Note 3 Problem - 'IndexService has stopped' and screen freezing every 2 minutes

[Joach Freimann]

I have the exact same problem. please tell me how exactly to stop the S-finder service.

 

[Joach Freimann]

Pleeezzz specify , I'm a complete novice at this and still feel very frustrated. When I get this "indexservice has stopped" on my screen, what should I do? Just put my Note 3 aside for 24 hours and nothing else? Will Index Service sort my data in the background eventhough it "has stopped" ??

 

[Gary02468]

Just as another data point: I've had no problem with a SanDisk 64GB Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Class 10 card. I inserted it with about 25GB of music, 8GB of videos, and 1 or 2 GB of photos and documents already on the card. I received no Index Service warnings and saw no sign of any slowness or pauses. (Battery usage was high on the first day, but I don't know if that was due to the Index Service or due to heavy usage while setting up the phone.)

 

[juancharlis]

It does not work. I ve stopped the index service in actice apps and in all app, and index service continues working and stopped, in the background, but when i come to consult him listed as inactive(not really). I have 30 gb pdfs in micro sd class 10, samsung. I think that is the problem, but in my galasy s3 work fine.
I think until samsung take out a new firmware the problem is not solved. The last new firmware 2 days ago, dont work about this prroblem.
I,m desperate, because i buy the note 3 to study and consult pdfs, I,m spain medical doctor, and i have all my books in pdfs.

 

[Saul Annett]

Quick update to all - as I started this thread. The problem is now back again! I stopped the problem by factory reset and formatting the external sd card. It was fine until I started saving photos to the sd card. Since then, whether the external sd card is dismounted or completely removed, I'm getting the dreaded persistent IndexService message and freezing. Samsung need to release a fix quickly. I've emailed them again today asking for help and I suggest you all do the same so that they are fully aware of the scale of the problem. I also tried tweeting them but didn't hear back. I'll keep you posted.

Once it occurs the only fix is a complete factory reset and wiping of the card. For me anyway.

Quick response to other suggestions I've seen posted and do not work - from what I can tell it's not a specific issue with a model or size of memory card, it seems to occur across a few different types. Stopping the IndexService does not solve the problem.

 

[Praveen Kanghirathunkal]

You have any PDF files in your internal memory or SD Card? Or DropBox or GDrive is syncing PDF files automatically to device? Looks like index service is not able to handle certain PDF files, so finding that PDF and keeping it out from the device till get a firmware update may be a good try.

 

[Mike strow]

As someone already mentioned here, it seems to have some problem with some specific type of pdf files. I too have many images and other documents on my Note 3, but no problem till now.
Please check for any problematic pdf files on your device and you could get rid of the problem as suggested in other forums.

Please update if it solved the problem so that others can also know

 

[Saul Annett]

You have any PDF files in your internal memory or SD Card? Or DropBox or GDrive is syncing PDF files automatically to device? Looks like index service is not able to handle certain PDF files, so finding that PDF and keeping it out from the device till get a firmware update may be a good try.

Hi there - the problem is not related specifically to PDF files. People keep mentioning this but this is not the problem, as I've tested this myself. My phone does have PDF files on it and right now there is no problem. However, the problem does come back when I add any new file types to the external sd card. These are NOT necessarily PDF files, it occurs with other types as well. My SD card is currently removed to avoid the problem coming back. Before anyone mentions it, it's also occuring with other memory card types, not just the one I'm using now!

 

[Saul Annett]

Hi there - the problem is not related specifically to PDF files. People keep mentioning this but this is not the problem, as I've tested this myself. My phone does have PDF files on it and right now there is no problem. However, the problem does come back when I add any new file types to the external sd card. These are NOT necessarily PDF files, it occurs with other types as well. My SD card is currently removed to avoid the problem coming back. Before anyone mentions it, it's also occuring with other memory card types, not just the one I'm using now!

I take back my comment... problem now reoccurring, without the sd card installed!!! I'm now investigating files that could be the cause. Painfull! Still no word from Samsung on this!

 

[Gary02468]

I take back my comment... problem now reoccurring, without the sd card installed!!! I'm now investigating files that could be the cause. Painfull! Still no word from Samsung on this!

Have you tried doing a factory reset and using the phone for a while without installing any third-party apps, or transferring any files? If it exhibits the problem even then, then it's likely defective and you can exchange it. If not, add things gradually to see when the problem recurs.

 

[pamon]

I've had mine for around 2 weeks and this bug is really starting to bug me. It stops and hangs the phone along with the Samsung WatchOn app that gets stuck. Had my Note 2 for a year and never had any of these problems. Wondering if its the bloatware on the phone which is stopping it. I've stopped the S search, taken out the memory card, and plugged it back in. More of a bug with the phone than anything.

 

[Gary02468]

I've had mine for around 2 weeks and this bug is really starting to bug me. It stops and hangs the phone along with the Samsung WatchOn app that gets stuck. Had my Note 2 for a year and never had any of these problems. Wondering if its the bloatware on the phone which is stopping it. I've stopped the S search, taken out the memory card, and plugged it back in. More of a bug with the phone than anything.

If a factory reset doesn't fix the problem, I'd say you have a defective phone and should exchange it. I've used my N3 a lot for a week now with a 64GB card, and have not once seen the Index Service error, nor had the N3 pause or hang.

 

[juancharlis]

gary dont say nonsense if you dont know what you mean. nobody has a defective fone. then we all in this forum and others have a defective phone.
I have already solvwd the problem. i changed my 64 gb samsung 10 carsd to 32 ultra sandisk, and now all is ok.i will no reintroduce the 64 one till samsung got a new firmware.

