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Help Phone Shutting off randomly?

@warrior100

Well, that's disappointing, but the idea of assuring that a device has clean contacts remains valid.

What impressed me the most about myRTTech's offering is the clarity of thought that went into the post and the potential validity of the proposed solution. Beats the heck out of another "me, too" post.
 
@warrior, that's dissapointing and very unfortunate. While I could only trouble shoot for my specific device, I was hoping that the information could at least help others with this highly frustrating issue.

@Jack45, thank you! being as clear and consice as possible I figured would be most helpful.

I will say that now that my phone no longer shuts down, it will be easier to troubleshoot situations such as @warrior where clean terminals have not helped. Now I can try to MAKE it shutdown... and if I can do that 100% of the time, then I should be able to make it go away 100% of the time. I will post my findings regarding this specific shut down/sleep issue only if I can reproduce it 100% of the time.
 
My Captivate didn't start doing this til way after my 30 days were over. (I bought the phone back in August) So it's too late to go back to the store, so I plan to contact Samsung since it's still under warranty there. I was just wondering if anyone had any issues with them, what kind of phone were you given?

Thanks!
 
First, welcome!

Have you reviewed post #348 in this thread? I'd consider giving the suggestion a shot before exchanging the phone.

Be careful if you choose to attempt this procedure. Don't let the alcohol get near the white moisture detectors!!!

Edit: You may wish to review the new thread "Additional Insight into Random Shutdowns" in the general section.
 
this is really garbage my phone starting doing this on the second day. I ordered from amazon so at&t won't help me!
is it because i installed launcher pro!?
 
>>> is it because i installed launcher pro!?

Extracted from my post of 10/26 - different thread:

I've been very careful not to point a finger at a particular app as a cause of random shutdowns (other than aggressive user settings within SetCPU), but you've served as a catalyst. Before I continue, let me say that I believe there is more than one culprit responsible for shutdowns and that most are caused by a non-app related issue(s).

I've had my third device for 2-1/2 months. No shutdowns whatsover...until I installed LauncherPro last week. Then they started. I removed LauncherPro and - back to normal. I hereby declare an official suspicion that LauncherPro is one of the causes of random shutdowns. Before you react, I understand that many use LauncherPro with no problems. Great. I'm not saying that the app itself is poorly coded, but rather offering that it may begin a chain reaction that causes random shutdowns in some devices. I have not taken this declaration lightly. I waited a long time before openly stating my theory.
 
jblaze5779 said:
My captivate has twice turned itself off during the night while I was sleeping and once while I was running errands with it in my pocket.

I've searched the internet for people having similar problems but have found none.

Anyone else having this issue?

I love the android OS (came from iphone4) but I'm second guessing my phone selection with the gps and now this issue.....
Click to expand...
This is a very serious problem with the captivate, mine also shuts off, finally I got Samsung to admit the defect,please call samsung @ 888 987 4357, and register your complain, they have to correct the software.

 
I cleaned my battery, it shutdown a few hours later. I dont think thats the trick.
I have a rogers captivate, 1 shutdown in first 25 days, then 8 in past 3 days.

Cap alive works, but EATS my battery so not a solution for me. I read someone that enabled GSM only on his networks, and has gotten no shutdowns. I have done the same after my last shutdown today at noon.

It is now midnight, and I have had NO shutdowns. Not conclusive yet, but i will keep GSM only option and that may solve it. It is not a proper solution, as dual mode I assume means faster internet speeds and fewer dropped calls, but perhaps the problem lies in the automatic network? I have had a few dropped calls, and random shutdowns, never overnight, during the day on standby only.
I will follow up.
I am using launcher pro, but Ive had since day 1, and had 24 good days. I will get replacement on Monday, and will keep testing on my current phone. Please try this as well and report on here.
 
I have had my Captivate for 2 months now and recently it has been shutting off on it's own in the middle of the night. After it shut off and I missed my morning college classes, I decided the use of a real alarm clock would be better.
Sometimes, I can send out a text message in the middle of the day, then wonder why I haven't heard from the other person, but when I pull out my phone, I realize that it has shut itself off yet again. This is the nicest phone I have ever owned. It makes me sad.
 
compscidev said:
this is really garbage my phone starting doing this on the second day. I ordered from amazon so at&t won't help me!
is it because i installed launcher pro!?
Click to expand...


