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Help Phone Shutting off randomly?

Well, I just updated my Captivate with the official Froyo 2.2 release from Samsung and AT&T. I've disabled CKA to see if the new firmware took care of the powering off issue. I will report my experience in a week. Crossing my fingers and legs and hoping for a miracle. By the way, the official updating process was painless as long as you follow the directions exactly. My phone seems to be running faster too.

Oh yeah, all the bad things I said about Samsung, I semi-take it back.... LOL. I never thought 2.2 would actually be released....

EDIT: (Update)... It's been about 72 hours since I updated my phone with the official Froyo from Samsung and not one single issue has surfaced. Before the update, my phone powered off on its own several times a day if I didn't use CKA. I've now deleted CKA and the phone was been flawless. I've kept it in my pocket to keep it warm, left it on a window ledge to freeze it, activated and turned off various apps, played with live wallpaper, static wallpaper, no wallpaper, played music on it, Google Earth the hell out of it, etc etc etc. So far so good. GPS is still a little slow on lock-up but accurate once it finds the satellites. Throughout the various forums, I'm reading of problems associated with the 2.2 updates. Mine doesn't seem to have any of the problems (like 3G connectivity, volume level, heptic feedback). Knock on wood..... :)

EDIT: (Update #2). Oh Oh! 85 hours into upgrading to Froyo 2.2. The phone's OS and apps worked very well: no lags, no hang ups, no weird behaviors... then... random powering off. Made it to 85 hours then the ugly random powering off surfaced. I had DELETED CKA instead of just disabling it too. Now, here's the more troubling aspect of the powering off issue. The phone powered off at 75% battery remaining. Prior to this, it would only power off at above 90% which CKA took care of. Looks like I'm going to have to fiddle with CKA again, then when my warranty is about to expire, have AT&T give me another phone. :)
 
Refurb captivate get's here on Tuesday. Fingers crossed for one with a better GPS and that doesn't turn off on it's own. If I get ANOTHER one that turns off on it's own I'm going to raise hell until I can get them to let me switch to an inspire or an atrix. I love my Captivate when it works but am sick of it's issues.
 
went in and exchanged mine today, i didnt even have to explain the problem, they were aware that some had issues, luckily i was only in there 10 minutes compared to 2 hours when i got it
 
I got my phone from Wirefly in November and was having issues with the random shutdowns, mostly happening overnight while I was asleep. I posted about it on page 8, I think, of this thread actually. The shutdowns stopped after I started not letting the phone stay at a 100% charge. About 2 weeks ago I started getting these 2 pop-ups on my phone (about the LogsProvider and TwLauncher apps). They would just come back after I hit close and because it was causing the phone to lag and freeze so much I couldn't get into the system settings to do a reset. I ended up going to an AT&T store in town and the guy there did a hard reset. I haven't had the pop-up issue since, but this whole last week every morning I've woken up with my phone shut off. And 4 of out of the past 7 days the phone has shut off randomly during the day. Yesterday I did a chat on the AT&T website to see my options for exchanging the phone, but the rep denied anybody ever having the issue and actually said that the phone is supposed to shut off after not being in use after a certain length of time. lol :confused: So that chat was a waste of time. I took the phone back to the AT&T store today hoping to exchange it, but was told I have to go this AT&T repair shop in another city to have them look at the phone first. I guess if they can't fix it, they'll exchange it. I was hoping to avoid the place as they have a reputation of only giving a refurbished phone as the exchange, which I refuse to have. The other option was to call customer service, but I'd risk dealing with the same type of reps who tell me the phone is supposed to shut off. No thanks. lol Plus I don't want to deal with being mailed and mailing back a phone.


ETA: Went to the repair shop last night. Walked in, said the phone was shutting down randomly, the girl looked at the phone for a minute, then looked at the battery and other info in the back and said I can get an exchange because they have been having issues with some Captivates. She said it was something in the processing system of the phone causing the shutdowns. She went to the back and got a new one, switched out my memory card and SIM card and I was done. I was in and out in 10 minutes, probably less.
 
Hello Julie524,

You said "...She said it was something in the processing system of the phone causing the shutdowns. She went to the back and got a new one, switched out my memory card and SIM card and I was done. I was in and out in 10 minutes, probably less."

