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MIT student proves by A + B that T-Mobile G2x has hardware issues related to overheat

MIT student proves by A + B that T-Mobile G2x has hardware issues related to overheating / shutdown / battery
http://www.lgforum.com/forum/boards/carriers/t-mobile/topics/g2x-g2x-gingerbread-2-dot-3-3-shutdown-requiring-battery-pull-due-to-overheat
Let's share this and be social.
Here are some other references for this same post.
#OccupyLg
LG: http://www.lgforum.com/forum/boards/carriers/t-mobile/topics/g2x-g2x-gingerbread-2-dot-3-3-shutdown-requiring-battery-pull-due-to-overheat
XDA-Developers: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433445
T-Mobile: http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/16431

I would assume a hot reboot would work as well if you don't want to install an app killer
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

If you are having issues you need to post more info. Rom? Kernel? Certain apps can cause issues. If you need help ask. Posting a rumor by a "MIT" kid is not overly impressive to me. Egg heads over think things sometimes.

jcbofkc said:
If you are having issues you need to post more info. Rom? Kernel? Certain apps can cause issues. If you need help ask. Posting a rumor by a "MIT" kid is not overly impressive to me. Egg heads over think things sometimes.
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RG2X with Faux .47 and on .48 kernal. I am getting exactly what the IT guy described. Overheating during deep sleep while on charger. Non-OC'd with nothing major running in the background. Not even Setcpu or Juice Defender. I will assume this guy isn't on RG2X's rom nor on a MIUI rom. Maybe on Faux but I think it would be better to assume he is probably on 2.3.3/4 stock. Also he stated it was on two different phones that he did both of these tests we can assume it's not a rare thing. Noted it's not with every phone this happens but some for sure are getting dead phones upon wake. Because they die probably about half way during sleep by the time the person wakes up they only notice a dead phone that needs a battery pull. The heat is already gone so they wont notice the over heating. I actually felt my phone overheat on the charger so I can tell you what this guy is saying has some weight to it.
I shouldn't assume I should just read "We both a running stock lg g2x gingerbreads and have not tested it on any other roms"

psychoace said:
RG2X with Faux .47 and on .48 kernal. I am getting exactly what the IT guy described. Overheating during deep sleep while on charger. Non-OC'd with nothing major running in the background. Not even Setcpu or Juice Defender. I will assume this guy isn't on RG2X's rom nor on a MIUI rom. Maybe on Faux but I think it would be better to assume he is probably on 2.3.3/4 stock. Also he stated it was on two different phones that he did both of these tests we can assume it's not a rare thing. Noted it's not with every phone this happens but some for sure are getting dead phones upon wake. Because they die probably about half way during sleep by the time the person wakes up they only notice a dead phone that needs a battery pull. The heat is already gone so they wont notice the over heating. I actually felt my phone overheat on the charger so I can tell you what this guy is saying has some weight to it.
I shouldn't assume I should just read "We both a running stock lg g2x gingerbreads and have not tested it on any other roms"
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If (big if) the overheating observed is due to heat from the battery charging leaching into the phone, wouldn't a quick and easy fix/test be a piece of aluminum foil between the battery and the phone?
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk

I have no problems at all. Running CM7 Latest Kang / Faux .48 CM battery. The last few versions of Faux's kernel fixed the SOD. I have never done an exchange. I got my G2X the 1st week it was out. I have never had any problems at all once the phone was rooted. Only thing I have problems with is the screen bleed. I am not OCed at all just UVed. When the phone screen is off setcpu sets the cpu at 389min 503 max. I have no overheating problems. So if you have overheating I would say that your phone is broke, you need to lower the OC if you are OCing, or you have done something wrong with the software.

Prod1702 said:
I have no problems at all. Running CM7 Latest Kang / Faux .48 CM battery. The last few versions of Faux's kernel fixed the SOD. I have never done an exchange. I got my G2X the 1st week it was out. I have never had any problems at all once the phone was rooted. Only thing I have problems with is the screen bleed. I am not OCed at all just UVed. When the phone screen is off setcpu sets the cpu at 389min 503 max. I have no overheating problems. So if you have overheating I would say that your phone is broke, you need to lower the OC if you are OCing, or you have done something wrong with the software.
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Thanks for the report captain obvious.
I am glad your setup is fine. For those that are in stock configuration and non oc'ed yet experience these problems, they have probably come to realize that there is no support from tmobile or LG.
If the words "restart " or "shut down " during your tech support convo, you will be told to suck it up and wait for a software update. An update which will probably not come considering how many months has passed.

