Nexus 6 Random Shutdowns.. Bit of advice needed.

[martynashworthx]

Android version - 5.1 Build LMY47D

Hi all,

Had the 64gb version phone since end of February which i purchased through CarphoneWarehouse here in the UK.

Since then I've been plagued with the Random Shutdown issue. Even after the 5.1 update i seem to still experience the issue. Sometimes i get the "low battery" error then shutdown, and sometimes just the sudden "Device is shutting down" error with no low battery warning. Phone rarely reboots but just just shuts completely down. Seems to happen more frequently during a phone call which is highly annoying! But can also happen when phone is left alone in standby. Now when inspecting the phone there doesn't seem to be any signs of the battery swelling, and device doesn't seem to be overheating.. So i don't know whats causing it.

Now I've read through this forum and others and carried out all the advice offered to the many other people experiencing the same issue and it still seems to occur. Factory reset on Friday and by Monday the phone had done its first Random Shutdown. Spoke to the online support chat at Motorola yesterday and they've sent me instructions to send the phone off to them for repair, and i was told they would have it for no longer than 7 days. And if no issue was found then they would replace the handset.. which i hope they will.

Before i send it off though i'm not sure whether to stick it out longer and wait for the next Android update in the hope it may be a software fault and can be fixed? Or should i send it off for repair next week?
Has anyone with the same issue received their phone back from repair or a replacement phone and the problems been solved? Or is it an issue that no one really knows how to fix?

Thanks for your help.

Martyn.

 

[LeoRex]

From what you describe, that screams to me a problem with a hardware component... Whether it's a faulty battery, or a messed up power supply. Either way, a software update won't fix it. Get it repaired/replaced

 

[Madhava Satuluri]

Hi Martyn ,

Any luck getting help?
I too have a 64G version LMY48I (5.1.1) . I am facing this ridiculous shutdown issue so often for past 2 weeks.
Initially i guessed the shutdown happens when the battery falls below 25% , but then the analysis is not exactly correct..it just randomly shuts down anytime ....yesterday i observed 5 such shutdowns at crucial usage timings (very Embarrassing ).

I tried the Clear Cache twice ...but it doesn't seem to clear the problem but defers the frequency. I am also waiting for someone to conclude if its a HW issue or SW issue.


To wipe the cache partition, follow these steps:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Power button at the same time until the phone turns on.
Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight "Recovery mode."
Press the Power button to start recovery mode. An Android robot with a red exclamation mark will display.
While holding down the Power button, press and release the Volume Up button.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition," then press the Power button to select it.
Press the Power button to select reboot system now.
Note: If your phone becomes unresponsive at any point during these steps, you can restart it by holding down the Power button for several seconds.

 

[davidnc]

Hi Martyn ,

Any luck getting help?
I too have a 64G version LMY48I (5.1.1) . I am facing this ridiculous shutdown issue so often for past 2 weeks.
Initially i guessed the shutdown happens when the battery falls below 25% , but then the analysis is not exactly correct..it just randomly shuts down anytime ....yesterday i observed 5 such shutdowns at crucial usage timings (very Embarrassing ).

I tried the Clear Cache twice ...but it doesn't seem to clear the problem but defers the frequency. I am also waiting for someone to conclude if its a HW issue or SW issue.


To wipe the cache partition, follow these steps:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Power button at the same time until the phone turns on.
Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight "Recovery mode."
Press the Power button to start recovery mode. An Android robot with a red exclamation mark will display.
While holding down the Power button, press and release the Volume Up button.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition," then press the Power button to select it.
Press the Power button to select reboot system now.
Note: If your phone becomes unresponsive at any point during these steps, you can restart it by holding down the Power button for several seconds.

I tend to agree with what LeoRex suggested to the OP.

Have you done A Factory Data Reset as the OP had ?

When you did do the Factory reset . You did not restore anything from your previous settings?
What you want to do is a totally clean FDR so nothing is restored.

A window will pop up showing which to choose from.

If doing a Totally clean FDR restoring nothing doesn't fix it , you waited before installing any apps/games, and you still had the random reboots.
I dont think A software update will fix it either

 

[thatguy97]

I can relate to this the first nexus 6 I got from Verizon was defective and randomly rebooted and I got app crashes and pixelated lines. I got a replacement and no issues.

