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[Q] Nexus S goes into some sort of fault state

My two months old Nexus S started to behave in a way that renders it pretty much useless - Freezing / Locked U
Freeze/Delay Between Menu and basically the phone is dead.
Very often when the screen is off, pressing power button powers up the screen with the screen lock, but the phone is not responsive so the screen just goes off again as it is impossible to slide to unlock it.
On top of that, leaving the phone with the screen off for a half an hour or so brings up some sort of warning sign and a small android (can see the screen shot here: http://yfrog.com/h3apmgqj) and the phone is effectively dead. The only thing to do in any of the two cases is remove and reinsert the battery, but that is no solution to anything. All this is while the battery is fully charged.
Did anyone experienced this before? resetting phone does not help.
Here is more info on this topic: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/label?lid=4e31a500f89fe575&hl=en

Are you using a custom recovery/ROM? That icon you posted isn't the stock image

Hi, no I do not - the image is actually from different phone but it looks exactly as it did on my Nexus S (little green guy with an exclamation mark). I never rooted my phone or done any custom mods to its system.
I actually sent it to Samsung and they are claiming that they found no problem, so they re-flushed the phone and are sending it back. I am seriously angry at samsung. It is arriving on the 11th so I'll let you know if that helped but I doubt it.
I believe this might be a faulty memory because I often received notification that the internal storage was unavailable or something of that nature as well, right before the problem would occur. Are the any tests I could perform for memory / storage?

just try to flash it back to stock
then do wipe data and wipe cache
see if that gets it back on its feet

Hey,
thank you, I thank that means I would have to root it first ehhh
Samsung told me they've done just that (flashed phone) so I am seriously hoping that my phone will work when it arrives on the 11th.
thanks!

Samsung supposedly is looking into this problem, please see link below:
http://www.google.com/support/forum...ad?fid=44db6d8e31129d4c00049e3b2a6db4d1&hl=en

Update:
I just received my phone from Samsung repair and of course, the phone is NOT fixed. On the side note, they also sent back my note that explains the problem meaning it was ignored completely.
I will be contacting @SamsungServic and calling but at this point I am not sure that they can fix the phone other then replace it.
Also,
I've spoken to Samsung and chat online and - yes they nice and throw back lots of promises and niceness back but they are NOT doing anything about it, for now at least.

I copy and paste the best answer on the google support topic to here:
I've been keeping a notebook to document my debugging of this problem. No app in particular is responsible, in my opinion. I have observed the phone lock up after a Factory Data Reset + USB wipe, and with no accounts configured. In fact, I have had it freeze after following this procedure:
1. Factory Data Reset + USB erase from Settings menu
2. Phone reboots.
3. Go through initial setup screens, skip account setup.
4. Power down phone.
5. Remove battery.
6. Remove SIM card.
7. Replace battery.
8. Power up phone.
9. Let phone sit for 15 minutes or more.
10. Phone freezes.
This is about as close to bare bones as I can get with this device.
I have also documented at least four freeze modes:
1. Phone is completely dark (both display and buttons). No combination of power button or other buttons can bring phone back. Battery removal required.
2. Phone display is dark, but the four "hard key" buttons are illuminated. No combination of power button or other buttons can bring phone back. Battery removal required.
3. Phone displays only a green android by a warning exclamation sign. Holding power button down, then volume up, then release volume up, will bring up the Android system recovery screen, from which phone can be rebooted.
4. Phone is frozen at the unlock screen. Sometimes this freeze occurs while swiping the unlock icon. No combination of power button or other buttons can bring phone back. Battery removal required.
I have observed the phone going from normal standby state (display and buttons dark) to state 2, and at other times to state 3, while it was sitting on my desk by the keyboard.
I'm just about ready to send it to Samsung. I just wanted to verify that the problem would be reproducible after a factory reset and without the SIM card.
I think it may be a hardware problem. It's also possible that part of the Android kernel or some device driver on my device has become corrupt. Unfortunately I can't reset the OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a factory reset from the stock recovery, too. Doesn't help either.
My phone arrived on Friday Samsung mobile repair in Texas. And like they did to ohter Nexus S devices from other users they will do the following to mine:
Reflashing the phone -> doing some functional tests ...
... and this is the crazy thing about it. The error we have is just appearing when the phone is in standby and because of this the phone passes the functional tests Samsung is doing at the end of the service. Phone goes back to user. A defective phone.
Some guy managed to keep the phone alive by setting the display turning off after 30mins. He is charging it twice a day
I got a reply from @SamsungSupport on twitter:
Thank you Fabian for again reaching out to us. We are aware of this issue as some of us have your same phone.
An evaluation is already being conducted to determine the fix. We don't have a timeframe of the resolution.
But understand it will be pushed to phones. We will advise once we have a timeframe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The support team is friendly and to me it feels like they try to do anything they could.
Funny: One guy got a replacement device. But then no one other. Just reflash...
I think they will do something but on the other hand I'm worried that they will do nothing. But time will tell....
Maybe it would help us if Google will be aware of the problem, too. Ok maybe they allready know it, but I don't know that.
So if some of you here do have some connections... please do us a favor and forward this topic or the link to the google support topic. Feel free to forward this topic to any website you think it would write a news about it. Maybe Google will throw a eye on it. My phone is 8 weeks old and yeah this so anoying. And of course all my friends who are iHippster are trolling me like hell.
It don't want to flame or blame Samsung\Google for this.But our phones are in warranty. The error hits only a few devices and so they should replace it. My 50cent about it... this is not a Google expierence they talked about...

