Random Reboots: Put to Rest!

[dmarlow83]

Ok since I see a flood of random reboot and battery threads still, here has been my personal experience, and apparently some info some people still aren't getting based upon the threads I'm seeing.

1) Apparently quite a few people have had issues with their Tbolts rebooting, but obviously not the majority of users, otherwise this site would be crashed, so while it seems like a large scale issue here, chances are it's a relatively small portion of the population.

2) Once you have downloaded and installed the update, done a factory reset (which from what I was told by a vzw tech reloads the update), and you still get frequent random reboots, call Verizon they WILL send you a new phone. Whatever way this firmware patch is writing to these phones, it is breaking some of them beyond most peoples ability or desire to repair, call they are replacing them.

3) With a phone that isn't broken WITH the updated that I patched yesterday my self (the VZW tech claimed it would come with the update preinstalled but obviously that wasn't accurate), whatever the cause, my battery life is infinitely better and I have been up almost 24 hours straight at this point in time WITH OBVIOUSLY ZERO REBOOTS. I am in the SAME location, I have tested it in multiple spots, used it in various locations, installed all the same software etc., etc., it is the HARDWARE. Whether or not Verizons networks are triggering it, or what is CAUSING the phones to randomly reboot I do NOT know. My best guess is that while attempting to search for a tower it either sucks to much power, or becomes unstable due to the firmware not patching properly, or the phones having some kind of defect.

So PLEASE for the love of all things bolty, read this and do your self a favor, my like new replacement is fine, one of the bevels of the screen isn't exactly level with the others but everything works flawlessly, zero reboots, great speed, better battery life and on and on.

If theres any other questions I can answer I will do my best but I can only speak from my personal experience. Get your self a new phone, it takes at most 20-25 min to get everything back to the way you had it apps and gui and all... Coming from a guy getting upwards of 15 reboots a day probably a lot more, it's great to have a functional reliable phone!

 

[dhendriksen]

I have had VZW send my wife and I replace Thunderbolts without this update installed...the update caused both our phones to reboot like crazy.

My wifes 2nd replacement phone was acceptable to her, the first was not.

I have my 3rd on the way. These "Like New" replacement phones suck balls. If this "Like New" phone I get is not like new, I'm switching carriers. I've spent over 10 hours on the phone with VZW dinking around with this, plus all the time I've spent patching my phone back together after factory resets, etc.. and I am DONE. This is their last chance to get me a working phone or my and my $225 bill are OUTTA HERE.

The Thunderbolt is an awesome phone, but VZW certified replacement program is garbage. Any of the my three sons (the oldest is 3) could do a better job certifying these things.

I spent another 1:15 on the phone with them tonight...an hour and fifteen minutes I'll never get back. The guy promised he will follow up with me on Thursday...want to make any bets on whether this jackal actually calls me back? I'll be NOT.

Sorry for the rant. I'm a reasonable guy, but I'm at my wits end.

 

[clickclick#AC]

I was not really experiencing any issues I couldnt live with post OTA I had a couple reboots here and there but me being the person that I am I just wasn't happy with that so I finally rooted flashed das bamf1.6.3 and I'll never look back. It was the best decision I ever made I get even better battery life than I did before and my android has been up for 167 hours

That's how I solved the OTA issues and it didn't involve me spending even a second on the phone with VZW

 

[dannychaos]

@dmarlow83, I agree with you. I called VZW tech support two days ago and they told me to do the master reset, although I have done this twice before, I did it again for the sake of not being wrong and making sure I've done all the steps. The tech guy told me if it still reboots and lose data at random they will send me a phone, sure enough later on that night, my phone rebooted and I lost data at random several times so yesterday I called them back and they told me they would send me a certified like-new phone. I told them about my past experiences on refurb phones and they assured me that they won't send me an unacceptable device. So today I received the new TB and everything so far is going great, cosmetically looks great and I have had no reboots or lost any data yet and I did the update on it with no hitch. I am although waiting the full 5 days before I send in my old tbolt just to make sure nothing starts acting up but I do recommend people with the reboot issue to ask for a new phone. Hopefully everything will go pleasantly for you too.

 

[soccerfon711]

You guys have convinced me. I will probably end up calling Verizon tomorrow. Ugh... I can just imagine the hours that this is going to cost me.

 

[Gravytrain]

I'm on my 3rd replacement. I have had one reboot so far in the past few hours. I guess we shall see... If i have more reboots I'll call them back for another replacement. I'm getting to the point of demanding a different device instead of teh blunderbolt.

