Continuous soft reboot - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

All, having a weird issue. I was on the phone yesterday using an automated menu system and my phone restarted. No rhyme nor reason why. It did that repeatedly throughout the day. I tried flashing a new ROM version, Phoenix 6.0!!, with no luck. I tried a normal restart, power down and then up, running a virus scan, pulling the batter for 30 minutes and no difference. The phone continued to restart. I finally got fed up and my battery was almost dead so I turned the phone off.
The phone was off for probably 5 hours and I charged it while off. I restarted the phone and transferred all of my content off, expecting to Odin back to stock and reflash Phoenix. The phone seemed to be behaving so I left it alone and plugged it into the wall for the night.
I got up this morning and everything appeared to be good. Went to work and still no problems, phone had an uptime of over 12 hours. Which would be what I would expect. Had the phone on my desk and I noticed it had restarted. When I mean it restarted, it went back to the boot animation and then loaded to the android screen and performed media scan and all my apps loaded on the home screens and services started up.
I went back to Settings->About->Status and the uptime was 18 hours now. So even with the restart, the uptime was still counting. Needless to say, I'm at a lose. Can't isolate any event that causes this reset or any app. Could I have gotten something from the automated call system? Is something just weird. I had been running Phoenix 5.2 for a few weeks with now problems so I'm confused. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I will probably flash back to stock and start again but I'd like to isolate this problem if possible.

To the best of your knowledge, no apps were just added, our settings adjusted?
Either way I would odin flash master clear. May even run stock for a but to see if behavior stops
Sent from my Captivate using XDA Premium App

sounds like a problem with the infamous 850-1900mhz handoff....
if your signature is accurate, that modem you are using is 1900mhz only i believe....it doesnt support 850, so if you are in an area where its trying to hand off to 850, it will cause a soft reboot.....i have seen it a million times myself when playing with the first run of i9000 roms

Pirateghost said:
sounds like a problem with the infamous 850-1900mhz handoff....
if your signature is accurate, that modem you are using is 1900mhz only i believe....it doesnt support 850, so if you are in an area where its trying to hand off to 850, it will cause a soft reboot.....i have seen it a million times myself when playing with the first run of i9000 roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...I have been using an i9000 roms for a few months with no issues. The last modem I was using was I9000UJK4, I think? I don't know without flashing back, whatever came with Phoenix 5.2 ROM. I had zero problems. I only flashed to that modem/ROM, Phoenix 6.0, in an attempt to fix the soft reboot.

flash just the JK4 modem and i bet the soft reboots stop. what you have listed there is i believe a 1900mhz only modem....

Pirateghost said:
flash just the JK4 modem and i bet the soft reboots stop. what you have listed there is i believe a 1900mhz only modem....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that, when I can find it to download but the problem started with the JK4 modem. I was running Phoenix 5.2 with a JK4 modem and only flashed to the new one in an attempt to wipe whatever was causing the data.

Flashing UGJK4 right now, I'll see if that fixes anything however I'm not super confident since the problem occurred originally with a JK4 modem.
Update: Rebooted once after modem flash. Going to wait for a bit and see what happens.

if that doesnt work, i would think its a problem with your hardware

Pirateghost said:
if that doesnt work, i would think its a problem with your hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the modem switch doesn't work, I'm first going to flash to stock and master clear. If the problem goes away, I'll flash to Phoenix again. If the problem comes back, it'll have to be part of my SW. If the problem persists at stock, back to AT&T for a refurbished phone.
Update: Looks like things are pretty stable right now. I'm not super in-tune with how the modems work but is there a way to allow the JK4 modem to use 850 or 1900 speeds, like an auto setting that will choose the best one. I use SGS tools for secret codes so if its in there let me know. So far so good, thanks pirate.

