Samsung Galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

[Keith Armstrong]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Hi

I have a GT-I9300 with Vodafone (UK) which yesterday morning went from the normal home screen to the "Samsung Galaxy S III GT-I9300" screen where it stayed, requiring the battery to be taken out to turn off. Trying to turn it back on, it gets to that screen and stays there. I have tried to go into the recovery mode but it won't do it. I have been able to just about get it into download mode, but I'm not completely sure I know what will happen if I go down this path.

I have pics etc saved to my SD card (which I have now removed to keep it safe) but I'm wondering what will happen to my contacts and texts etc? I thought as its all Google that my contacts would be saved against my Google account, but when I look at contacts in my Google login via my PC there are loads missing, and it seems that some I've had on my phone for ages aren't there, but some I've added more recently are, which is a bit confusing and would be annoying to lose.

I have downloaded Kies (version 2.6.3.14044_16) and I believe the version of Android I had on my phone was 4.0.4.

I guess my question is, what actually happens if I go into Kies and go to Tools/Firmware upgrade and initialisation (assuming that it will actually work)? Is this effectively completely resetting my phone to factory settings? Therefore I would guess it wipes everything from the phone's internal storage (so all texts, settings, apps etc)? What does it do with contacts? I have no idea anymore whether contacts are stored to the sim card by default or whether they are on the phone's internal storage - if they are on the sim card I presume that the firmware reset would be mean I wouldn't actually lose the contacts?

Is there anything else I've missed that I can try before doing this firmware bit, or any other way of trying to rescue the contacts/text message data (those are probably the only things I will really miss)?

Thanks a lot!

 

[GSDer]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Welcome to the forums!

I have downloaded Kies (version 2.6.3.14044_16) and I believe the version of Android I had on my phone was 4.0.4.

That is the correct version of Kies for that version firmware, but that seems to be pretty old - most International phones have been bumped to 4.3 in the last few months, and it is crucial to reload the same firmware if you want to have a high likelihood of retaining your data.

Yes, using the Kies software to reload the firmware probably wipes out your data (it's been awhile since I fiddled with it).

You could use a tool called Odin to manually flash the firmware, but you need to decide which firmware you have. You can find Odin online (just Google it - look for v3.07; pick a source on XDA) and you can find the firmware here - select your device in the drop-down list in the upper left corner, then mouse-over the region codes until you find your country/carrier.

Instructions on using Odin can be found http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=2955016

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[Keith Armstrong]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Welcome to the forums!That is the correct version of Kies for that version firmware, but that seems to be pretty old - most International phones have been bumped to 4.3 in the last few months, and it is crucial to reload the same firmware if you want to have a high likelihood of retaining your data.

Yes, using the Kies software to reload the firmware probably wipes out your data (it's been awhile since I fiddled with it).

You could use a tool called Odin to manually flash the firmware, but you need to decide which firmware you have. You can find Odin online (just Google it - look for v3.07; pick a source on XDA) and you can find the firmware here - select your device in the drop-down list in the upper left corner, then mouse-over the region codes until you find your country/carrier.

Instructions on using Odin can be found [Guide][Samsung] How to flash Stock ROM via ODIN - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

Thank you. Yes, I know my version of Android is a bit on the old side, I never really bothered with it as my phone always seemed to work ok. But I know it's that version because I told the support of RocketPlayer only a week or two before when my playlists went a bit funny!

So finding that version of the firmware for Vodafone UK gives a better chance of keeping data than using a more up to date version of the firmware? Could prove an issue as the oldest on that link for my phone is 4.1.2! Did find a Vodafone UK version of that though. Clicked on them, and there is a 4.0.4 version but that is for Galaxy Tab 10.1 so not much use there.

Thank you for your help!

 

[twas14]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Hey there! I just came across this post. My samsung galaxy s3 started experiencing issues about 2 days ago. It would suddenly shut off by itself then I would turn it on and it would shut off again a few minutes later. I thought maybe the issue was the battery so I bought a new one and tried it but still experienced the same issues. I then tried a new charger (was using one for an older model) and this made the phone stay on for a longer period but it was still shutting down by itself. I was heading home from work to back-up my phone when all of a sudden it was not responding. I took out the battery and it just showed the "samsung" logo then shut off again. I have very important data I would like to back-up on my laptop so a factory reset is not something I'm willing to try just yet. Would you be able to help me back-up my info?

PS The main board does not have any water damage and I have taken good care of the phone (bought a lifeproof case also). I thought the next step was to look at the power button considering it could be faulty (I've read people experiencing issues with random shutdowns due to the power button) so I brought it for repair but if this does not solve the issue, is there anything else I could try before having to reset the phone and lose all my data? Just the worst luck? and so shocked since I really liked this phone and this is the first problem I have experienced with it.

 

[GSDer]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

So finding that version of the firmware for Vodafone UK gives a better chance of keeping data than using a more up to date version of the firmware?

