Help Evo Rebooting on its own

[boteman]

As a last ditch effort for a dead/dying hard drive it works...I've seen it, I've used it. However, I must caution anyone thinking of doing this to their phone even if only for a few seconds. Freezer= ice crystals= condensation= water damage! Those phones heat up FAST and there just isn't enough time for ANY moisture to dissipate before causing damage.

I think HTC beat us to the punch at damaging the Evo; I smell crappy quality control, as nice as the phone seems to be.

Water damage is limited to the evaporation process leaving behind salts that conduct electricity. If the device is simply condensing water vapor in the surrounding air it might impair the operation while it is in the freezer, but once it heats up to room temperature it should evaporate without further ill effects. I have recovered phones and radios that had been dropped in water (while turned off) simply by washing off the circuit boards and electrical contacts to remove deposits and drying them thoroughly.

 

[BRoberts0107]

Just an update, no solutions per se:

When last I posted I had tried everything but nothing helped my reboot problem, and I couldn't get it to act up while actually at the Sprint store, so they couldn't help. I observed it closely and noticed that it seemed to quit just after it started to feel warm in my hand (through the extra case), or after 10 - 20 minutes of use. It would also reboot if I was trying to use Navigation (and actually moving), but it wouldn't cycle, it would just reboot.

Finally I felt that it was behaving consistently enough that I could get it to reboot so they could see it, I made an appointment, and I got it to start the boot loop on the way to the store. After over half an hour, the tech came out and told me he couldn't get it to "come back" after trying "everything" (I wasn't asked a lot of questions at the outset, and I didn't give him the Put-It-In-The-Refrigerator-to-Cool-it-Down tip). He'd have to give me a new one, for $35. Finally.

So far, so good. No random reboots, and Navigation worked all the way from work to home; I can't remember the last time it worked that long. Just for the record, it is refurbished, and hardware build 03. I had to update to 3.70 over-the-air, which I did immediately.

Thanks for all the help. I hope I never have to visit this board again. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

 

[EarlyMon]

Hey, c'mon, this is your go to place for tips and news on apps, too!

Glad it's resolved.

 

[jamesdean]

I received my replacement phone and all is well. I was having constant rebooting at 114 degrees and almost anytime I used the GPS. I purposely got the phone hot today, showing 124 degrees on the battery, activated a GPS app and several other apps and no reboot. Tested for over an hour. It's nice to have a phone that I can now depend on.

 

[drexappeal]

I received my replacement phone and all is well. I was having constant rebooting at 114 degrees and almost anytime I used the GPS. I purposely got the phone hot today, showing 124 degrees on the battery, activated a GPS app and several other apps and no reboot. Tested for over an hour. It's nice to have a phone that I can now depend on.

Great news! Glad you can now just enjoy the phone without having to worry 'bout that.

It's too bad that it seems the EVO's are so hit or miss with regards to issues. Even for me, I had issues with my first 2 EVO's. The 2nd replacement was actually fantastic, but by then I had already committed to swapping out to the white EVO. Luckily, the white EVO has been fantastic as well.

Every now and then, I still see a re-boot, but I haven't ever been able to pin down the actual cause.

 

[darkworld260]

when your phone reboots like that its called "power recycling" This normally happens when you do an update and it doesnt register correctly this happened to me and i had to take it into sprint and have my phone replaced.. But it is covered! That or your killing an app that is required to run!

 

[jamesdean]

when your phone reboots like that its called "power recycling" This normally happens when you do an update and it doesnt register correctly this happened to me and i had to take it into sprint and have my phone replaced.. But it is covered! That or your killing an app that is required to run!

Both of your examples are software related. In my case the problem had nothing to do with an update nor do I use an app killer or had I frozen any apps with root. It ultimately became an issue with heat and Sprint did cover a replacement, for a $35.00 fee.

 

[disgurl]

GEtting suspicious it may be part of the issue. Anyone else synced to facebook and having these reboots?

Mine started restarting after I used the facebook app and will only stop restarting after I took out my SD card. I think you are on to something. please help?

