I'm glad I am not the only person here with this issue.
My phone started to reboot randomly since 2 weeks ago. No apps were downloaded from the Google Play Store that weren't already there. I've had the Note 4 for 10 months now, with no issues, until now.
So I sent my phone into CRC Samsung repair centre in Surrey Quays (London). They flashed the phone at the store and told me that it was taking a long time to boot, so they kept it for 2 days (Tues 4th Aug - Thurs 6th Aug) and said they would replace the motherboard. It is very important to note here that Samsung will only replace the motherboard if the phone still has the 2 warranty. They checked this at the time, and indeed, it was still under the 24 month warranty i.e the phone had not been rooted etc.
I get the phone back 2 days later with the motherboard replaced. At the store on day of collection, I noticed that my Android version was 4.4.4, but my phone had 5.0.1 installed when I gave it in. At this point, the warranty was still existing. I gave the phone back to the assistant at the service centre to update my phone to 5.0.1, I went home.and my phone starts doing the rebooting procedure again, except on one of the occasions I got the message "Kernal is not seandroid enforcing. Set warranty bit: Kernal". So I called them up the following day and they said bring it in again.
So I went back to them on Monday 10th Aug 2015, and the said one of the apps I had installed off the Google Play Store was causing the reboots. I was shocked because there have not been any apps installed that were already on there before this issue began. So they ran my phone in Safe Mode, and lo and behold, the phone began to reboot in front of them at the store. So they took it the back room and the lady comes back with the manager, my phone in her hand, and the phone is rebooting again. But this time, it has some writing in the top corner saying the phone has been rooted. The said to me that I had rooted the phone.
I was in complete and utter disbelief. I do not know how to root a phone, and the manager at the store was suggesting I had downloaded an app off the Google Play Store that had magically rooted the phone?!?!?! Is that even possible. Are they out of their mind? As far as I'm concerned, the only way to root a phone is to connect to some software that is downloaded and connected via usb. The only USB cable that I have attached to my phone ever, is for charging purposes. Yet, here they were suggesting I had (within a 4 day period) rooted my phone. They never even gave me an explanation as to how an app could do that, which suggests to me it's a load of porky pies. They know what apps I have on my phone. I have never downloaded any malicious apps: they have all been off the Google Play Store and used by hundreds of millions of people. So now, instead of having the initial problem of my phone rebooting, I now have the problem of Samsung voiding my phone of warranty. I stand firm and say that I would NOT want to void my warranty within a 4 day timeframe. It's not logical. I want my full 24 month warranty, why would I suddenly decide I want to void it.
I have done some research on forums and I have learnt that during an update, if the incorrect kernel is installed during an update, it can "root" the phone. My suggestion to the service centre was that during the update on the 6th Aug, they have installed an update (and hence a kernel) that has cuased the phone to be rooted and hence I'm getting the above set warranty bit message, therefore resulting in the warranty being void.
It's worth noting also, that in the about Device section, the SE for android status does say 'Enforcing' which means my device is actively protected from security threats and malicious apps will be denied access. Hence the KNOX warranty isn't void, right? Can anyone shine light on that fact?
I have escalated this issue with Samsung because the repair centre are not willing to be accountable for this mess. I will say it until I'm blue in the face that I have not rooted the phone either by using laptop software, or by downloading any app from the Google Play Store which will root the phone. I'm sure Google have standrds which developers have to adhere to in order to get their apps on the Play Store. So now I'm left with a phone that Samsung will not touch because its been rooted by them, and I'm waiting 48 hours for the escalation team to investigate and get back to me.
I will knock on every door until my phone is fixed (which the Samsung engineer was doubtful of). So it looks like the phone will be replaced, and I will even go to Watchdog if I have to. All customer service seem to do is pass you on back to the service centre, and it's like playing pass the back.
The engineer seems to think they can pull wool over my eyes, but I have spoken to engineers at EE and the Samsung Customer support, who both laughed when they heard when I told them that they think an app from the Play Store has caused my phone to be rooted. Unbelievable!!!
