Develop Bugs

Random Reboots - FF18

I'm running the stock ICS FF18, rooted. All seemed reasonably well for the first couple weeks, now the damn thing wants to randomly reboot.
I tried wiping, reinstalling the stock ICS, but the problem returned. Reboots happen maybe upwards of a dozen times a day. I've tried isolating the problem but unable to find a common variable...sometimes it happens when I'm in the middle of something, like web surfing or texting. Sometimes it happens when I press the power button, sometimes it happens when it's just sitting there not being touched, sometimes it happens when plugged it, sometimes when not plugged in.
I can't think I have a bad install twice and I'm not finding much on the forums here about others with a similar problem with the stock ICS. So I'm thinking either an app is being a b1tch and causing problems or perhaps something related to the battery? If there was one common theme, it does always happen later in the day or at night after the battery is down below 50%.
Does anyone have thoughts, ideas, suggestions on the likelihood of a bad battery or perhaps someone experienced something similar?

waltcoleman said:
I'm running the stock ICS FF18, rooted. All seemed reasonably well for the first couple weeks, now the damn thing wants to randomly reboot.
I tried wiping, reinstalling the stock ICS, but the problem returned. Reboots happen maybe upwards of a dozen times a day. I've tried isolating the problem but unable to find a common variable...sometimes it happens when I'm in the middle of something, like web surfing or texting. Sometimes it happens when I press the power button, sometimes it happens when it's just sitting there not being touched, sometimes it happens when plugged it, sometimes when not plugged in.
I can't think I have a bad install twice and I'm not finding much on the forums here about others with a similar problem with the stock ICS. So I'm thinking either an app is being a b1tch and causing problems or perhaps something related to the battery? If there was one common theme, it does always happen later in the day or at night after the battery is down below 50%.
Does anyone have thoughts, ideas, suggestions on the likelihood of a bad battery or perhaps someone experienced something similar?
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Click to collapse
Any special wi-fi config? (That's the culprit in my case.)

garwynn said:
Any special wi-fi config? (That's the culprit in my case.)
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No...never installed the hotspot hack, did have foxfi installed, but did not reinstall after reloading ff18.

im also having the same problem as well, and the problem has became worse and worse,what started off as once or twice a day,is now at least occurring every 10 min.I think im about to downgrade right now to stock gingerbread and see what happens

My phone has always had some amount of random "poweroffs" (not really reboots, I pick up the phone expecting it to be on and it boots from scratch instead). However its much more frequent on ICS (FF18/FH13).

rocket321 said:
My phone has always had some amount of random "poweroffs" (not really reboots, I pick up the phone expecting it to be on and it boots from scratch instead). However its much more frequent on ICS (FF18/FH13).
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U can always unroot back to el29(gingerbread)i was having the same problems and now i can enjoy my phone
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I had that issue on AOKP M6, then realized my power button was actually broken. It would reboot the phone because it was actually stuck down internally. Had to get a new phone.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

R0CKSTAR3N3RGY said:
I had that issue on AOKP M6, then realized my power button was actually broken. It would reboot the phone because it was actually stuck down internally. Had to get a new phone.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
The power button seems to be a common cause of random reboots and that's what I'm leaning towards now as no other software fix has resolved the problem. Supposedly Sprint ordered me a replacement to swap out phones. I'd definitely recommend trying a different Kernel if on FF18 and if that doesn't fix it, try rolling back to EL29.

Phantom Soft Key Issue

I wanted to get the opinion of the devs who make all of the ROMS for this device. Below is my experience and my theory:
I have had the phantom soft key issue on every incarnation of the GSII software. I un rooted and went all the way back to the beginning. I used each rom version till the issue occurred, then I let the phone update to the next ROM version and repeated the process. Every single un rooted update had the same issue and then every single Rooted ROM all ROMS for the ET4G were tried and the issue occurred.
Strange part is it came out of nowhere. I have had and have been flashing for an entire year without issue and one day all of a sudden... BOOM. I don't think it is as simple as the signal issue. I think it has to do with flashing as well. Unless this is happening to someone who has never rooted their device, I think something in the roms we flash trigger the issue which is related to signal.
Has anyone known anyone who has never rooted their device and has had the issue? By the way, the store gave me a brand new factory OEM screen and the issue still occurs.

