I've had my phone since Nov. 2013 and it's been good to me. No water damage. Recently it started shutting down by itself. If I keep it charging it's fine. When I'm actively using my phone it's fine. Once I hit the lock screen button, it will still be on then in about 10 minutes when I go to check on my phone again, it's turned off. It's turning off by itselft. I have insurance on the phone but am wondering if there is any remedy before I resort to replacing my phone. I have pics/music/videos/contacts, I don't want to loose that stuff. I am not tech savvy so I don't know how to "back up" or save all my files before trying a factory reset to resolve the issue. Should I just go to my wireless provider for help before it turns off for good? Or are there any Android "tricks" that I can try to save my phone and all of its contents.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Randomly Shuts off by itself
- Thread starter eespinoza21
- Start date
Hello. Welcome to Android Central.
Turn master Sync on (Green Sync icon when you pull down the notification shade, usually.) Go to General - Accounts - Google, touch name/email, make sure all sync settings you want are checked. You can save photos, (+music and documents) to a pc via usb or Samsung Kies instead of Google Photos / Picasa if you want. Do the same with the Samsung account. Remember your Google and Samsung log in's. Try Samsung Kies on a pc and do a backup there. You can use Google+ / Drive, Dropbox, etc. Everyone has their own preferences for doing this. You can also download Helium backup to save your app data / settings.
The only thing I can suggest with turning off by itself is it will do that if it reaches a certain temperature.
Turn master Sync on (Green Sync icon when you pull down the notification shade, usually.) Go to General - Accounts - Google, touch name/email, make sure all sync settings you want are checked. You can save photos, (+music and documents) to a pc via usb or Samsung Kies instead of Google Photos / Picasa if you want. Do the same with the Samsung account. Remember your Google and Samsung log in's. Try Samsung Kies on a pc and do a backup there. You can use Google+ / Drive, Dropbox, etc. Everyone has their own preferences for doing this. You can also download Helium backup to save your app data / settings.
The only thing I can suggest with turning off by itself is it will do that if it reaches a certain temperature.
Try a new battery...here's how I figured it out....
My wife's phone has been having nearly the exact same issue. I tried a factory reset, and a bunch of other things like turning off apps, clearing cache, etc. Finally, I decided to swap batteries between my wife's S3 and my S3. Immediately her phone would stay on with no problems and my phone now would randomly shut off during use.
Something else to note is that with my wife's phone, and now mine (with the bad battery), would stay on with no problems as long as it was plugged in.
I just figured this out after nearly two weeks of dealing with the phone shutting off. While typing this post, I have already had to restart my phone 3 times! Since I didn't have a single issue with the phone until I installed my wife's battery, the issue is clearly just the battery. I hope this helps and that your issue is quickly resolved.
Good luck
My wife's phone has been having nearly the exact same issue. I tried a factory reset, and a bunch of other things like turning off apps, clearing cache, etc. Finally, I decided to swap batteries between my wife's S3 and my S3. Immediately her phone would stay on with no problems and my phone now would randomly shut off during use.
Something else to note is that with my wife's phone, and now mine (with the bad battery), would stay on with no problems as long as it was plugged in.
I just figured this out after nearly two weeks of dealing with the phone shutting off. While typing this post, I have already had to restart my phone 3 times! Since I didn't have a single issue with the phone until I installed my wife's battery, the issue is clearly just the battery. I hope this helps and that your issue is quickly resolved.
Good luck
.... or it could be the battery!
Useful input, thanks!
Welcome to Android Central.
People have different habits, schedules and needs so everyone's battery charging can vary and reduce it's lifespan. I would agree with any argument from the OP that it shouldn't fail since November though. I got my phone the same time and ithe battery is fine.
If it is the battery at least they are relatively inexpensive now. Stick with a Samsung or Anker imo.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Pro
It could be "dirty" battery contacts that need to be cleaned (ie the phone loses connection to the battery and shuts down as if the battery was pulled out of the phone).
Watch this video -
Cell Phone Keeps Turning Off | Guaranteed Fix: http://youtu.be/1Rm0L_eh0wY
Watch this video -
Cell Phone Keeps Turning Off | Guaranteed Fix: http://youtu.be/1Rm0L_eh0wY
Just had a thought... the weight of the battery in the phone might be pulling the battery contacts away from the phone contacts when I "drop" the phone into my pocket.
I tend to drop my phone into my pocket upside down so that when I reach in to pull it out, it is right side up when I look at it.
This little vertical drop of a few inches might just be enough to bump the battery down and very temporarily dislodge the battery contacts away from the phone contacts. Thus it's like doing a battery pull. Poof! Off!
This makes sense to me since I have a very "heavy" extended battery, the ZeroLemon 7000 mAh battery. It's twice as thick as the phone and weighs just as much as the phone itself (minus the battery). So that little 3" to 4" drop might be just enough to jar the battery loose for a split second. I'm a guy with pockets big enough to do this.
I've not been able to purposefully make this happen yet but maybe it takes several drops to make it happen.
Does this sound reasonable, logical?
I tend to drop my phone into my pocket upside down so that when I reach in to pull it out, it is right side up when I look at it.
This little vertical drop of a few inches might just be enough to bump the battery down and very temporarily dislodge the battery contacts away from the phone contacts. Thus it's like doing a battery pull. Poof! Off!
This makes sense to me since I have a very "heavy" extended battery, the ZeroLemon 7000 mAh battery. It's twice as thick as the phone and weighs just as much as the phone itself (minus the battery). So that little 3" to 4" drop might be just enough to jar the battery loose for a split second. I'm a guy with pockets big enough to do this.