Reviving an old thread because I am also having soft reboot issues.
Unlike the previous poster, I am not using an i9000 based kernel. I am running the latest leaked Gingerbread for the i897 (JK3), rooted via Fugu kernel swap method; the only other tweak to stock has been to freeze via TiBu the AT&T Tethering Manager. I am even using the stock launcher as I try to isolate what is causing this.
The phone goes through spells where it will soft reboot every 10 minutes or less, and then periods where it will go days where it is stable. I have had this issue with multiple versions of the 2.3.3 and 2.3.5 leaks and am nearing wits end figuring out the cause.
Before each flash (and I have flashed multiple times with different stock leaks) I am wiping data and cache via recovery (I do not have CWM installed), then restoring apps only via TiBu. I have tried to be judicious about what I reinstall, but have not been able to identify if there is a misbehaving one yet.
I suspect this is software and not hardware, since I had this problem on my first Cap and have already done one warranty exchange; the external SD card, though, is the same for both.
I've looked for kernel panic logs and have not seen any, and have yet to find a good way to trap what is causing this.
This is my work issued phone (does Exchange sync and has company policies sent to it), so I am loathe to go all the way to a custom ROM, even though I realize that I voided the warranty when I rooted and went to leaked ROMs.
Anyone have an ideas as to what could be causing this, how I can isolate the problem, and hopefully resolve it once and for all? Worst case, I could go back to Froyo until AT&T finally drops the promised Gingerbread update, but I had different issues with Froyo with Market updates not always finishing and apps on the SD card not always being recognized.

