Help Phone Shutting off randomly?

[jpovis]

I purchased my first Captivate in August 2010. It shut down occassionally. I didn't realize it was a Captivate issue until I joined this forum. I did know about the GPS issues when I bought it, but it was good enough at the time. Well, by January 2011, it began shutting off 2 to 3 times per day. After a 5 minute phone call with AT&T, I was sent a refurbished model, received in in 2 days! It's a 1007 build, with an IMEI well within the supposed "bad batch" range.
This 2nd phone has been perfect. I've had it for about 6 weeks, rooted, running Paragon RC6, and it's awesome. No shut downs, and GPS locks within seconds, and stays with me even at highway speeds.

 

[dipole]

With 2.1 I used the Keep Alive app and it worked. After upgrading to official 2.2 (via Kies) I could uninstall that app and it never shuts down.

 

[jblaze5779]

Just fyi, I was offered another model phone since I had gone through three phones with the shutdown issue. Unfortunately, the two models offered were the aria or the xperia x10.

booooooooooooooooooooooooo I just kept my shutting off captivate.

 

[jcollake]

You know, I noticed on my newer (still never shut off randomly again) Captivate a slight scratch on the camera lens cover. I don't know if it came that way or not though. Ironically, when buying a phone on eBay that was new, I also saw a scratch on its camera lens (different model). Are refurbished phones with slight defects such as that making it into the market? I mean, it seems to take ok pictures, but it bothers me knowing it is there and likely has some impact on the picture. Ah, who knows.

 

[Paul_P]

Exchanged mine last thursday for the random shutoff issue. Yesterday started freezing/locking up. Had to take the battery out to get it to turn back on. Think I need to head back to AT&T.

 

[jcollake]

Exchanged mine last thursday for the random shutoff issue. Yesterday started freezing/locking up. Had to take the battery out to get it to turn back on. Think I need to head back to AT&T.

There have been countless errant theories about how to mitigate this, and I've personally witnessed the strange difference of the presence of an application affect it even -- so it can be affected by lots of variables. One thing I recommend trying is being sure not to over-charge your battery. I don't mean let it run dry every time, but don't constantly keep it plugged up when not needed. Just another thing to TRY ...

My replacement phone hasn't had this issue reappear, but I suspect it may be in part to my change in charging behavior. More likely, I just got lucky.

 

[Big Pope Daddy]

There have been countless errant theories about how to mitigate this, and I've personally witnessed the strange difference of the presence of an application affect it even -- so it can be affected by lots of variables. One thing I recommend trying is being sure not to over-charge your battery. I don't mean let it run dry every time, but don't constantly keep it plugged up when not needed. Just another thing to TRY ...

My replacement phone hasn't had this issue reappear, but I suspect it may be in part to my change in charging behavior. More likely, I just got lucky.

You know what, I think the not keeping it plugged in holds some truth. I got my best battery life out of recalibrating the battery, and it got officially to 100%. It lasted like 26 hours...best I ever got.

I did start getting some freezing and I dumped the widget for Feeds and Updates. Suddenly, the phone stopped being laggy. Maybe just my experience, but so far so good.

I did swap out for a refurb due to random shutdown, and even though my IMEI # is in the "bad" range on the refurb, no issues after a week and a half.

 

[DT]

There have been countless errant theories about how to mitigate this, and I've personally witnessed the strange difference of the presence of an application affect it even

Yeah, I believe the root of it is a hardware issue, but it's triggered and exacerbated by specific mixes of software (kernel, drivers and apps).

I've had it happen <10 times since I've owned the phone (~8 months), but most happened with a specific ROM/app configuration (a few months ago), and with my last couple of ROM it hasn't happened one time.

 

[SamsungCaptivated]

Hello everyone,

Well, my Captivate was purchased in Dec 2010 and two days of owning it, it started to shut down randomly. I loaded CKA into the phone and running under 2.1 it ran flawlessly. Even my GPS worked well enough for me to not complain. When the official 2.2 OS came out, I hesitated but decided to upgrade hoping 2.2 would take care of the shutdown problem. 85 hours after upgrading to 2.2, the phone started the random shutdowns. I figured, no problem, I'll just load CKA back in. The phone is now randomly shutting down at least 3 times a day even with CKA, but at least the GPS worked well. If fact, today, I was waiting for an important text message and it never arrived because.... wait for it, wait for it.... the damn phone had turned itself off.