I also had the same problem and sent my phone into Samsung. They only re flashed it, which didn't fix the problem. I immediately called Samsung to inform them that the issue was not fixed and they just told me to send it back for "double checking." Do you think it is better to send it back in or just wait for fix to emerge?

I will be sending it back and demand replacing the phone, also making sure they just don't re-flash again. I guess anything but re-flashing could work.
Remember that I've mailed my phone with one page letter explaining the problem. Their response was flashing the phone and sending it back - with my letter.
Here is note from the support team:
----------------------------------------
Original Problem:
Technical Inquiry
Phone Freezing / Locked U
Freeze/Delay Between Menu
Problem found:
NO TROUBLE FOUND
SW,PRL,OTSL RESET
Solution:
Passed All Functional Testing
--------------------------------------
@Samsungservice did not even acknowledge it officially that this is a problem.

Yeah i wrote a letter too explaining the issue and how to recreate it (the first time). They told me that it passed their quality assurance inspection after re-flashing it, which must be very poor because my phone shut off again 15 minutes after receiving it. Just dropped it back off at UPS today. Can they replace the phone because of this issue? I know one person had success, but it doesn't seem anyone else has.

Nexus S faulty
Samsung may not be able to reproduce it after reflashing; as this issue does not seem to occur when connected to a PC/computer via USB. Their automated testing could be over USB.
Looks like more and more people are facing this issue as the day goes by.
Search for "Nexus S fault state" on google and you'll find the google support forum thread discussing it

Guys,
Did anyone have tried to flash a custom rom to see if this will solve the problem ?
cheers !

No, but this problem is not ROM related.

discr said:
Samsung may not be able to reproduce it after reflashing; as this issue does not seem to occur when connected to a PC/computer via USB. Their automated testing could be over USB.
Looks like more and more people are facing this issue as the day goes by.
Search for "Nexus S fault state" on google and you'll find the google support forum thread discussing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that was why they couldn't recreate the shutdown. Made sure they knew that it has to be unplugged. Mine always shuts off within 10-15 minutes if untouched.

I have same problem.Only remove battery helps. I have been having nexus s for 2 and half months and this problem just came last week. I don't know how to solve it. I tried reflash firmware but didn't help.

welcome to the club. you have to send it to USA to get it serviced (make a extreme detailed problem description and make sure the support worker writes it down 1:1 into their ticket system). they provide a 2day ups shippment label, BUT only to locations in USA.
I can recommend FedEx. They helped me a lot with this duty stuff for shipping to USA. That's not so easy . I paid €50 to get it shipped to a friend of mine in USA.
You have to send only the foreparts of the device. No battery and back panel, no charger and so on. But they will give you all informations at the end of the service request.
or: wait for a hotfix. which maybe never will come.