Did the repair center actually give you a brand new phone? If so, how can you tell its a brand new phone rather than a refurbished one? I called the local DSC (Device Service Center) near my house to tell them about my Captivate powering off also and they told me they would be happy to exchange it but it will be a refurbished unit, not a brand new one. I also asked them if they had to exchange a refurbished unit out again with another one for the same powering off issue and they admitted that they've had to exchange out a few units for the same problem. I'm also reading of users who've bought new phones in February with build date in Feb that's also experiencing powering off problems. So... is yours a brand new phone or refurb unit? Any problems with it?
 
I actually don't know if it was a new phone or not. I was going to ask if it was refurbished, but decided I'd just rather not know. lol I don't think it's a brand new phone though. The sticker under the battery, the one on the actual device is not the same style as what was on my original phone. It doesn't have the Samsung logo on it and my original phone did. Not sure if that's a real indicator or not though. Do you know if there's a way to find out the build date? Is there an actual way to tell if it's been refurbished?

There have not been any random shut offs, but I've noticed it lag a few times while playing a game or when I'm trying to open an app. Some of the shortcuts I've put on the home screens have been deleted off the screen a couple times too, same ones each time. Both things I never had with my original phone.
 
julie524 said:
I actually don't know if it was a new phone or not. I was going to ask if it was refurbished, but decided I'd just rather not know. lol I don't think it's a brand new phone though. The sticker under the battery, the one on the actual device is not the same style as what was on my original phone. It doesn't have the Samsung logo on it and my original phone did. Not sure if that's a real indicator or not though. Do you know if there's a way to find out the build date? Is there an actual way to tell if it's been refurbished?

There have not been any random shut offs, but I've noticed it lag a few times while playing a game or when I'm trying to open an app. Some of the shortcuts I've put on the home screens have been deleted off the screen a couple times too, same ones each time. Both things I never had with my original phone.
Click to expand...

Hello,

If you register the phone on Samsung's website it will tell you the build date based on the IMEI on the phone... however, since yours may be a refurbished unit, that "build" date may be incorrect as AT&T or Samsung may have reloaded, tweaked, altered, modified (take a pick) your phone during the "refurbishing" process. Is your phone still on 2.1? My Galaxy Tab running 2.2 kept losing the shortcuts to the apps that I moved to the SD card. Once I brought it back in to the Tab's internal memory, the shortcuts haven't disappeared on me.

I've also reloaded CKA into my phone.
 
This is the 685th post in this thread and, my friends, I just don't get it. There is only one solution to random shutdowns. Exchange the phone. It's that simple. I've been on top of this issue since day one and any other "remedy" will not solve the problem. As I've written before, one shutdown is one too many if you have family relying on reaching you in an emergency, not to mention other important day-to-day calls.

If you think you've "fixed it," you haven't. It's an insidious malady that won't go away. Even if you really, really believe it has.
 
Hello Jack45,

Yes, I know you've preached the "exchange the damn thing" message over and over but as it is, looks like many who have exchanged it have encountered the same problem over and over. Also, it would appear that some who've bought the latest build Captivates (in Feb) are also experiencing the same powering off issue. The problem with exchanging it is AT&T will not give you a new phone; they will exchange it for a refurbished unit which may have the same problem. If there was a guarantee that exchanging the phone WILL solve the problem, then I too, would endorse exchanging it sight-unseen. Since my phone's only problem is the powering off issue which is solved with CKA, I am unwilling to exchange it for fear of receiving a unit that's really messed up with problems I'm not experiencing now.

There is a true solution to the Captivate powering off issue, if you're so adamant about it.... advise everyone to dump the phone and get something else. You'll never have to deal with the Captivate powering off on its own again.

Some of us, myself included, have a more practical issue to deal with when thinking about exchanging the phone over and over until hopefully you receive one that works. Before I got the Captivate, I was using the Palm Centro and my work and life was in it. I had over a thousand contact info and hundreds of "memos" and about 3 years worth of calender data on the phone when I was forced to upgrade by AT&T. All that data was, of course, backup up on 3 different computers and I was able to access all that info using Palm Desktop software too. I became too dependant on the PDA function of the phone. And apparently, EDGE network where I live won't be supported in the near future so AT&T forced me to upgrade to a 3G phone. In fact, they apologized and allowed me to buy the phone out-right for $99.00 and I wasn't forced to renew the 2 years contract. I also learned, to my dismay, that the data from my Palm Centro couldn't be loaded into Captivate. All the instructions given to me on "how to" do this, "how to" do that doesn't work. I had to re-enter all that info into the phone by hand one entry at a time. Now, yes, I am sync'd to Google calendar and AT&T address book "in the cloud" but that doesn't include all the memos, notes, files, etc etc etc which I've, of course, backed up to several computers. In the event of a major disaster and I need to restore the data, then it would take some time, but I would be able to. The thought of having to restore the data on an exchanged phone (over and over and over) doesn't appeal to me since if data restoration doesn't quite put all the info back I'll have re-enter the missing info one at a time. God, I miss my Palm Centro....
 
