Struggling with S4 issues

[Larry Virden]

So I've had ongoing issues with wifi connectivity, regular issues trying to access google play store, battery level dropping 1% per minute, etc.
I've also had occasional issues where the phone is working one minute, and, with 30+% battery, powering itself off the next minute - typically when I am not even using it.

Before today, the last problem was a month or two ago. That time, the phone just kept rebooting over and over. I took it into the store where I bought it, they poked at it, cleared up some cache files, determined they could not reflash the phone because it is running 5.0 and their reflash software would just brick the phone if they tried, and told me that if that didn't help they would just have to send the phone away to get repaired.
I need my phone, so that wasn't a viable option.
After the memory cleanup, it ran okay I guess - all the same issues except for the repeated reboot.

This morning, it dies like it does sometime, with 35% battery. I have it plugged in. I attempt to boot up. I get the Samsung wording... and then it powers down without any message.

It's done it 3 or 4 times so far.

I'm quite concerned. The phone is charging, so I am currently waiting till the battery is at 100%. Then I figure I will pull the battery, reinsert it, and see if it will boot up then.

Am I doomed to go without a phone for 6 weeks while it is sent away?

Sigh.

 

[Larry Virden]

So just after lunch the phone died again. Howver, this time, I happened to be looking at it just before it died.
There was an app update that I had been trying to install all morning but was getting a variety of error messages towards the end of the process.
I used ccleaner to clean out some caches. I moved apps from memory to the sd card.
I moved some small pictures to the sd card.
The phone displayed a message to the effect of upgrading Android, Optimizing application 1 of 1 . That popup stayed on screen for several minutes, after which the screen went blank. When I tried hitting the home button to get through the lock screen, what I got instead was just blackness. When I pressed home a little longer, I got the animated battery charging image, showing 43% charged.

So perhaps there is something wrong with an upgrade that is crashing my phone. Is there a log I can check for this?
Thank you

 

[B. Diddy]

I would focus on the battery, which might be failing. Look at the Settings>Battery graph--does the battery level suddenly drop off whenever it shuts off on its own? That can be a sign of a dendrite in the battery, which means the battery needs to be replaced. See this guide: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassador-guides-tips-how-s/479461-guide-my-battery-shot.html. Regardless, I'd just try a new or different battery.

 

[Petr Tanker]

Instal this: DU BATTERY SAVER and there you can optimize your battery drain!