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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

Samsung Repair Service wants $300?!

Hello guys. I've sold my note 4 and got a used Galaxy S6, phone had couple of scratches and was in a really good condition. I used it for a month until... I woke up, my battery was at 60-70% but I was going out soon so I plugged it in and my phone started flashing screen white, and I quickly unplugged it. I tried blowing into USB port and it didn't work. Then I plugged it in again and my phone started rebooting randomly and touch buttons stopped working and flashing. Later I took it to official Samsung repair center and they sent It to like a Full/main repair service place. And after a week I got a call from them that they need to replace whole motherboard(which works fine, just USB board is fried) and they said that this phone had modified software and I need to pay 280-320$ to get it fixed.
What's even more funny is that I didn't even root it yet! I paid like 50$ less for the phone with a box and a purchase document. Also the phone is still on warranty until august. What do I do guys?
PS: I always used original USB cable and charger.

ProtoDeVNan0 said:
Hello guys. I've sold my note 4 and got a used Galaxy S6, phone had couple of scratches and was in a really good condition. I used it for a month until... I woke up, my battery was at 60-70% but I was going out soon so I plugged it in and my phone started flashing screen white, and I quickly unplugged it. I tried blowing into USB port and it didn't work. Then I plugged it in again and my phone started rebooting randomly and touch buttons stopped working and flashing. Later I took it to official Samsung repair center and they sent It to like a Full/main repair service place. And after a week I got a call from them that they need to replace whole motherboard(which works fine, just USB board is fried) and they said that this phone had modified software and I need to pay 280-320$ to get it fixed.
What's even more funny is that I didn't even root it yet! I paid like 50$ less for the phone with a box and a purchase document. Also the phone is still on warranty until august. What do I do guys?
PS: I always used original USB cable and charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they checked the KNOX bit and it is flipped, then the device is out of warranty. No amount of arguing will change that. Also the warranty doesn't cover devices that have been resold. (Found out that the hard way:crying
You can always go to Samsung Parts to find the piece you need.

Theodric58 said:
If they checked the KNOX bit and it is flipped, then the device is out of warranty. No amount of arguing will change that. Also the warranty doesn't cover devices that have been resold. (Found out that the hard way:crying
You can always go to Samsung Parts to find the piece you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. Unfortunately. I have a non authorised repair service in my city. So I guess I'll take it there, and pay like 80-120$. Better than 300$. I gave them a couple of things to repair before, and they were really good and quick. Samsung dissapointed me once again. Thanks for reply.

ProtoDeVNan0 said:
Yeah. Unfortunately. I have a non authorised repair service in my city. So I guess I'll take it there, and pay like 80-120$. Better than 300$. I gave them a couple of things to repair before, and they were really good and quick. Samsung dissapointed me once again. Thanks for reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming that knox was tripped by previous owner, you really can't fault samsung for rejecting your warranty claim. You knew the risks in buying phones used (as with any secondhand electronics), the previous owner could have tweaked voltage, messed up and sold it. Not trying to upset you, but it is what it is.
Upside is, you no longer have to worry about tripping knox. Flash custom roms as your heart desires. Good luck getting your phone repaired.

Rakcoon said:
Assuming that knox was tripped by previous owner, you really can't fault samsung for rejecting your warranty claim. You knew the risks in buying phones used (as with any secondhand electronics), the previous owner could have tweaked voltage, messed up and sold it. Not trying to upset you, but it is what it is.
Upside is, you no longer have to worry about tripping knox. Flash custom roms as your heart desires. Good luck getting your phone repaired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today my phone came back from Samsung and... IT MAGICALLY FIXED ITSELF! Same thing happened with my old Note 3. Now I have Marshmallow installed and I love my S6 again Good thing about Samsung phones : If they're broken, just leave them turned off over night and next day Your phone will be fixed!

ProtoDeVNan0 said:
Today my phone came back from Samsung and... IT MAGICALLY FIXED ITSELF! Same thing happened with my old Note 3. Now I have Marshmallow installed and I love my S6 again Good thing about Samsung phones : If they're broken, just leave them turned off over night and next day Your phone will be fixed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats. Strange that it fixed itself during transit. :good:

Then , you can buy tools and the parts ,fix it yourself. come on

Random Screen Shut-Off

Hello Everyone, I am Extremely new to posting on XDA so I am not sure if there is a standard or not. Basically The Problem I am having is that the Screen randomly turns black and does not turn back on unless connected to the charger for about a minute. I know that the phone does not die as both the digitizer and speaker continue to function. I have Tried:
-Software Initialization in SmartSwitch
-Factory Reset in Settings
-Factory Reset through Recovery Menu
-Odin reset Image 5.1.1 and 6.0.1
I also can not turn it into the Samsung Service Center as I already replaced the back of the phone in attempt to reseat the lcd/digitizer cable. If Anyone has any experience or insight into this I would fully Appreciate it. Thank You.