 

[DanSan]

had this phone for a week or so. not a single reboot, freeze, lag.. nada.


*knocks on wood*

 

[ahau]

yeah me too, operation is flawless

 

[Mortiel]

I have had VZW send my wife and I replace Thunderbolts without this update installed...the update caused both our phones to reboot like crazy.

My wifes 2nd replacement phone was acceptable to her, the first was not.

I have my 3rd on the way. These "Like New" replacement phones suck balls. If this "Like New" phone I get is not like new, I'm switching carriers. I've spent over 10 hours on the phone with VZW dinking around with this, plus all the time I've spent patching my phone back together after factory resets, etc.. and I am DONE. This is their last chance to get me a working phone or my and my $225 bill are OUTTA HERE.

The Thunderbolt is an awesome phone, but VZW certified replacement program is garbage. Any of the my three sons (the oldest is 3) could do a better job certifying these things.

I spent another 1:15 on the phone with them tonight...an hour and fifteen minutes I'll never get back. The guy promised he will follow up with me on Thursday...want to make any bets on whether this jackal actually calls me back? I'll be NOT.

Sorry for the rant. I'm a reasonable guy, but I'm at my wits end.

Well, I do apologize that you have had such an issue with you and your wife's phones. Now there are a few things you have to consider with ANY carrier, Verizon Wireless included:

A. The "like new" replacement program is not through Verizon Wireless, it is through the manufacturer. That is why it is called a "manufacturer warranty replacement". Verizon does not have a team of people sitting around inspecting phones. Instead, we have to run interference when a manufacturer devices do not work how people expect. Verizon is given these devices to a central warehouse from a given manufacturer on a "loan" of sorts, to which me must ship a device back to that manufacturer matching the same model, or else we have to pay for the device at full retail.

Yes, you could counter with the self-entitled response we hear so often that since its Verizon's problem, then Verizon should front that cost and give you a brand new phone. Fair enough, but what would it help if we shipped you 10 brand new phones that all have the same rebooting issue (which a new phone will not fix until the software is fixed), to which Verizon is just flushing money down the drain. Verizon can no longer sell those returned phones as new. They get shipped back to HTC as defective, repaired, and subsequently placed in "like-new" warranty replacement stock as free replacements. Thats ~$570 per device Verizon loses. That adds up to a major loss in money. Less money means Verizon cannot afford to upkeep its solid 3G network, or improve its fledgling 4G network. That means that $200+ bill you have would end up $500+, or either that Verizon ends up with the quality of network akin to AT&T, which was rated worst by every Tech blog and consumer reporting agency in the USA.

B. Being the adult answer, you, in a clear state of mind, agreed to purchase those Thunderbolts in an agreement to HTC's warranty. This warranty states that if your device is defective outside of your 14 day return policy, you may have it replaced at no cost to you with a certified like new replacement (CLNR). You have every right to end that contract and pay the early termination fee, but please to not complain about something you agreed to in clear conscience. If you wish to have HTC directly repair your device instead of Verizon replacing it, you can find their number on the HTC website, but they charge for the repairs.

C. Finally, if your issue is with reboots, then no amount of replacements will fix it if the CLNR you received was a returned device resulting from the OTA software update cause power cycling. Most of that stock are check for hardware, the OS is reloaded with same updates, and sent to Verizon's warehouse. This is something that is a logical deduction. If you are lucky, you may get a rare replacement that was in the warehouse previous to the update, but that may take multiple replacements. Again, this is all logically concluded if you think about it.

All in all, yes, it is an infuriating issue. Anger is a natural response to something infuriating, but no matter how angry you get, it will not give Verizon a magic wand to change something they have no control over. Verizon is trying its best to keep its customers happy with this issue, but there is a limit to what it is willing to sacrifice (sending you a brand new phone for free) when the sacrifice will obviously not do any good except make you feel warmer inside while your phone is still power cycling.

If you are that unhappy, have received several replacements for the same issue, and do not mind paying some money, then ask the next rep you talk to about getting a manager approved upgrade to another device. You will have no problem getting that accepted granted that you can pay your bill on time, have been with Verizon for a couple of years, and do not complain until you get a new phone every other month.

 

[FrankXS]

...but I can only speak from my personal experience.

Exactly!

