Welcome to Android Forums, Brian!
I have moved this thread into the Samsung Note forum so that others with this same phone can post their tips to help you.

 

One thing you havent mentioned was if this phone is stock or has been rooted and/or flashed with a custom Rom. More often than not, a custom Rom can cause this issue in many phones. Even in the same model (all phones are not created equal). But whether it's stock or custom I would give this proceedure a try as outlined by James in another thread.

Step 1, download and install kies (not kies mini)

step 2, pull your battery and write down your S/N (not your IMEI number but the serial number)

step 3, start kies and then turn the phone on and go into download mode (hold volume down, when prompted press volume up)

step 4, let the drivers install

step 5, once all that is done, in kies, Choose Tools, Firmware upgrade & initialization

step 6,
a) While in download mode, enter the S/N & model name (ALL CAPS!! SGH-I717 not SGH-i717)
b) It will prompt to initialize to original settings. Click "YES"
c) It will prompt to initialize the latest version. Click "YES"
d) It will download the firmware upgrade components (DO NOT DISCONNECT THE DEVICE!!)

Setp 7, Kies will prompt for firmware upgrade and initialization.
a) Click check box for reading above information
b) Click your choice if you want your information saved on Samsung Kies corporate servers (I choose WITHOUT saving).

Now walk away from your phone for 15-20 minutes. When you get back your phone will be 100% stock and on the official ICS

Original credit for this here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1731654


If a new battery takes care of the issue, great. If not try this. If neither work then you may be looking at a problem with the hardware itself. good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Yes. Go to settings>about phone.

 

2.3.6 is GB. Which can be a good thing. All you need to do is install Samsung Kies on yer computer, let it recognize yer phone, and it will tell you there is an update to your firmware. That of course being ICS 4.0.4. Let it do the update. Once you have the latest OS see if it keeps restarting. If it doesn't then yer problem was somewhere in GB.

 

I'm not too sure about that one Brian. I know Samsung uses a flash counter so they know if, when, and how many times something have been flashed to the phone. There is a flash counter reset file floating around this forum somewhere. You also have to check to see if the phone is still under warrantee if it transfers to a second owner or not.

As far as unrooting it, Now that the phone is fixed you could use Odin again to reflash the 4.0.4. That would put the phone out-of-the-box stock. I could be wrong on some of this info because im not that experienced with flashing, roming, etc with this phone. Its already so clean and fast I didn't have the need to do anything serious to it.

This link here should give you what you need.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1586223

 

Brian, any update please? I am having same problem.
Samsung Note sometimes shutsdown to restart. And Restart...and Restart...And Restart....(just keeps vibrating, and vibrating, and vibrating, nothing on screen)

I have to take to battery out and in again or hold on the power button, in order for it to get out the loop and restart properly.

I have to admit, all this started happening ever since I got angry with other issue of the phone one day and I just wrathfully dealt with the phone by unreasonably holding the power to reboot and then holding it again to reboot and then reboot and then reboot...(just to show how angry I was)...silly me.


I hope you can tell me how you solved it...if you did...Brian. Or anyone.

Thanks.

 

I'm having the same issue with mine, although the past week or so it hasnt happened. Mine started after i took the JB upgrade back in May, which i wish i would have never done.

Mine comes and goes. Does it for 2-3 days, then its fine for 2-3 weeks.

 

Any time you do an OTA update, you should do a factory reset. It's a pain but it really does help reduce the issues. It won't completely eliminate them but it helps

 

I took the update through Kies, and I have done a factory reset twice. My only other option is to visit AT&T and I'm sure that wont produce much. Anyone no how long factory warranty is? Just got the phone in October last year.

 

It's google systems causing this in fact all kinds of devices are having this issue.

Not to mention google maps is fubar too.

 

Variation on this theme for me:

The phone seems to restart principally when I touch the lock screen / power button.
If I try and shut the phone down it restarts, it wont stay off unless I take the battery out.
It is nothing to do with the battery, I have spares and it makes no difference.
Did a factory reset, nothing.
The problem seems to also be draining my battery. If the phone keeps restarting itself it can deplete a fully charged battery to nothing in an hour or so, with little-to-no other use.

This is driving me nuts.

 

Was having the same issue on my SGH-i717M. All I did was free up some space on my too full device and it stopped. No guff!

 

Replacing the battery did help for me. No more random reboots, it's history now. As well, my battery started to have a belly.