[dynomot]

Right, from the information provided I can see you have a unbranded British Galaxy Note 3, SM-N9005 the international Qualcomm version running the latest firmware. All good and it was brand new so no danger of it being rooted or messed with.

I suspect a rogue app, but first make sure, as much as you can on the hardware front. Is your battery snugly fitting. Will it stay in with the battery cover off ? Is your SIM card in fully ? All things it could be.

Now, try and think back, have you installed any apps ? If so did your Note 3 have this fault before doing so or after. Take a look at what is using your battery. Screen, Android System & Android OS will be the big users. Are there any apps that use the battery more half the percentage of the lower of these three ? If so it might not be that app, but it will give a good indication of a power hungry, possibly poorly coded coded, one, that could be the culprit. If your at a loss app wise, then run your phone in "safe mode" for perhaps a day or so. This will prove it is not the phone but an app causing problems, from there it would be a matter of unistalling apps one by one until the phone behaves normally, at that point you know it was the last app unistalled. Finally the last thing to try is a factory reset from recovery. This will wipe everything except your media and take the phone to it's "out of the box" state.

I hope you don't have to factory reset, or worse have to ask the online retailer for a new one. I'm fairly confident though you'll sort it.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks for your latest reply. REALLY HELPFUL!

My responses below:

1. If I take the case off the battery doesnt fall out, unless i wiggle the handset up and down with a bit of vigour. The simcard also appears to be fully in.

2. I have installed a few 3rd party apps, but not too many if im honest
- Facebook
- Outlook
- aCalendar
- Adobe
- BBC apps
- and a few others (i could list if you like?)
I havent really downloaded anything "quirky".

3. Battery Usage: Google Play Services comes up quite high in that list. None of the other apps show much battery usage. I will check again at the end of the day.

4. I was wondering how I would boot in safe mode? Also, I take it this means I can still take and receive calls?

5. Factory Reset.Is this done under Backup and Reset? I'm tempted to make a list of my apps and just do this, as I've only had the phone for a couple of weeks so I wont be losing much. Also, Samsung allows you to backup to an account and then reference this whilst you're setting up your phone (fro m reset). So I could just do this? What ya reckon?

6. Sim Card.... one thing I've just remembered. My old phone wasnt 4g, this one is. I'm just using my old sim card. Forgive my ignorance, but should i have swapped for a '4g' sim (if such a thing exists)?

7. Samsung Service Centre. I have one of these near me - do you think it would be worth taking the phone in - or would they more than likely ask me to do a reset?

Thanks again for all your help and time!

Ross

 

[dynomot]

To go into safe mode turnj off phone then on while holding the home button. You'll know your in safe mode as in the bottom right corner it says. To come out of safe mode reboot as normal.

We can rule out loose battery and SIM I think. With your phone being new with not much to reinstall and set back up I'd probably do a factory reset from recovery, run the phone a few hours to give it chance to repeat your problem, if it is going to, and reinstall apps one by one. Test and repeat. If after all this I'd be asking the seller for a replacement. Anything else you can do yourself like flashing the firmware is not really advised as you could void your warranty and not fix the problem.

 

[dynomot]

Do all the above, print out the thread and then take it to the Samsung repair centre. Try and speak to an actual technician and show them the thread. My guess is they'll probably want to reflash the firmware themselves. A phone left with them for any repairs will always be factory reset at the very least by them anyway, before they start any diagnosis.

Last thing if the Samsung service centre is a branch of Car Phone Warehouse make sure they do repairs on site and not want to "send it away", I have had both very good experiences with them and very bad on two different occasions. To be completely fair to them they did leave me with a repaired properly phone and a written apology second time, but I would be very wary of using them again. Two different branches as well.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks for this.

When you say 'factory reset from recovery'...what do you mean by this? Is it just the Factory Data Reset option under settings?

Thanks again for all your help

Ross

 

[dynomot]

A 4G SIM card does not exist in reality. I have used the exact same SIM since 2011 before I had a 4G contract and it works fine. It might be worth asking your network for a new SIM anyway as they do wear, and can cause problems, but although it is possible I really doubt that is the cause of your problems.

 

[dynomot]

Thanks for this.

When you say 'factory reset from recovery'...what do you mean by this? Is it just the Factory Data Reset option under settings?

Thanks again for all your help

Ross

Yep!

Right must do some work, let us know how you get on.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Great - I'll do this at the weekend when i have a bit of time to give to it! Thanks for your help again and I'll endeavor to let you know how it goes!

 

[rcwilkinson]

Hello - I did a reset and restore - which brought all my apps back etc...

However, my phone just froze and reset itself...