erikikaz said:
Thanks for the report captain obvious.
I am glad your setup is fine. For those that are in stock configuration and non oc'ed yet experience these problems, they have probably come to realize that there is no support from tmobile or LG.
If the words "restart " or "shut down " during your tech support convo, you will be told to suck it up and wait for a software update. An update which will probably not come considering how many months has passed.
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FYI if it does it on all roms then its a hardware issue and software change wont fix it...
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

I also had the dreaded sod at least once every couple of days.
However, after I installed eb kang with faux oc/uv profile with set cpu, I have had no problems since.
I guess its ymmv...
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

No problems at all here with overheating or SOD. I have over 200 apps installed. And yes, I'm seriously still running stock Froyo.
The only problems I've had are sluggishness and freezing after disconnecting the USB (both computer and wall chargers.) I think it's an automatic sync thing, or possibly something reading my 10GB of music files on the SD.
Got mine the first week out too, but from Amazon.

gggirlgeek said:
No problems at all here with overheating or SOD. I have over 200 apps installed. And yes, I'm seriously still running stock Froyo.
The only problems I've had are sluggishness and freezing after disconnecting the USB (both computer and wall chargers.) I think it's an automatic sync thing, or possibly something reading my 10GB of music files on the SD.
Got mine the first week out too, but from Amazon.
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I don't think anyone is saying this problem effects everyone. It's just with all the bad units out there with this problem, this is probably why it's happening. Right now I'm trying to run some profiles in setcpu to see if it improves my phones sleep. It's only been one day so I will see by the end of the week how this fares
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

Cm7, morfic Trinity kernel, go launcher ex oc'ed to 1.4 ghz. Perfect! No issues!
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

erikikaz said:
Thanks for the report captain obvious.
I am glad your setup is fine. For those that are in stock configuration and non oc'ed yet experience these problems, they have probably come to realize that there is no support from tmobile or LG.
If the words "restart " or "shut down " during your tech support convo, you will be told to suck it up and wait for a software update. An update which will probably not come considering how many months has passed.
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Posts like this post is the reason why the devs hate the G2X. Most if not all problems most of the time are with android. If you are not using setcpu to control the cpu by setting up profiles for screen on and off. Then you are missing out on what root gives you access to. My phone might have the same problem yours have with overheating but i will never see if because my phone is UVed and runs at a lower CPU speed when the screen is off. If you want to use my setcpu profile look at my last post.

Prod1702 said:
Things like this post is the reason why the devs hate the G2X. Most if not all problems most of the time are with android. If you are not using setcpu to control the cpu by setting up profiles for screen on and off. Then you are missing out on what root gives you access to. My phone might have the same problem yours have with overheating but i will never see if because my phone is UVed and runs at a lower CPU speed when the screen is off. If you want to use my setcpu profile look at my last post.
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The overheating is not a Android problem it's a LG doesn't know how to product test problem. All my other Android devices didn't have this problem. One did have an SOD problem that was fixed but I never had to deal with overheating. This is on LG not Google.

psychoace said:
The overheating is not a Android problem it's a LG doesn't know how to product test problem. All my other Android devices didn't have this problem. One did have an SOD problem that was fixed but I never had to deal with overheating. This is on LG not Google.
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My friends amaze 4g has it friends Samsung fascinate has it galaxy s 4g and my old g1 and mt3g had it...
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

