My Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge turned off without notice. Then would not restart.

[fradbut]

Oct 14th 2019
Mon 9 am. My Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Turned itself off. It went through a reboot and turn off cycle but wouldn't start properly. Then it started optimising apps cycle but wouldn't restart.
Mon 1 pm. Eventually, by restarting the phone continually, it restarted normally.
Tues 10 am. The phone turned itself off and will not start. It's dead.
Tues 2 pm. I got my old HTC One M8 started and working with most of my current apps.
Weds 10 am. Exactly the same situation has happened to my HTC, however this time I can reboot the HTC it but a message repeatedly is displayed, overlaid on the screen that warns the apps don't work. This message I can't turn off because as I do, it displays it again for another app, then another etc.
Can anyone please help?
I'm thinking it's an android update that's broken my two phones?
Thanks in advance

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! It depends -- if you installed the same apps on both, and one of those apps is malicious, then perhaps that could be the cause. However, it's probably a coincidence. The S7 edge may just have failed (either the firmware or hardware). The M8 doesn't sound like it's doing the exact same thing (i.e., it can still power on). What's the exact message it displays? Can you show us a screenshot, or take a picture of the screen with another device? https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/981365-can-i-share-link-here.html#post6668817

Also, what version of Android is the M8 on? If it's on Lolipop, it may be that many of the apps you're trying to use are no longer compatible with the old APIs from Lollipop.

 

[fradbut]

Thanks for replying. The old HTC will be running old firmware and has old hardware. The S7 is 2 years old so I would have thought more current? Both phones have been updated regularly during their lives but the HTC not for the past 2 years. Both now will reboot, display the optimising apps menu box with the counting up on the apps, then they both crash and turn off partway through the process without finishing. Neither phone can reboot for me to find out the info you've asked for. I've just tried a factory reset on the HTC. It gives the welcome screen for HTC powered by android then goes into the optimising apps cycle, then dies after that. The S7 is into the repair shop so no further info on that. Is it a thing that Android has a deal for phones to expire just so we have to buy a new phone?
Again, many thanks for your help.

I've just got my HTC running with the factory reset. This time it managed to get through the optimising apps cycle. I'll update the phone software and see where that goes.

 

[B. Diddy]

Glad the HTC is running, but I'd be cautious about keeping any important data on the phone -- the problems you were having might be a sign of overall instability of either the hardware or firmware.

There's no deal for phones to expire -- it's just that as newer Android versions come out, the APIs continue to advance, and older APIs that can't get updated stop working well with current apps. It's not planned obsolescence -- just plain old obsolescence, which is significantly more accelerated in the mobile tech industry compared to other fields.