Help Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 freezing & rebooting

[Gothchick65]

I have only had my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 for a few days but it has been freezing and rebooting several times. Anybody know why and is there a fix - is it a hardware or software problem. I have updated to Jelly Bean 4.1.2. Thanks.

 

[j800r]

That possibly sounds like a hardware person. If you've only just got it then take it back to the store and have them look at it. You'll still be under warranty.

 

[Smokey Mc Pot]

Factory reset it and clean the partition. That should be enough to fix it.

 

[Gothchick65]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've done some more digging and it seems there is a problem with the Ace 2 being able to run Jelly Bean - there are reports of the phone having slowed down as well as crashing and rebooting. There are instructions how to roll back to Gingerbread but I am not comfortable doing this on my very first smartphone.

Smokey, I assume if I did a factory reset it would delete everything on my phone - am I right? Any other comments or advice would be gratefully received!

 

[j800r]

A full reset would remove all apps and data from your phone, yes (not anything installed to external memory). However, the most important files can be easily backed up using Kies, or Google/Samsung backup for certain things.

Yes, Jelly Bean firmware for the Ace 2 has been terribly optimised, however, not really bad enough to cause the problems you've been experiencing. Mostly just occasional UI lag and the MC8 firmware also has a bug where streaming video lags. Sometimes so extremely that it renders your phone useless until it either (a) catches up or (b) you do a hard restart. Later versions of the firmware potentially fix that.

If you experience the streaming video bug it can't really be fixed without rooting so you'll just have to grin and bear it until an update is issued. For UI lag installing Nova Launcher can usually clear most of that up.

It's still not normal to have frequent crashes and restarts. Especially if they're persistent.

 

[LM1]

I`ve had this problem since i bought it 3 months ago.I thought it was a combo of 4.1.2 being too much for the phone and badly optimized.
I got so fed up with it i bought an s4 which is so much better and smoother, not one problem!.
I sold the ace 2 but had to take it back and send it off for `repair` through Carphone warehouse, who wouldn`t exchange it for a new phone.
I think it`s pretty shocking this phone just doesn`t work well out of the box i`d never buy an ace 2 again that`s for sure.
I just got the phone back and they`ve updated the firmware.I`m putting it through its paces with sync on facebook, gmail, soundcloud, whatsapp and music playing and it hasn`t broken a sweat yet fingers crossed.Even the new youtube is working fine.

 

[Gothchick65]

Thanks for your replies. Having done some more research on this problem, it seems that it's Jellybean which is causing the problem. Apparently the Ace 2 just can't keep up with it! The freezing problem doesn't see to be as bad lately but it still restarts itself for no apparent reason. I've checked and I'm still running 4.1.2 so I'm wondering how Carphone Warehouse has updated yours, LM1. I must admit I'm not as savvy about mobile phones so I may be asking stupid questions! Any other responses would be very helpful.

 

[wigfield]

My Ace 2 came out of the box with JellyBean and ive not had any laggy issues.

 

[j800r]

Thanks for your replies. Having done some more research on this problem, it seems that it's Jellybean which is causing the problem. Apparently the Ace 2 just can't keep up with it! The freezing problem doesn't see to be as bad lately but it still restarts itself for no apparent reason. I've checked and I'm still running 4.1.2 so I'm wondering how Carphone Warehouse has updated yours, LM1. I must admit I'm not as savvy about mobile phones so I may be asking stupid questions! Any other responses would be very helpful.

Do not listen to people when they tell you that. It is more about Samsung correctly optimizing the firmware for the device. It has next to nothing to do with the phone's hardware capabilities of running the OS.

Unfortunately unless they do some serious work we're not likely to see much of an improvement. Upgrading us to 4.2.2 may well fix the issues as it is WAY better performing anyway.

and to the other person who said they had issues. If you could afford an S4 I don't know why you didn't just go for one anyway. Why settle for a subpar performing budget device when you can afford the best?

 

[gioakr]

Hello everyone!
I have the same problem with my galaxy ace 2.
I recently upgraded to jellybean, but i don't think that is the problem.
I have been trying to understand what is causing the constant restarts, by trying many things out.
My last distressful attempt though seems to be working. I removed the memory card last night and it hasn't restarted since. I don't understand what the problem might be,but i will buy a new memory card for sure.

 

[Gothchick65]

Thanks for that Gioakr. I've removed my SD card so it'll be interesting to see what happens. It's so frustrating when the phone suddenly decides to restart in the middle of typing a text. I am just starting to wonder if it does it when an app crashes. I was using Facebook this morning and it crashed twice and each time the phone restarted. Curious! Also, if it is the SD card causing the problem, does anyone know why this might be and if I inserted a new one, would it just cause the same problem?

 

[Gothchick65]

Update:
I've done some more digging and found that many people with this and other problems with upgrading the Galaxy Ace 2 with Jellybean suggested doing a factory reset. They recommended to do this after and major software update. So, after backing up all my data I did just that and so far so good and it does seem to be running a bit faster too!

 

[Smokey Mc Pot]

Here the instructions to solve the problem:
http://androidforums.com/showthread.php?p=6151638

 

[Gothchick65]

Another update
All is still well and I reckon the battery isn't running down as fast too. Thanks Smokey for the instructions.