mt3g said:
My friends amaze 4g has it friends Samsung fascinate has it galaxy s 4g and my old g1 and mt3g had it...
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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I think the term overheating is thrown around too loosely here without more of a description. There's the type of overheating that causes our phones to shut off and stay off until the battery is pulled. There is also the type of overheating that occurs when you plug in an HDMI cable, which may or may not cause your device to die.
I'd assume those two types of overheating are the same, as they result in the same thing: dead device that won't turn on without a battery pull. And the phone gets hot as fsck. Hot as in you'd be scared to keep it in your pocket because (1) it'll burn your leg and (2) you are scared the battery will explode.
Those two types are overheating are different from your phone merely heating up upon use. I'm talking about charging the phone while navigating via GPS at full brightness or playing a graphically intense gaming. That magnitude of that heat is normal. And I'm guessing that's what all your devices have experienced.
And as all the devices get thinner, that battery's going to sit closer and closer to your hand, which equals more heat. And as the glass technology gets thinner (gorilla glass 2.0), your face will probably feel the heat to a greater degree as well.
---------- Post added at 04:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:13 PM ----------
psychoace said:
The overheating is not a Android problem it's a LG doesn't know how to product test problem. All my other Android devices didn't have this problem. One did have an SOD problem that was fixed but I never had to deal with overheating. This is on LG not Google.
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It's true, it's not android, it's LG.
And to all the people thinking that undervolting and underclocking your phone will fix everything, it won't. Android already underclocks the CPU when it's not in use. SetCPU does nothing in this instance. The only instance they'll see a difference is if they have some sort of rogue app that's maintaining a wake lock. You just can't beat terrible design (referring to the MIT guy's findings). Sometimes it'll work, sometimes you just lose.
LG majorly screwed up with this and I hope that their mobile efforts in the future fail for their lack of follow through.

I think I've avoided the charging SOD by accident....
I don't like the official LG charger since it uses a microUSB cable which I'd rather have as a spare on my computer..... so most of my charging is done with an old charger I just had laying around, which turns out to be 0.7a instead of 1.0a which the LG charger is, or on USB which goes through about 3 different hubs so probably has little power left by the time it gets to the phone.
Sure, charging is a bit slower, but that probably prevents some of the overheating.
Lesson: If you're having overheating during charging, dig through all your old chargers and find one with a lower output rating. Use the higher output ones only if you're in a hurry to charge.

Just wanted to say that this thread has been really helpful to me. Every time I've flashed a custom kernel, my phone has always, within the first 2 nights of installation, turned off in the middle of the night while on the charger. So I've always been stuck with the stock kernel. But then the suggestion to use SetCPU to lower the speed while the screen is turned off worked for me. So far no SOD and my phone has survived Faux's kernel and charging overnight without a battery pull and without overheating.
Now I can try out custom kernels and find all new ways to destroy my battery by doing things I'm not knowledgable enough to be doing!

lotherius said:
I think I've avoided the charging SOD by accident....
I don't like the official LG charger since it uses a microUSB cable which I'd rather have as a spare on my computer..... so most of my charging is done with an old charger I just had laying around, which turns out to be 0.7a instead of 1.0a which the LG charger is, or on USB which goes through about 3 different hubs so probably has little power left by the time it gets to the phone.
Sure, charging is a bit slower, but that probably prevents some of the overheating.
Lesson: If you're having overheating during charging, dig through all your old chargers and find one with a lower output rating. Use the higher output ones only if you're in a hurry to charge.
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hmm.. I dont doubt you, but I think doing that would not be any different.
BECAUSE, the charger is not constantly charging at 1A rate. If you notice, the phones ramps down the input current after a certain percentage ~90%, and trickles it up to 100. Once at 100, the charging is supposed to be stopped. I've charged mine with my bluetooth 500ma charger, and I didnt see a difference in heat temps; only charging time took longer.
As far as heat, Lion batteries should be able to handle 1C charge (1 x charge capacity) with no problems in heat. That means even at 1.5A charge, it should be OK.

Regarding overclocking, undervolting and overheating. There is a variation of parameters across every silicon wafer; among the 25 or so wafers in a wafer lot; and from wafer lot to wafer lot. This is referred to as the "spread" and parts at the extremes are called "corner parts". Most parts should be in the middle of things, not all. With newer parts and small silicon process geometries, the margins are typically smaller - hopefully improving as the fab gets experience with the new process.
A hardware developer should get corner parts to check their PCBA layout and FW, to see if they have design margin. In the case of DDR (RAM), the voltage, circuit layout and DDR interface timing (from Tegra, in this case) should be checked across some tolerance and with the corner parts. "Fast" parts can draw more current during operation that nominal parts, possible heating up the voltage regulators nearby.
In a good hardware design, everything should work across part variation and the specified operating temperature for the system. When we start playing with the clocking frequency and voltages, there is the risk of FW crashing and HW flipping out. The symptoms can include system shut down (lost), resets, heating, bad effects on other systems (battery, voltage regulator circuits, etc.).
This is why some of us (like me) have little luck Set CPU and others can change it to extreme. What none of us know is how close to the design limits the G2X is - the system and the components like Tegra, the FW control. If due design diligence was not done, the sensitivity to part variation and our hacking is greater than normal.

