S4 Won't Turn back on after 4.3 Update

[Imprzya]

I got the 4.3 update yesterday from Verizon. Downloaded it and everything seemed ok. Woke up this morning and the green charged light was on but the phone wouldn't come on. I had to take the battery out to get it to turn back on. Then once it was back on, it kept restarting itself. It shut down and restarted itself about 7 or 8 times before it wouldn't come back on at all. I brought it to a Verizon store, and they took the battery out (duh) and the sim card out and back in and restarted it just fine. They told me to get stuff backed up just in case. Before I made it back to work, the phone was dead again and wouldn't come back on at all. I took the battery in and out about 10 times, and the sim card a couple of times too. No luck. Then, I ran back over to Verizon, they tried a new battery and some other stuff and couldn't get it to power up either. They called verizon and they are sending me a new phone, since no one could get it to turn on. Then, on my way back to work, I took the battery out again and it powered right back up. WT??? I got all my pics moved to my sd card. Going to back up everything else when I get home. Not sure what to do now, as I have a new phone on the way. I have a feeling there is definitely something wrong with this one though and it's just a matter of time...

 

[STSVA]

I got the 4.3 update yesterday from Verizon. Downloaded it and everything seemed ok. Woke up this morning and the green charged light was on but the phone wouldn't come on. I had to take the battery out to get it to turn back on. Then once it was back on, it kept restarting itself. It shut down and restarted itself about 7 or 8 times before it wouldn't come back on at all. I brought it to a Verizon store, and they took the battery out (duh) and the sim card out and back in and restarted it just fine. They told me to get stuff backed up just in case. Before I made it back to work, the phone was dead again and wouldn't come back on at all. I took the battery in and out about 10 times, and the sim card a couple of times too. No luck. Then, I ran back over to Verizon, they tried a new battery and some other stuff and couldn't get it to power up either. They called verizon and they are sending me a new phone, since no one could get it to turn on. Then, on my way back to work, I took the battery out again and it powered right back up. WT??? I got all my pics moved to my sd card. Going to back up everything else when I get home. Not sure what to do now, as I have a new phone on the way. I have a feeling there is definitely something wrong with this one though and it's just a matter of time...

It sounds like the advice to back everything up then go with the new phone is the way to go. Definitely something wrong with the current phone.

 

[Imprzya]

It sounds like the advice to back everything up then go with the new phone is the way to go. Definitely something wrong with the current phone.

Thanks, I feel bad getting a new phone now that this one is working again. I haven't had a single problem with it prior to this update. Actually, this was the first time I had to take the battery out since I bought it in July.

 

[Imprzya]

Well, I guess I don't need to feel bad anymore. Phone is dead again. Red charging light is on but the phone won't turn on.
Did the update do this to anyone else's phone?

 

[mischiefse7en]

apparently it did it to mine, i updated this morning before i went to bed, and now its dead

 

[j0nsac]

Mine is having the same issue, Verizon is getting quite a few calls about S4's not powering on. Or they shut off sporadically during use (you lock the screen, shortly after you try to unlock and the screen is blank). Friend works at Verizon customer service and she advised there was about 18 warranty cases yesterday evening on this alone, and more calling in today. I myself ordered up a replacement/warranty because it has 4.2.3 shipping on it, allowing me to use my phone again.

Wish I could roll back to 4.2.3 on my current device as I bought it new, my phone has been useless all day. I've had to battery pull about 9 times today, only about 1/3 of the time it actually works, other times I have to put it on the charger and cross my fingers it'll show the battery charging icon in 5-15 minutes making it apparent I can turn it back on.

 

[Imprzya]

Mine is having the same issue, Verizon is getting quite a few calls about S4's not powering on. Or they shut off sporadically during use (you lock the screen, shortly after you try to unlock and the screen is blank). Friend works at Verizon customer service and she advised there was about 18 warranty cases yesterday evening on this alone, and more calling in today. I myself ordered up a replacement/warranty because it has 4.2.3 shipping on it, allowing me to use my phone again.

Wish I could roll back to 4.2.3 on my current device as I bought it new, my phone has been useless all day. I've had to battery pull about 9 times today, only about 1/3 of the time it actually works, other times I have to put it on the charger and cross my fingers it'll show the battery charging icon in 5-15 minutes making it apparent I can turn it back on.

Yes, that sounds a lot like what is going on with my phone. I was at a loss when the battery pull didn't work. My new phone should arrive tomorrow morning. I was able to get everything backed up so hopefully it won't take me too long to switch over.