Update:
I just mailed my phone again... they told me they do not replace phones (not sure what that means yet). The Rep was arguing that if I want the phone replaced then I need to talk to T-Mobile - it does not make any sense.
Anyway, I explained the problem as much as I could and did not mail any notes this time as they obviously do not care for it. But I made sure he included every detail in his notes.
I am very skeptical but still hoping....
Also,
About the part when the phone does not freeze when plugged in or charging. I had my Nexus S charging overnight and it was frozen in the morning.

Update:
Also, I've contacted @SamsungServic via Twitter and asked if their team recognized it as a problem, but I've got no response.
On the other hand if you report the problem to them, they will respond that they will look into it - which means nothing, but if enough people asks the same question them they will have to.
-thanks

I've got some sort of responce via Twitter from @SamsungService, here is what they wrote back:
@SamsungService
Thank you for reaching out to us. We are aware of this issue as some of us have your same phone. An evaluation is already being conducted to determine the fix. We don't have a time frame of the resolution, but understand it will be pushed to phones. We will advise once we have a time frame. Thank you. ^Mary
@Keinam
Does this mean we should stop sending our phones back for repair and just wait for your OTA update? If it happens?
@SamsungService
Many issues can be resolved with warranty service. Regarding the issue you've referred to,It is my understanding that a fix if being worked on which would be sent out OTA. ^Mary

Freezing & Bootloops (Not Fruit Loops :))

I received my Asurion refurbished S3 the other day to replace my original S3 whose screen I cracked. The original S3 had no issues to speak of.
The replacement is another story:
- while charging, after the phone falls asleep, the device won't wake up. The Blue LED is steadily lit and the phone is unresponsive to any button presses.
A battery pull resolves the issue until it happens again, which is multiple times daily.
- when not charging and after the S3 falls asleep, the device goes into a Bootloop on its own showing the Samsung 4LTE boot screen. This continues until the splash logo freezes. Only a battery pull revolves the issue until it happens again.
- while asleep and not charging, the S3 is unresponsive to button presses and the Blue LED flashes. Only a battery pull restarts the device.
The above occurs multiple times daily and is occurring after the device falls asleep.
I left the S3 stock without installing any additional apps to avoid any possible conflicts as the cause of any issues.
I'm thinking to just keep my original S3 with the cracked screen as it is working fine. I'd hate to get into a 'Boot Loop' with Asurion replacement devices as it is very time consuming to get one that's working properly.
I've read about the Dummy File Generator but don't know if I want to get into any further trouble shooting mode when the replacement device should just work out of the box, and I'm not sure if the issues I'm having are widespread, or are systemic with the MB1 OTA update.
Any suggestions are welcomed.

Biker1 said:
I received my Asurion refurbished S3 the other day to replace my original S3 whose screen I cracked. The original S3 had no issues to speak of.
The replacement is another story:
- while charging, after the phone falls asleep, the device won't wake up. The Blue LED is steadily lit and the phone is unresponsive to any button presses.
A battery pull resolves the issue until it happens again, which is multiple times daily.
- when not charging and after the S3 falls asleep, the device goes into a Bootloop on its own showing the Samsung 4LTE boot screen. This continues until the splash logo freezes. Only a battery pull revolves the issue until it happens again.
- while asleep and not charging, the S3 is unresponsive to button presses and the Blue LED flashes. Only a battery pull restarts the device.
The above occurs multiple times daily and is occurring after the device falls asleep.
I left the S3 stock without installing any additional apps to avoid any possible conflicts as the cause of any issues.
I'm thinking to just keep my original S3 with the cracked screen as it is working fine. I'd hate to get into a 'Boot Loop' with Asurion replacement devices as it is very time consuming to get one that's working properly.
I've read about the Dummy File Generator but don't know if I want to get into any further trouble shooting mode when the replacement device should just work out of the box, and I'm not sure if the issues I'm having are widespread, or are systemic with the MB1 OTA update.
Any suggestions are welcomed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither it is only your phone that is having these issues.

jmxc23 said:
Neither it is only your phone that is having these issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess I'm one of the unfortunate ones, although I've read that others have experienced this issue. May just be an issue on a limited number of devices.
Just went into a boot loop, then froze again.
Definitely going to send this back and most likely keep my cracked screen S3.
Fracture lines around the bottom and sides, but the bulk of the screen is intact.
Update:
Spoke with Asurion.
- very courteous rep.
- troubleshot device with me (standard troubleshooting)
- Issues remained (5 hours after 1st call, Lock screen Froze while charging. Needed to pull battery)
- called back Asurion
- rep was going to send me a New S3, But when I asked to verify 32GB storage, was told it was 16GB
- replacement device is going back, and I'm keeping the broken glass device.
Hmmmm.... so much for insurance, this time around at least.
But I couldn't be without full service for another 2 days again waiting for another refurbished device to arrive. At least my original device is working.