Gorguts said:
I wanted to get the opinion of the devs who make all of the ROMS for this device. Below is my experience and my theory:
I have had the phantom soft key issue on every incarnation of the GSII software. I un rooted and went all the way back to the beginning. I used each rom version till the issue occurred, then I let the phone update to the next ROM version and repeated the process. Every single un rooted update had the same issue and then every single Rooted ROM all ROMS for the ET4G were tried and the issue occurred.
Strange part is it came out of nowhere. I have had and have been flashing for an entire year without issue and one day all of a sudden... BOOM. I don't think it is as simple as the signal issue. I think it has to do with flashing as well. Unless this is happening to someone who has never rooted their device, I think something in the roms we flash trigger the issue which is related to signal.
Has anyone known anyone who has never rooted their device and has had the issue? By the way, the store gave me a brand new factory OEM screen and the issue still occurs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the issue straight out of the box when we still had gingerbread. I hardly get it anymore besides on occasion
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Elw00d said:
I had the issue straight out of the box when we still had gingerbread. I hardly get it anymore besides on occasion
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Right outta the box before rooting it?

I personally think its hardware related with, either over time the screen moving and the heating up of the device causing phantom button presses... this only recently started happening to me and after i wipe screen with cloth while its turned off it goes away. for awhile... idk haha

I disabled the hardware capacitive keys and use the software on screen buttons. Problem solved
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

As said above, I had this issue on Gingerbread..out the box, no root. It'd press menu by itself lol, always gave me WTF moments. I'm on ICS now, and no problems at all.

Crazy, ok. Well I got the answers I was looking for. Thank you everyone for your info. Note 2, here I come.

Yup, happens here too. Menu key goes nuts when charging.

FYI just cause you want to get a developers opinion does not give you permission to ask a question in the development section.

Papa Smurf151 said:
FYI just cause you want to get a developers opinion does not give you permission to ask a question in the development section.
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I will begin chastising myself at once....

Gorguts said:
I will begin chastising myself at once....
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Click to collapse
Picture please ^^^^^^^^^
I have this issue on out of box uprooted and other sget4g were okay for some time after rooting and flashing custom made roms... They too fell prey to the mysterious phantom presses... Ahhh the horror.
My fix was....... To
I have had this issue several months and now have a good solution. Use this info posted by elijahbrown on Page 464 in PA thread I believe. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=34125394
" Disables menu key!
Ooookay..
Go to system/usr/keylayout
Select sec_touchkey. kl and edit as text. You'll see key 217 is search. Delete that line of code or put a "#" in front of it to turn it into a comment. Save the file.
Re boot and let meet know.
Just curious as to why you want to do this so bad? "
# comment out menu and search keys. Save file and Set permissions.
Then head over to the play store and get Button Savior. I paid for the advanced features and am very happy. Have to keep the phone until may 2013, sprint claims liquid damage so no replacement.
Button Savior on screen hidden pop up menu buttons works great and no more phantom presses menu or search pop ups ever again! 

[Q][Help] Phone constantly "reboots", stock firmware, have logcat!

Alright, so my girlfriend's Samsung Galaxy S II started to go through these weird partial reboots several weeks ago (maybe even months). The phone would randomly go black, play the stupid shutdown/startup (dont remember which) jingle...then just simply be at the lock screen with a crossed out circle where the signal bars would be (for just a couple of seconds). When this happened, I used to just tell her to shutdown the phone, take out the battery, and let it sit for about 30 seconds, then put everything back together and start it back up. This seemed to work, which made me think it might have just been a software or at worst a memory issue of some kind.
This issue was always intermittent, but now, no matter what I do, it just keeps looping this "restarting" problem. I can't access any internal memory space from my computer because in the time it takes to connect, it just "reboots" again. I made a logcat of the phone up until the "reboot", and in doing so noticed that when I would browse the phone via adb shell, I saw no mount for the sd card...which then lead me to believe maybe it was an issue with that. I checked the sd card for corruption (and prior to even using it, checked that all blocks were read/writable (legit)), but that led nowhere.
Anyways, not having any idea where to go next, nor where to begin or what to look for in the 5000+ lined logcat, I turn to xda with hopes of getting some sort of help. Thanks in advance for any I get!
EDIT: Oops, some other important notes I didn't mention (other than in title); this is running stock firmware, only OTA. I tried once to upgrade her to ICS via Kies, but the upgrade would never complete. She also refused to let me root her phone...so unless there is a stock recovery mode, her phone has none...

bump, as its been a week and no responses. If anyone has any ideas or can figure out whats wrong from the logcat, please help.