Definitely not your fault and a hardware issue

Posted From my Nexus 6/Nexus 7 2013/Surface pro 3

 

[Madhava Satuluri]

Hi David,

Yes i do try with Factory reset and made sure i did not restore any old settings.
Unfortunately the issue triggered again after just 2 days.

Unlike the Moto US , Moto India support somehow poorly dont have any policy to replace a handset even for such horrifying HW issues.
I have finally forced to give it to a service center who are poorly skilled as they seem and evident by their trouble shooting questions and also they say they dont have a clue about such issue until now.

Need to see what would they fix, they asked for a 2 day window to diagnose the issue. .. will update sooner.

 

[Madhava Satuluri]

Got the phone returned from service center after 5 days who said the HW is fine and they fixed the SW issue.

Liars Liars ..the service center guys don't even know what they did or doing.. The moment i started re-configuring my phone , it shutdown again.
And it shutdown the next day again twice and twice again on the third day in different scenarios....its a daily affair now.

Surprisingly yesterday i made sure no background apps running and just launched camera with 60% battery and clicked two pics of the Daughter's birthday occasion ...and here it goes shutdown again ..when tried to quickly reboot to capture the moments ...it started the Optimizing of apps at 10 out of 255 apps or so ..and my phone not available for me for next 15 minutes... HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

Sadly... The Moto Support team is still yet to agree that this is a HW issue

 

[chullan88]

Hi Madhava,
I too have the same issue.Did you find any solution for the problem?
Is it hardware or software?

Thanks
Binas

 

[bookdj]

I have the exactly same problem! Moto hardware is really bad!

 

[Nchaka]

Android version - 5.1 Build LMY47D

Hi all,

Had the 64gb version phone since end of February which i purchased through CarphoneWarehouse here in the UK.

Since then I've been plagued with the Random Shutdown issue. Even after the 5.1 update i seem to still experience the issue. Sometimes i get the "low battery" error then shutdown, and sometimes just the sudden "Device is shutting down" error with no low battery warning. Phone rarely reboots but just just shuts completely down. Seems to happen more frequently during a phone call which is highly annoying! But can also happen when phone is left alone in standby. Now when inspecting the phone there doesn't seem to be any signs of the battery swelling, and device doesn't seem to be overheating.. So i don't know whats causing it.

Now I've read through this forum and others and carried out all the advice offered to the many other people experiencing the same issue and it still seems to occur. Factory reset on Friday and by Monday the phone had done its first Random Shutdown. Spoke to the online support chat at Motorola yesterday and they've sent me instructions to send the phone off to them for repair, and i was told they would have it for no longer than 7 days. And if no issue was found then they would replace the handset.. which i hope they will.

Before i send it off though i'm not sure whether to stick it out longer and wait for the next Android update in the hope it may be a software fault and can be fixed? Or should i send it off for repair next week?
Has anyone with the same issue received their phone back from repair or a replacement phone and the problems been solved? Or is it an issue that no one really knows how to fix?

Thanks for your help.

Martyn.

Did you get Motorola to fix your phone?
My Nexus 6 is doing the same thing, but I'll probably just upgrade my phone. I've had this one for 10 months, and was hoping Marshmallow would fix it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[fenritz]

Nexus 6 random shutdown problem solved!
Here is my story.

Hi. I had this random shutdown issue since I bought my N6 on March 2015. I tried all kinds of factory resets, custom kernels, custom ROMs, none of them fixed the issue. It usually occurs when device battery is under 40% and I am using camera to take photos or videos, but sometimes when using other apps. So I called Google and they told me that this is a hardware fault and they can exchange my device. When I got that it will be replaced with refurbished one I decided just to buy a brand new N6. And guess what? Same problem there, just right out of the box. I was really frustrated, but as I had spare N6 now on which I can make testing I started to play with it. So device is fine with total factory state, no reboots, no shutdowns. Then I started gradually installing my apps to see which one causes this problem.