 

[gioakr]

Hello again everyone!!
I have tried EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Last week I sent my phone to Samsung service (after all those resets i did with no result), so when it was back they told it's ok and it won't restart again.
A few hours later, I heard the same annoying sound of samsung rebooting!!!
I did not loose my temper and searched the Internet again for a new solution, when I read Smokey's post. I thought to myself : "Here is something I did not do!!". So I followed the instructions and hoped for a change...
I think you have already realised that it did not work.........
I communicated once again with local samsung service and they suggested to send it again! (The technician said something about the battery and that it might need a new one.) The truth is that when the phone is charging it doesn't reboot... We shall see... (fingers crossed!!)

 

[milesbennetdyson]

Last week I finally got round to updating to Jelly Bean via Kies. My phone has been crashing occasionally and seizing up, usually whilst watching videos (sometimes even filming a video causes problems). So I thought I'd have a look on here and would you believe whilst reading this thread the phone just restarted for no reason! Unbelievable.

ANyway I'll give Smokey's instructions a go and report back. I can't be putting up with the phone as it is. It worked perfectly running Gingerbread. If that doesn't fix it I think I'll be taking a trip over to the 'how to update to jelly bean' thread.

 

[milesbennetdyson]

Well well well, it appears to have worked! The same videos that lagged badly before now run almost perfectly. Smokey, next time you have a beer pretend I bought it you. Thanks for asking Samsung and posting that.

The only slightly strange thing was that when I charged my phone fully, after I turned it on it said the battery was at 90%. When it was off and I charged it it definitely said 100%. Somehow it lost 10% when I turned the phone on.

You'd think when you update Samsung would tell you to do that 'battery out, drain battery, fully charge, reset' thing.

 

[gioakr]

Good morning everyone!
I am finally happy with my ace 2!!
Samsung service replaced the circuit board of the phone and everything works perfectly! It's like a new phone (probably because it is!!)! Of course it runs Gingerbread and I am a little afraid to update to Jellybean but I will risk it!!
Thanks for your help!

 

[AndroidBean]

Can someone please repost Smokey's instructions as they aren't showing. Many thanks

 

[milesbennetdyson]

Can someone please repost Smokey's instructions as they aren't showing. Many thanks

Have you clicked the link in his post?

 

[skew4]

After a few months of monitoring and testing I've confirmed that there is a definitive memory leak in the Jelly Bean upgrade for the Ace 2.

The workaround is ugly but very simple and very effective: reboot every 2 days and the phone is fast again.

I've posted more details in the comments at the bottom of this blog:
Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 review | Joel Scheven's blog

 

[tobiasra]

After a few months of monitoring and testing I've confirmed that there is a definitive memory leak in the Jelly Bean upgrade for the Ace 2.

The workaround is ugly but very simple and very effective: reboot every 2 days and the phone is fast again.

I've posted more details in the comments at the bottom of this blog:
Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 review | Joel Scheven's blog

I got one of those phones for almost free on a mispriced sale in a Nordic web store. Shipped with: Baseband I8160XXNB1, android build "JZO54K". Yep definitely Jelly bean (version 4.1.2).

Its uptime is now well over 200 hours. Haven't installed many apps; pretty much Skype, a map app and a social networking app. However, the phone runs completely okay. No noticeable slowdown and I've been using it quite a lot. RAM free tends to hover around a hundred megabytes if one enters the task manager.

Perhaps the problem has been fixed in regional variants and builds?

 

[skew4]

I got one of those phones for almost free on a mispriced sale in a Nordic web store. Shipped with: Baseband I8160XXNB1, android build "JZO54K". Yep definitely Jelly bean (version 4.1.2).

Its uptime is now well over 200 hours. Haven't installed many apps; pretty much Skype, a map app and a social networking app. However, the phone runs completely okay. No noticeable slowdown and I've been using it quite a lot. RAM free tends to hover around a hundred megabytes if one enters the task manager.

Perhaps the problem has been fixed in regional variants and builds?

How much RAM do you have in total? I only have 482MB, you? Apparently some phones have much more RAM depending on the build or how they were upgraded. Yes, it sounds like yet another (bad) software joke from Samsung.

Also, could you monitor the RAM usage of the "Android System" process over a couple of days using "Android System Info" and see if it slowly grows for you too? Thanks in advance!

Recently a couple of alternative ROMs have been produced for NovaThor based phones, this is probably the final answer...

 

[tobiasra]

How much RAM do you have in total? I only have 482MB, you? Apparently some phones have much more RAM depending on the build or how they were upgraded. Yes, it sounds like yet another (bad) software joke from Samsung.

Also, could you monitor the RAM usage of the "Android System" process over a couple of days using "Android System Info" and see if it slowly grows for you too? Thanks in advance!

I have 624 MB total in the Task Manager. The Android System process does not show runaway behavior regarding memory, hovers around 20-25MB usage. Yes - it is indeed weird that available RAM can vary so much between builds and variants...

 

[charlesrr]

This was happening to me, so I put an unofficial cyanogenmod on it and it's now problem free. It also runs much faster - On the standard vodafone/samsung build, RType (shmup game) would be unplayable (jerky), but now it's super smooth.

Originally it started happening after I updated my phone via Kies to 4.1.2
My wife's identical phone is still on android 2 and I'd say it's not worth going to 4.1.2 which also suffers from a problem on this handset whereby taking videos with the camera crashes it often, especially if other apps are running (e.g. GPS tracking).