mrunlockedtech said:
Hello Everyone, I am Extremely new to posting on XDA so I am not sure if there is a standard or not. Basically The Problem I am having is that the Screen randomly turns black and does not turn back on unless connected to the charger for about a minute. I know that the phone does not die as both the digitizer and speaker continue to function. I have Tried:
-Software Initialization in SmartSwitch
-Factory Reset in Settings
-Factory Reset through Recovery Menu
-Odin reset Image 5.1.1 and 6.0.1
I also can not turn it into the Samsung Service Center as I already replaced the back of the phone in attempt to reseat the lcd/digitizer cable. If Anyone has any experience or insight into this I would fully Appreciate it. Thank You.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your phone function 100% as designed (i.e. are you able to use your phone) while it is turned on or does your phone gets frozen?
Is your phone still under warranty? If your phone is still under warrant call or online chat with support and get a shipping label and send it for repairs. There is no need to inform the support about what happen to your phone before. If support determines that your warranty is void they will provide a quote to repair your phone. Also you can dispute the claim that your warranty is void. If you decide not to repair the phone they will ship it back to you for free. So you have nothing to lose but a lot to gain by send your phone for repairs under warrant.
I observe that many members post questions but seems to bee too busy don't care to provide an update in this forum once the issue is resolved. Hence kindly update us of your progress as it will expand our collective knowledge.
This seems to be a common problem and it a known main board defect. I have a similar issue and I have to send for repair after I return to the US from my vacation.

Update-June 19,2016
utsc said:
Does your phone function 100% as designed (i.e. are you able to use your phone) while it is turned on or does your phone gets frozen?
Is your phone still under warranty? If your phone is still under warrant call or online chat with support and get a shipping label and send it for repairs. There is no need to inform the support about what happen to your phone before. If support determines that your warranty is void they will provide a quote to repair your phone. Also you can dispute the claim that your warranty is void. If you decide not to repair the phone they will ship it back to you for free. So you have nothing to lose but a lot to gain by send your phone for repairs under warrant.
I observe that many members post questions but seems to bee too busy don't care to provide an update in this forum once the issue is resolved. Hence kindly update us of your progress as it will expand our collective knowledge.
This seems to be a common problem and it a known main board defect. I have a similar issue and I have to send for repair after I return to the US from my vacation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so I retried updating it without a reset within smartswitch and so far it hasn't turned off. Also If I did want to Ship the Phone, Will they accept warranty if there is a small crack in the bottom right of the back glass. BTW Thanks you for the reply.

mrunlockedtech said:
Okay so I retried updating it without a reset within smartswitch and so far it hasn't turned off. Also If I did want to Ship the Phone, Will they accept warranty if there is a small crack in the bottom right of the back glass. BTW Thanks you for the reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion that should not void warranty (not a water damage - you could always claim that you're phone fell).
As I said if the repairs are not covered under warranty they will give you a ridiculousness high quote to repair it out of warranty and you could decline and they will ship it back to you at no cost to you. So on the downside you have nothing to lose and you will get back your phone as is but on the upside you might get lucky and get it fixed for fee

utsc said:
In my opinion that should not void warranty (not a water damage - you could always claim that you're phone fell).
As I said if the repairs are not covered under warranty they will give you a ridiculousness high quote to repair it out of warranty and you could decline and they will ship it back to you at no cost to you. So on the downside you have nothing to lose and you will get back your phone as is but on the upside you might get lucky and get it fixed for fee
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so It worked for a couple of days ,but again did the same thing. I guess I jinxed It. I am in the process of opening a ticket on live chat

mrunlockedtech said:
Okay so It worked for a couple of days ,but again did the same thing. I guess I jinxed It. I am in the process of opening a ticket on live chat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update(June 21, 2016)- Samsung Gave a Free Label For UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. The service center they are shipping it to is only about 15 minutes away, but I am just going to utilize the label.

mrunlockedtech said:
Update(June 21, 2016)- Samsung Gave a Free Label For UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. The service center they are shipping it to is only about 15 minutes away, but I am just going to utilize the label.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so they had my phone since Friday, but said they received it Monday. I found out today that the back glass did cause it to not be in warranty. Fortunately, they have already sent it back to me and it should be back tomorrow. Hopefully they tried some software trick and it fixed it. Fingers crossed!

Ok so They gave me a free box with some packaging(samsung). Looks like they didn't even touch the phone as it was not factory reset.

