[Verizon] Phone randomly turning off. Now it just hard reset itself?

[dabomb224]

So I'm having a bit of a dilemma here. I installed one of the newest CM9 nightlies a few weeks ago, and ever since then, my phone has been randomly powering itself off. I tried mutliple different kernels, but all gave the same result. I then tried to nandroid back to an old 4.0.3 backup, wiped cache/dalvik, still had the problem. From there, I thought that it might have been the radio, so I flashed back from the latest 4.0.4 to the original 4.0.2. Still randomly shutting off. Finally, I installed the latest CM9 RC1, and tried various kernel and radio combos. Still having the issue.

Now here's where it gets really weird. I just noticed that if I tap the back of my phone with light to moderate force, it also causes the whole phone to power down. I did this twice (keep in mind that I'm not slamming my phone here, just giving it a light tap with 2 fingers) and when I powered it back on after the second time, the phone had erased all of my account settings, defaulted back to the Phase Beam LWP, and began giving me the initial tutorials that occur whenever you flash a new ROM. I am also suddenly getting multiple force closes.

For the record, I do not remember any recent impact to my phone, let alone any serious falls. I do smell a bit of corrosion in the battery compartment (akin to the smell of an older car battery). I'm afraid that I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed from here. I'm probably going to have to flash back to 4.0.2 stock, and see if I'm still having an issue.

Has anyone heard of anything like this through the grapevine?

 

[jbdan]

So I'm having a bit of a dilemma here. I installed one of the newest CM9 nightlies a few weeks ago, and ever since then, my phone has been randomly powering itself off. I tried mutliple different kernels, but all gave the same result. I then tried to nandroid back to an old 4.0.3 backup, wiped cache/dalvik, still had the problem. From there, I thought that it might have been the radio, so I flashed back from the latest 4.0.4 to the original 4.0.2. Still randomly shutting off. Finally, I installed the latest CM9 RC1, and tried various kernel and radio combos. Still having the issue.

Now here's where it gets really weird. I just noticed that if I tap the back of my phone with light to moderate force, it also causes the whole phone to power down. I did this twice (keep in mind that I'm not slamming my phone here, just giving it a light tap with 2 fingers) and when I powered it back on after the second time, the phone had erased all of my account settings, defaulted back to the Phase Beam LWP, and began giving me the initial tutorials that occur whenever you flash a new ROM. I am also suddenly getting multiple force closes.

For the record, I do not remember any recent impact to my phone, let alone any serious falls. I do smell a bit of corrosion in the battery compartment (akin to the smell of an older car battery). I'm afraid that I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed from here. I'm probably going to have to flash back to 4.0.2 stock, and see if I'm still having an issue.

Has anyone heard of anything like this through the grapevine?

I was going to say, before I read the part about your battery compartment smelling funky, have you checked the contacts on the battery itself and on the phone. Do you have another battery you could try? Could you leave your phone on, plug charger up and then pull the battery, then leave overnight and check in morning if it rebooted (settings> about phone> status> uptime)?

If you've had this issue through all the software you've tried I doubt going back to stock 4.0.2 would fix, but who knows.

Just the fact that you smell corrosion (such an obvious smell indeed) along with you being able to tap it on the back side makes me think this is a battery issue.

Of course it could be a hardware issue and you might need to get a new device. Got insurance? How long you had this GN?

 

[dabomb224]

I was going to say, before I read the part about your battery compartment smelling funky, have you checked the contacts on the battery itself and on the phone. Do you have another battery you could try? Could you leave your phone on, plug charger up and then pull the battery, then leave overnight and check in morning if it rebooted (settings> about phone> status> uptime)?

If you've had this issue through all the software you've tried I doubt going back to stock 4.0.2 would fix, but who knows.

Just the fact that you smell corrosion (such an obvious smell indeed) along with you being able to tap it on the back side makes me think this is a battery issue.

Of course it could be a hardware issue and you might need to get a new device. Got insurance? How long you had this GN?

I am currently using the extended battery, so I do have the standard battery that I can try. I've had this sucker since launch, and this is the first time I'm having this issue. I can leave it off the charger overnight, but unfortunately, reboots aren't really my problem (I wish they were, those I know how to deal with). In this case, the phone actually powers off. A quick Google search showed me that there are others with this issue. I even found a Youtube video of a GSM user who demonstrates it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdTVYnCEb7Y&feature=player_embedded

I've also found a few threads from other people who have randomly had this start to happen to their phones. No real solutions yet though. '

Unfortunately, I do not currently have insurance on the phone. At best, I could probably send it all the way back to Samsung for repair under the Manufacturer's warranty (I think that it's a year of coverage from purchase).

It's just annoying because I love having a Nexus, and I love the awesomeness of having the latest and greatest, but hardware-wise this phone is a nightmare. My original phone had terrible banding on the screen, this one needed heavy calibration to get the screen colors to look right, and now this. I am praying that Google goes with a non-Samsung partner for their next Nexus phone. Say what you want about its locked bootloader, my Droid X never had any hardware defects.

 

[jbdan]

Yeah I meant to say shutdown rather than reboots srry. That bites. I'd give the stock battery a shot and see if it happens

 

[downstat]

i had this problem too, when I had the extended battery installed. I changed it out, back to stock battery, and have not had any random shut downs. I am not rooted.