Related

reboot loop

I used to have random reboots on Nexus One, but after updating to Froyo 2.2 (before the official release), I had noticed the random reboots to get more (like 2-3 a day), but now the phone is totally useless, it does reboot constantly, and when it's connected to Power, it reboots couple of times, then gets stack at the Nexus logo.
I have put the stock firmware back, EPE54B, and it even detected 2.2 and Google pushed me the official release and still no go (yes, I did clear cache, etc)
I loaded up the log program and checked the logs after a reboot to see if it was some sort of kernel panic or something, but it does not show anything per say.
I even tried w/o SIM or w/o memory card and the results were not conclusive, it worked for some time, then started rebooting on its own. Sometimes I notice the phone is very hot, which makes me think that it might be faulty hardware (ram, etc)
Has anyone seen such an occurence, would HTC repair the device now the bootloader is unlocked or is this just a thin paper weight ? I think I read someplace that they still honor hardware repair...
Thanks,
Houman
Mine reboot when it overheats during charging. There are several overheating threads u should check out.
Sent from my Nexus One
Just be honest
houmi1 said:
I used to have random reboots on Nexus One, but after updating to Froyo 2.2 (before the official release), I had noticed the random reboots to get more (like 2-3 a day), but now the phone is totally useless, it does reboot constantly, and when it's connected to Power, it reboots couple of times, then gets stack at the Nexus logo.
I have put the stock firmware back, EPE54B, and it even detected 2.2 and Google pushed me the official release and still no go (yes, I did clear cache, etc)
I loaded up the log program and checked the logs after a reboot to see if it was some sort of kernel panic or something, but it does not show anything per say.
I even tried w/o SIM or w/o memory card and the results were not conclusive, it worked for some time, then started rebooting on its own. Sometimes I notice the phone is very hot, which makes me think that it might be faulty hardware (ram, etc)
Has anyone seen such an occurence, would HTC repair the device now the bootloader is unlocked or is this just a thin paper weight ? I think I read someplace that they still honor hardware repair...
Thanks,
Houman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I hear, if your honest and tell google that you unlocked your bootloader they will still repair your device, I don't know about replacing it if it can't be repaired. But before you go that route try troubleshooting. Make sure you have the correct radio, not all roms come with the correct radio. Non-compatible kernals can become a issue to, if you flashed a custom kernal. I get the bootloop problem if I flash a rom without wiping, which I never do, except when the instructions say no wipe required, and then I get the bootloop issue. So try a full wipe, data, dalvik & cache, ext, and then reflash your rom.
I had random reboots up the wazoo. My phone was unlocked/rooted/running FRF93. I downgraded to other versions of Froyo and even went back to 2.1/CM and it was still rebooting.
Turns out that HTC actually puts it through a reasonable testing procedure to determine if it was in fact the user that damaged the phone. So even if it is unlocked/rooted and the phone passes the test, you will get your repair free of charge just like me. I'm currently waiting for them to ship my phone back.
Although I have heard horror stories from HTC, so I really think it depends on the moon cycle...
Like a poster above said, BE HONEST. Let them know the truth that it's rooted/unlocked but currently running a standard ROM. If they give you the standard "if it's rooted, you're going to have to pay", tell them that you're heard of their testing procedure to determine if it's the user's fault. Go to a supervisor if you have to.
Hi,
Thank you all for the responses... so I decided to leave the battery out completely for one day, then put the battery in the phone, and I did quickly use the phone to wipe it as well as wiped the storage clean... so the phone should be back to regular day 1 status other than boot loader being unlocked. I guess by putting the PASSIMG.zip which has EPE54B files, I forgot, and it also flashed over the ramon recovery as well.
Then I turned off the phone but connected it to the charger and let it charge completely, this morning I turned on the phone and it has been on w/o reboots.
So this points to either heat, radio (wireless, 3g) -- it does not have a sim in it currently, but the good news is that it's not rebooting. I think I'll play with wireless first, then add 3g then we'll see where it takes me, but if it comes to returning it to HTC/Google, I'll be honest of course.
This has by the way:
Android Version: 2.2
Baseband: 32.36.00.28U_4.06.00.12_7
Kernel 2.6.32.9-27227-g3c98b0d
Build FRF91
houmi1 said:
Hi,
Thank you all for the responses... so I decided to leave the battery out completely for one day, then put the battery in the phone, and I did quickly use the phone to wipe it as well as wiped the storage clean... so the phone should be back to regular day 1 status other than boot loader being unlocked. I guess by putting the PASSIMG.zip which has EPE54B files, I forgot, and it also flashed over the ramon recovery as well.
Then I turned off the phone but connected it to the charger and let it charge completely, this morning I turned on the phone and it has been on w/o reboots.
So this points to either heat, radio (wireless, 3g) -- it does not have a sim in it currently, but the good news is that it's not rebooting. I think I'll play with wireless first, then add 3g then we'll see where it takes me, but if it comes to returning it to HTC/Google, I'll be honest of course.
This has by the way:
Android Version: 2.2
Baseband: 32.36.00.28U_4.06.00.12_7
Kernel 2.6.32.9-27227-g3c98b0d
Build FRF91
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any updates? I have a similar issue
Yeah I basically think it's heat related and unrelated to the firmware, RAM, etc.... I had the phone at a very cool place and it works perfectly, and when I started using it, as it got hot, it started rebooting, and I noticed the back of the phone was very hot.
So I think nxt was right #2 in this thread.
Houman
The above observation would seem to make sense. My phone would reboot while trying to watch youtube videos sometimes, but ALWAYS within a few minutes of using it on the mains...
I have since had it sent back to HTC to have the phone repaired. I had rooted my phone just to get 2.2 however as it was a genuine hardware issue they replaced the main board and now not only does the phone not reboot anymore, the issues I had with no 3G (only Edge) have disappeared too. Happy
BANE
Hi
So I got my phone back from htc, they basically fixed it and even locked the bootloader so all is well
Just FYI
Houman

