Help Note II Crashing / Freezing

erinshukor · Apr 18, 2013

R4nd0mJ0k3r said:
The thing is guys, from my research, the 'insane chip' issue can begin affecting phones anywhere between 3-12 months old.

You have to realise that if you read as having the 'insane chip' this just means that you have the POTENTIAL to be affected.

AND firmware can affect its behaviour too. It's part a hardware issue and part a software issue. On old FW (4.1.1) the phone would just die one day (on whatever day it happened to be that your chip messed up). On early builds of 4.1.2, instead of dying, the phone will just randomly freeze/restart, some believe this is the firmware actually 'repairing' the broken sectors on the disk, however I don't think this is the case. On later 4.1.2 firmwares you'll be fine.

Again, nobody seems to be entirely sure, but from the TON of research I did when my phone was doing it, this is what I gathered. Then my theory was practically confirmed when the new firmware fixed everything for me.

All I'd say is for those having problems I know how much of a pain it is, trust me I live on my phone. But at least know that from my experience and research, as and when you get the updated FW your phone will be fine again.

Mine is 5 months old. I had this issue a few months back but it was OK after I did factory reset. However it started freezing/ rebooting again a few days ago. Factory reset done today but freezing is still there quite instantly. Checked and it turned out I also have an insane chip...(which makes the owner insane as well). Currently running the dummy file generator and hope my note 2 will survive till the next update!

FCUM · Apr 18, 2013

R4nd0mJ0k3r said:
The thing is guys, from my research, the 'insane chip' issue can begin affecting phones anywhere between 3-12 months old.

You have to realise that if you read as having the 'insane chip' this just means that you have the POTENTIAL to be affected.

AND firmware can affect its behaviour too. It's part a hardware issue and part a software issue. On old FW (4.1.1) the phone would just die one day (on whatever day it happened to be that your chip messed up). On early builds of 4.1.2, instead of dying, the phone will just randomly freeze/restart, some believe this is the firmware actually 'repairing' the broken sectors on the disk, however I don't think this is the case. On later 4.1.2 firmwares you'll be fine.

Again, nobody seems to be entirely sure, but from the TON of research I did when my phone was doing it, this is what I gathered. Then my theory was practically confirmed when the new firmware fixed everything for me.

All I'd say is for those having problems I know how much of a pain it is, trust me I live on my phone. But at least know that from my experience and research, as and when you get the updated FW your phone will be fine again.

Spot on!

Mine started with this about 5 weeks ago and seemed to coincide with the 4.1.2 update. I assumed mine had the dodgy chip as I got my Note 2 on day one. Did a factory reset about 3 weeks ago which fixed it for a couple of days then it started again as I started reinstalling things. I was about to take it in on Saturday to be sent off for repair but got the update yesterday and decided to see how it went. Since then its been perfect thank god!

Strangely, and this is wierd....I have just got back from a two trip to Florida. Before I went, my phone was freezing and needing a reboot at least 5 or 6 times a day, which I was annoyed about as Id planned all my trip on it and was half expecting it to die whilst over there, but it didnt freeze once in the whole two weeks!! And I used it every single day for taking all my holiday snaps, sat nav getting around, and it stayed solid the whole time. Then as soon as we landed back in the UK, within an hour of landing, it froze, and has been doing it again 5 or 6 times a day since then until I got the update!! Explain that one!!

ScandaLeX · Apr 18, 2013

Bob Cat said:
I have the Sane chip.

DonB said:
I have one also ^^

Me 3!

MM5801 · May 12, 2013

Hi

Having been perfect for around 5 months, my Note 2 started having the exact same problems (freezing & restarting) and getting progressively worse each day.

As I did not want to do a factory reset or send my phone away, I tried to check if there was a software update available. However when I tried it said I could not update as my phone had been modified. It also showed the phone as modified in the status.

As I have never modified my phone, I knew this was wrong. I tried finding a solution and it turned out that by unmounting my SD card, rebooting and then putting the SD Card back in, the phone is now showing as normal and not modified. See below

As a bonus, this seems to have sorted my other problems (freezing and restarting) out, although it is possible it is just a coincidence. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Additionally, I have also found that the phone is running much faster – like it was when I purchased it.

