Help Samsung S4 Freezing problem.

[tablet2011]

I have got a S4 yesterday and downloaded my apps and for some reason im having a problem today in that it keeps freezing for about 3 seconds.

it does it every few minutes or so and did think it was twitter doing it but its not as does it on other things on the phone.

Also on the Wi-fi icon its got the up and down arrows and they are always lit up.

so is something working away in the background that is causing the freezing problem and something that is always online?

i have shut down any apps that i dont need running but cant work out whats doing its.

Any help please.

 

[Rukbat]

It could still be syncing your contacts and calendars.

 

[gnosisjunky]

I think you are on the right track here. There may be an app that is doing something in the background. This could be Google sync as well. Because there are so many possibilities there are only two sure fire ways to find out. 1. Factory reset and when you download your apps again, do it one at a time and monitor what your phone does after each one. 2. Begin uninstalling apps until you find the culprit.

Not all app developers keep their apps up to date when new versions of android come out or there are complications when new versions change the way that the system operates.

This seems like it could be a huge hassle but a freezing phone would drive me insane. Good luck on this!

 

[BRAINZ2013]

Now u said you just got the s4 . not to be funny but did you check the data box and if you checked it . this maybe updating to either a new software such as kitkat or Jb . this is why when you turn on the device make sure you charge fully and while its discharging it will do all of its updates and minor usage at that time .

 

[tablet2011]

Now u said you just got the s4 . not to be funny but did you check the data box and if you checked it . this maybe updating to either a new software such as kitkat or Jb . this is why when you turn on the device make sure you charge fully and while its discharging it will do all of its updates and minor usage at that time .

when i set the phone up i made sure it had downloaded any updates and it has 4.3 on it and when i check for updates it comes up with

The software update service is not available maximum number of roll-out updates has been exceeded try again later.

im not sure what the above is all about or if there is a update problem at there end.

when i put it onto mobile data the little arrows only light up when i go on internet or a app but when its on Wi-Fi they are a light all the time which seems strange.

 

[tablet2011]

I think you are on the right track here. There may be an app that is doing something in the background. This could be Google sync as well. Because there are so many possibilities there are only two sure fire ways to find out. 1. Factory reset and when you download your apps again, do it one at a time and monitor what your phone does after each one. 2. Begin uninstalling apps until you find the culprit.

Not all app developers keep their apps up to date when new versions of android come out or there are complications when new versions change the way that the system operates.

This seems like it could be a huge hassle but a freezing phone would drive me insane. Good luck on this!

ive turn almost everything off that can Sync and still the same problem.

 

[gnosisjunky]

ive turn almost everything off that can Sync and still the same problem.

Do you have an sd card in there from a previous phone?

If so you may want to back up your pictures, songs, and any other stuff you wanna keep to a folder on your pc and then format the card with the phone. DO NOT FORMAT IT WITH A PC! Then you can put your pictures and stuff back on once you have a fresh sd.

I would also go ahead and do a factory reset. This will give you a fresh platform to start from.

Hope this helps

 

[BigRedGonzo]

When I first got my phone, it was doing some strange stuff involving WiFi and other things. The phone was brand new when I got it not a refurb. Before taking it back, I did a factory reset, because I knew they would do one at the store. It took care of all of the issues. If the other suggestions don't work, you may want to try the factory reset path (not from the menu system, but from the boot up menu.)

 

[tablet2011]

When I first got my phone, it was doing some strange stuff involving WiFi and other things. The phone was brand new when I got it not a refurb. Before taking it back, I did a factory reset, because I knew they would do one at the store. It took care of all of the issues. If the other suggestions don't work, you may want to try the factory reset path (not from the menu system, but from the boot up menu.)

I did a rest and seems to be ok so far but if it does happen again then how do i do a reset from the boot up menu?

 

[gnosisjunky]

I did a rest and seems to be ok so far but if it does happen again then how do i do a reset from the boot up menu?