Fixing random shut down

My wifes captivate has the random shut down issue. Already got replacement phone and it started back up after a few weeks. If I use Odin one click to restore ucjf6 (or upgrade her phone to froyo) will this end my shutdown woes? I have been under the impression that the shutdown issue was a software problem.
I can't say I've ever heard of that happening to a stock rom (I'm guessing you never flashed any custom ROMs on to it)...
At this stage, I think it'll be better off if you take it back to AT&T as you've not really done anything to it (modding/romming wise).
Its out of warranty.she has been dealing with it by using an app from the market. I was hoping that upgrade to froyo would over write the defective software. Then I got to thinking that maybe odin would do the same thing.
The app from the market works perfectly, but it kills her battery life(it's called Captivate Keep Alive from Blue Steel).
Hmm, then yeah I suggest for you to flash her phone... Possibly to a custom ROM at this stage. Stock ROMs usually have way too much bloatware.
Also, if you can please check what version of Captivate she has... It'll be underneath where her battery is.
Usually a four digit code (1006,1007,1008,etc).
Hers is 1008.
Yeap, you should be fine to use any of these ODIN files.
2.1 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SBSMALFJ
2.2 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QL6NX702
If you need instructions, just yell again
I would probably recommend the 2.2 one (if you're not going to flash any custom ROMs).
If you are thinking of custom ROMs, then I recommend going to 2.1.
Thanks for the help. I, and my wifes battery, appreciate it.
My cappy also just randomly shuts off, but i know it isn't the battery because I've switched batteries from another cappy. I also heard there were re-calls on some cappy's as well. can it also be a hardware problem?
I have installed Firefly 3.0 on my captivate every now and then when the battery gets low to like 30% it turns off and then i gotta pop the battery out and pop it back in because it randomly shuts down. It has happened in games, phone calls from friends that are in iraq, and various other things. I just reloaded fire fly onto my phone but I am not sure whats going on with it.
After trying about everything to kill this gremlin, deleting widgets, CKA, Load Monitor, etc., I went back to JF6, charged the phone fully and let it run. The problem is still here. On the very next battrery cycle after reverting to JF6, the random shutdown occurred again while running off battery with a bone stock set-up. The battery was at about 70% when the failure occurred. (It is a new battery too.)
I bot my fone last Sept, just shy of one year ago. So today I called ATT and after a short discussion with the rep, a replacement is on the way. I described the problem and advised that one by one I had un-installed all the widgets and apps that I thought might be causing problems, then mentioned resorting to the factory reset.
A few questions followed. Then I was on hold awhile. I'm really glad I reverted to JF6 and ran the stock set-up to the fail condition. It allowed me to speak to the rep with confidence, and high hopes that they would get me an exchange. When it came time to answer questions about the Settings About details, it was all right as rain.
Now the question is will the new device have the power-off Gremlin? We shall see!
Guess I'll have some fun flashing different set-ups for these next few days 'til the replacement arrives.
Then one last flash to JF6 and back this first cappy goes...
If you are experiencing this shutdown issue, get back to stock and see if it stays. If you have had your phone less than one year, and it's dying on you, you should be able to get a refurb.

Do any ROMs fix the shutdown problem?

I tried to search but alas Tapatalk isn't very good at that.
I bought a Captivate via eBay. Before I press to return it, is there a fix or ROM that fixes the dreaded random shutoffs? I tried resets and the GB Serenity ROM but alas I'm still encountering it...rather frequently. Every hour or less it'll shut off. So, other than the battery draining Captivate Keep Alive app...is there a real solution?
