phone suddenly opens and closes apps and sites

[Android Central Question]

My Xperia LA suddenly starts opening and closing apps and flitting from website to website and flies from one to the other all by itself. i have to restart to get back to normal. Why is this?

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

Sounds like malware or adware. I:d suggest downloading the VirusTotal app and seeing if you have any malicious apps on your device.

 

[VidJunky]

Welcome to Android Central.

That is a wide list of issues. Kind of all over the place but we'll need more information to better offer advice.

You say, it suddenly starts... Are you using the phone when this happens or do you open it to check something and just happen to notice these things?

Does it matter what you are doing on the phone, if it happens when you are using it? I mean, if you're playing solitaire, you can do that all day and nothing odd, but open XYZ Food Destinations app and everything goes buggy.

Have you installed any apps from the internet? It is not advisable to install apps from app stores outside of Google Play, Amazon Apps or, in your case, Sony. While it is highly unlikely that an Android device will get an actual virus or have true malware install on the device, it is very possible to install bad apps. Nefarious apps can cause real issues and some, if given too many permissions, can access sensitive data and do other undesirable things. This is why using checked and verified sources for apps is best or at least safest. Installing antivirus or malware detectors is mostly a waste. Many alert to system files, offer false positives, attempt to close apps that are needed and usually in some way or fashion ask you to spend money for upgrades to the service or just cost out right. Considering that Android is not likely to get a virus and installing anything requires consent, as long as you're not out there looking for the Silk Road you're pretty safe.

There can be physical reasons for things opening and closing seemingly on their own. One of which is a dirty or peeling screen protector which cause phantom touches. The screen believes there are inputs when there are not.

Typically if there was just one issue, like apps opening and closing, and it was happening fairly predictably I would recommend running the device in Safe Mode for a time and seeing if the issues stop. If they stop while in Safe Mode the issue is usually linked to an app. If the issues persist even in SM the issue is either system related or physical, like the screen protector or a stuck button. You still might try SM just to see if the issue persists.

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[Android Central Question]

i cannot register

https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/1029587-phone-suddenly-opens-closes-apps-sites.html?mn_qa=1#post6971679

I cannot register .every username i try it says it exists and i am not going to keep clicking captcha in a circle

It is xperia L4 i typed LA before

I am using the phone when it happens
it can happen anytime googling or reading a pdf.

I don't use dodgy sites or download apps from the internet. Except for preinstalled I only get open source apps from F droid. I know all my apps, no bad apps, none with any adverts or malware.

I don't use amazon apps or download from google store

nothing wrong with my screen not dirty or peeling or damaged

I do not update though. i do not like the way it changes things. i have notification of update for months which i ignore. Could that do it?

Thanks

 

[belodion]

[Threads merged, above post copied to Site Feedback, with edits:]
https://forums.androidcentral.com/s...annot-register-edited-copy-original-post.html

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! The issue with screen protectors isn't just about a dirty, peeling or damaged screen. Some screen protectors just don't fit well, and that can lead to phantom touches. Do you have a screen protector on in the first place?

Do you mean that you're not updating apps in the Play Store, or that you're not installing system updates pushed over-the-air by Sony? Although it's true that some system updates can occasionally be glitchy, it's generally not a good idea to ignore them, because they also have important security patches and other bugfixes.

 

[Mooncatt]

I second the idea of removing any screen protector first. If that doesn't work, I'd suspect electrical interference. I have seen this happen due to a bad USB cable, but is often attributed to a defective display/digitizer, which is a hardware problem.

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

I second the idea of removing any screen protector first. If that doesn't work, I'd suspect electrical interference. I have seen this happen due to a bad USB cable, but is often attributed to a defective display/digitizer, which is a hardware problem.

Actually, not the cable, but rather the charger. Some chargers have poor filtering and will leak up to 60v relative to ground but with very little (and non-lethal) current behind it. And it doesn't even have to be a low quality or unsafe charger for this to happen. Usually only really expensive keep it at a minimum. This will cause the touch screen to act erratically when you touch it while the phone is charging, cause that leaking AC noise will capacitively couple through the digitizer and into your body and into ground or the surrounding g environment. I have a Windows phone in my collection that does this, for some reason especially if the charger is plugged into a 230v outlet whenever I am not in the US.

 

[VidJunky]

Well I guess we wouldn't know if it was update related if you decline updates unless you're willing to update. I feel you on changes not always being convenient for the user. You just get to liking something or find that one super useful thing and an update comes along and changes it or worse takes it away but updates are more than just changes. They are also fixes, patches and probably more importantly security updates. Unfortunately we can't pick and choose which parts we want vs which we don't.

If there were a way of knowing when it would happen or a way to trigger it I'd say try using the device in Safe Mode. That would narrow down whether it was an app issue or something related to the system or possibly hardware. This would be how we might extrapolate whether it would be worth trying to allow the device to update. So if in Safe Mode the issues still occurred that would be a strong indicator that software might need updated by eliminating everything except for the core functions of the device. On the other hand of the issue stopped and was not able to be duplicated that would point to a bad or incompatible app. Maybe one that updated expecting the device to also be updated and now the patch is causing a conflict.

The only thing I can think of to try, beyond allowing the device to update, would be clearing the cache partition of the device. Restarting the device typically handles clearing the cache of individual apps. It allows the device to close items, reboot the OS and UI and in the process clear many of the caches for apps. The partition cache is for the OS and while it should clean itself up I've seen many instances where doing a manual clean clears up an issue. This article explains it a little better than I can and also has the step-by-step for how to do it... https://www.infofuge.com/wipe-cache-partition-sony-xperia-l4/

Perhaps someone seeing this may have other ideas or suggestions.

Best wishes.

 

[Mooncatt]

Actually, not the cable, but rather the charger. Some chargers have poor filtering and will leak up to 60v relative to ground but with very little (and non-lethal) current behind it. And it doesn't even have to be a low quality or unsafe charger for this to happen. Usually only really expensive keep it at a minimum. This will cause the touch screen to act erratically when you touch it while the phone is charging, cause that leaking AC noise will capacitively couple through the digitizer and into your body and into ground or the surrounding g environment. I have a Windows phone in my collection that does this, for some reason especially if the charger is plugged into a 230v outlet whenever I am not in the US.

Your scenario may be possible, but I have had this happen twice due to bad cables. All would be well and good, even when plugged in, until I noticed the erratic behavior when charging. Swapping the cables for new ones fixed the problem.