Almost 3 weeks...no answer...isn't there at least 1 person who has an idea or can deduce one from the logcat? Pretty soon I'm gonna have to tell her to give up and get it "fixed" (ie, swapped for a refurb with most likely all her data lost)...

EarthBoundX5 said:
Almost 3 weeks...no answer...isn't there at least 1 person who has an idea or can deduce one from the logcat? Pretty soon I'm gonna have to tell her to give up and get it "fixed" (ie, swapped for a refurb with most likely all her data lost)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at the logcat if it is accurate the problem is overheating and it is shutting itself down. That's why it keeps rebooting from I read but I could be wrong. Also looks like it has wakelock issues. Lot of wakelock errors in logcat. Some app or apps are causing the wakelock issue find them and remove them that might solve the problem.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

EarthBoundX5 said:
Almost 3 weeks...no answer...isn't there at least 1 person who has an idea or can deduce one from the logcat? Pretty soon I'm gonna have to tell her to give up and get it "fixed" (ie, swapped for a refurb with most likely all her data lost)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i say try to odin back her phone to stock on here there a good post for it to get her back and if she had Gmail sync there shouldnt be a problem unless she really dont want to download everything again i say give odin a shot and then from there upgrade through kies its tricky you have to make sure you have 50% battery life or more and kies errrors out sometimes but it does work i update my friends phone as he does not like all the root stuff lol so i always your kies after a couple errors it will work and thats your best option if she doesnt want to loose anything kies will back it all up for her and are you sure that power button aint sticking sounds like you have a looping issue are you able to go into download mode or are you familiar with this ?

Idk how to read logcats but another idea could be you have the sticky power button issue. I think if it was overheating u would feel it and mention it in the op.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

I used to have this problem when my phone was on ICS. I found that putting it back to GB, and using custom JB roms fixed it. I'd try those.

For starters, thanks everyone for the responses! After this long, its really great to see so many in one day!
richardlibeau said:
Looking at the logcat if it is accurate the problem is overheating and it is shutting itself down. That's why it keeps rebooting from I read but I could be wrong. Also looks like it has wakelock issues. Lot of wakelock errors in logcat. Some app or apps are causing the wakelock issue find them and remove them that might solve the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what I thought, because it seemed to get exceptionally hot before "rebooting"...at first...then I was noticing it "rebooting" when clearly cold. If it is indeed overheating like I had thought in the very beginning, is there anything I can do about it? What does it use for heat conductivity and displacement? And for that matter, I would think if it was overheating though, it would actually reboot, not the half-ass semi-reboot its been doing...
And what is wakelock exactly that it would cause an issue? Only apps I see using it are WootWatcher, KeyguardViewMediator and PowerManagerService.
krazierokz said:
i say try to odin back her phone to stock on here there a good post for it to get her back and if she had Gmail sync there shouldnt be a problem unless she really dont want to download everything again i say give odin a shot and then from there upgrade through kies its tricky you have to make sure you have 50% battery life or more and kies errrors out sometimes but it does work i update my friends phone as he does not like all the root stuff lol so i always your kies after a couple errors it will work and thats your best option if she doesnt want to loose anything kies will back it all up for her and are you sure that power button aint sticking sounds like you have a looping issue are you able to go into download mode or are you familiar with this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would use odin...but the phone doesn't stay on long enough to do much of anything before "rebooting". Also, she is already using stock firmware + OTA updates. And her contacts are not what I am worried about, its her photos and such. This is the very reason why I hate internal memory for phones...
And I'm pretty sure its not a sticky power button, I had seen that being a common issue when researching before posting. And again, if I have not been clear, its not exactly "rebooting", just semi-rebooting; phone starts up, crap starts running, a min or 2 later, phone acts like its restarting (plays sound and all), then just comes back to the lock screen immediately...I can't really describe it much more than that.
And no, I'm not familiar with "download mode"
bzlik88 said:
Idk how to read logcats but another idea could be you have the sticky power button issue. I think if it was overheating u would feel it and mention it in the op.
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Click to collapse
Ya, like I said in the reply above this, I don't think its the sticky power button problem...but I could always be wrong. I only didn't mention over heating because I felt I did a good job of ruling it out.
DeliciousLimeJuice said:
I used to have this problem when my phone was on ICS. I found that putting it back to GB, and using custom JB roms fixed it. I'd try those.
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Click to collapse
Its running GB atm, never updated to ICS via Kies...

