WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo (EDIT: RIP my Turbo)

[Moo Cow]

EDIT: It has died. See below in the thread.


I have not downloaded anything in the last 24 hours that is new. If i updated anything it was existing apps that never had issues before.

My WiFi is turned off and won't turn on. I have a WiFi auto-on program for when i am, per cell phone towers, near a WiFi area I use. I've used it for multiple phones so that's not it.

I've powered down, powered into the menu and cleared the cache. The only thing I have not done is a full blown wipe and factory reset.

What would cause my WiFi to do this? Are there other issues I should examine before a full wipe from scratch?

Im on a limited data plan for cost reasons and I am near WiFi a lot so I figure why should i use data I don't have to?

It just did this in the past 24 hours and 3 apps updated. I can uninstall them but will that work?

I am at a loss here what to do. I do not want to do a full wipe but if I am forced to I suppose I will. But this is so odd it just magically quit working. Even going to settingd to turn it on fails. Bluetooth seems to be working. WiFi is a no-go.

Any advice?

I do see the Droid Maxx thread in here but that is a different phone so who is to say these are one and the same?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Einsteindks]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

Clear the app data, to?

 

[berserker]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

Have you tried uninstalling the WiFi auto-on program?

 

[doogald]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

There are lots of examples of apps with wifi permission that can cause this. I'd look at the apps that you recently updated and see if uninstalling one of them fixes the problem.

When an app requires a new permission they always have to tell you before the update will install. Pay attention to these and watch when apps get the permission to control wifi. That would be an app that I'd suspect is causing this.

I also agree with the idea of the wifi auto on app being the issue. I'd start by uninstalling that. Perhaps it's having an issue with location services for some reason?

On the flip side, why not just keep the wifi radio on always? That's what I do and I'm always left scratching my head when others flip it off and on. Why? The only possible reason is a desire to prevent people at those access points from knowing when you are nearby, but do people really do this?

 

[Moo Cow]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

There are lots of examples of apps with wifi permission that can cause this. I'd look at the apps that you recently updated and see if uninstalling one of them fixes the problem.

When an app requires a new permission they always have to tell you before the update will install. Pay attention to these and watch when apps get the permission to control wifi. That would be an app that I'd suspect is causing this.

I also agree with the idea of the wifi auto on app being the issue. I'd start by uninstalling that. Perhaps it's having an issue with location services for some reason?

On the flip side, why not just keep the wifi radio on always? That's what I do and I'm always left scratching my head when others flip it off and on. Why? The only possible reason is a desire to prevent people at those access points from knowing when you are nearby, but do people really do this?

I uninstalled all apps that were recently updated. No dice. My next option is probably to go nuclear and factory reset. I've had the new patch for a couple of weeks and this was a sudden issue so I don't see that connection.

As for the WiFi app, it has worked perfect for me in a variety of ways and saved battery power for me and I haven't had an issue. I read what it did when I got it and monitored effectiveness heavily and it has gone over three different phones now, including 18 months on this one. Without a longer drawn out debate, my use of it is not an issue to me, and something else of a sudden nature has caused this.

There is also the physical aspect of the phone itself. Did something internal go kaput? Did a bad bump cause it despite a high impact case? If a full reset from scratch doesn't fix it, then that tells me it is the phone.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[doogald]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

Seems strange to have a phone with a large battery and capacity to recharge a high percentage in as short as 15 minutes to be concerned about the small amount of battery savings from turning off wifi, particularly when using an app to automate it which is also using battery to monitor conditions.

Just saying.

 

[Moo Cow]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

I backed everything up, even to folders on my desktop to catch the rogue photo that didn't go to the cloud, and I hit the nuke button and decided I was going from scratch. (Sometimes, this isn't a bad thing, just a PITA, but if it fixes it, it fixes it.) The phone is not rooted; I don't do that.

The factory wipe was quick, and I got back into the phone when it said restart. It let me "restore" apps. I had to rush to stop downloading apps automatically to avoid chewing up my data plan. Once that was done, especially as it was wanting to update apps I would normally disable, I came to find that I could not disable them, period. All the VZW bloatware would not disable, like it had on this phone and the Droid Maxx. Even after a restart, I could not disable apps. Oh, and the WiFi still did the same thing. I could go into the menu itself, select WiFi, turn it on, and it won't search for networks. I leave that menu, re-enter, and WiFi is off again.

Something is wrong with the phone. I don't know what, but the only significant update to happen was that security patch, but even then the phone ran great. So my ideology is that somehow despite an Otterbox defender case, the phone took a bump that only affected the WiFi, but then why would it affect not being able to disable apps? Because if I can't disable apps wouldn't the phone be nuked in itself?

This is weird and I am headed to the Verizon store for the obligatory "We don't know what is up, but hey, buy this phone" approach. I may not have a choice, sadly, if the phone somehow roached itself, but I'm going to explore all options before I go to that point. I shouldn't have to get a new phone for the sake of it. But I use WiFi a lot, it IS an important feature to me (not like it's an app I can go without, you know), and without it, sorry, but for how I use my phone at home on WiFi, I'm not paying 2x the Verizon bill for more data when that's the point of using WiFi.