Well, if you've been following this post, you'd know I was against getting a replacement (refurb) due to the fact the many others who've received a refurbished warranty replacement unit have experienced problems with the new phone. I called AT&T many many many times regarding this issue but have not gotten around to getting a refurbished replacement unit. I am under the belief that since I bought a new phone, and it was defective to which Samsung admitted the defect, I deserve a new phone that is not defective. I refuse to settle. Finally I told them I was terminating my cellular service with them (I've had other issues with another phone on my account in addition to the Captivate problem). AT&T is now sending me a replacement phone, the HTC Inspire 4G to replace the Captivate free of charge (AT&T actually went out of their way to make sure I was happy. I give them props for that one. I wasn't expecting that!) Since I'm getting a new phone shipped to me, I decided to go to the local Device Support Center and swap my broken Captivate for another one to see how it would function (at least until I get the Inspire activated). So, I get the new unit (refurbished unit although I must say, it looks new... had plastic covering all over the phone just like a brand new unit and not a single scratch or fingerprint on it either) and it has Eclair 2.1 installed, JH7. They didn't bother upgrading it to 2.2. First thing I tried was the GPS. Guess what!??!? It constantly put me 1 to 2 blocks away from where I was standing and the position marker would drift back and forth never fully locking down a position even if it was a wrong location. At least my first Captivate had very accurate GPS. Since I just picked up the phone today, I don't know if the random powering off issue will surface with this phone. I am done with the Captivate. Samsung really screwed the pooch on this one. Their quality control is out the door. They crank out too many phones too often to fully QA test their devices. I am hoping the HTC won't give me headaches. Just a sidenote.... when I was talking to Retention Department and told them I wanted to switch to the iPhone 4 (disclaimer... I hate Apple, but at least I'm not aware of random shutdowns on the iPhone 4 and the antenna problem can be mitigated with a rubber "bumper") they told me they have internal memo from Apple advising them the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 have up to 35% dropped call rate. Apple considers that "normal" due to the complexity of their device and basically "my iPhone drops calls a lot" complaints are not indicative of a "defective" iPhone. Can you believe that?? In fact, AT&T steered me away from the iPhone because they didn't want me to experience more disappointment with the new phone. That was a first!

Anyway, thank you Androidforum for letting me vent and rant about the Captivate. I'm sure you'll find me in the Inspire forum lurking around (with a new name... it won't be SamsungCaptivated...)

 

[Horton66]

Goto Samsung.com and register your phone - That will give you the MFG date. If it was mfg'd in 2011, you're most likely ok - My current phone falls within the range and it is 100% fine.

I did register the phones.

The replacement phone shutdown yesterday. I will be calling amazonwireless again today. Unfortunately my 30 days from receiving the replacement was up three days ago. Hopefully they will work with me. If they do and I can keep from it I will not be replacing with another Captivate.

Still discouraged.

 

[gary1949]

On the other side of the coin . . .

The Captivate I purchased on 8/10/10 had occassional shutdowns and a gps that performed very poorly. I often could not get a lock at all on clear days and the Google Nav program was useless.

I got my Captivate replaced with a "refurb" unit two weeks ago - but it wasn't really a refurb. When I registered the phone with Samsung I found out that it was manufactured on 3/2/11, about two weeks before I got it. It was a new phone shipped in bulk pack (no retail packaging) to the U.S. Fyoyo had been installed.

The new phone works flawlessly - no lag whatsoever, no shutdowns, much, much better battery life (Like ~2X), and the gps is dead accurate and locks within 15 seconds. So Samsung has obviously making improvements to the Captivate since the original production runs.

Unfortunately, there's no way to predict whether the replacement phone you'll get is a true refurb that may have the poor performing gps or actually a new phone, recently manufactured, that has received design improvements during it's manufacturing run.