I wish I could help you further but i can say one thing, the rebooting that your describing is called a "hot reboot". I know what ur talking about and others will too if u use that term. Good luck.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

I747m screen problem...please help!

Ive searched everywhere and can't seem to find anyone with a solution. Ive found a post with the same problem but no solution.
So yesterday my s3 started having problems waking up. Meaning when I lock it usually you bring up the lock screen by pressing the power button or home button. Problem is when I press either one, screen doesnt come on. The buttons do. If I tap the screen I can hear the ripple effect but the screen doesnt light up. I have to keep locking and unlocking till it finally works. Averege of about 6 tries. When I get a call most of the time the screen doesnt come on either. I can still answer since I know where the slider is. When I do turn it on everything works perfect. No flickering or any other issues. When it boots it works perfect...never fails. Just when I lock it.
I tried restoring already, thinking its a software issue...still does it. What piece of hardware could cause this? I'm stumped. Please any advice would be great.
I'm not rooted and running 4.1.1 oem rogers software.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

felcom said:
Ive searched everywhere and can't seem to find anyone with a solution. Ive found a post with the same problem but no solution.
So yesterday my s3 started having problems waking up. Meaning when I lock it usually you bring up the lock screen by pressing the power button or home button. Problem is when I press either one, screen doesnt come on. The buttons do. If I tap the screen I can hear the ripple effect but the screen doesnt light up. I have to keep locking and unlocking till it finally works. Averege of about 6 tries. When I get a call most of the time the screen doesnt come on either. I can still answer since I know where the slider is. When I do turn it on everything works perfect. No flickering or any other issues. When it boots it works perfect...never fails. Just when I lock it.
I tried restoring already, thinking its a software issue...still does it. What piece of hardware could cause this? I'm stumped. Please any advice would be great.
I'm not rooted and running 4.1.1 oem rogers software.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that you have something draining all your RAM or being hard on your CPU. When you restored, did you factory reset?
You might have to backup your stuff, factory reset. Test it, if it still does it, bring it up with Rogers for a replacement. If it doesn't, reinstall your stuff until you find the culprit.
You could troubleshoot it also by uninstalling the latest apps you installed.

BWolf56 said:
My guess is that you have something draining all your RAM or being hard on your CPU. When you restored, did you factory reset?
You might have to backup your stuff, factory reset. Test it, if it still does it, bring it up with Rogers for a replacement. If it doesn't, reinstall your stuff until you find the culprit.
You could troubleshoot it also by uninstalling the latest apps you installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said...Already did a factory reset. Meaning All apps were gone. Started fresh. Even without going through the first setup (setting up google account etc etc) if I lock the phone its hard to wakeup.
Phone is out of warranty so no go there....
I'm just not understanding what is causing it. I know the screen is fine...buttons are fine...everything points at a software problem. I found a post from a while back where someone was having the same problem....no solution was posted though. I even took the phone apart last night thinking a bad connection or something...disconnected the screen and reconnected it...didn't do anything.
If the screen was going bad wouldn't I have issues all the time? Once I wakeup the phone it works perfect...no flickering or anything. When it boots (which I've done like 30 times between today and yesterday) the screen has come on every single time perfectly fine. Everything tells me it's software related...but after doing a factory reset and running original firmware it seems as though it must be a hardware issue...but which component.
I know the phone wakes up when I press the buttons...I can see the menu and back buttons light up...and if I tap the screen the ripple sound is there...just the screen doesn't wake up....till I try a few more times....very frustrating.
Thanks Again for trying...if anyone has any ideas....greatly appreciated. I'll try and find original Rogers firmware and install with odin...see if that works....

felcom said:
Like I said...Already did a factory reset. Meaning All apps were gone. Started fresh. Even without going through the first setup (setting up google account etc etc) if I lock the phone its hard to wakeup.
Phone is out of warranty so no go there....
I'm just not understanding what is causing it. I know the screen is fine...buttons are fine...everything points at a software problem. I found a post from a while back where someone was having the same problem....no solution was posted though. I even took the phone apart last night thinking a bad connection or something...disconnected the screen and reconnected it...didn't do anything.
If the screen was going bad wouldn't I have issues all the time? Once I wakeup the phone it works perfect...no flickering or anything. When it boots (which I've done like 30 times between today and yesterday) the screen has come on every single time perfectly fine. Everything tells me it's software related...but after doing a factory reset and running original firmware it seems as though it must be a hardware issue...but which component.
I know the phone wakes up when I press the buttons...I can see the menu and back buttons light up...and if I tap the screen the ripple sound is there...just the screen doesn't wake up....till I try a few more times....very frustrating.
Thanks Again for trying...if anyone has any ideas....greatly appreciated. I'll try and find original Rogers firmware and install with odin...see if that works....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds indeed like software issue. I'm not so sure what would cause it on stock rogers though.
Either way, you can find the stock ROM on sammobile.com or on this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1822308
You'll need Odin to flash it. (It doesn't trigger the flash counter)

felcom said:
Phone is out of warranty so no go there....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you buy your phone with a credit card? Some cc's have warranty built in. Mine doubles what the manufacturer offers.