 

[dornier]

I haven't experienced the dreaded reboot in a while, until this past weekend. I was using google navigation and then received a phone call. In the middle of the call, reboot! This random reboot issue needs to be addressed, but looks like it's too random for HTC to figure out.

 

[jamesdean]

I haven't experienced the dreaded reboot in a while, until this past weekend. I was using google navigation and then received a phone call. In the middle of the call, reboot! This random reboot issue needs to be addressed, but looks like it's too random for HTC to figure out.

That's the way mine started out and then it progressed to when the phone got hot it did it consistently. I ultimately had to replace the phone.

 

[rewithey]

My first EVO started rebooting after three months of use.

Sent it to HTC - replaced main board for free - and all was well again.

Three months later - rebooting again and is back enroute to HTC via UPS.

I am positive it is a heat issue with the phone itself - not the battery temp.
GPS & blue tooth activated can make it happen sooner (more heat generated)
But is does also occur when the only radio on is the mobile data & voice.
It also seems more likely when roaming or in a weak signal area.
Has happened while browsing the web, making a phone call, playing a game, downloading from the Market......

Run it nonstop for 15-20 minutes, either videos, games, internet etc... reboots.
The area under the battery feels warm to the touch (not hot) whenever reboots occur - but so does the underside of the battery (except when trying a fresh cool battery after a reboot)

Let it rest, battery out for 10-15 minutes, works fine again till it gets warm.
Swap to a fresh cool battery after a reboot without letting the phone cool down - reboots again....

My first EVO was 002 and Froyo update.
My repaired (new main board) was 003 with Froyo preinstalled.
I do not use any of the social networking sites and rarely use GPS/navigation.
I do not use a blue tooth headset.
I do not use a task killer.
I have never rooted.

These problems compounded with Sprints recent boneheaded decision to make my $190 a month bill (4 lines) no longer eligable for anual upgrade.... and wanting another $30 for the data on the other three smartphones on my account when I update/renew..... I will be jumping ship to US Cellular and getting a new phone every 11 months and a cheaper bill!!!!

Which is all really too bad.... when the EVO works it is by far the best tech gadget I have ever owned.

Rob

 

[dxCoqui]

So , I finally got to the Sprint store after unrooting the phone and I stayed there until it happened so I could show it to them. It did, yay!!!, lucky me, so they order me a "new" phone. It should be here in 5 days, which I think is ridiculous. Should I call Sprint and see if they can get me a new phone faster?

 

[EarlyMon]

So , I finally got to the Sprint store after unrooting the phone and I stayed there until it happened so I could show it to them. It did, yay!!!, lucky me, so they order me a "new" phone. It should be here in 5 days, which I think is ridiculous. Should I call Sprint and see if they can get me a new phone faster?

Might ask the store if they'll give you a loaner until it arrives. I had mine give me a dumb flip phone just to carry until my warranty replacement arrived - saved me a bunch of hassle, so I was happy.

 

[dxCoqui]

Might ask the store if they'll give you a loaner until it arrives. I had mine give me a dumb flip phone just to carry until my warranty replacement arrived - saved me a bunch of hassle, so I was happy.

I still have the "hot-rebooting" Evo, so no issues there...

 

[TheEngineer]

So , I finally got to the Sprint store after unrooting the phone and I stayed there until it happened so I could show it to them. It did, yay!!!, lucky me, so they order me a "new" phone. It should be here in 5 days, which I think is ridiculous. Should I call Sprint and see if they can get me a new phone faster?

They will not be able to either. It is on backorder.

 

[TexasBU]

Hardware: 0003
Build: 3.29.651.5

My Evo has been rebooting for months, with Sprint directing either resetting the phone (to no avail) or sending me to HTC and HTC directing me either back to Sprint or to send in my phone, be without it for 3 weeks, and risk being charged up to $300 in spite of being within the warranty period.

I will say, that I believe a lot of these causes are accurate (which it concerns me that so many things can make this phone go wrong), but for me the two specific causes are heat and heavy data usage.