Biker1 said:
I received my Asurion refurbished S3 the other day to replace my original S3 whose screen I cracked. The original S3 had no issues to speak of.
The replacement is another story:
- while charging, after the phone falls asleep, the device won't wake up. The Blue LED is steadily lit and the phone is unresponsive to any button presses.
A battery pull resolves the issue until it happens again, which is multiple times daily.
- when not charging and after the S3 falls asleep, the device goes into a Bootloop on its own showing the Samsung 4LTE boot screen. This continues until the splash logo freezes. Only a battery pull revolves the issue until it happens again.
- while asleep and not charging, the S3 is unresponsive to button presses and the Blue LED flashes. Only a battery pull restarts the device.
The above occurs multiple times daily and is occurring after the device falls asleep.
I left the S3 stock without installing any additional apps to avoid any possible conflicts as the cause of any issues.
I'm thinking to just keep my original S3 with the cracked screen as it is working fine. I'd hate to get into a 'Boot Loop' with Asurion replacement devices as it is very time consuming to get one that's working properly.
I've read about the Dummy File Generator but don't know if I want to get into any further trouble shooting mode when the replacement device should just work out of the box, and I'm not sure if the issues I'm having are widespread, or are systemic with the MB1 OTA update.
Any suggestions are welcomed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issues, mine has been caught in a boot loop today for no reason whatsoever, after steaming music through bluetooth. I believe it may be cause by the bad update that came out a few weeks ago, that VZW pulled.
I am rooted, but didn't even have enough space to do a nandroid. So either I factory reset or find some other way to get into my phone (probably mount the system)

[Q] ASUS TF300T stuck on boot. Can anyone help?

Hello,
I have searched the threads but cannot find a situation similar to mine so am posting, but apologise in advance if this has been solved before. It's a bit of a long story. About a year ago I was foolish enough to have stood on my TF300T, cracking the screen. The tablet was still working, but it would not register touch. I put it to one side and left the battery to drain. For various reasons I have just got around to replacing the screen.
I found a screen and digitiser of the correct version for my UK TF300T (version G01) and I'd thought the replacement went without any problems, although I was slightly unsure of one digitiser connection. On pressing the power button (I had pre-charged the battery) the screen came to life just as I'd left it as if coming out of sleep rather than being off for a year. It was short lived though and soon the tablet went to black and would not turn on. I thought maybe it was the digitiser connection so went back in to re-fit it. It was only then that I noticed the power switch on the logic board itself under the plastic shell. I hadn't switched it to off before (duh) so did so then, refitted the digitiser cable much more securely,switched the power back on and tried to boot, but nothing happened at all, apart from the power LED flashing orange. After some experimenting (trying to charge the tablet again etc) I found I could only boot by charging the dock and plugging the tab in the dock, but the tablet would only get as far the ASUS screen (not the 3D one, just the flat lettering), with the 'device is unlocked' message in the top left corner and stops there. I can turn it off, but can't boot into recovery at all. And that's where I am now.
Things I have tried - a different logic board from a TF300T's scrounged from eBay which also had a cracked screen (this, weirdly, seemed to have the same problem as mine), swapping various parts out from some other TF300T's (without logic boards) from eBay and contacting the device through Sandix's ADB GUI (after downloading and extracting the SDK), which registered no device.
My best guess at what's happened is that the battery on the tab itself is totally gone (as are the three other batteries I have accumulated) after a last valiant effort and either that going or me messing with the on off switch has some how corrupted the boot process. Is that possible? What do people think? I could buy a brand new logic board, but the only ones I seem to be able to find have some different brand chips on them and appear to be different versions - versions probably not compatible with my digitiser. :S
I am quite a novice here (and maybe poking around the inside of my tab wasn't a great idea, but then neither is wearing boots in the house) so any help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give a detailed report. Let me know if you have any questions. Although unlocked, it is running the stock ROM.