Should I do a 'hard reset' if such a thing exists - where nothing is restored and I start from scratch? Is this possible, and if it is, would it void my warranty?

Thanks for your help!

Ross

 

[dynomot]

Yes start from scratch. Get into recovery (volume up and hold + home key and hold + power on from a turned off phone), and start afresh. Do a reset from recovery and the phone will delete the lot (except your personal media) and be out of the box new. Don't for now, log back into Google as it will reinstall all your apps and other syncd data. You can do it later. You need to run your phone without any of your installations for a while. You really need to rule the phone out. Give it chance to repeat is problems digit any apps. If you satisfy yourself that the phone is OK, great re sign in to Google and let it restore. Now if the phone plays up at least you know for sure it is not it, but something on it that is causing your problems. If it does randomly restart and crash, without any of your added apps, you have a faulty device, get a refund or a new one from the seller, try not to settle for a warranty repair, I certainly wouldn't on a less than a month old device.

Nothing I have said to try in this thread will invalidate your warranty at all. Anyone who says different is just wrong and trying to pull a fast one.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks for this - I'll do that next! Just a couple of q's

1. When I do this reset, will it revert the phone back to the previous version of Android? It updated automatically to KitKat the day I bought it.

2. I spoke to Samsung Service Repair, and they said they would not look at fixing a phone younger than 28days. They said that if it was restarting / turning itself off I should send it back to the retailer right away - as it's probably a hardware or firmware issue..... do you just think they want to get out of doing a fix?

Thanks

Ross

 

[dynomot]

Thanks for this - I'll do that next! Just a couple of q's

1. When I do this reset, will it revert the phone back to the previous version of Android? It updated automatically to KitKat the day I bought it.

2. I spoke to Samsung Service Repair, and they said they would not look at fixing a phone younger than 28days. They said that if it was restarting / turning itself off I should send it back to the retailer right away - as it's probably a hardware or firmware issue..... do you just think they want to get out of doing a fix?

Thanks

Ross

1. Nope, once it's updated it's updated. This will have no bearing whatsoever on warranties or returns, it is a normal process of the device.

2. No, they are probably correct. I'm just seeing there is anything we can do to get it working without the hassle of returning/getting it repaired. They, quite rightly think there maybe something wrong you could quite reasonably get a replacement or refund for, this would be my first recourse if my less than a month old phone started to not work properly, but I would try everything I could first I've already recommended . They will honour your warranty if they need to.

 

[rcwilkinson]

OK, I will give this ago tonight - and then monitor over the next few days.

If the handset only restarts once in a week or so, (it hasnt shutdown since the reset yet), do you still think that's good enough reason to return?

I suppose I'm just thinking - is this to be expected with a high spec phone, that every once in a while it might freeze/re-start....or should this really only happen once in a blue moon (e.g. once every 3/4/5/ months?).

I suppose I just want to make sure I'm not being neurotic and unreasonable for sending back a phone that restarts every once in a while

Thanks again for all your help

Ross

 

[dynomot]

I think your battery or ROM/firmware installed has the problem. I hope someone help you to fix this.

Yes, I agree. I'm beginning to think rcwilkinson may have experienced a corrupted OTA (Over The Air) update although rare I have heard of OTA updates causing problems like his.

Ross there is something else you can try, although in a nearly new device I personally wouldn't. See if any of the above sorts it out first. If not you have two choices 1) Ask for a replacement/ refund. A bad OTA or possibly as alicepattinson says a dodgy battery is not your fault. The seller should have no real issues giving you a replacement new device. Or you can try flashing your firmware yourself. This will do one of three things. 1)Solve your problem. 2) Not solve your problem, which leaves you returning it and getting a new one or 3)Bricking your device, rendering it totally useless (ie a shiny brick). While not likely manually flashing, bricking is always possible.

Let me know what you decide, I still think there is a fair chance it is a rogue app and you'll sort it.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks again for all your advice - it really is helpful. I'm not keen on flashing the firmware, so

Here's what I'm going to do:

1. Go into recovery and do a reset

2. Sign in with a different gmail account (so my old apps arent downloaded)

3. Install the mainstream apps that I want to use with this phone. (i figure, if I cant use the apps I want to with the phone, then it greatly reduces its use to me)

4. Use phone as normal, and wait to see if restart/freeze happens again.

Another quick q - If the freeze / restart only happens one or twice in the next couple of weeks - then it's still reasonable to conclude that something is fundamentally faulty? i.e. it's just not normal for it to do that?

 

[dynomot]

Another quick q - If the freeze / restart only happens one or twice in the next couple of weeks - then it's still reasonable to conclude that something is fundamentally faulty? i.e. it's just not normal for it to do that?

