My phone makes noises and closes apps

[Stormyrose786]

My phone is a Note4 that I got manufacturer refurbished. Both of my parents got one, too. Theirs have worked great. They had theirs 3 months, I've had mine for 2. Recently, I started getting popup messages in apps asking if I was sure I wanted to quit, & kept popping up. Then apps started closing out, & my phone kept making noises like I was tapping the screen. I thought it was an app. I uninstalled a few, no change, did a soft reset, no change...did a factory reset...no change. Any other suggestions? I have no way to replace this phone. A couple more things...I also noticed there were extra apps after the resets, & I uninstalled them (such as Ebay). i can't hardly stay in settings, because it still keeps going back to the home screen. And, the tapping sounds are almost constant now, as long as the screen is on. This is an update from when I first posted, just a few hours ago...I just reset my phone again, & the noises were there as soon as it started up. I am at a loss.

 

[Stormyrose786]

please help

 

[TechNut79]

Could you possibly try flashing or whatever it's called another version of Android onto it?

 

[Stormyrose786]

??? I have no idea how to do that. And, just as a side note, the phone automatically updates to Marshmallow after a reset.

 

[Stormyrose786]

i looked it up...seems some people have other problems after doing that....

 

[TechNut79]

Not really sure then. Might be time for a new phone. As much as I'm sure you probably don't want to do that.

 

[Stormyrose786]

yeah...not an option for a while, but thanks for the earlier suggestion

 

[TechNut79]

You could also take it into a Best Buy if there's a Samsung Experience in it and they may be able to assist you.

 

[Stormyrose786]

hmm...I'll look into it...thanks

 

[Stormyrose786]

btw...I am still open to other suggestions...if anyone has any?

 

[TechNut79]

I really think that if a Samsung employee can re-flash the firmware onto your phone, that could fix it.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Okay, but I don't think the Best Buy here has that, but I will check a.s.a.p.

 

[B. Diddy]

Does this happen in Safe Mode as well? https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-28897. If it goes away in Safe Mode, then something you installed is causing the problem -- you'd have to uninstall apps one by one until the problem goes away.

If you have a screen protector, take it off, since a poorly designed or poorly applied protector can cause phantom touches.

It's not unusual for some apps to come back after a factory reset if they were preinstalled by the manufacturer. Many preinstalled apps can't be uninstalled (aka "bloatware"), but eBay sounds like one that typically can be uninstalled.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Hi, just saw your message. Yes, it was doing the same in safe mode, and then immediately after rebooting when I did the factory reset. That makes sense about the apps. But the place I got the phone from - I emailed them, and they said it sounded like a bad digitizer.... And, fortunately,even though I have had it more than 30 days, they have offered to replace it. I really didn't expect that, just wondered if they had any suggestions. HOPEFULLY, the replacement will do better....

But I had to look it up, because I had no idea what that was (obviously I don't know much about technology in general). And now I am wondering, is it possible that I could have done something to cause the problem myself? I think I may have dropped it once, but it has a good cover, and it didn't break or anything, and no water has gotten in it. But is there any other way it could have happened?

 

[B. Diddy]

You don't have to see any external damage for something to be damaged internally. Or a connection might have gotten jarred loose with the drop.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Okay, thanks.

Right now, though, it's acting fine, but this morning, it was still acting up... I am still going to send it back, because it did this for weeks. I just hope they don't get it, and it starts acting right, and they think there was nothing wrong with it....

 

[Stormyrose786]

I also still haven't downloaded anything, signed into my Google account, or inserted my sd card.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Now it's doing it again - it's crazy. Anyway, I do feel better knowing they are going to replace it... Thanks for all your help!