Question SOLVED: Phone freezes immediately after unlocking. Restart does not help.

[Bronopol]

Hi everyone,

I have a bit of a weird one and I could not find an existing post with a comparable issue. Here is what happened:

Yesterday evening, I have plugged in my switched on phone (Xiaomi Mi A2, Android One) before going to bed (as every day). Surprisingly, this morning it appeared switched off. I switched it on, entered the PIN of my SIM, and then entered the PIN to unlock the phone. Seconds after unlocking, my phone froze and was completely unresponsive. When pressing and holding the power button, it switched off and rebooted automatically. It booted normally and I could use all options on the lock screen as normal. However, when I entered my PIN to unlock the phone, it froze within a few seconds. I sometimes manage to open the settings, but I do not have enough time to select any settings (such as factory reset or software updates) before it freezes.

I have tried:
- unlocking the phone without touching it afterwards. It froze and stayed frozen until the batteries died.
- waiting more than 15 min before unlocking the phone.
- not unlocking it. Instead rebooting it using the power button.
- not unlocking it. Instead switching it off using the power button.
- not unlocking it. Instead rebooting in safe mode using the power button.
- Removing the SIM cards before booting and unlocking the phone.

Regardless of what I have tried, the result was always the same: the phone freezes after unlocking. I have reached the end of my troubleshooting capacity. Maybe someone has an idea? Grateful for any help.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! The fact that it still freezes in Safe Mode suggests a problem with either the system or the hardware. Are you able to wipe the system cache partition from the Recovery Menu? https://www.hardreset.info/devices/xiaomi/xiaomi-mi-a2/

 

[Bronopol]

Great shout! I didn't know Recovery Menu.

The phone indeed turned into Recovery Menu when pressing and holding the power button and the volume up button simultaneously for 10 seconds. However, the recovery menu was empty showing "no command". I could enter the actual menu by holding the power button, then pressing the volume up button once and releasing the power button immediately afterwards. Once in the menu, I reset the phone to factory settings. Et voila... the phone does not freeze anymore after unlocking!

Thank you for your fast and very helpful reply. You saved me from buying a new phone.