Two weeks into Note 3 - app crashes, phone slow down, power button stops working

[JS2018]

Hi guys. I'm new to these forums. Recently switched from iPhone to Note 3.

This has happened a few times already. I'll try to open an app and it's just a black screen. Tonight it was PayPal the other night it was Facebook. Or I will just randomly get pops up saying "contacts" have crashed or other system processes. The phone usually starts to slow down and the power button doesn't work either, I can't reboot the device without manually taking out the battery. then things are back to normal until it happens again.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

 

[GANote3]

Have you restarted the phone or did a battery pull. If you have not, I would power down and pull the battery out for a few seconds then put it back in and restart. See if that helps. After you get a message that something has stopped working it is a good idea to go ahead and reboot the phone.

Sent from my SM-N900V using AC Forums mobile app

 

[JS2018]

Have you restarted the phone or did a battery pull. If you have not, I would power down and pull the battery out for a few seconds then put it back in and restart. See if that helps. After you get a message that something has stopped working it is a good idea to go ahead and reboot the phone.

Sent from my SM-N900V using AC Forums mobile app

The power button stops working when these things happen so I have to do a battery pull. But this is the second time this is happening. Is this normal?

 

[GANote3]

Definitely nit normal. Follow the steps on this thread and see if it fixes the problem:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=337054


Sent from my SM-N900V using AC Forums mobile app

 

[JS2018]

thanks so far so good.

 

[GANote3]

Glad to hear that!

Sent from my SM-N900V using AC Forums mobile app

 

[JS2018]

app crashes are back.
many different apps are giving me the "this app closed" notification.

 

[runamuck0870]

I went through 4 Note 3's exhibiting your problem, plus several batteries and SIM cards. One such combination solved the problem for me.

I'd try to reboot into safe mode and run in that mode for 24 hours. If there are no lockups or hard crashes requiring a battery pull, it is likely NOT a hardware issue. If you DO get a hard lock while in safe mode call Verizon, tell them that it does it in Safe mode and they will swap out the phone for you.

If Safe mode is stable it's an app conflict or something corrupt in OS. In that case you really need to factory reset and then install one or two apps every 24 hours until it starts flaking out....usually the apps installed just prior to these crashes are the culprit. Be VERY SURE you disable auto updates in Google Play after the factory reset. And hint: Updating Google Play whacks these settings so be vigilant.

It drove me nuts for 6 weeks.....had all sorts of hardware and software issues.

 

[JS2018]

I went through 4 Note 3's exhibiting your problem, plus several batteries and SIM cards. One such combination solved the problem for me.

I'd try to reboot into safe mode and run in that mode for 24 hours. If there are no lockups or hard crashes requiring a battery pull, it is likely NOT a hardware issue. If you DO get a hard lock while in safe mode call Verizon, tell them that it does it in Safe mode and they will swap out the phone for you.

If Safe mode is stable it's an app conflict or something corrupt in OS. In that case you really need to factory reset and then install one or two apps every 24 hours until it starts flaking out....usually the apps installed just prior to these crashes are the culprit. Be VERY SURE you disable auto updates in Google Play after the factory reset. And hint: Updating Google Play whacks these settings so be vigilant.

It drove me nuts for 6 weeks.....had all sorts of hardware and software issues.

Wow thanks so much for the detailed info. I'm coming from an iPhone and just a little frustrated because while I know iPhone's have there issues, everything ust worked. It's ridiculous that I have to go through all the apps now.

 

[runamuck0870]

One of the things you'll have to get used to as an Android user (of any phone) is that you are, more or less, your own "systems administrator." This can be terrific if you are the tinkering type because you can change a lot of stock settings if you spend some time with it. But its also a royal PITA if you just want your phone to work without tinkering and have ANY kind of issues with it. There is no equivalent to a Genius Bar, and very few comparisons to AppleCare for that matter. Many users of Android don't care about such niceties and don't need them. But you really REALLY miss them when you need them after having been accustomed to Apple's more curated approach to "leasing" you an iPhone and access to their ecosystem.

And do not, under any circumstances, think its safe to just start installing anything you want. Install something, wait a day, then install something else. I've been blown away by how many bad apps there are out there, many from the likes of Google themselves. And when you DO find an issue....watch out for the finger pointing. Apple makes the OS and the hardware so they (eventually) have to own firmware issues. Samsung is god awful about owning their own problems and when it has to be filtered via the carriers before it gets to you (unless you root and take your chances with more issues requiring even MORE tinkering)...well, good luck playing the blaming and waiting game.

Forums like these are your best hope, although I've found Verizon is very quick to offer replacement hardware since they clearly don't know how to resolve some of the software issues themselves either.

 

[karsdroid]

with great power comes great responsibility......ha.....but really apps are awesome and yet you really do have to be careful, there are alot of crappy ones out there that will mess with your phone.

 

[TheMacs]

While there are occasional issues with new phones, most should work without any issues at all out of the box.

It is always good practice to install apps one at a time, allow some time to use it and be sure it's safe, then install the next one... etc.

That being said, nearly all the most popluar apps are safe. Read reviews, look at the popularity of apps. Poor ones are quickly flushed out and are not downloaded.

If you continue to have problems, I'd suggest wiping the phone completely, and using it in it's stock form (no new apps at all) for a while. If it's stable, start adding an app at a time. If it's not stable, take the phone back and get it replaced.

Good luck, it's an awesome phone, and a tremendous OS.