why does snapchat turn my phone off?

BellaBear1996

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downloaded snapchat on my phone. hasnt been an issue up until this month. phone is a year old, but when I use the app for even 5 minutes and it shuts my phone off. only way to turn it on is by plugging it in, why is it doing this?
 

B. Diddy

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The phone completely powers off, or does the screen just go to sleep?

Which phone is it? Try going to Settings>Apps, select Snapchat, and Clear Cache/Clear Data.
 

motownjunkman

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Newbie here so go easy!

I seem to having a very similar problem with Snapchat on my Nexus 5X (running Android 7.1.2 with the May patch).

If I use Snapchat to view or make a video the phone will power down even with as much as 90%% battery. A warning comes up saying something like "0% battery phone powering down" and the phone turns off.

Basically, it seems Snapchat makes my phone think it has no charge. The phone dies and won't turn on unless it's connected to the mains even though, once it's booted up again, it can still have plenty off battery left.

The attached screenshots hopefully show the complete emptying of the battery when this problem occurs and the level of battery when the phone turns on again.

I can't recreate this in Safe Mode as Snapchat isn't there and I've not tried a factory reset.

Thanks for any help!
 

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motownjunkman

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Welcome to Android Central! And that happens only with Snapchat? Have you already tried clearing the app cache/data (as mentioned above) or uninstalling/reinstalling the app?

Another thing to try is a cache partition wipe: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-clear-the-cache-on-the-nexus-5x

Hi thanks for the welcome and reply!

It happens most noticeably with Snapchat (especially when trying to take a video or viewing friends 'stories'). It has happened on ocassions with Twitter and Facebook Messenger but that's rare. It's almost always happening with Snapchat. It also doesn't happen if my phone is on charge only when it is running off the normal battery.

A fresh install of the app didn't seem to cure the problem (I tried taking a video and got the same "Lower Power" shutting down issue as before) and I've just tried clearing the cache / data and logged in again but again I have the same issue as before. Couple more screenshots attached.

I tried following the steps in your link but my phone doesn't seem to offer me the same options. I can boot into recovery mode and I see the lying down Android screen and beneath it it says "No Command". Here, pressing and holding power + volume up doesn't lead to any recovery options. Instead I get taken to a screen that says something like "Do not unplug USB firmware update in progress" (I can't recall if that's exactly what it says).

Any other advice? Thanks!
 

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motownjunkman

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Welcome to Android Central! And that happens only with Snapchat? Have you already tried clearing the app cache/data (as mentioned above) or uninstalling/reinstalling the app?

Another thing to try is a cache partition wipe: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-clear-the-cache-on-the-nexus-5x

Apologies if this shows up as a double post (my other one is awaiting moderator approval and therefore isn't showing yet) but in a nutshell I tried your first recommendations with no luck but I eventually managed to figure out how to do the cache partition wipe (i didn't quite follow the instructions in the link you provided as accurately as I should have) and that looks like it might have resolved it. I was able to do a couple of test videos with no shut down so I will try again tomorrow morning and see if that is the problem resolved.

Thanks for your help, very much appreciated!
 

B. Diddy

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Ok, glad it's working so far! But it still might come back, so keep us posted.

Does this ever happen when you're not doing anything at all with the phone?
 

motownjunkman

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Ok, glad it's working so far! But it still might come back, so keep us posted.

Does this ever happen when you're not doing anything at all with the phone?

Ah, I spoke to soon! This morning I got a Snapchat from my sister, opened it and the battery emptied and the phone died. The battery had been at around 40% as well. Really odd! It wasn't doing this until a couple of weeks ago as well.

I've not noticed it happen any time when the phone is idle. I won't say, put my phone down for a bit come back to it and find it has died. The massive depletion of battery causing a shut down seems to happen mostly with Snapchat but on rare occasions has also happened when using Facebook Messenger and Twitter but as I say Snapchat seems to be the biggest culprit.
 

B. Diddy

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Bummer.:-\ The battery graph really looks like what happens when a battery dendrite forms (which, unfortunately, is irreversible). But I would expect that behavior to happen regardless of whether you were using Snapchat or not (which is why I was asking if it happens any other time). Could it be that it seems to be caused by Snapchat only because you use Snapchat a heck of a lot?
 

motownjunkman

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Bummer.:-\ The battery graph really looks like what happens when a battery dendrite forms (which, unfortunately, is irreversible). But I would expect that behavior to happen regardless of whether you were using Snapchat or not (which is why I was asking if it happens any other time). Could it be that it seems to be caused by Snapchat only because you use Snapchat a heck of a lot?

Aw man that doesn't sound good!

I wouldn't say I use Snapchat a lot. Pretty light to average user. And the shutdown doesn't happen after say sending a load of snaps but sometimes just opening the app and looking at one is enough for it to shut down the phone yet this seldom happens with any other app.

Worth making a call to LG to see about a repair or persevere for a bit more whilst looking for a new phone?

Cheers!
 

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motownjunkman

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This is interesting -- something similar was happening to people last year as well: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...-snapchat-turns-my-phone-off.html#post5638508

Here are a number of similar posts: https://www.google.com/search?q=and...at+turning+off+site:forums.androidcentral.com

So it might still be a Snapchat glitch and not the battery. Have you already contacted Snapchat about this? snapchat@snap.com

I think I stumbled across that thread actually which does have some interesting info in it and seems pretty relevant to my issue. I'll see if I can get Snapchat to respond to an email or something about this problem before going down the battery replacement route.

Thanks! :)
 

motownjunkman

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This is interesting -- something similar was happening to people last year as well: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...-snapchat-turns-my-phone-off.html#post5638508

Here are a number of similar posts: https://www.google.com/search?q=and...at+turning+off+site:forums.androidcentral.com

So it might still be a Snapchat glitch and not the battery. Have you already contacted Snapchat about this? snapchat@snap.com

After a couple of updates from the Snapchat app the problem persists and after doing a factory reset the battery still crashes. The feedback from Snapchat was not helpful at all and from speaking with LG they seem to think that it is definitely a battery problem so it's off to them for repair. Thankfully I have a 2 year warranty so it won't cost me anything to get fixed.

Thanks for your help, really appreciated :)

ETA: The battery thing is now happening with Twitter so I think you are spot on with your call about the battery basically being FUBAR'd.
 
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