So long story short, problem occurs when you have password on lock screen and you select to require password on boot. This is 100% reproducible.
To get rid of random shutdown issue, just set your lock screen to Swipe (no security), reboot device, set you password again and DON'T select require password at boot and wuala, phone works perfectly now with 200+ apps and rooted in my case.
Hope this helps, please tell me if this fixes problem for you and if yes we need to inform Google somehow to fix this issue ASAP, as this is 100% software problem and it exists even on latest Android 6 (MRA58K).

 

[Isomer]

Nexus 6 random shutdown problem solved!
Here is my story.

Hi. I had this random shutdown issue since I bought my N6 on March 2015. I tried all kinds of factory resets, custom kernels, custom ROMs, none of them fixed the issue. It usually occurs when device battery is under 40% and I am using camera to take photos or videos, but sometimes when using other apps. So I called Google and they told me that this is a hardware fault and they can exchange my device. When I got that it will be replaced with refurbished one I decided just to buy a brand new N6. And guess what? Same problem there, just right out of the box. I was really frustrated, but as I had spare N6 now on which I can make testing I started to play with it. So device is fine with total factory state, no reboots, no shutdowns. Then I started gradually installing my apps to see which one causes this problem.

So long story short, problem occurs when you have password on lock screen and you select to require password on boot. This is 100% reproducible.
To get rid of random shutdown issue, just set your lock screen to Swipe (no security), reboot device, set you password again and DON'T select require password at boot and wuala, phone works perfectly now with 200+ apps and rooted in my case.
Hope this helps, please tell me if this fixes problem for you and if yes we need to inform Google somehow to fix this issue ASAP, as this is 100% software problem and it exists even on latest Android 6 (MRA58K).

You know, I created an account just to give thanks to you. This problem has plagued and infuriated me for months with no possible solution in sight. This solved it! Didn't know that a boot password could be so pesky! You, sir, are a wizard of the highest caliber! Much thanks!

 

[Adam Ziarnik]

I have a password lock on my phone, and I have the password prompt at boot option enabled. Strangely, in my case I found Google's "Screenwise Trends" app to be the culprit. I was getting 1-3 random resets per day for a few months until I uninstalled that app. It's been smooth sailing since.

 

[edwarto#CB]

I had the same problem.. had it replaced it has not happened since

 

[alts013]

Hi all,

I had the same problem of random reboots/shutdowns since accepting the update to 5.1.1 while on stock. Problem usually manifests when using Maps, Photos, Camera. Google does not ship to my country so I cannot do returns.

At first, it was random reboots that take ages because the apps would optimise every time. So I decided to teach myself about flashing stock images, rooting and custom roms.

I started with downgrading the stock rom to all versions (and appropriate builds) before 5.1.1. Problem persisted. I then tried the android M preview and recently 6.0, the problem persisted.

Before 6.0 became available, I tried some custom roms and kernels. Cyanogenmod, paranoid android, slimrom, Franco, elemental etc. With a custom rom, the phone doesn't reboot, it shuts down. But now everytime I power up, it is faster and there is no app optimisation.

The best combination that worked for me was custom rom: liquidsmooth and kernel: Franco. However, the random reboots were still present albeit with lesser occurrences.

Just yesterday, I changed the Google search phrase for my problem and the results led me to different links. One of the links suggested that the problem could be linked to the proximity sensor in a phone using 5.1.1. I installed the patch (only for rooted phones I think) and stress tested the phone. For the first time in months, I could take more than 2 photos as well as video.

Hope this sharing can benefit some of you. Cheers.

 

[cabender]

hi, I tried your solution as I too have had the same issue with nexus 6. it will reboot constantly sometimes. The only time it doesnt, is if im using it or if its plugged in and charging. works fine if charging. I have tried many different os versions but nothing seems to work. just wondering if anyone has found anymore things to try, as google is of no help. I was running nougat 7.0 and it still had the same problems

 

[John_C_M]

I dealt with a similar problem, phone would shut down, often reboot and sometimes this would happen repeatedly. A moderate wack of the phone on a hard surface would break the shutdown restart cycle. Looked at several sites and they all pointed to a faulty switch or battery. Finally took the rear cover off to see if I could see the switch. Battery was not swollen. The switch is under an assembly and I could not see it and did not feel like removing the assembly. Replaced the cover and the phone has worked well since. I think that I must have dropped it hard and something in the switch got jarred into the wrong position. Removing cover allowed it to settle back to its proper location.