barring anything physical with your phone .. I have not had any sleep deaths or random reboots since switching to Fusion-CM-ICS-beta. It used to be a chronic issue with my phone.
Thanks for the fast reply Garyth. I'll give it a go.
I've heard the aosp roms seem to help the problem (this includes the ICS roms). They use different drivers than Samsung roms.
So far, so good. Data is consistently faster as well. Thanks again!
Hmm. Still getting random yet pervasive shut downs.
I believe this was a known hardware issue as well. There is a thread around somewhere will effected build numbers.
I saw that thread and don't believe mine is in the range. I'll be calling the seller tomorrow anyway.
Not sure if you are in the same boat as me, since the IMEI of my phone does fall into that catergory of the "recalled" phones, but since it was out of warranty by the time I saw that post, they wouldn't exchange it at the store.
At any rate, here's what I've gone thru:
Back in the Froyo times, I "think" CM7 fixed the issue, but I was too fidgety at the time so I was always trying new roms so I don't remember 100% if that was true or not.
I read somewhere that this could be caused by the battery shifting around due to temp changes as it charge/discharges, and that you should put some electrical tape or whatever to make sure your batt. made good contact. Didn't work for me at all.
So finally what fixed the problem was Captivate Keep Alive app, it's in the market.
First I tried it with two ICS roms: ICSSGS and Fusion, with Platypus and IcyGlitch kernels. The app work fine with a setting of 85%, but I was getting "charge death" as well, which I've never had before.
So now I've rolled back to KK4 (Serenity ROM) with the latest Corn kernel, and for some reason I have to set the app to 80% charge but works.
There'll be definitely an increase in battery drain, but for me it hasn't been that bad.
I used to have that problem when I first got my cappy, had froyo KB1 on it, and it would randomly shut down. Eventually when I got into hacking the android, when I finally updated to newer bootloaders, the problem went away. Though I can't recommend flashing bootloaders, since you can hard brick your phone if unsuccessful. Just saying that's what seemed to solve the problem for me.
mrhaley30705 said:
I've heard the aosp roms seem to help the problem (this includes the ICS roms). They use different drivers than Samsung roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone confirm this?
crt60 said:
I used to have that problem when I first got my cappy, had froyo KB1 on it, and it would randomly shut down. Eventually when I got into hacking the android, when I finally updated to newer bootloaders, the problem went away. Though I can't recommend flashing bootloaders, since you can hard brick your phone if unsuccessful. Just saying that's what seemed to solve the problem for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what bootloader fix that to you?
Mine only rebooted randomly once when on eclair. Haven't had a problem in gb or ics.
Posted from my ICS'd Captivate
That would help if eclair wasn't completely useless.
Sent from my Samsung Captivate running Team ICSSGS 4.0.3
I tried Captivate Keep Alive. Even it didn't work. A replacement phone is on its way. The IMEI was actually affected, but I didn't realize at first because I only looked at the last digits. Apparently was a really early build. The seller photographed the new IMEI before shipping it out so I could verify.
I have Dark Knight's 4.0.4 ROM since 2 weeks ago.
At the moment, and I hope it remains 0 reboots.
Just wanna share with you, is up to you to try it....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1501615
By the way, with this ROM also I got the best Quandrant Benchamark score (2400) without overcloking...
I'll keep that in mind but I got a replacement that works really well. I ended up getting it from another seller though.