I've not been able to purposefully make this happen yet but maybe it takes several drops to make it happen.
Does this sound reasonable, logical?
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I've tried all the things listed in this thread with no luck. My S3 started cutting off now and then and the cycling grew more frequent. Now it won't power on for more than a few seconds. When I attempt to power it on, I feel the short vibration, see the Samsung logo for a half second or so, and then it shuts off. Sometimes it displays the Samsung logo and then the Galaxy S3 logo before shutting down. Rarely, it will go as far as starting the blue swirl sequence before cutting off.
If I connect the charger (to either the AC adapter or PC USB) the red charging LED will illuminate for a second, then shut off. Sometimes it will show the the battery charging status icon for a second before shutting off. I have tried two known good and fully charged batteries with no luck.
I thought it was the infamous sudden death memory IC problem and downloaded the checking app (last week when the phone would stay on long enough). The app said I had the updated memory.
Some threads say it is the power button, but I have no way to verify that. I've had this phone over two years with flawless service and have a Note 4 on order due to arrive in mid October.
What sucks is my phone needs to power on in order to get the $200 trade-in credit for the Note 4. Now, I'm looking at paying for repair to get the phone in good enough shape just so I can trade it in.
If anyone has any further suggestions, I'm all ears.
If I connect the charger (to either the AC adapter or PC USB) the red charging LED will illuminate for a second, then shut off. Sometimes it will show the the battery charging status icon for a second before shutting off. I have tried two known good and fully charged batteries with no luck.
I thought it was the infamous sudden death memory IC problem and downloaded the checking app (last week when the phone would stay on long enough). The app said I had the updated memory.
Some threads say it is the power button, but I have no way to verify that. I've had this phone over two years with flawless service and have a Note 4 on order due to arrive in mid October.
What sucks is my phone needs to power on in order to get the $200 trade-in credit for the Note 4. Now, I'm looking at paying for repair to get the phone in good enough shape just so I can trade it in.
If anyone has any further suggestions, I'm all ears.
Replying to my own post here. I took my phone to Samsung's repair depot in Plano, TX and stood there with three other people who had the exact same problem. The rep knew exactly what it was and the tech repaired it while I waited. My phone is out of warranty, so it cost me $28.95. It sucks that I had to pay for a known chronic fault, but getting it fixed on the spot was worth the price to me. I have been traveling through four airports and cities for six days. Finding my way to/from hotels and client sites was a major pain in the a$$.
Bottom line, if you're experiencing these symptoms, it's the power switch and Samsung knows it.
Bottom line, if you're experiencing these symptoms, it's the power switch and Samsung knows it.
Replying to myself again with a follow up. The power switch repair lasted two days and of course, I was traveling again when it happened. I returned to the Samsung repair center today and it was quickly repaired again. The tech told me they have discovered that the vast majority of the power switch problems are on phones with the newer Otter Box case installed. This is the case with the rubber inside the hardened plastic. He said the case puts constant pressure on the power switch and because (unlike the volume up/down switches) it's a non-latching logical connection, users rarely notice that it's constantly applying pressure to the switch. I have been using one for a year or so, but did not take the phone in with it installed. Thinking back, the power switch problem repeated itself the same day I reinstalled my Otter Box just prior to traveling. Considering how difficult to install that case is and how tight it is, I'm inclined to believe the Samsung tech.
All I need is for it to last till the 17th when my Note 4 arrives. Hope this information helps.
All I need is for it to last till the 17th when my Note 4 arrives. Hope this information helps.
Thank you for the information. I've been having that problem for months now and I had no idea what the problem was. I thought it was the battery but when I bought a brand new battery and still had the same problem, I knew it was the phone. After reading your comment, my solution to my problem is to buy a new phone.
Seriously- you are the MAN! I'm going to try the same fix. Oddly I always wondered why it was so hard to push the power button with the otter box case on. I guess my next problem will be a cracked screen... 
. I'll reply when/if I can find a Samsung repair location I can effectively get to. Cheers!
. I'll reply when/if I can find a Samsung repair location I can effectively get to. Cheers!hey there! so apps automtically update and move themselves to the device storage from the SD card everytime youre wifi connected. this overload and overheat of apps starting constantly makes the phone shut off when big apps are on. simple 
so first go to settings>application manager> sd card and start moving all the big apps like Facebook, pinterest, pocket, messenger, soundcloud, your food delivery apps and more back to SD card.
unfortunately this exercise has to be done often. and remember to use a cache cleaner like cleanmaster to keep the device storage clean of junk. its what i do!
so first go to settings>application manager> sd card and start moving all the big apps like Facebook, pinterest, pocket, messenger, soundcloud, your food delivery apps and more back to SD card.
unfortunately this exercise has to be done often. and remember to use a cache cleaner like cleanmaster to keep the device storage clean of junk. its what i do!
Power switch doesn't make sense because it would happen regardless of power source.
Battery contacts also wouldn't make sense since the charge goes through the battery, from what I understand, to the phone so the problem should happen plugged in or on battey.
You can verify my assumption by taking the battery out and plugging the phone in. If the phone works without the battery then their's a dual circuit and it could be the battery disengaging from the contacts.
Battery contacts also wouldn't make sense since the charge goes through the battery, from what I understand, to the phone so the problem should happen plugged in or on battey.
You can verify my assumption by taking the battery out and plugging the phone in. If the phone works without the battery then their's a dual circuit and it could be the battery disengaging from the contacts.
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