 

[xlude]

I am having the same problem. I bought the phone back in Feb. 2011. I had the phone for a week when it had turned off while charging. So I read on line about Captivate Keep Alive. I downloaded it and my phone has never turned off during a charge. But I do have a problem with it turning off when the phone as less then 50% power. I can make this happen ever time. I will use the phone all day with out a problem. I will run the battery down until it reaches less then 50% and let it sit for about 30min. I will try to wake it up and it will be off. I just turn it back on with the button and it powers right up. I can use it after that and it works without any problem. It just turns off that one time, every time that it first goes under 50% power.
I have the offical 2.2 update through Kies mini and it is rooted. The phone was made in Dec. 2010. My wife as the same phone and it has the update and rooted. It doesnt have the problem. I have other apps on it. So I dont know if it is a app or what.
I want to know if any one eles has noticed that the phone shuts down when it is less then 50% power. If I use the phone from the time I charge it and till it reaches any where under 50%, then I let it sleep for a little bit. Then go to wake it up it will be off. It wont turn off if I use it through the 50% or less. Only when I stop useing it after it reaches that point.

 

[fldude99]

^^^Why go thru all those exercises when you just got the dam thing? I would just return it on the 30 day free exchange deal

 

[Big Pope Daddy]

I am having the same problem. I bought the phone back in Feb. 2011. I had the phone for a week when it had turned off while charging. So I read on line about Captivate Keep Alive. I downloaded it and my phone has never turned off during a charge. But I do have a problem with it turning off when the phone as less then 50% power. I can make this happen ever time. I will use the phone all day with out a problem. I will run the battery down until it reaches less then 50% and let it sit for about 30min. I will try to wake it up and it will be off. I just turn it back on with the button and it powers right up. I can use it after that and it works without any problem. It just turns off that one time, every time that it first goes under 50% power.
I have the offical 2.2 update through Kies mini and it is rooted. The phone was made in Dec. 2010. My wife as the same phone and it has the update and rooted. It doesnt have the problem. I have other apps on it. So I dont know if it is a app or what.
I want to know if any one eles has noticed that the phone shuts down when it is less then 50% power. If I use the phone from the time I charge it and till it reaches any where under 50%, then I let it sleep for a little bit. Then go to wake it up it will be off. It wont turn off if I use it through the 50% or less. Only when I stop useing it after it reaches that point.

Call, and get a new phone. I ended up with a refurb, and I do not have any shut down problems at all. I did not have my phone shutting off during charging either. That seems odd!

Captivate Keep Alive is supposed to be set at whatever level you wish for battery life. I kept mine at 35%, meaning when it got to 35%, it would not use CKA anymore. But, from 100% to 35%, the app kept my phone from shutting off.

You have not had your phone long, and even if it is for a refurb, change it out! Get a new one! If you are in your 30 days, exchange it!!

 

[Jack45]

Call, and get a new phone. I ended up with a refurb, and I do not have any shut down problems at all. I did not have my phone shutting off during charging either. That seems odd!

Captivate Keep Alive is supposed to be set at whatever level you wish for battery life. I kept mine at 35%, meaning when it got to 35%, it would not use CKA anymore. But, from 100% to 35%, the app kept my phone from shutting off.

You have not had your phone long, and even if it is for a refurb, change it out! Get a new one! If you are in your 30 days, exchange it!!

OK, so we're 715 posts into this "phone shutting off randomly" thread and the answer remains the same.

Exchange it.

 

[Big Pope Daddy]

OK, so we're 715 posts into this "phone shutting off randomly" thread and the answer remains the same.

Exchange it.

Trust me, I know where the person I quoted is coming from. The thought of trading my brand new phone for a refurb seems a bit much, but I am very happy with a phone that stays on, and that I don't need CKA to suck the battery dry either.

Rooting made it even better....

 

[Jack45]

And for those whose 30 day "new phone" exchange window has closed, here's some hope:

Refurbs could very well receive more focused attention than devices rolling off an assembly line (half full vs. half empty).

 

[jblaze5779]

I wrote the BBB like the poster above. Three days later I got a call from AT&T and I have a Inspire 4g expected to be at my house tomorrow.

Thanks poster!

 

[ConsuDave]

Yes - I had this issue with my Captivate, too.

The problem has lessened. One thing that seems to have helped is never turning the screen towards my skin when I put the phone in a pocket. But it would also turn itself off when sitting on a table, plugged in, or most frequently, soon after unplugging.

Shoulda got an iPhone, having AT&T anyway.

 

[jcollake]

Dunno if there is any real correlation between how you put your phone in your pocket, though there might be. Several strange little things can affect it. For instance, simply not having a single totally unrelated app installed mitigated it on my old phone.

With this new phone, which came with a scratch on the camera (some replacement, damnit), I haven't had troubles. However, adjusting my charging habits seems to potentially be something that you may want to try. Previously, since I rarely go anywhere, I had let my phone remain in a state of high-charge.. perhaps bordering on over-charge were it not for in-built circuity. Anyway, NOT doing this seems to help.. as another poster also experienced. Give it a try, IF it even applies..