Help diagnosing freezes and random reboots

I am hoping someone has dealt with either of the following problems, and come up with a way to effectively diagnose and fix either.
The phone - 1101 build; running AT&T Stock KK4; rooted via kernel swap method (using stock KK4 kernel after swap, i.e., do not have clockwork recovery); some AT&T bloatware frozen with TiBu, otherwise stock with root
Problem #1 - roughly once a day, the phone will freeze when in sleep mode; I have had this happen with both the slide to unlock and Exchange PIN lock screen up; when I hit power to wake the phone, the screen wakes up but is unresponsive and then the screen won't shot off again; live wallpaper is frozen in place, but if the phone was plugged in, the battery icon continues with the animation loop. And if the phone is not plugged in, battery power drops rapidly in this state.
The phone isn't completely dead, because if I connect/disconnect it via USB (set to debug mode) to my laptop, the computer recognizes the phone is connected, but it is dead enough that if I call the phone, it does not recognize the missed call. The only way I can restore the phone is a battery pull. Usually it takes several minutes for the phone to come back after this, acting like it would if I had flushed the dalvik cache or installed an update.zip from recovery.
Problem #2 -also roughly once a day, at random times the screen will wake up momentarily, then clear, and I will hear the AT&T boot up sound, after a short while, the phone will run through the media scanner and any other startup launches, acting as though it had been turned on, but the battery stats show continuous uptime throughout. I have had this happen when using the phone, including when on a phone call (and the call did not drop).
I have seen problem #2 on virtually all of the AT&T GB leaks, and it seems to get more frequent the more apps that are installed. I had not seen problem #1 until recently.
The phone is out of warranty, and owned by my employer. I am not due for a new phone from them until July. I've done more master clear/reflash stock cycles than I care to admit, tried replacing/testing for disk errors the external SD card, etc..., and am afraid of doing that and having the problems come up again.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose either of these problems?
Hmm... I don't really think there is an exact diagnosis for any of these issues. Some phones are just problematic like that. The only thing I can suggest is trying a different ROM or kernel, and that might help your stability.
I have the exact same problems. Hope someone comes up with a fix. The only help I can give you is that when the phone freezes, instead of pulling the battery, you can hold the vol up & power buttons for 10 seconds and the phone will restart. Easier than pulling your phone apart, especially if you have it in a case, like I do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
korockinout13 said:
Hmm... I don't really think there is an exact diagnosis for any of these issues. Some phones are just problematic like that. The only thing I can suggest is trying a different ROM or kernel, and that might help your stability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, the way I see it, unfortunately these problems could be a function of:
Bad hardware
Misbehaving app
ROM issue
Kernel issue
I tried pretty much every leaked AT&T GB ROM and had random reboots with all of them. Seems to track with the number of apps installed, but can't prove that. I have not tried any custom ROMs or kernels.
Since this is technically not my phone, I am trying to avoid doing anything that can't really be undone if I need to turn the phone back in at some point. And I need something that can be a daily driver for work calls and Exchange email, and rely heavily on tethering when I am on the road.
Anyone with ideas on what to test, or how to capture enough log information to figure out where the problem is, would be a big help. Otherwise, I am stuck riding this out until July when I can get a new phone from my employer.
Nothing you do can't be undone, it's just a simple Odin flash away.
Be sure to back up your efs folder before flashing too much
studacris said:
Nothing you do can't be undone, it's just a simple Odin flash away.
Be sure to back up your efs folder before flashing too much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used Odin with the various GB leaks; if I go further afield (heck, performance is dicey already, how many more problems could I have with one of the ICS alphas), is it still a straight shot back to stock KK4, or are there other steps to do first?
And before I go down that road, any suggestions on diagnostics (other than yet again pulling apps off of the Captivate to see if one of them is the culprit...?)
stoobie-doo said:
I've used Odin with the various GB leaks; if I go further afield (heck, performance is dicey already, how many more problems could I have with one of the ICS alphas), is it still a straight shot back to stock KK4, or are there other steps to do first?
And before I go down that road, any suggestions on diagnostics (other than yet again pulling apps off of the Captivate to see if one of them is the culprit...?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You actually might have less problems on ICS. But it all depends. You can always get back to stock with one, bootloader-free, safe flash. Diagnostics wise, there isn't really much you can do besides removing apps. I would only worry about the ones that are constantly running in the background, as they could possibly be screwing with the phone while in sleep. I think it's unlikely that this sort of testing would actually help though. I still say try something different.
stoobie-doo said:
Anyone with ideas on what to test, or how to capture enough log information to figure out where the problem is, would be a big help. Otherwise, I am stuck riding this out until July when I can get a new phone from my employer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same issues except in my case I have tried to recreate the conditions and check memory and I am close to maxing it out. Part of my problem is that I come from a Palm background and I have found that Android, or at least the Cappy, is not as responsive (I was really spoiled by Cards on my Pre) I was thinking that my Android noobness is causing me to push the phone too hard and locking it up. FWIW, you might want to check memory issues

Trouble with phone constantly shutting down ever since flashing ICS

This seems to be happening with every ics rom I flash. I first flashed ics to my phone when it first started to be ported to the Captivate.
My phone has suddenly started rebooting every so often (every 20-30 minutes.) My phone usually does this when it gets to about 60% battery. I have already tried calibrating the battery and using a different battery. Neither method has worked. Is anyone else having this issue or know how to solve it?
EDIT: meant to say shutting down not rebooting. Also it doesn't shut down on me while I use it, only when I set the phone down and the screen turns off.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA
That's generally hard to troubleshoot, but the first step I would take in this situation would be to bump up the lower frequency voltages. Of course you'd need a different kernel to do that. Try Glitch or Semaphore if you want. If you've never played with that stuff before, there is some necessary reading involved before you can know what to do.
This has been an on-going problem with Samsung Captivates, ive had that issue, Ive tried all the above. Including all the ROMs on xDA, and also different methods of flashing. And ive had no luck either. I went back to GB. If u do find a fix, let me know.
In my opinion, i think its our phones, some can handle it, and unlucky ones cant. Sucks.
same issue with me. the last four digits of my IMEI are below the cutoff point of phones who would eventually have the issue.
Every single ICS rom shuts off my phone randomly. ever since I went back to GB, it has been running fine. tried a bunch of stuff to, but nothing works.

Categories

Resources