I would make sure drivers are reinstalled properly, by removing the drivers, reboot the computer, reinstall the drivers and then reboot again.
See if that works.

I had something similar happen on a different tablet. That was one from Box.co.uk, but after trying to get it fixed under warranty (and missing the end date by 1 day), I opened it myself. When the charger was plugged in, it showed the charging LED, but it didn't actually charge it.
I don't suppose you've checked the terminals for the battery to the mainboard? On this other tablet, one had broken off. I re-soldered it on, charged it fully and it worked fine.

[Q] curious boot trouble after screen replacement

Hey All,
I posted this over on r/nexus5 as well, but figured id see if anyone here had any ideas as well.
I replaced my screen/frame earlier today and started having some trouble, figured I'd see if anyone else has had a similar experience and can give some advice.
I replaced my screen about a year ago, and all was well until a month ago. Dropped it again and cracked the screen, so I ordered another. Decided to spice things up and get a red frame as well, so this afternoon I took it apart. Tore it all down, and moved all the parts over to the new frame, everything went over nice and easy, and I got it all about together and booted it up. I see the Google logo with the unlock symbol, hangs out for about 15 seconds, and then reboots. Will do this for a bit until I power it down.
I read some other threads with some similar symptoms. A few people suggested the power button was being held down and causing the reboot, but that isnt the case here. I can get into the boot loader/fastboot screen, and can see it over adb. Soemone else suggested it was the long wide noddle cable not properly connected, so I've reseated that about a dozen times with no luck. I have checked all of my connections over a handful of times, but still the same deal.
So since my pc can see it in fastboot, I ran the nexus toolkit and did the force flash. Files transferred over and were written successfully, and as far as NRTK was concerned, it all went well. so it tells me the phone to reboot, and of course its the same 15seconds of google logo, rinse/repeat.
So I am thinking maybe my motherboard got damaged somehow during the transition? I just cant find any signs of damage, and I was pretty careful during the transfer. This was a replacement from China, but I figured since it shows the google logo and boot loader, the screen is indeed working... could it be the screen/digitizer preventing it from fully booting? I think its odd that root toolkit could still see the device, send data to it, and write it successfully.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Actually now that I think about it, I will throw the guts back into the old frame in the morning to confirm if it is the new screen causing the problem or not.

So it turns out it was the chinese knock off screen that was the problem. put the guts back into my old phone, and all was well. Going to return it and get a new screen on the way.

What if Samsung charges me for repairing? Is it time to buy another device?

Hello, few months ago, Samsung replaced the entire screen for me free of charge because they thought that the lack of responsiveness and random garbage (barcode like images) on screen were caused by a faulty screen. Few days after I took it back, I had the same problem. I reported to them but as I was in another country, I could not get it repaired. Then, I got other issues such as device rebooting by itself when I pressed the camera app, rebooting continuously like crazy whenever the device is running out of power, etc. I dropped the device (screen facing down) once recently. There was a dent at the corner but the screen remained intact. I don't know if Samsung would say that all the problems are caused by the dropping. I have bought the device over a year ago. What if they charge me? Is it worth to pay to have it repaired? It has happened many times that when I needed to take photos, the device failed by rebooting itself. It also happened once that after a full recharge, the battery went out of power in the middle of the day even I did not use the device much. I don't know if these problems will happen again after repairing.
I need a device that has: large screen, stylus writing, cellular phone function. The iPad PRO has no cellular function and Samsung does not make a new version of Note PRO 12.2. What suggestion do you have?

Did you rule out the battery connection (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3142081) by having it resoldered?
If the device is already out of warranty and you're sitting there contemplating value of repair by Samsung you may as well consider having a reputable repair shop resolder the connection.
Besides, isn't it a bit premature to assess value of repair without costs being known?
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

I was too afraid to have it opened. Anyway, Samsung said that they need to replace several components (including something called ipu?) and it would cost about US$450. Perhaps just get it back, resolider it by myself and root the device. Then, use it at home while getting another device as my main tablet/phone.