 

[EmAugusta]

I bought my Captivate in October... around December it would sort of restart itself (never turned off, just rebooted) then I didn't have the problem for a while... In January it started rebooting itself again, repeatedly. I took it to the AT&T store, they took out the battery and the SIM, turned it on, and it quit. About an hour after leaving the AT&T store, it started again... This continued for a month, of random fits of rebooting. In February I received a new Captivate from AT&T, no more than 20 mins after I put my SIM card into the new phone, it started to continuously reboot. The past 2 weeks I've been keeping a log of every time it would do this to take to the AT&T support center and complain. I ended up purchasing a $15 go phone to use with my SIM card when my other phone isn't working. It's unfortunate that I pay a lot of money to get a "cool new phone" that doesn't work, and my cheap go phone is the most reliable phone I've ever had. Can anyone help me figure out my problem? The people at the AT&T store also told me it may be fixed with the new update. They said it would be available in a "few weeks" and it's been almost 2 months... I've received text messages from AT&T saying that the update is available, but every time I send a request for an update, it says there isn't one. WTF AT&T?!

 

[Despotes]

I bought my Captivate in October... around December it would sort of restart itself (never turned off, just rebooted) then I didn't have the problem for a while... In January it started rebooting itself again, repeatedly. I took it to the AT&T store, they took out the battery and the SIM, turned it on, and it quit. About an hour after leaving the AT&T store, it started again... This continued for a month, of random fits of rebooting. In February I received a new Captivate from AT&T, no more than 20 mins after I put my SIM card into the new phone, it started to continuously reboot. The past 2 weeks I've been keeping a log of every time it would do this to take to the AT&T support center and complain. I ended up purchasing a $15 go phone to use with my SIM card when my other phone isn't working. It's unfortunate that I pay a lot of money to get a "cool new phone" that doesn't work, and my cheap go phone is the most reliable phone I've ever had. Can anyone help me figure out my problem? The people at the AT&T store also told me it may be fixed with the new update. They said it would be available in a "few weeks" and it's been almost 2 months... I've received text messages from AT&T saying that the update is available, but every time I send a request for an update, it says there isn't one. WTF AT&T?!

The 2.2 update won't fix your rebooting problem.
If you want to try it...
How Do I Update The Software On My AT&T SGH-i897 (Captivate) Phone To Android 2.2 (Froyo) Through Kies Mini For PC?

 

[tahjunk]

Hi
I got my phone back in Sept. 2010, and it was ok for around 1-2 months, then started the random shutting off. I called Samsung, and sent my phone in for repairs - they asked me to send only the phone, no battery or battery cover. anyway, I recvd my phone back in 10 days, but the problem persisted. I again called samsung, they told me to send the phone+battery, but i didnot. I called AT&T, and since I am still under warranty, got a replacement phone - a refurbished one, again only the phone body, not battery or batter cover. This phone didnt last even a day, before showing the same shutting down problem, plus this handset froze all the time, especially with my sim inside. I talked with at&t again, they sent me to their shop, but the shop manager refused to exchange it because I had the refurbished handset from the warranty center. However, he got me expediated service on battery replacement. I recd my new battery today, and my phone has not turned on at all. I again got on phone with at&t, and they are sending me another refurbished phone, again no battery or battery cover, just the handset. My original was updated to froyo 2.2, and the refurbished one also had froyo 2.2. so those waiting for the upgrade, sorry for the bad news, but the update didnt help me.
I am completely disillusioned with at&t support till now.
thanks for letting me vent.
tasneem

 

[MzDevious]

My Captivate did that when I first bought it, then I installed the unofficial version of Android 2.2 and it hasn't done it since. My husband has the same phone and his did the same thing. I installed the official 2.2 update and his is still randomly shutting down. I want to reinstall the unofficial one back onto his phone to see if it works but I don't want him to have to start fresh again.

 

[Tij]

Ive been having the same problem. but ive found out that it was the wifi that was causing my samsung galaxy ace to turn off by itself. after the phone goes into sleep mode it would not turn on and i would have to take out the battery to get it to come back on. so messed around with the wireless settings..unchecked "use packet data" from mobile network settings and haven't had the problem ever since.