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I believe you. The same thing is happening to my galaxy note 4! I have not rooted my device either. It happened after the update. Nothing but PROBLEMS since! First, it began by randomly restarting. Then it stated turning off and refusing to come back on. Then it started booting up to a screen with the android dude logo and strange DOS like language in the upper left screen. Things about roots, kernels, Odin,etc.
I don't know what any of that means. It would have a message in the bottom center that would either say it was downloading something and not to interrupt it shut down or it would say it was uploading or updating our installing something I honestly can't remember.
The point is, no matter how long I wait on these phony boot /startup screens, it wasn't booting, it was frozen. Each time I had to take the battery out, try again, get the goofy boot screen a few more times, and eventually it would just start normally again. Then it got to the point that instead of randomly it randomly turned off and would not come back on. No tricks worked. Randomly, it would come back on, when it decided to let me turn it on, sometimes hours later! Unacceptable!
Now, it's not charging properly, sometimes it won't charge at all, and the battery drains SUPER FAST! I have tried all the different charging combinations to make sure it was the phone problem and not a USB cord, outlet, charging box, etc, etc. I use the fast charger and charge in ULTRA POWER SAVING mode, where it goes into gray scale, and it's taking over an hour to charge 10% more in that mode connected to the fast charger. With another regular new charger it takes 2 hours to get 10% more charged. But when I unplug it to use it, it drains at a rate of about 1% per minute! It will hold the battery slightly longer in ULTRA POWER SAVING mode, but not by much.
I don't know how to root my device, I have 3 different Antivirus/ Malware scanners/ detectors on my device and one of them checks everything I download and tells me it's safe before I open it. If I knew how to root my device, and if I had rooted my device, why would I have updated the device?
My understanding of rooting devices is that you do it to customize it and thar wouldn't be very easy to do on the newest upgraded version, now would it?
Samsung or Sprint has screwed up majorly, and I thin they know it by now, but they're content with BLAMING their customers who are paying a lot money for these devices that are practically useless.
They better nutup and accept responsibility and fix it, recall them, replace them, or I think we'll have to start bringing individual or class action lawsuits against them, whoever is liable, probably both if neither is willing to accommodate the customer with a comparable service to use with the service we're also paying a lot of money for!
My monthly phone plan with Sprint, with 4 people on the account, 3 with upgraded phones we're still paying on (these Note 4's included) is more than the monthly rent for my studio vacation apartment in Las Vegas, NV! That's a hell of a ripoff for 3 out of 4 phones in our network taking a major crap on us on the daily!
I want this fixed. I've been dealing with this jacked up phone long enough. I'm done. They better do something quick! I don't even own a computer to backup my stuff on my phone (or root a device if that's required like you mentioned?), so backing up is not an option for me. All I have is my tablet that I'm on right now, my phone would have died before I could have finished posting this, and my crappy phone.
My tablet is also a Galaxy, I keep trying to avoid the update and hope it isn't able to update without permissions because then I will have NOTHING to use or to connect online with! That would be especially sad for me because all my schooling is done online, I'm disabled so it's the majority of my social contact with the outside world, and I homeschool my children using information from the Internet and streaming lessons to the TV. This is more than a minor inconvenience!
Sorry for the long rant. But I HOPE SAMSUNG & SPRINT SEES THESE POSTS AND OWNS UP TO THEIR MISTAKE and whichever of them whose fault it is admits it and does something to make it right with us, QUICKLY! ! If they'd like to get in touch with me, they can find me on Twitter with the handle SpitefulLadies, follow me so they can message me, and we can get this fixed up. I think I'm going to take to contacting them on twitter and Facebook and wherever they have online presence until I get some reasonable solutions from them.
Please post a followup comment if you've been able to get your issue resolved, with whom you were able to get help, what they did to help you, anything you recommended others do to get help, and so on. I will do the same. If you don't hear back from me, assume I never got a reasonable solution and I'll be looking into legal action for remedy, and you can find me on Twitter too!
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