I have, however, finally found a Sprint rep who was useful. I have to go to the tech center to hand in my phone and wait a few days to get another, but she said that given the number of times I have called and had my phone worked on, they're going to replace it for free and credit my account for all apps that I have to repurchase.

So, we'll see if they actually do so, and how the new phone behaves. Hopefully there will be no problems, because I'd hate to switch carriers. Sprint has the best plans and I've been with them for way too long to willingly start over.

 

[jamesdean]

In my case it was heat related, they did charge me $35.00 and you will not have to re-purchase any paid apps.

 

[0837s]

This is a frustrating problem. I got Sprint to send me a replacement device because of this problem. Just got it tonight, put the battery in it to turn it on and activate it, while trying to activate it, it started the reboot cycle, and while it was rebooting, the Evo I have been using prior started to reboot- what a joke.

On my old Evo, I did the power off, hold volume rocker down, "clear storage" and reboot- worked for a little while, then back to reboot. I have no applications on the phone, except for what came with it out of the box. (I dont want to install all of them to have to wipe it clean again.) I also got the MSL code from Sprint and did a hard reset via ##786#, Enter MSL Code, RESET ALL. This also worked for a day or two, but started right back up again.

I'm ready to switch carriers...

 

[rewithey]

I got my EVO back from HTC the second time after about a week and a half. So far, all is well.... hopefully will last longer than three months!

I am back to my original hardware version. 002 and Froyo was pre-installed.

The last Sprint rep in "retentions" that I spoke with (when inquiring into early termination fees) told me Sprint has a new program where you can take your troubled phone to your nearest Sprint Service Center. If they find the troubles are due to no cause of your own (ie. liquid or other physical damage) they will offer a replacement phone for $35 even if you do not have their insurance.

That is how I will likely deal with my EVO if it starts rebooting again.

Rob

 

[Dr. Who]

Originally Posted by Dr. Who
I started having rebooting issues a couple of weeks ago. I'm still trying to troubleshoot the problem before I take any drastic steps like doing a hard reset (which some posters have already said, didn't solve their problem) or getting a replacement EVO from Sprint.

Before the Froyo 2.2 update, my EVO never randomly rebooted. However with the installation of several app updates and a few new ones, I can't totally rule out a bad app. I've been selectively uninstalling apps to see if a bad app is causing the problem. So far, it doesn't seem to be a problem with any of the new apps I'm using. However, I haven't removed any of the original apps that came preinstalled (I may save that for when/if I have to do a hard reset).

One thing that I have noticed is that the "rebooting" seems to start, after I've been using the EVO for awhile, e.g. watching YouTube videos or surfing the internet, and it begins to feel "warm". Perhaps a heat related issue? I dunno. My EVO has never randomly rebooted when it's just sitting in standby or while it's being charged.

My next step is to switch batteries, as soon my replacement arrives. I ordered the extended battery from Sprint which should arrive in a few days. If the battery change doesn't solve the problem, I'm going to try a hard reset. So, I'll report back with an update when I have more news.

Stock EVO
Original Battery
Froyo 2.2 (3.29.651.5)
Hardware Version 0003
GPS and 4G are turned off

11/17/2010 Update... I may have solved my random reboot problem, but only time will tell.

I replaced the original battery with the new extended battery from Sprint on Saturday and it didn't solve the random reboot problem. In fact, it rebooted shortly after I installed the battery.

Next, I decided to do a hard reset via the boot screen (i.e. holding down the volume and power button simultaneously) as described here...
How to hard reset the HTC EVO 4G - Know Your Cell

Before installing any apps, I tested the EVO for about 1 day to see if it would reboot while viewing YouTube videos or surfing the internet (either process would usually cause a reboot after awhile). After a few hours of running videos and surfing websites with lots of multimedia and Flash videos, I'm happy to report ...no reboots! I turned on GPS and ran Sprint Nav for a couple hours, no problems. No reboots during calls, but I never had problems even before the reset.