For your information, I did not have apps on my SD card and there was no update available, so I am guessing this was the problem, although I could be wrong – time will tell!

just123 · May 14, 2013

just123 said:
I have just installed the app and have the insane chip. But no crashes since I bought it... 6-7 months

Update..

Phone died 5 days before it was 6 months old. Replace for a new note 2 without insane chip.

naturalxtc · May 15, 2013

Well at least i know my case is not unique...ladies and gents my note2 was acting funny for the past month. it was freezing and had to force restart by long pressing the power button (same as taking out the battery)

Thought it was an app bug causing it so i uninstalled all the apps i downloaded to the device and made a factory reset. Result it started working again and stayed like that for a week.

I noticed that it started to do the same after a couple of updates from samsung push services not as before but still it did...

by yesterday it went crazy with the crashes and force restarts till it said my SIM isn't there and my memory card needs formatting. Naturally i did a factory reset but nope didn't help, both were still not working

i just flashed it now with the original ROM hoping that my cards were not working because of a software issue....but nope my SIM and memory card were still off

moved my memory card to my note10.1 and it said the card needs formating which i tried to complete on the note10.1 with no hope

so i guess my last hope is to take it to the shop i bought it from hoping to get it fixed or replaced

this is such a headache and i really am frustrated...we are more and more depending on our smart devices for our daily work and personal lives...not having trust in the device to do the least as sound my wake up alarm is not why we pay premiums for such devices

i'll keep you all posted on the shop visit...hope it get's solved or this will change my view on samsung completely

c4jose · May 17, 2013

I am having this problem for couple of months and I send it to Samsung 3 time in one month . Today I got it back 3rd time and still it's freezing . I have not installed anything still freezing . I lost my hope with Samsung support. Any idea what can I do next ? :thinking:

TheShow · May 26, 2013

R4nd0mJ0k3r said:
Mine did this a few weeks back. Turned out I have one of the chips susceptible to SDS (Sudden Death Syndrome).

The 4.1.2 update fixes this in that it corrects the error that causes phones with this chip to die after around 4-6 months. However, the 4.1.2 version currently available in the UK (think its DMB2) causes these crashes instead. My phone however is originally French, so its now running DMB6 and this has completely fixed the issue for me so far. Its been about 3 weeks and my phone is running like a dream.

See here for more info:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2133401

If you want to check for this download eMMC Check, if it says you have 'Insane' chip, then this is most likely the cause of your problems. If this is the case, empty as much of your internal memory as you can, then download Dummy File Generator. Run this a few times (5-10 is ideal), the phone may freeze during this process (sometimes for up to 20 minutes) but it will eventually unfreeze and carry on with it. This should aleviate the crashing for a while, but for me it would still occur from time to time. However I got DMB6 about 3 weeks ago now, and so far, the updates I get usually arrive on UK phones within two months.

This is a very valid solution, as for me I had a SANE chip, but still had a reboot and freeze bug. My phone is rooted, so bringing it back for an exchange is not possible (it is but requires a bunch of stuff to do, that I did feel like doing).

Anyways, seems like there is some kind of problem with the cache and dalvik cache. If you can wipe those you seem to get more stable, then clean up internal storage and use the dummy file generator. My phone used to crash every 5 minutes and is not back to normal use.

ratsize · Jun 4, 2013

Another one here. Phone has been fine for 3 months, but now has started freezing ALL the time.

I've done pretty much everything suggested on here. I can't update it, because the phone says it's modified... but it hasn't been by me. I've factory reset it twice, run it without any apps and in safe mode, but it's still crashing and freezing or rebooting itself almost at random. It's in safe mode right now and has just hung again.

My network won't do anything, they say my only option is to go to Samsung, but I can't even get an answer from them. I'm on the point of throwing it in the river and just going and buying something that works, SIM free.

Any ideas?

*frustrated*

keyan333 · Jun 8, 2013

R4nd0mJ0k3r said:
Mine did this a few weeks back. Turned out I have one of the chips susceptible to SDS (Sudden Death Syndrome).

The 4.1.2 update fixes this in that it corrects the error that causes phones with this chip to die after around 4-6 months. However, the 4.1.2 version currently available in the UK (think its DMB2) causes these crashes instead. My phone however is originally French, so its now running DMB6 and this has completely fixed the issue for me so far. Its been about 3 weeks and my phone is running like a dream.