Thanks for the link. I will try it tonight and post the results. Really hoping it works.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

I downloaded the newest firmware. 4.1.2 official rogers. Problem persists. Must be a hardware issue. Thing is what could cause this? Is it the screen...is it the gpu? I imagine if its gpu the phone is only good for parts as I imagine its part of the motherboard. Oh well...might be getting the s4 sooner then planned.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

felcom said:
I downloaded the newest firmware. 4.1.2 official rogers. Problem persists. Must be a hardware issue. Thing is what could cause this? Is it the screen...is it the gpu? I imagine if its gpu the phone is only good for parts as I imagine its part of the motherboard. Oh well...might be getting the s4 sooner then planned.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're down for a little test, you could try with a custom ROM.
Use the link I gave you and flash pre-rooted Rogers' ROM. From there, install TWRP (or cwm) using goomanager (from the Play Store) and flash a custom ROM as per their instructions (Don't forget the Gapps).
Before anything though, make a backup
Never know, might save you some time on that S4.

BWolf56 said:
If you're down for a little test, you could try with a custom ROM.
Use the link I gave you and flash pre-rooted Rogers' ROM. From there, install TWRP (or cwm) using goomanager (from the Play Store) and flash a custom ROM as per their instructions (Don't forget the Gapps).
Before anything though, make a backup
Never know, might save you some time on that S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I might try it. Dont think I have too much to lose at this point. I always try and keep my phones nice so that when I get a new one I can sell the old one for good money to help offset the cost. This really messes with that system as the phone isn't worth much now...just bought an extended battery too...was planning to keep it for at least another 6 months.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

So just a quick update. For no apparent reason the phone started working fine again. It now turns on and off just fine. I'm not going to mess around with it anymore. That's really bizzare. I'll give it a couple days and will report back if it continuous to work fine or if the problem comes back. Thanks for the input.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

Volume keys not responding during call?

My volume keys don't work at all when in a call when the phone is held to my ear. To change the in call volume I have to take the phone off my ear so that the screen can come on, and then press the volume rocker.
Is this by design or is there something wrong with my device?

Update: this seems to be working intermittently for me. What could be the issue? I'm so stumped.

Same here. It's pissing me off. Anyone else have this issue?
Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using XDA Free mobile app

No problem on At&t stock
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I have the same problem. Stock international + ROOT and Xposed. It's really really annoying.

Hey,
Exactly the same configuration as above. Same issue as you all guys. I think this is intentional though

I don't believe it is, it would be the first phone I see with this "feature".

Ok, now I am really getting confused. Reading of @angadreme also having Xposed, I thought it must be some Xposed module. I disabled all of them and rebooted -> volume buttons working with screen off during call. I thought it could be one of the options about volume buttons with screen off of Sense 6 toolbox, so I re-enabled all modules except S6TB and rebooted. Volume buttons still working. Then I enabled S6TB again, rebooted and... volume buttons still working.

Still not responsive in call
Black Antitoon said:
I don't believe it is, it would be the first phone I see with this "feature".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
Am now wondering if my phone has an issue...I had this 'feature' (you're true, this should not happen at all...) since the very first day I bought it...all stock and so on.
Now that I'm running ARHD 8.0 with or withouht ElementalX, with or without Sense Toolbox, still the same issue...not TOO annoying, but still.
What do you suggest ? Shall I go for a replacement ?

No, it's clearly a software issue, I don't think it would make sense to ask for a replacement which would most likely have the same problem (assuming that they accept to replace the phone). If it's a firmware bug, it will sooner or later be fixed. If you had this problem even before rooting, it might be related to some app we have both installed. In case you find out more, please let me know, I am also going crazy for this little annoying issue!
By the way, after my last post, the volume buttons kept working without problems until I next rebooted the phone, which was several days later. Now they are again not working. -.-