-Frank


Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt 4G/LTE using Tapatalk

 

[dmarlow83]

Finally, if your issue is with reboots, then no amount of replacements will fix it if the CLNR you received was a returned device resulting from the OTA software update cause power cycling. Most of that stock are check for hardware, the OS is reloaded with same updates, and sent to Verizon's warehouse. This is something that is a logical deduction. If you are lucky, you may get a rare replacement that was in the warehouse previous to the update, but that may take multiple replacements. Again, this is all logically concluded if you think about it.

This is something I have to say is based upon my experience not 100% correct, my phone has now been up 32 hours since I've had it replaced and updated it. I will continue to update the longer I go with out a reboot, but to say it is simply a software problem is not accurate based upon my CURRENT findings.

Not trying to be a dick or anything like that, just want to tell you another experience.

 

[jking3002]

Mortiel, you've got some good things to say, but yout post reads in a pretty obnoxious way. I'm not sure if that was your intent, but I hope you don't treat your customers that way.

It doesn't much matter if it is Verizon's fault or not, as long as customers think it is Verizon's fault they will be unhappy with them. If Verizon doesn't want to lose customers, THEY need to fix this.

It is reasonable for a customer to blame Verizon for this issue and here is why- Who wrote the OTA? Verizon, or HTC? If Verizon wrote it soley, BAM! Blame/liability. If they wrote it with HTC... BAM! Partial blame/liability. If HTC wrote it on their own, I'm sure Verizon does some sort of quality control testing before they push updates, right? You know, to make sure it will work on their network and with their pre-loaded bloatware... I hope they do. If they don't this was their fault for pushing something that was crap quality to their customers and breaking their phones. BAM! Partial blame/liability. If they do, it is their fault for not doing a good enough job of that testing. BAM! Partial blame/liabily. See how that works?

If Verizon can't give their customer a replacement phone that has a reasonable guarantee it will work properly, they need to give that customer a similar device of their choice, free of charge (which according to the forums they have already done in some cases). If that is not an acceptable solution to the customer, they need to allow the customer to drop VZW with no termination fee. Why should Verizon do this? Well, as already established, they (Verizon) just broke an item owned by the customer and valued at well over 200 dollars.

You understand the technological aspect very well, but you do not understand the customer service side of this issue. If Verizon loses a one time cost of 500 bucks (I highly doubt big V pays 500 bucks for a Charge or a Revolution, but anyway) on one-third of Thunderbolt users by replacing their phones with similar phones that is still better in the long-run than losing ten percent of those customers to either early termination or non-renewal of their contract caused by poor customer service.

Also to say big V has "no control" over this issue is insane. Here is how I would have handled the issue if I was high up in the VZW foodchain- Step 1, stop the OTA as a damage control method to stop breaking phones. Step 2, advice customers who have had issues post-OTA to do a factory reset. Since the new OTA no longer exists this *should* push them back to the old OTA (if I'm not understanding the technological aspects behind this, and that step won't work, fine, my method still works) Step 3, take your stock of like-new replacements and manually (or via factory reset if that will work) wipe the OTA from any of them that have it. Step 3, replace broken phones with like new replacements that do not have the OTA. Step 4, adjust the bill for those customers who have had reboot issues as a way of "making things right," with the customer.

Here is the bottom line, you can tech-talk circles around us, and that's an awesome skill, but big V is at a minimum partially liable for breaking it's customers phones, and it is their job to fix it in a way that pleases the customer, even if it costs them some money in the short term.

Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but your defending of Verizon in this situation just doesn't sit well with me.

By the way, I've had no issues with my Thunderbolt, and have been a VZW customer for five years.

 

[racedog]

Mortiel, you've got some good things to say, but yout post reads in a pretty obnoxious way. I'm not sure if that was your intent, but I hope you don't treat your customers that way.

I have to agree with you on this. I also have to add that Verizon overall has been good to me and I don't have any complaints. That being said, if I were in a Verizon store, or talking to a Verizon rep on the phone and they talked to me the way the post you reference sounds, I would be telling them to kiss my a$$, send me a final bill including the ETF and I would be gone.

Mortiel, I'm hoping that you just made a bad choice of words that set the tone of your comments because other posts from you that I've read didn't sound like the one in this thread.