See here for more info:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2133401

If you want to check for this download eMMC Check, if it says you have 'Insane' chip, then this is most likely the cause of your problems. If this is the case, empty as much of your internal memory as you can, then download Dummy File Generator. Run this a few times (5-10 is ideal), the phone may freeze during this process (sometimes for up to 20 minutes) but it will eventually unfreeze and carry on with it. This should aleviate the crashing for a while, but for me it would still occur from time to time. However I got DMB6 about 3 weeks ago now, and so far, the updates I get usually arrive on UK phones within two months.

So let's get this straight. I have the problem, or so it says. My phone is crashing a lot, freezing up....

I'm running this dummy file program, will probably do so about 5 times today. And then I should send it to samsung to get a replacement when I'm ready, in a few weeks?

I need it on holiday too, and I hope it doesn't take longer than a week!

Disappointed in samsung. So irritating and I really don't want to go without my precious note 2 for long. I mean..... I'll have to use an iPhone 4

This is bad.

M5000 · Jun 8, 2013

See the previous post above on 12 May about the SD card. This may help the Modified issue.

papcy · Jun 11, 2013

My note 2 was freezing 5-6 times a day . I have tried several things. The last one seems to work.
I have disable google and facebook picture synch , also I have formatted sd card.
In my note 2 the problem seems to start from the picture gallery.

ratsize · Jun 11, 2013

M5000 said:
See the previous post above on 12 May about the SD card. This may help the Modified issue.

Yeah, it doesn't make a shred of difference.

Phone is going back to Samsung tomorrow, minus any support from Three UK. So I'm going to be without it for 3 weeks.

What a joy owning this Samsung has been.

PyramidHead76 · Jul 7, 2013

Hi, just found this thread via Google & just wanted to say I have the same issue too: My Note II (UK) has been fine for months but recently started locking up. I ran the eMMC tool and do indeed have the 'insane' chip.

I guess I'll wait for a firmware update out of Three, since I bought the phone 2nd hand... At least I know I'm not imagining the problems!

DVDfever · Jul 12, 2013

I have a sane chip, too, but after 4 months of use, apps are crashing all of the show!

DVDfever · Jul 18, 2013

Anyone know an answer, please? All Three can suggest is update firmware (which it does automatically) and, alternatively, reset the phone back to factory settings.

marlbororman · Jul 19, 2013

Im on three, 4.1.2 have insane chipset too. was crashing now and then. been fine since latest firmware update. (was on older firmware) did factory reset which cured it then update became availlable couple of days later.only just saw this thread though o dunno if it was summat i installed or coincidence. note 2 fine and dandy again. got it 3 days after release

marlbororman · Jul 19, 2013

must add though, only had problem for 2 or 3 days at most

girolez · Jul 19, 2013

A few months ago my (insane chip) gn2 (unlocked int. version) running rooted 4.1.1 was showing symptoms - random crashes about once a day. I updated to DMB6 (its a french phone) 4.1.2 (using mskips toolkit on XDA) and have had no issues since. I have the same conclusion as randomjoker in post #6. This fairly recent update cures it. The roms are available on sammobile.com

Roger

marlbororman · Jul 19, 2013

im running N7100XXDMF1 4.1.2 Is that an even newer version then? i got update over the air.

girolez · Jul 19, 2013

Hi

Yes dmf1 is newer. Hopefully also ok. Do post back either way when you have run it for a few weeks.

Roger

marlbororman · Jul 19, 2013

well ive been running dmf1 for a week and a half at least without any problems whatsoever so guess its ok, as i had the problems of freezing and crashing before hand. just assumed a factory reset fixed it, the update came available only a few hours after i did master reset.

waphaak · Jul 22, 2013

hi newbie here. got the same issue my note was about 6mos old and lately been experiencing the freezing and auto restart issue. im running 4.1.2 n7100xxdlk7. is this the latest update?

girolez · Jul 23, 2013

Hi waaphak

That's the baseband, what is the build number?

waphaak · Aug 14, 2013

hi girolez - the build number is J2054K.n7100xxdmb2.

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