Death of my S7 edge and warranty

Hi, this is not exactly question, so I post into discussion, I want just your opinion... or if somenthing like this happened to you:
It started by simple restarting, or random vibrating from time to time. I just thought its some ROM related bug becouse I didnt update it for about 2 months, maybe something got messy. But I had some work to do and told myself it can wait few days. Then some strange freezes occured with vertical or horizontal strips made of small colourful dots. Only hard reset holding all buttons helped. Freezes, restarts etc. then continued quite frequently. This was time for clean rom installation. I went to TWRP, wiped everything except external SD. Done. I was going to hit install in twrp when freeze occured last time and after long continuous vibration it was gone. Now it does not react toabsolutely anything, holding all buttons - nothing. Connecting to charger - nothing, no icon, no charging indicator. Connecting to PC - nothing, it dont even notice connection of new hardware, Odin also sees nothing... It seem to be as dead as possible.
But this situation seems very good to me after all, becouse phone was rooted, knox tripped. They would never repair it for free if it was freezing, restarting or bugging screen becouse my warranty was gone by rooting long time ago... But now they will have hard time to get into Download mode or connect it to anything to see my voided warranty, or fact there is no ROM at all becouse it got broken right after last TWRP wipe. I might be able to come out of this with new S8 for 100€ (price difference between S7 edge and classic S8 in shop where I bought it).
What do you think? Will they tear it apart and find out about knox etc., or they will not go so deep when its completly dead and there are no physical marks of even using that phone? Have no idea how deep is their analysis and if they will try to change motherboard or just trash it giving me new one or money...
Any experiences with samsung repair service?
PS: sry for my grammar, had only 4 years of english classes at high school, not using it until then (only in forums like this)

Usually the guys at service station don't bother to go in download mode to check the tripped know it depends on countries to countries in most of the countries people got their phone repaired even though there phone was knox tripped and rooted
I hope they fix your phone for free as the service guys are lazy they'll probably tell that your SOC is fried and would recommend changing the SOC

thx for reply... true, they dont bother in my country very much at service ... they already changed my camera lens becouse left corner was always blury and no problem with knox tripped, but it was clearly HW problem on their side which appeared even on first photo, I just didnt notice it and rooted it first week of S7 launch... this also was not caused by root, but if they somehow find out they could use it as excuse, so i hope they will not try hard with software examination when its HW problem again

Just want to add to the list.My previous device (xperia z2 which goes to the same service center here in Bosnia) ,they never searched if i had custom rom installed.They just fixed it by changing motherboard.Please let us all know what will happen when you return your device to them.I think there is no way they can find out what you did to that device or if it is knox tripped.

Ok, I will report results here. It should be fixed in two weeks, max one month (or not if they find out about root, but I also think they will not)

Got my repaired phone back. With new motherboard and 0x0 original knox etc. Old motherboard was compleatly dead with all root info with it... Everything works now

SquareTrade sent me a bricked phone?! HELP!

Hey all,
I'm admittedly not into the whole rooting scene, so I know very little about it... bear with me.
I have a Galaxy S6 with water damage to the screen, so I used my SquareTrade warranty to receive a replacement device. Just turned it on this morning and set it up, no problem - synced my Google account, re-installed my apps, etc. Then it popped up a message that Samsung had a major firmware update and that it needed to restart to complete the process, so I clicked restart and install.
Phone restarts, and doesn't come back on. Top left of the screen it says something about "Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock". I Googled this and found stuff coming up about rooting phones, but obviously that's not what I was even trying to do. Someone said if you try a hard reboot it can fix the issue, so I did that, but when I hard rebooted it a message came up warning me about the dangers of installing firmware from third parties and whatnot, but that I could proceed if I knew it was safe, so I did that. I also noticed in the top left of this screen it said "Knox Counter: 1 x 00500"
At this point it tells me it's installing and to not reboot the phone, but a half hour goes by with no progress. I Google the Knox counter thing and stuff comes up about rooting and voided warranties. I call Squaretrade, and speak to a specialist with broken English and try to explain. He says he'll send a replacement to me (and they can't guarantee that it will be a black S6 which I'm bummed about). I make it clear that I was not the one who "jailbroke" the phone because my concern is that Squaretrade will turn the device on, see the message and assume I did it and charge me the $750 replacement fee, believing me to have voided the warranty. He assured me that he made a note of it on the claim and that I shouldn't be charged... but I'm still worried about it.
Worst case scenario just in case something goes wrong and they try to charge me, I'd love to know what y'all think might have happened here. Do you think the previous owner of this phone (since the replacements are refurbished) tripped the Knox counter? Why did it work the first time I turned it on but then crash after I tried to install a firmware update? And when I receive the next replacement, how can I make sure this doesn't happen again?
Now I have TWO phones I'm on the line for sending back to SquareTrade (the original damaged phone and the replacement with the voided Knox counter) and I'm so paranoid that I'll get f**ked over somehow. Any input would be greatly appreciated!