 

[project.in.process]

I was not really experiencing any issues I couldnt live with post OTA I had a couple reboots here and there but me being the person that I am I just wasn't happy with that so I finally rooted flashed das bamf1.6.3 and I'll never look back. It was the best decision I ever made I get even better battery life than I did before and my android has been up for 167 hours

That's how I solved the OTA issues and it didn't involve me spending even a second on the phone with VZW

any particular mods or tweaks (cpu, juice defender, tasker) you did in the ROM to accomplish this up time?

i'm gonna root, and DasBamf is the best (from what i've read)--why'd you choose 1.6.3 over DB2?



i've had several reboots since the OTA--most, if not all, have happened while playing music (stored on the sd card). it's definitely getting annoying--but not annoying enough to risk getting a replacement that looks horrible (i've seen some nasty pics on this forum)

 

[Bigleftyinaz]

I've had my phone for less then 2 weeks.I love the phone,but not happy with the BS issues.Not sure why I must settle for a like new replacement when my phone is 11 days old.

My phone received the update last friday and my phone has rebooted itself 5 times.These are the one that I know of. Also every night my phone loses it's 3G signal at 7:30.I go into the settings and switch to airplane mode then switch out and I now have 3G.

Very weird.

 

[racedog]

I'm running the TB rooted with das BAMF 1.6.3 and I'm very happy with it. Runs a lot smoother and faster than stock and with great battery life using the standard battery. Since I need my phone for business use I wouln't even consider any of the gingerbread roms at this point, all you need to do is to go over to xda and read the gingerbread rom forums to see all the problems they are having with those roms. The GB roms for the bolt are from the leaked alpha rom and people are experiencing tons of issues with it. It is not ready for prime time.

 

[dmarlow83]

I don't disagree what anyone is saying, I don't like not having a brand new out of the box phone either, but at the same time... honestly I can't tell any difference between the one I got and a brand new one, and if they send you a crappy like new you can send it back. They can't object to that.

I do this it is unacceptable to have all these issues, but at the same time I knew going into this phone it wasn't going to be flawless it's the first one on a new network. It's going to take some time to work it out.

I've been very happy with Verizons customer service, they have all been nice and helpful to the best of their abilities, and I truly believe that. I've never had better customer service from anyone, any other company of their size for sure.

They are doing the right thing and trying to send out phones for a fix, give it a go... if it doesn't work I guess do it again. Apparently there's just a bug in the system or a bad run, I don't know what else to say.

 

[liquidice]

I guess I got "lucky", my phone was rebooting (not so lucky) but - I got a CLNR on Monday and it was in good condition (couldn't see any defects compared to the phone I sent back), and it had the old firmware on it. So no reboot issues for me so far! I don't think I'm going to be upgrading to the new firmware though.

 

[skamania]

was told by CS today while ordering a replacement battery that they "just finished training for the reboot problem" and that a "patch was coming in a few days". well see.

 

[a2ron]

I got the OTA update soon (hours) after it came out, I'm currently showing Software 1.13.605.7 in my settings.....if that means anything.

My Thunderbolt reboots randomly multiple 8+ times a day, and night. Both on the charger and off. I could have it streaming NPR on my desk unplugged, turn my eyes away and looking back to it....blank screen and reboot starts.

There are 3 of us with Thunderbolts in my office, 2 or us got the OTA update - both of us getting the random reboots. The 3rd has the original load (I was told by Verizon Tech Support last night that they (or HTC) pulled the OTA when they starting getting reports of "issues" from the updated phones) and he is reboot free.

So after reading through the HTC forum, Verizon forum, and this forum I decided to call Tech Support for no other reason than to get my experience logged.

We did the pull the battery, pull the SIM (like I hadn't done that 20 times before!), power off/power on (100 times before), and before he could talk me into a master reset, I got him to read through the other reports.....then on the verge of sending me out a new phone (I wasn't keen on this), he was told by his supervision that they couldn't guarantee the new phone would not have the problem and to please wait for HTC to release a new OTA (a phased release to get the problem units first (the ones with the bad OTA) then a few thousand a day/week until they are sure the problems are all solved.

I got the "...early adopters are on the cutting edge..." speech........but his heart wasn't really in it.

If you got the OTA, you can't go back since its flashed into ROM, so a master reset will only give you the opportunity to rebuild your settings from scratch-and you will still have the bad rebooting ROM.

Now if the original ROM was around to put back that would at least get you [back] into the group who are not rebooting from the OTA load.

This is my first Android device, but my 4th HTC device being a Windows Mobile refugee (Pocket PC then Palm before that) so maybe my tolerance for faulty ROM updates is higher/expectations lower so I'll patiently wait for a fix.

Also for those post OTA users, the constant reboots is a major factor in the diminished battery life too.