Hello, SamsungCaptivated.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I found your insight of interest. That said, here are my comments:

>>>Yes, I know you've preached the "exchange the damn thing" message over and over but as it is, looks like many who have exchanged it have encountered the same problem over and over.

Well, I didn't say "damn" but my message stands. The problem is not universal and, since it's the luck of the draw (took me 3 tries), it's worth the effort.

>>>The problem with exchanging it is AT&T will not give you a new phone; they will exchange it for a refurbished unit which may have the same problem.

As I've written before, there are two schools of thought about refurbs (assuming one is past the 30-day trial). The first school believes that refurbs could be passing on another person's problems. The other school says that a refurb may receive more personalized attention since it's not the result of an assembly line production. There's no telling, and there's no guarantee. But...you must do everything you can to be there for your family and others who rely on you. Everything you can.

>>>Since my phone's only problem is the powering off issue which is solved with CKA.

CKA is a Band-Aid that, according to many, creates its own issue - that being battery drain. Rather than relying on a Band-Aid to deal with the symptom, I'd instead choose to deal with the underlying cause.

>>>There is a true solution to the Captivate powering off issue, if you're so adamant about it.... advise everyone to dump the phone and get something else. You'll never have to deal with the Captivate powering off on its own again.

Feasible within the first 30 days, but many don't learn of the problem 'til after the first 30. Beyond that, the ETF is onerous. If someone decides to sell their phone on eBay or elsewhere, then what? Besides, a mod told me that every phone has its set of issues. There is no panacea.

>>>The thought of having to restore the data on an exchanged phone (over and over and over) doesn't appeal to me since if data restoration doesn't quite put all the info back I'll have re-enter the missing info one at a time.

Backing up and restoring apps and and data was (and is) for me a breeze. I use both Titanium and MyBackup Pro (in case one craps out during restoration) and use an external microSD card for the backups. I have backup portability so that when exchanges were necessary I simply put the microSD card in the new phone and performed the restore. My many contacts, on the other hand, are restored via a continuously maintained vcf file. I don't like Google touching my junk. :)

Anyway, it's been real. If I've written something that requires clarification or you disagree with, I'll look forward to your reply.
 
Had my refurb for a few days now, no shut downs... yet. It did take two months for the problem to appear on my last captivate so who knows. At least this captivate seems to have the best GPS out of the 3. If this third captivate has the problem then I'm done, I'll find a way to get an inspire or an atrix instead as having to go to a 4th cappy is just ridiculous.
 
@bimmeric

I hope you got lucky this time around.

I hate to say it, I think the reason it's a hit or miss with the refurbs is because of the announcement of the new Galaxy S2 series phones. Samsung wants to put all their resources into those new models.

What they and At&T should do is allow those of us with the 'infected' IMEI phones to upgrade early to the S 2 at a discounted price. I doubt they would but it would behoove them not to for PR purposes. Especially when Samsung is going to have to compete for customers once the iPhone 5 rolls out on AT&T, as well as the current & upcoming Android phones being offered.

I had the shutdowns and found a solution to fix that problem that works for me. However, I am on the fence with upgrading to stock Froyo or 'rooting and romming'...I'm waiting for the dust to settle with people's upgrades before I decide. I think I'm leaning towards rooting. :)
 
I just got my new Captivate a few days ago and it has the shutdown bug. It's been shutting down after an hour or so in standby.
Manufacture date Jan 2011.
Obviously they haven't fixed the problem. This sucks.
 
Hi everyone,

I was just about to head to AT&T to buy the Motorola Atrix to replace my Captivate and guess what!??! There are forums starting up with numerous posts regarding the Atrix randomly powering off and/or randomly rebooting on it's own. I guess I'll stick to my Captivate for a bit longer....

Oh, and Natesmom, after I upgraded my phone to the official 2.2 and deleted CKA, it started the random powering off again so I tried to use your live-wallpaper suggestion. It didn't work. It powered off twice on its own within 24 hour period. I reloaded CKA and the problem is now fixed.... no more random powering off.