Yesterday, I started installing a few of my "must have" apps. I also kept GPS turn on and turned on 4G whenever I was in an area with a good signal. So far, no random reboots, as of this posting. I'm going to start installing some of my other apps, but I'm going to test them out systematically, just in case that one of them may be the culprit.

(just a side note... the new Sprint Extended battery is working great!)

3/24/11 Update:
It looks like the hard reset only fixed my problem temporarily. I took my EVO to my Sprint store today which is also one of their service centers. They did a full diagnostics check and then wipe it clean. Guess what? The diagnostic tests didn't find anything wrong with my EVO. They kept telling me that the problem had to be caused by a bad app ...bad app my A$$!!!

HOWEVER, I decided to stay at the store for awhile and tested out my EVO before leaving. After about 15 minutes of playing YouTube videos and then firing up Sprint Navigation, it started into the reboot cycle once again! Now I had proof of what was happening, so they couldn't push off the blame on my installing bad apps.

So, the tech guy checked it out again and couldn't figure out what was going on. Anyhoo, to make a long story short, they finally decided to replace my EVO with a brand new one (not a not a refurbished one) for free. This one is Hardware Version 0004 (my old one was 0003) and all of the software appears to be up to date.

Now, I just hope that this one remain stable and doesn't start rebooting.

 

[tx_dbs_tx]

The rebooting is not going to go away with wipes or by flashing new stock or custom rom. It's caused by a bad main board that can't handle the normal load of processor ussage. My hardware version 0004 hasn't given me any random reboots for several weeks now.

 

[wwsvs]

Hardware version 0003. I've got the rebooting issue with mine. Just talking on the phone for about 20min it will buzz then reboot and rebooot and reboot. I have to pull the battery and blow on it and/or put it under a fan to get it to come back. And it's 73 degrees in here.. not hot at all. The phone is warm to the touch (glass).

The rebooting started with the GPS being on and talking at the same time. I thought ok, maybe there is a problem with the GPS. However, after a major reboot cycle that would not stop. I had to take the phone to Sprint to get them to 'do something'. They hard reset the phone and it was 'ok' for about a week. Then again, I was scared to do too much with it too. Well, as my usage went back up to what it was before (which is really not that much.. I don't live on my phone) the reboots started again.
Internet access, talking...it didn't matter. As the heat would rise the reboots would start.

I hate the idea of getting a replacement phone and it not being new. I've babied this one. Also, i don't have it in a case any longer so it could 'breath' well even that's not helping anymore.

Oh, something else that first tipped me toward heat was the fact that I used to have to charge the phone while driving because even with the screen on dim, it still would eat power with the original battery. I replaced the batter with the 3500mha one to solve that. However, i think something..some component has weakened more and i'm going to have to get it swapped out... i hope for a new one. So.. heat kills. That's the bottom line with this phone. I hope they've fixed that with version 0004.

 

[jp1216]

First Post! I'm sure it won't be my last. I found this board by searching Google for 'Evo rebooting'...

I've had my EVO for about 3 weeks now. First reboot was on day 2. One or two reboots a day until I did a full restore a few days ago. Worked great for another 2 days - now I'm back to the 1 or 2 reboots a day.

Hardware version 0004.

Random rebooting events. GPS sometimes, Pandora once, Gmail once, internet a few times, phone calls once. Lately - even stranger - it'll reboot with no apps running and plugged in to a charger or my computer.
Once note: seems to happen about the same time of day. Last 3 mornings, it has rebooted about approx 9am. Each time, while plugged into my computer charging only... Can't wait for 9am tomorrow to test out that theory again.

My wife also has had her EVO for about 2 weeks and hasn't had a reboot yet.... Same/similar apps installed on each.

I'll likely be taking mine back to Sprint this week.

 

[jp1216]

I tried another hard reset - factory settings etc. Followed the instructions on another post for setting the phone back up etc. Well, an hour later - reboot! It was plugged in to my computer/charging without any new apps installed - just the factory settings.

I'll be off to the Sprint store tomorrow.

 

[EarlyMon]

Welcome to the forums!

Sorry it's under such lousy circumstances.

Keep us posted!