Yes, that's the best bet. You could look here - they still have the 4.0.4 firmware (you'll have to register to be able to download from that site).

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[GSDer]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Welcome to the forums!

if this does not solve the issue, is there anything else I could try before having to reset the phone and lose all my data?

One of the common signs that the Power button/switch is at fault is when you take the battery out, reinsert it and the phone turns itself on.

If you haven't already tried rebooting into Recovery mode and wiping the system cache then that should be your first option - it runs very quickly and doesn't touch your data.

You could try booting into Safe mode http://support.verizonwireless.com/support/devices/knowledge_base.html/59242 and see if the phone boots normally and stays on.

Otherwise you could try the same thing I recommended to the previous poster - use Odin to reload the firmware; just be sure it's the same version that you currently have on your phone.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[twas14]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Thanks for the reply GSDer! It was the power button, and all the data on the phone is still intact! So happy I tried this because I was being told by some technicians that there was nothing I could do and that the power button was not the issue. It saved me a lot of money and time.

 

[MdB2]

Re: Samsung galaxy S3 frozen on start screen... HELP PLEASE!

Meyerweb, Thank you this helped me tremendously.

 

[Ben Boyce]

so in response to this I tryed to root my phone and my E:/ is failing to load what do i do

 

[GSDer]

Welcome to the forums!

so in response to this I tryed to root my phone and my E:/ is failing to load what do i do

You can start by reading through http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=309904

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[Ricardo Dos Santos]

My phone had the same problem, to get into recovery mode (where you may find the menu with options such as to wipe the cache partition) hold the power button, the volume up button and the home button all in at once. The phone should quickly flash a image of the android figure(the green thing) continue to hold all three of these buttons, wait for the phone to switch on again, once it shows you the start up screen release these buttons and wait, after a few seconds it should go into recovery mode with the options. Hope this helps.

 

[Kez232323]

Thank you so much for providing the above information for fixing a frozen phone. I now have my S3 working again. It was pretty simple too.

 

[chiboy1]

can anyone please help me with this. i was charging my phone and it suddenly turned off. it freezes at the Samsung logo. i tried removing the battery for a couple of minutes. but, it still freezes. when i try to factory rest it, it won't let me. it says error. can anyone really tell me what to do.

Thanks.

 

[GSDer]

Welcome to the forums!

when i try to factory rest it, it won't let me. it says error.

Are you saying that when you boot into Recovery mode it gives you an error? If so, can you be more specific about the exact error message?

Will the phone boot into Download mode?

What model/carrier/firmware?

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[DazRob1973]

Hi

I'm having the issue with my S3 stuck on logo page on start up.

Ive tried taking the battery out and leaving it for hours before re-inserting, but to no avail. (Sometimes the logo comes on when I put the battery back in, even though I dont switch the phone on..)

I can access the Recovery menu, I ve cleared the cache and rebooted several times, with no joy.

I accessed the Download menu as suggested in previous posts, unfortunatley the latest version of Kies 3 (upgraded to last night) came up with the message 'Unsupported Device' 'The connected device is not supported by Kies 3'.
Another window then came up 'Firmware ugrade and initialization' with a list of steps to proceed with emergency recovery. This did not work either.

One thing I havent tried is to reset to the Factory Settings, which I do not wish to try until I have exhausted all other means of trying to fix this without wiping out all my data (photod, etc).

Is there anything else that can be done to resolve this?

Phone details:

Model : GT-I9300
Carrier : O2
Country : UK
Firmware : No idea sorry. It was sometime ago when it was last updated. I suppose u need your phone working to find this out..?

Any help on this v much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GSDer]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Model : GT-I9300
Carrier : O2
Country : UK

You could try using a tool called Odin (just Google it - look for v3.07; find a source on XDA) to load the firmware, which you can find here. You can find instructions on how to use Odin here.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[DazRob1973]

Thanks for the advice and welcome GSDer.

Will the loading of the firmware per your instructions wipe out all my data, photos, etc?

 

[GSDer]

As long as you load the stock firmware that I pointed you to it SHOULDN'T touch your data (I've done a similar thing with my Verizon variant, and several others that I've helped have had good results, but there are no guarantees).

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[Green Eye Gypsie]

That really sucks because I was told by the Tmobile guy that it was real easy to do and I mentioned I was going to do a factory reset and give my SG3 to my daughter so she could have a decent phone since I have the SG5.

So I did the press volume up hold home key and power button all at once and mine is stuck with a flashing Samsung logo or if I plug it in to charge it still charges but wont do anything else.

Is the phone a total loss ?:-\

 

[imsteph]

I have tried all the things I have seen on the previous post's, but nothing has solved the problem. It stays on my carrier's logo and then it will get hot. I saw the little recovery in the top left corner of the ph, but nothing else will happen. Someone said its a software problem, but how can I do anything if the screen stays on the logo. Samsung repair center I need to contact now? Please help, its not like these phones were just a couple of hundred bucks. Thanks so much in advance. I appreciate all comments and help. Stephanie