 

[j0nsac]

Yes, that sounds a lot like what is going on with my phone. I was at a loss when the battery pull didn't work. My new phone should arrive tomorrow morning. I was able to get everything backed up so hopefully it won't take me too long to switch over.

I downloaded the 4.3 firmware and used odin to do a full wipe and reflash the phone, let it sit for over an hour and a half (went to the gym), stayed on the entire time under its own power. Popped my SIM back in and now reloading my software, I'll report back how it does shortly.

FYI if you want a link to the firmware, this URL has it:

DroidViews | How to Unbrick Your Bricked Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500, GT-I9505, SCH-I545

or

DroidViews | How to Install Latest Official/Stock Firmware on Samsung Galaxy S4 (All Models)

4.3 (wipes data, what I did): SCH-I545_VZW_1_20131023084910_v4vth34m5z_fac.zip | by Open1Your1Eyes0 for Galaxy S4
4.3 (does not wipe data, can't confirm): http://invisiblek.org/joder/SCH-I545_VZW_1_20131023084910_4t7oj0w5gv.zip

Verified with Samsung Kies3 that its running latest and greatest firmware

 

[Imprzya]

Ok, let me know if this works. My phone worked all day yesterday but today i've had to pull my battery twice already, half my apps disappeared and my folders on the home screen won't open.

 

[j0nsac]

Ok, let me know if this works. My phone worked all day yesterday but today i've had to pull my battery twice already, half my apps disappeared and my folders on the home screen won't open.

Worked all evening, went to bed, woke up to it off again, been back to its freezing and crashing all morning. Sigh.

 

[Imprzya]

Worked all evening, went to bed, woke up to it off again, been back to its freezing and crashing all morning. Sigh.

Yeah, mine worked the whole day yesterday. Now all of my aps and all of my widgets have disappeared, but I can still text and get on the internet.

 

[jt_83]

I'm having a similar issue. Got my replacement from VZW, but for some reason all my pictures were saving to the device and not the SD (Shouldn't it have defaulted to SD?). New device works fine but I want to recover pictures from the old one and Odin isn't working for me. Takes me to a bootloop in recovery.

 

[jmpdx]

I've had the same thing happen with two separate phones. 20 days after getting by brand new S4 I woke up to a dead phone. It was very warm to the touch, otherwise would do nothing. I get a replacement (refurbished) and today I wake to a dead phone. This time it was not warm, the green LED was solid. Now it won't power on no matter how many times I remove the battery, try different cables, etc.

In both cases I had updated to 4.3 a few days prior. I'm now waiting for my 2nd replacement, this time they are sending a new battery...

 

[og928]

I'm so frustrated!
I updated my software about 4 days ago.
It was dead for about 4 hours, and it I tried backing up everything, but it died on me during backup.
I?ve been waiting for it to come back on, but it?s been a few days now with no luck.
It also made my memory card unrecognizable.
I took it out and put it in my PC, and it?s not recognizing it.
I?m waiting for it to come back on, so I can quickly complete my backup.
Then I plan on going to the Sprint Store to swap out the phone.

Any suggestions on trying to get the device back up and running?

 

[Hien Luu]

I just got the same problem. Btw my phone is with verizon and have been updated to jellybean 4.3. Last night my battery ran to 0% so i plugged it in to charge when i went to bed. It was fully charged when i woke up and working when i turned it on, I then unplugged it and set it down while i took a shower. I came out and the phones absolutely unresponsive. It wont turn on, show charging led or the charging screen with the battery when plugged to the wall charger. So now i have taken the battery out and am letting it "rest" for awhile before i try to power it on again. Before today, there have been instances of the phone powering down randomly and freezing completely requiring a power button hold-down-shut-down. I'm at a loss at what to do. I have apps and contacts I do believe I have not backed up and would very much like to before handing this phone over to verizon services. What I'm really asking for now is can you guys recommend me any ways of getting my phone back on?

 

[STSVA]

I'd get a new battery.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Kotazume Rei]

I'm having a quite different problem here. Yesterday i restart my phone, and it works normally until the 'samsung' sign (that appears before we go to the home screen) shows up. After this, my phone keeps showing that 'samsung' sign and didn't go to the screen. I wait for a long time, and it didn't show up. I wait until all night, and then my phone was out-of-battery. I plug the charger, and proceed with turning on my phone. It shows the same problem! I already opened my battery several times, but it keeps doing that. Any suggestions to encounter this problem?