Insane CPU temperatures

Hey guys,
I am calibrating my battery atm and as you may know you have to discharge your device fully to calibrate the battery properly. To speed up the process I decided to install a stresstest app to my phone and guess what: the phone gets insanely hot, I can't even hold it in my hand longer then 5-10 seconds. Kernel tuner displays me temperatures between 78 and 82°C.
But this overheating problem not only happens with the stresstest. When I start watching videos on youtube or start using my phone for maps it gets hot too (about 60-70°C). It starts to bug me.
What do you guys think I should do to fix this? I already thought about applying some thermal compound between the CPU and the metal shield around it. But I'm not quite sure if it's a good idea. I already have a new phone but I still need two phones because I have to travel between Germany and Switzerland all the time. And this issue starts to make my Sensation unusable.
Send from my flying Note 2

I would suggest an anker battery. It has a greater capacity and it keeps the battery very cool.
Sent from my Ouya

did you try different kernels?

AndroidSupporter318 said:
I would suggest an anker battery. It has a greater capacity and it keeps the battery very cool.
Sent from my Ouya
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Already using it and I'm talking about the CPU temperatures and not the battery's temperature.
And sure I did try different kernels. Even at stock kernel setting this thing gets hot as f***!
Send from my hovering Note 2

So I just decided to disassemble my Sensation and put some thermal compound on the processor chip. Now I'm not getting over 70°C at full load, 1,56GHz. Pretty good outcome. And under normal use it doesn't heat up over 45°C.
I really have to recommend you this method!

What are your CPU and batt temperatures?

Just wanna ask around to check if I'm the only one who feels my phone is a tad bit too hot?
Usually when not charging , the batt temps are around 34-38°C, with the CPU in the range of 38-45°C
When charging the batt goes up to 38°C - 44.7°C or even overheating in the 45-50°C range( ok this would be my fault in using heavier apps)
And the CPU would stay in the range of 40°C - 55°C even without use sometimes

Those temperatures aren't out of the ordinary for this device, that's pretty normal actually. I've had my battery temperature go between 50-55°C fairly regularly, and even as high as 66°C without the phone shutting down (I did cool it down very quickly upon seeing how hot it was though).
Sent from my Evita

timmaaa said:
Those temperatures aren't out of the ordinary for this device, that's pretty normal actually. I've had my battery temperature go between 50-55°C fairly regularly, and even as high as 66°C without the phone shutting down (I did cool it down very quickly upon seeing how hot it was though).
Sent from my Evita
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Thanks timmaaa, for a moment I thought I was the only one.

I use Battery Mix to record my temperature vs. Battery % over time (use the JB feature to disable its persistent notification): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.smapho.battery_mix&hl=en
One thing I've noticed is that when it hits 40C+, the space below the camera becomes extraordinarily hot! This happens at least once during a work day, especially happens when I don't touch the device.
When this happens, the drain rate just plummets (when I refer to the battery level slope vs. the phone temperature). However, a reboot fixes the heat (and as a result, the drain rate) over a lengthy amount of time.
I've heard of this, but haven't gotten around to trying it successfully:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ht...g-red-while-charging-rapid-battery-drain.html

That shouldn't happen while you're not using the phone. Have you used an app like BetterBatteryStats to identify what's draining your battery?
Sent from my Evita

well this was previously answered by timmaa i had a similar concern cause none of my earlier phone actually felt that warm...
but when i got a green signal that these are normal temperatures, i tried gaming for almost an hour turns out the phone was hot indeed the battery was around 50+ but still the phone dint shut down itself or showed any inconsistency in its functions!
moral of the story.. it happens with everyone.. my friend has a endeavor it also suffers from heating... its so normal that if u search it in google that "why does ht one x get..... "it automatically completes it in with " get hot"(also for the new One).
if you want to cool it down get SET CPU and create a profile in which select battery temperature/cpu temperature at a certain temperature you don't want your phone to exceed and then set the cpu to a lower speed typically till 1026 or 1134...
but again if u feel its necessary cause doing so will obliviously slow down the device.:angel:

Sonone said:
moral of the story.. it happens with everyone.. my friend has a endeavor it also suffers from heating... its so normal
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Of course its normal. All computers generate heat as power is discharged. Manufacturers are also packing more and more computing power into these small devices, and in general that means more heat (although there are other variables). And every smartphone is designed to deal with the heat differently, so those might be some reasons why your previous phones did not feel as warm.

redpoint73 said:
Of course its normal. All computers generate heat as power is discharged. Manufacturers are also packing more and more computing power into these small devices, and in general that means more heat (although there are other variables). And every smartphone is designed to deal with the heat differently, so those might be some reasons why your previous phones did not feel as warm.
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true that!!
even i was actually worried before hearing about it being normal from u and timma as well!
its probably htc one x is build that way.
BTW sorry a little off topic since this issue has already been resolved has anyone heard a little rattling sound near the camera region only when the phone is sharked up and down (from screen to back)
this also is a build issue!

Sonone said:
BTW sorry a little off topic since this issue has already been resolved has anyone heard a little rattling sound near the camera region only when the phone is sharked up and down (from screen to back)
this also is a build issue!
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Totally normal. Just a moving part in the camera module. Likely related to autofocus as you can sometimes hear a sound when focusing the image.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app

Boost performance and increase outdoor visibility..

I just read this over on phonearena and wondered if anyone else saw it and has tried it.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-...-visibility-of-the-LG-G3-without-root_id58888
Im tempted to try it but hesitant too.

It'll increase the overall performance of the phone, at the cost of a little bit battery life, since turning off thermal mitigation allows the cpu to clock at a higher speed more often while ignoring the heat.

I cant decide if its worth it. For the most part I dont have any complaints about the brightness but I also use Lux.

While it was a different phone I did this same thing with my LG G Pro with no adverse effects to the phones operation in just over a year. It is still going strong in fact, so I dont fear phone damage by doing this but on this phone I havent seen the need for it yet.

I've been using this setting for some time now. I see no decrease in battery life, indeed I've seen nothing negative from it.
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk 2

I've had both thermal settings off for a while now as well, it only powered down from heat once and that was because I was chrome casting Netflix and playing a intensive 3d game. Other than that it's fine, however I would expect it to get hot doing 2 large processes anyway. Battery life is still 4-5hiues SOT

By doing this my phone over heats and the turns itself off. Was running fine for a while with it on but I guess it was to much for the phone to handle.

Nexus 5 overheating battery

hi all im just newbie who just got this devices and after intense use why my battery always overheated ? im just browse some pagesband playing games. im using a softcase. my rom is stock roited with elementalx kernel
any help will be appreciated
Sent from my Hammerhead

Define "overheating", as in the actual battery temperature. Not "it feels hot".

Lethargy said:
Define "overheating", as in the actual battery temperature. Not "it feels hot".
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it is hot sir, my hands is warm after using my nexus for 15min

Mranggapo said:
it is hot sir, my hands is warm after using my nexus for 15min
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That doesn't tell us anything. Get an actual battery temperature reading, not what you think it feels like. Most kernel apps should tell you.

Lethargy said:
That doesn't tell us anything. Get an actual battery temperature reading, not what you think it feels like. Most kernel apps should tell you.
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what is the apps you use sir ?

Mranggapo said:
what is the apps you use sir ?
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I don't pay attention to it myself since I know it isn't overheating. Various kernel apps should give you a reading, hell even Antutu Benchmark tells you your battery temperature in Device Info.
Also, when your battery reaches 60C (or 65C, forgot which of the two), your phone will force shut itself off. Chances are, you're not even feeling much heat from the battery, the CPU usually produces more heat before the battery can even reach that high (some kernels have battery shutdown disabled anyways). The CPU starts throttling at around 60C CPU temp (NOT battery temp), and force shuts down at 105C. Clearly, "warm" is no issue at all.

Lethargy said:
I don't pay attention to it myself since I know it isn't overheating. Various kernel apps should give you a reading, hell even Antutu Benchmark tells you your battery temperature in Device Info.
Also, when your battery reaches 60C (or 65C, forgot which of the two), your phone will force shut itself off. Chances are, you're not even feeling much heat from the battery, the CPU usually produces more heat before the battery can even reach that high (some kernels have battery shutdown disabled anyways). The CPU starts throttling at around 60C CPU temp (NOT battery temp), and force shuts down at 105C. Clearly, "warm" is no issue at all.
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thank you for the explanation sir .