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Question

Samsung Stratosphere keeps resetting itself?

by Feb 20, 2013 12:08PM PST

I own a Verizon Samsung Stratosphere 1 that is currently operating on Android version 2.3.6 Gingerbread FF1. For the past couple of hours, it's been continuously rebooting itself. Sometimes it'll just flash the Samsung logo over and over again, and sometimes it'll finish rebooting and the home screen will appear... until it starts rebooting again.

I've already tried removing the battery, the sim card, and the micro SD card, as well as managed to do a factory reset. I thought that should fix the problem, but it hasn't. I've noticed that if it finishes rebooting, and I leave the phone alone, nothing will happen. But if I turn the screen on for five minutes, the "phone options" menu will pop up on its own without me holding down the power button, and that's when I know the phone will start restarting again. I've tried looking on other forums to find a solution to this problem, and all I can find is that it's apparently a common glitch among all Samsung Stratospheres.

My phone has done this in the past, but after one or two reboots, it's usually fine. This is the longest it's ever gone on for. It drained the battery once already, and even while it was charging, the charging screen was constantly flashing on and off. The phone is not water damaged.

Any possible solutions or ideas would be extremely helpful. Purchasing a new phone is honestly the very, very last resort for me. Thank you.

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Answer
Is it under a year old?
by Forum moderator Feb 21, 2013 5:54AM PST

Then you take them up on the warranty. The details are too slim here. But I've seen this on too many Android things. It's not just this make/model device. Sadly the only time we had this in the shop it was cured by a new battery. The owner didn't believe it. Took them a few months to believe and believe me, it may not be that but given how much the battery plays into the device, I've learned to carry a spare.
Bob

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found root of the problem
by snguyen910 Feb 21, 2013 1:09PM PST

Thank you for your time and for the response. Unfortunately, it's just a few months past its 1 year warranty. Sorry if the details are slim pickings; I'm not really that tech savvy.

After fiddling with it some more, I realized that it's a hardware problem-- the power button has become incredibly sensitive. If I graze it with my finger, it'll react as if I held it down to reset it. I thought that maybe something was lodged underneath the power button, so I unscrewed the back and spritzed some dust cleaner underneath the power button. No luck. It turns out there are apps in the google app store that enable the volume buttons to lock/unlock the screen the way a power button would in the event of a completely broken power button. The app works, except since the power button is still 'functioning' more or less, it's still difficult to work the phone for longer than 15 minutes when you can't even touch the right side of your phone without setting off the sensitive power button.

Is there any way to somehow disable the power button from working at all? That way I could just use the app to lock and unlock the screen.

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Yes.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Feb 21, 2013 1:19PM PST

The power button is a mechanical thing. If you can find a broke one on ebay then scavenge the parts. It's not trivial but could be cheap.
Bob

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