And Jack45, I don't mean disrespect to you. Its just frustrating for me to deal with this problem of random powering off issue since I use my phone primarily for work. Yes, I know the CKA is a temporary fix, but its working for me at the moment. I am aware of the battery drain issue when forcing the phone to stay awake running CKA. I did a test several times to see how much battery drain there was. I like to run my phone lean as possible, meaning I don't like to multitask, have multiple apps running simultaneously or use my phone as a game machine, music player or entertainment set. It is a phone and that's all it is to me. I do use mapping, email and news information exclusively as well as frequent text messaging but that's pretty much it. After each use, I use to use task killer to shut down all apps running in the background. Now with 2.2, I use the task manager to shut down any programs I used just before I put the phone to "sleep" and let CKA keep it alive. With that, my phone discharges the battery at approximately 3.5% (approx 52 mAh) per hour running CKA when its on stand-by. That's acceptable for me because at this rate stand-by time is 28 hours before full battery discharge. Of course, leaving the phone on strictly standby isn't realistic... have to make/take calls, and use the apps for mapping...etc etc etc. With my normal use, I get plenty use of the phone for about 15 hours per day and it still leaves me with sufficient charge remaining in the battery. Then, when I go to sleep, I plug the phone back in to charge it overnight for next days duties.

Just looking at the numerous posts regarding the battery life of other user's phone, most are reporting that they are able to squeeze out between 24 to 36 hours of phone life with minimal use of the phone before needing to recharge. Samsung's claim of 340 hours on standby is ridiculous. So... me getting 28 hours on standby with CKA isn't bad at all and being able to use the phone for at least 15 hours per day WITHOUT powering off its own is a good thing.
 
SamsungCaptivated said:
And Jack45, I don't mean disrespect to you. Its just frustrating for me to deal with this problem of random powering off issue since I use my phone primarily for work. Yes, I know the CKA is a temporary fix, but its working for me at the moment.
Click to expand...

Hey, no disrespect taken. I've viewed our interaction as "healthy."

Frustrating situation? You bet. Expecting our phones to stay on is pretty basic. If CKA works for you and you aren't willing to roll the dice by exchanging the phone, I understand. My preaching revolves around my hope that no one settles. If the phone doesn't meet expectations, do something about it...as you have.
 
Jack45 said:
If the phone doesn't meet expectations, do something about it...as you have.
Click to expand...

LOL... well, yes... I was about to do something about it by getting the Atrix but seeing the posts about it having powering off issues too... almost exchanged this one for another one of different make and model with potentially the same problem... LOL.

Whew! I feel like I dodged a bullet.... LMAO!
 
@SamsungCaptivated,

Bummer to hear that the Live Wallpaper didn't solve your problem. As Jack45 mentions, the problem is most definitely hardware related and unfortunately, Froyo or any other firmware updates won't fix this issue.

Wonder if in your case, Froyo tweaks the power management of the live wallpapers--kind of makes me hesitate going to stock 2.2. I'm running stock Eclair but I'm seriously thinking of installing a custom rom to take advantage of the Froyo build. I really miss Flash & despite its quirks, I really like my Captivate. :(

EDIT: Now I hesitate to get the Atrix for my husband's birthday if it's also got shut-down issues. Geez, maybe AT&T is partly to blame for these issues! No signal, no cpu activity(???)
 
Hi I talked to Samsung tech (I escalated the call to the next level above the vanilla tech support).

I was told that a firmware update ( to 2.2 I think) would take care of the problem. They said that they were aware of the problem of phones shutting off (and the music player stopping by itself after 10 minutes or so).
After updating the firmware the music player seems to be working OK but I'm still experiencing the phone shutting off by itself, although it seems to be less often.

Not sure where to go with this other than replace the phone with a new one but I'm not sure that would do the trick if the problem is hardware related.
 
I just sent my captivate back because of the auto shut off. The update doesn't do anything - nor does a factory reset. The first level of tech support had me do that. And when I had to call back (because of course, it was still shutting off) the second left of tech support said the first person never should have had me waste my time with a reset. There is a known advisory bulletin and that first person should have realized its a problem with the phone itself...reset would do nothing! They shipped me out a refurbished phone and I had it the next day. I was out of the 30 day window for a brand new phone...
 
Took a shower... came down stairs and captivate #3 was turned off. UGH! I want a different phone, I don't want another refurb that will have the same fricken problems, this refurb only lasted 1.5 weeks before it shutdown... pathetic.
 
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