AT&T has told me when replacing a previous phone that if any other software than what the phone came with was installed, it would void my warranty and they would not be obligated to replace the device.
I don't know for sure if this is true and I have never experimented with any other software on any of my phones in the last 3 years with AT&T. Although, I wouldn't if it means that my warranty that I pay for could be useless in the future.
Also, before I got my Captivate 2 months ago, AT&T has told me that if I was to purchase a phone through any other source than directly through AT&T they would not warranty, exchange or replace the device either. I wouldn't think that is fair especially if you're already paying for a plan through the company.
 
sngonzales said:
AT&T has told me when replacing a previous phone that if any other software than what the phone came with was installed, it would void my warranty and they would not be obligated to replace the device.
I don't know for sure if this is true and I have never experimented with any other software on any of my phones in the last 3 years with AT&T. Although, I wouldn't if it means that my warranty that I pay for could be useless in the future.
Also, before I got my Captivate 2 months ago, AT&T has told me that if I was to purchase a phone through any other source than directly through AT&T they would not warranty, exchange or replace the device either. I wouldn't think that is fair especially if you're already paying for a plan through the company.
Click to expand...

I don't know what phone you had, but you can install whatever software you want on the Captivate from the Market and it won't void your warranty. Only if you install a custom ROM will you void your warranty (and you can easily install the stock ROM again and AT&T would never know).

If you buy a Captivate from someone other than AT&T, of course they won't warranty the device. You have to pursue warranty issues with the manufacturer. That means if you buy the phone without a contract from an eBay seller, you have to contact Samsung if you have problems.
 
I have had my Captivate (from Rogers Canada) for less than a month, and I too have noticed it turning off when it goes to sleep. It seemed to be happening more frequently, a few times per day. So I read this thread from beginning to end, did the battery terminal cleaning...no luck, it shut down within an hour.

However, I've noticed that it only seems to do this when there are no tasks running. So for the last couple days, I've kept Tweetdeck running and it hasn't shutdown once. I think I'll ask Rogers to send me a new one, just in case...but just thought I'd share that little tidbit. Good luck to all, hope this gets figured out.
 
sngonzales said:
AT&T has told me when replacing a previous phone that if any other software than what the phone came with was installed, it would void my warranty and they would not be obligated to replace the device.
Click to expand...

That is bull (not that she told you, but that it's true). Android phones are specifically marketed for their ability to install apps from the Marketplace. This cannot then void your warranty.
 
Seems like this is a problem for a lot of people. Best thing to do...contact Samsung customer service. At least Samsung will know of the problem if a whole lot of people report the same.

When I called them for the first time, they recommended the hard reset, but, it didn't work. So, contacted them again and was told that I should send it to them for repair. Just got it back. Seems like they replaced the battery. Fingers crossed.
 
My Captivate turned off the other night and made me late for work as I use it as an alarm clock. In the next for hours it turned off three more times. It was working fine until I installed the Shazam app. Since I uninstalled Shazam (I also deleted Drudge Report app,and Pandora app) almost 48 hours ago my phone has not turned itself off. Hope this helps because I know how frustrating it is.
 
Just thougt i'd throw in my experience..
I bought my captivate in the middle of October and immediately I started experiencing the random shutdowns. I gave it a week and a half to see how persistent they were. It did seem like they occured more often as time went on. After much investigation online I knew I had to get a replacement.

Amazon replaced it no questions asked, very easy. I asked the rep if there was a way to ensure that I get a phone that doesn​
 
It definitely sounds as though there are multiple reasons for causing the intermittent crashes. I have been personally attempting to troubleshoot and try the solutions to parse out some causes. It seems that this issue is likely endemic to the Captivate and some software likely exacerbates the existing condition, though it does occur on some stock phones.

One idea that I have been thinking about, though admittedly have no evidence for: It appears that my phone turns off more frequently when I am at home where my service can be sporadic. Maybe having a connection then losing it would cause it to turn off in some phones? This might fit in with yellohaus noticing that when he took out the SIM card his phone magically stayed on.

Lets keep the discussion going to find solutions, and keep pressuring Samsung / ATT.
 
I just got my phone on Friday. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings I have woken up to find it shut itself off during the night. It's never done it during the day, just overnight. I could deal with it if I wasn't also using the phone as an alarm clock. So far I've gotten lucky and woken up in time for work.
 
julie524 said:
I just got my phone on Friday...
Click to expand...

Exchange it. Now. If you got it from an AT&T corporate store and there's more than one in your area, go to a different store - the theory being that they may have a different production batch. It is luck of the draw, so take advantage of your 30 day trial period in your quest to find a stable device.
 
Jack45 said:
Exchange it. Now. If you got it from an AT&T corporate store and there's more than one in your area, go to a different store - the theory being that they may have a different production batch. It is luck of the draw, so take advantage of your 30 day trial period in your quest to find a stable device.
Click to expand...

Can I still exchange it at an AT&T store if I bought it from wirefly.com? I was planning on going to the store anyway this weekend so either way I'm going to ask them about the issue to see what they say.
 
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