Im very happy now, I have not see any index service message and the battery lasts much more.

 

[AnIronButterfly]

I'm still having this problem. I've got a new SanDisk Ultra Class 10 32 GB micro SD Card based on some of the recommendations in this thread.
I've done a factory reset. I've reformatted the SD card. I've tried working with brand new PDF ebooks. I've worked with older ones. I've renamed
them so that they don't have any periods in the file names, based on what I read over at XDA's forums.

And I'm *still* getting that pesky Index Service message and the freezing. My Note 2 didn't have those problems. I've stopped the S-search thing,
I've done just about everything I can--even talked to Samsung--who claims they've not heard any reports of this problem...and I'd really like to be
able to read some of my ebooks, even if they do open from the SD card, this freezing thing is getting old, pretty fast.

I don't know if I need to go back to Best Buy and talk to the Geek Squad people or not...but I'm getting pretty tempted to do that and see IF it just
might be a defective unit--but I don't know if it's that, given that there's alot of people reporting similar issues here. I'm starting to get pretty damn
frustrated with this...

Kat
aka AnIronButterfly
Stock Black Verizon Note 3, 32 GB w/32 GB SanDisk Ultra micro SD card

 

[xderiwx]

I'm still having this problem. I've got a new SanDisk Ultra Class 10 32 GB micro SD Card based on some of the recommendations in this thread.
I've done a factory reset. I've reformatted the SD card. I've tried working with brand new PDF ebooks. I've worked with older ones. I've renamed
them so that they don't have any periods in the file names, based on what I read over at XDA's forums.

And I'm *still* getting that pesky Index Service message and the freezing. My Note 2 didn't have those problems. I've stopped the S-search thing,
I've done just about everything I can--even talked to Samsung--who claims they've not heard any reports of this problem...and I'd really like to be
able to read some of my ebooks, even if they do open from the SD card, this freezing thing is getting old, pretty fast.

I don't know if I need to go back to Best Buy and talk to the Geek Squad people or not...but I'm getting pretty tempted to do that and see IF it just
might be a defective unit--but I don't know if it's that, given that there's alot of people reporting similar issues here. I'm starting to get pretty damn
frustrated with this...

Kat
aka AnIronButterfly
Stock Black Verizon Note 3, 32 GB w/32 GB SanDisk Ultra micro SD card

Have you tried pointing Samsung to this and other threads?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[AnIronButterfly]

I talked to them for the first time tonight. The girl was pretty clueless. Going to chat via Web with them again tomorrow and have links handy. I'm using a different SanDisk ultra SD card and no PDFs on it and only my mp3s and still getting the same issue.

Going to visit Best Buy too. I'm getting pretty fed up.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[marxist3]

I just got my 900L yesterday and had the same problem this morning. "indexService" message kept showing on my note3 every 45 seconds. What I did in the morning was just sync my Dropbox account and transferred 1 GB of song via Kies to 64GB Sandisk microSD which I attached to my phone last night(the problem started this morning)..

Now this problem solved since I read this thread and many people mentioned about PDF. I had some PDF files on my DB. So what I did is unsync Documents from DB. "General -> Cloud -> Documents, then turn off green button"

After I did it, no more indexService message. Then I check battery usage, there are no more Index Service draining my battery(it was using 31% of my batt before I unsync)

Hope this could help

 

[AnIronButterfly]

I've transferred data by cable to my SD card in my phone and then I tried transferring data to SD card via card reader
to another SD card that I swapped into my phone (Both are SanDisk ultra SD cards. And the card that's in my phone
today has absolutely NO PDF docs on it, so that's been ruled out at the moment.

 

[topchecker]

For me the problem starts as soon as I plug the Note 3 into my computer running Kies. That is, WITHOUT actually copying any files to the device -- the message just appears the instant I plug in the cable between computer and phone. From then on the phone freezes about once per minute, then displays the message. (And of course this keeps happening after unplugging.) For me the only solution was to factory-reset the phone, erasing all data, then manually restoring it without using Kies.

Can anyone else confirm that this is how they get "infected" by the problem? The thing is, I was using Kies on Mac OS X. It would be useful to verify whether or not it occurs with the Window version of Kies, but I don't want to try it, then have to spend hours manually restoring my phone. Could someone else verify it?

Also: How to backup/restore the phone if Kies is unusable? It would be easy enough if it was rooted, but my understanding it contains a hardware fuse that detects rooting & voids the warranty? Don't wanna risk that either ...

 

[AnIronButterfly]

Hullo there... I'm not using a Mac. I'm using Windows. I'm NOT using Kies. (I've never used Kies. It's never worked for me.) My Note 3 is NOT rooted.
I'm going to be picking up a new phone from Best Buy later today--so I'm going to try something here. I'm going to do another factory reset--and I'm
NOT going to use a cable to my PC. I'm ONLY going to put stuff onto my SD card via card reader and see if that makes ANY difference whatsoever...
I'll return and report in a bit...it's worth a try to see if that step will isolate a potential bug in the works...

ETA: And that doesn't seem to make a whit of difference. PDFs, EPUBs and MP3s on an SD card via card reader to freshly factory reset phone?
Doesn't seem to change anything. Still get the "Unfortunately the IndexService has stopped" error. Not sure what's going on here. I'm going to see
if the Best Buy guys can get one of their people at Samsung on the phone and find out what's going on... that's probably going to be the best bet...