No, reboots and freezing are not normal at all. I have had my Note 3 since early October 2013 it is identical hardware to yours an SM-N9005. It has never once crashed not ever. It has locked up and frozen on me, but that was me playing with my device to see what world happen if I installed this script or that .Zip file nothing to do with it or any app installed on it.

A never rooted, never flashed, out of the box Note 3 should be rock stable, as fast as lightening and have 0 lag, and no freezing/hanging. Anyone who tells you different has a dodgy app installed on it, a bad OTA update, being messing with things they don't understand or simply has a faulty device.

I'd try what you are going to. It could work. My only advice from here is don't leave it too long, the seller will, be reluctant to give you a refund or a replacement the longer you wait. However he may be legally required to. Your in the UK, I believe, the seller is always going to be your first port of call. Here is a summary of UK law under the "Sale of goods act"

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/returning-damaged-or-faulty-goods/#axzz3KMtHQb7q

 

[lucky81]

Hello

I bought my note3 from an online retailer 2weeks ago, new.

The past week it has shutdown, on a several occasions, unexpectedly. I havnt seen it shudown unprompted, but have noticed that it wont 'wake' from sleep when I touch the screen (the screen remains off / black).

To turn the device on I have to hold the power for a long time (longer than when you usually turn it on).

When I bought the phone it prompted me to do a number of updates - but I assume this is normal (updating version of android etc).

I was wondering.....

Is there anyway to detect why my handset is turning off randomly? Is there anything I can to do to prevent this from happening? Or should I just ask for a refund? (i dont really want to do this, because the phone is GREAT, but dont want to live with somethign that shuts down without warning!

Sorry for the rambley message - any help would be greatly appreciated (please let me know if you need more info)

Thanks

Ross

P.S. This has happened twice today, but not once in the past 4days. (but had happened before then) Hope this makes sense

P.P.S I have booted in recovery and wiped the cash, but the issue has happened since

P.P.P.S I dont have an external SD card installed

P.P.P.P.S I have turned off "Scanning always available" (under advanced WIFI settings)

Hey dude. My note 3 after new firmwarw update the problem came. If it in sleep mode after a while try to on it remain black and off. I need to take off the battery or out on charging to in my note 3. I will try down grade to previous version

 

[Xuthus]

Another quick q - If the freeze / restart only happens one or twice in the next couple of weeks - then it's still reasonable to conclude that something is fundamentally faulty? i.e. it's just not normal for it to do that?

Actually there could be two sub-questions here:

1. Is occasional freezing acceptable.
2. Is occasional freezing normal.

and to me the answer to both of them is "no".

On the acceptable question I know we often use our phones are primarily Internet devices these days but it is still a mobile phone and I still expect to it function as one. If I can't rely on it to be working and available on the network then it is not fit for purpose, which is one of the reasons to reject it under the sale of goods act already mentioned. If a phone is given to freezing who knows when it will do that and cause you distress. When your wife gets taken to hospital? When someone wants to offer you some work?

My experience is also that it is not normal. I have seen it on other phones and, though I have never been able to establish if it is a software or hardware problem it is nevertheless clearly a fault and reason to sent it back for refund or repair (depending on how old). I have had my GN3 for probably getting on to 18 months and it has not frozen on me yet.

 

[RoboKerii]

Hey dude. My note 3 after new firmwarw update the problem came. If it in sleep mode after a while try to on it remain black and off. I need to take off the battery or out on charging to in my note 3. I will try down grade to previous version

Hey all,

I have had this exact issue. When idle, there is 30% chance that when I try to use the phone the screen will simply stay off and the only option I have is to do the battery dance. My phone also likes to reboot randomly throughout the day. There seems to be no consistency when it reboots - sometimes it is idle, sometimes it happens when I open an app (though not a specific one), sometimes it happens when I pull up my keyboard to reply to something, etc etc.

I have been battling with this for months now. The only consistent results I've found are that 1. it does not happen in safe mode and 2. factory resetting the phone seems to work for a while, but eventually the problem returns. I have very few apps installed because I have been removing them slowly to try and identify the problem app.

I am rooted (though this problem was occurring long before root) and have Boot Manager installed. I have literally all apps set to not boot with the phone and after booting up, the problem will still occur within minutes sometimes. 0 consistency.

At this point I am looking for some kind of system log application so I can identify what is causing this. I am tired of factory resetting my phone every month just to see the problem return.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am willing to help however I can. I know how irritating this issue is - especially from a flagship phone. My Nexus 7 has all kiiinds of apps on it, 90% of them untrusted apps, and it runs like a champion.

Thanks guys! Let's work together!