Press and hold down these buttons in this order...Volume up, Home button, Power button. Hold these 3 down until the phone vibrates. You will see the normal samsung boot animation and then at the upper left it will say "recovery booting" You will be given a menu with 6 different options. Use volume buttons to navigate down to wipe data/factory reset and press the power button to select it. Follow the instructions from there.

Glad your phone is acting better

 

[tablet2011]

Press and hold down these buttons in this order...Volume up, Home button, Power button. Hold these 3 down until the phone vibrates. You will see the normal samsung boot animation and then at the upper left it will say "recovery booting" You will be given a menu with 6 different options. Use volume buttons to navigate down to wipe data/factory reset and press the power button to select it. Follow the instructions from there.

Glad your phone is acting better

Many thanks for that will give that a go if i get the same problem again.

Have to say since i did reset the moving of screens does seem a bit slower as in that they are not so fast as when first got it.

but maybe that will happen as it fills up with Apps and stuff?

also its a dam good phone.

 

[gnosisjunky]

Many thanks for that will give that a go if i get the same problem again.

Have to say since i did reset the moving of screens does seem a bit slower as in that they are not so fast as when first got it.

but maybe that will happen as it fills up with Apps and stuff?

also its a dam good phone.

Absolutely. I have been through so many apps over the years. I have found only a handful of apps that I actually use on a regular basis and that have been found to have next to zero impact on the performance of my phones. The less you have going in the background the better. Also I recommend that you turn off automatic updates from the play store if its on because more often then not these updates are for things like support for newer versions of android that you may not have yet or support for a language that you dont speak. If updates are available always read what its for. If it isnt to address an issue that you are having specifically then there is no need to do it. Sometimes they may be adding new features and in this case I would kinda give it test phase so that if something screwy happens you can single out what happened. Glad your phone is running better

 

[BigRedGonzo]

Press and hold down these buttons in this order...Volume up, Home button, Power button. Hold these 3 down until the phone vibrates. You will see the normal samsung boot animation and then at the upper left it will say "recovery booting" You will be given a menu with 6 different options. Use volume buttons to navigate down to wipe data/factory reset and press the power button to select it. Follow the instructions from there.

Glad your phone is acting better

In case you need to do this, I just noticed one thing that gnosis left out. Make sure you start this process with the phone powered off. Not asleep, but completely off. The rest of the instructions are spot on.

 

[lowlyworm]

Press and hold down these buttons in this order...Volume up, Home button, Power button. Hold these 3 down until the phone vibrates. You will see the normal samsung boot animation and then at the upper left it will say "recovery booting" You will be given a menu with 6 different options. Use volume buttons to navigate down to wipe data/factory reset and press the power button to select it. Follow the instructions from there.

Glad your phone is acting better

I just started a new thread with a somewhat similar need.

My phone is alive, but the display is dead.

I don't suppose you could tell me the exact number of button pushes to do the FR?

Flying blind here...

 

[BigRedGonzo]

After the vibrate when booting up into Recovery, wait about 20 seconds. Volume down 3 times, Power one time, Volume down 7 times, Power one time. I don't know how long you will need to wait for it to finish its thing, but when it is done, Power one more time to reboot. Good luck this isn't something I would want to tackle blind, but I don't guess you can really hurt anything.

Is your screen completely dead, or do you get the boot animation when you power up the device?

 

[lowlyworm]

Thanks for the click map on what to do. Screen is completely dead except for a brief flash on the right side. The menu and return buttons light up. I hear the cute jingle when it boots, so I think it's still alive, sans screen.

 

[lowlyworm]

After the vibrate when booting up into Recovery, wait about 20 seconds. Volume down 3 times, Power one time, Volume down 7 times, Power one time. I don't know how long you will need to wait for it to finish its thing, but when it is done, Power one more time to reboot. Good luck this isn't something I would want to tackle blind, but I don't guess you can really hurt anything.

Is your screen completely dead, or do you get the boot animation when you power up the device?

My most hearty thanks, BRG. This worked perfectly on the very first try.

I plugged it into the PC with the USB cable afterwards to shop around at was was on the viewable file system and it looks like this wiped it completely clean.

Now all I have to do is pray the refurbed unit isn't a lemon.