Given the store closes in less than an hour, off I go I suppose.

 

[Moo Cow]

Re: WiFi will suddenly not turn on and freezes Turbo

Seems strange to have a phone with a large battery and capacity to recharge a high percentage in as short as 15 minutes to be concerned about the small amount of battery savings from turning off wifi, particularly when using an app to automate it which is also using battery to monitor conditions.

Just saying.

I'm not going to debate this any further. That isn't even the issue here as it has now been revealed to go deeper than a WiFi on/off app, and why (for a sports analogy) focus on the guy who missed a three early in the game when two star players tore their ACLs in the second quarter?

 

[Moo Cow]

She died. Time of death was 6:05 p.m. ET, when I initiated the final phone factory reset to hand it over to Verizon.

First it was the WiFi. Then it wasn't deleting apps in the Apps settings menu. Then it wasn't allowing me to add a new screen if I tried to drag/drop a downloaded app when I got to the VZW store. Basically the guy took it back to the back room, and I was just waiting for Linda Blair to walk back to me and have her head spin and start spewing everywhere. And when he came back and told me a couple of other things, and I started to mess with it and saw what he saw, we looked at it more, got a second VZW rep to investigate, and I think at this point we all wanted to go Office Space on it in the grassy yard behind the building.

What happened to this phone is anyone's guess. I am a meticulous person in general. I don't root. I don't sideload known bad stuff. I don't steal pennies out of the tray at a mini mart and keep it for myself. I use my turn signals on my car when turning. ... Okay I'm going hyperbolic here in an attempt to humor myself into happiness, but the thing is, this phone just started dying. It's like my phone had a heart attack. I've never seen this. Ever. There was nothing we could do.

I had no insurance on it. But, that said, the deductible would have matched the "reach 75% and edge up" threshold anyway, plus I'd be without a phone and this and that and... so, I just got the Turbo 2. I don't need top of the line so I didn't care to go to the Samsung 7 phones and pay more per month. I got what I needed for the phone (I know what I have in Moto phones and for the Turbo 2, I will deal with the pros and cons later; I had been debating on the Turbo 2 anyway) and left the store. Money is tight right now due to the immense amount of gasoline/travel in my car to go home for family health reasons (will not disclose but your positive vibes appreciated) so this expense is like that hole in the head I was going to ask Santa Claus for this Christmas.

I've had probably in 11 years with Verizon, and since my first cell phone in 1999 (an old analog slim profile phone with Ameritech) double that in phones. Only two have completely died. The original LG V basically flash died. Plugged it into charge and it went kaput. This was during the two year renewal days anyway and I was well, well past my 24 months, and gosh did I ever use the heck out of that thing, so, I chalked it up to I killed it and wasn't mad. The V was one of the best phones I've ever had and yes, I killed it. That was all me. But this is pretty much the first phone to die a premature death, in my eyes and usage patterns. One out of 22, and 2/22 overall? And having little issues in between? I'd say that's pretty darn good stuff right there. Just the timing of this one couldn't have been worse, that's all. But I have lemonade out of the lemons, so I'll survive.

We can speculate what may have happened. I'm sure doogald you will think a thing or two yourself. But really, it's all moot. We'd all be better off pooling money and drafting a legal letter for when we win the Powerball and Mega Millions in the same week. She just died. Nothing more, nothing less.

And now I start over again downloading everything. Least I have a Memorial Day weekend to mess around and not worry about being tired after work.

 

[Einsteindks]

There was the reflash of firmware with RSDlite, but, from the sound of things, you may have had a hardware failure brewing.

 

[doogald]

Good luck with the T2!

There was the reflash of firmware with RSDlite, but, from the sound of things, you may have had a hardware failure brewing.

These days I prefer suggesting Verizon's Software Update Assistant (or Repair Assistant, which I think does the same thing) mainly because it does the same exact thing as RSD Lite, the files you need to flash are hosted by Verizon and never go away (and you don't have to worry about downloading the wrong version, etc.), and I'd guess that Motorola would support that method more anyway.

Software Update - Software Upgrade Assistant (Motorola) | Verizon Wireless

But, you're both right, sounds like this phone was soon to be a goner anyway. Unfortunately, it happens.

 

[Wren Stimpy]

Uninstall the WiFi auto-on program.
Bluetooth is, by far, one of the largest battery drain you will find - it ranks just under display a a battery sucker. While turned ON and not actively using it, mainly because it is continuously scanning for devices. BT never gives up. Wifi does give up - after a while. Unless you have a Wifi auto-on app that is...constantly scanning for Wifi.

 

[Moo Cow]

Uninstall the WiFi auto-on program.
Bluetooth is, by far, one of the largest battery drain you will find - it ranks just under display a a battery sucker. While turned ON and not actively using it, mainly because it is continuously scanning for devices. BT never gives up. Wifi does give up - after a while. Unless you have a Wifi auto-on app that is...constantly scanning for Wifi.

The battery topic was deemed a side-tracker and not worthy of the actual topic at hand, and we moved on from it in order to focus on what mattered most. I am unsure why you chose to continue an off-topic discussion. It makes no sense.