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Technical help

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Post by Hazy Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:17 am

Not sure of best place to put this so thought General was the best.
I have a year old Samsung Galaxy s4 phone and really only use it for calls or messages - not capable of much else! Over the past few months it has started turning itself off on a very regular basis (about every 30 minutes) and needs rebooting every time. I don't like people being unable to contact me. I've tried to google the problem and all answers are about the battery getting hot or swollen - not in my case but I've got a new one anyway and still the problem persists. Last chance I suppose is a factory reset but will this lose all my phone and e-mail contacts? I bought it from Amazon so no shop here to return it to. Any help from you clever people would be most appreciated Very Happy

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Post by Geotherm Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:35 am

Is this article any help Hazy?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems/
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Post by Hazy Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:48 am

My exact problem isn't there but there are things I will try like making sure it is properly updated etc. Thanks for such a prompt reply!!

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Post by Admin Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:40 am

I have the same phone and had problems when the SD card somehow failed. Try turning the phone off, removing it and turning it on to see if it solves the problem.
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Post by Hazy Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:48 am

This shows how incompetent I am - what/where is the SD card?!

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Post by Hazy Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:55 am

Me again - just looked online for the SD card placement and unless one came with the phone I haven't got one - certainly can't see one where it should be! Thanks for all help though!

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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:59 am

Hazy wrote:This shows how incompetent I am - what/where is the SD card?!

SD card is in the back, unlike most devices... Top left side, not the sim... Smile

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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Mon Dec 29, 2014 10:41 am

We recently bought the S4 9505 and I'd looked on-line beforehand and noted this problem was about and read that most things pointed to a duff battery.  I gather you will have seen THIS LINK if you have a similar situation where when it's plugged in to the power it works ok, then it would suggest to me that this is the problem (or it's a problem in the battery area e.g. pins connecting). I would check out what warranty it came with and exactly how long you have had the device. If it was Amazon you bought it from and not one of the 3rd parties on Amazon and it's still under warranty, then I would certainly look to sending it back as they themselves are very good in dealing with this type of problem. However I also suspect it's very likely that its quite easy to damage the connectors for the battery on the phone. Saying that the number of people reporting this fault it seems to me something is not quite right with this model or a batch of them. I use Amazon a great deal, but I'm always suspicious about 3rd parties and check the reviews on them carefully. One last possibility is that the second battery you bought is also duff or not a genuine article. I looked on Amazon for a spare battery and charger for the new phone and there were lots  and lots of very cheap batteries on there, too cheap !!! In the end we bought direct from Samsung, although a lot more expensive, compared to the phone it was worth not taking the risk. Ideally it would be best if you could "find a friend" with a "known to work" S4 battery an borrow it to see if the fault clears. If it does then buy a new battery from Samsung, obviously the big problem is if it's an intermittent and none reproducible fault...

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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Mon Dec 29, 2014 6:25 pm

Hazy another much cheaper option might be to buy a bog standard phone for calls and text... Wind do an Alcatel (not my favourite company) for less than €20 according to this We bought a cheap Samsung phone at IPER for around €20, but that was a few years back. These are cheaper than an S4 battery on the Samsung site

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Post by Flip Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:04 pm

Totally agree with Steve, if you only use a phone for calls/texts use a cheap PAYG phone available from most Supermarkets for around the €20 mark. You can still use your PC/Laptop/Tablet to deal with emails.....
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Post by The Original Relaxed Tue Dec 30, 2014 12:48 am

I'm a big fan of Samsung Galaxies - I'm still using my Galaxy 2, and am horrendously envious of some of the camera tricks which were introduced with the 3 and onwards.

So: persevere, it's a smashing device! 

I'm always hopeful that the problem isn't hardware, so my first port of call would be "settings" (the gear wheel top right when you swipe the screen donwards). Turn off power saving, and see what happens. 


If that sorts the problem, then check you have the latest Android software (scroll all the way down in "settings" until you reach "about device", which should give you a software update option). if that offers you an update accept it. (If you are told you are all up to date just leave power saving turned off).


When the Samsung is working, please try the camera! It's unbelievably capable, probably (on the S4) it has 'in phone' photo editing enabled (otherwise get a 3rd party app).


You don't need a microSD card - (the phone will not have been sold with one included) - it is just an optional add-on which you 
can plug in to extend the memory. Quite unnecessary for most people.


Good luck: as you have already changed the battery, if it is (groan) a genuine hardware problem, (conceivably the battery contacts in the phone are faulty - I do find blowing on dodgy contacts is often effective!) then contact Amazon (as suggested).
 
But my feeling (!) is that it's a software/configuration snag. 
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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:40 am

I've no real idea if this is hardware or software, but from what I've read, unlike Lax I suspect the former whether it be the battery or the contacts or something else. However it is well worth a try as suggested by Lax, we don't have the problem, but then again I have changed many, many settings, power save not one of them, but many that do save power. If you don't use the wifi, then that's one you certainly can simply switch off. If you swipe down as suggested by Lax there is an option next to the cog wheel settings icon to display all the major settings where you can simply tap to switch off, if many of them are on (light green), then you are likely using lots of power. Oddly enough this is the 3rd person I know that has bought a "smart" phone only to find that they can't do the simple things like take calls and text easily ... and they regret the purchase. So if nothing else Hazy this is another warning that these "smart" phones cost a lot, do a lot, but the things they do may not be something you need! By the way Lax the zoom of the S4 is really poor, so don't know what the S2 and S3 were like, but you are missing nothing there...
Just a a further aside (ramble) perhaps we should take no notice of anything we all write here or read on the web... Same subject the S4. I looked on a few sites for a problem getting MMS (pictures by text) on the thing as they were coming in, but not displaying. Read lots and lots and general conclusion was that it was a fault with the S4 and could not be fixed! People were quoting Vodafone and even Samsung as accepting it as being so... Very same description as the fault we were having. Hour or so later after looking through the settings, one of those I'd switched off (mobile data) when switched on fixed it!!! So in short Lax may well be right and all those "experts" out there could well be wrong.
One final thing as to the suggestion to buy simple when we ourselves later bought an S4. Well we always had a "smart" phone, just weren't called that in those days, but at a push it (Nokia e71) could access the web and was therefore a good notebook back-up. But as it was struggling we decided to replace it with the S4, S4 simply because it was not an Apple, hence cheaper and did everything we wanted (mainly web access back-up).

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Post by The Original Relaxed Tue Dec 30, 2014 11:35 pm

Steve's advice about turning off unnecessary facilities is good - but even with just about everything turned off the phone shouldn't close down after half an hour!

You can turn off bluetooth connectivity, gps (which is a big power drainer), wi-fi, and mobile data exchange. (That only means the phone won't connect to the server, it doesn't mean it won't make/receive calls). In this condition it's just a dumb old cellphone!
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Post by Hazy Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:05 am

Update:-
Geotherm - from the site you put me onto I did find a fix for the phone turning itself off. It works but the phone is permanently on with the menu and back buttons at the bottom permanently lit up. The battery now drains at about 10% per hour - don't think that's good!
Steve - new battery is from Samsung, not a cheaper alternative. Most things are turned off like Bluetooth, mobile data exchange etc. Will try turning the mobile data to see if that works as it did for you.
Onwards and upwards!

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Post by Flip Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:09 am

I know it sounds obvious but have you gone into your settings and looked at 'Power Save' options or 'Light time out' or something akin to those, as I had a Samsung once where you could alter the time the backlight stays on, so if that was ste to Permanent that might be it???
Hope you get it sorted though.
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Post by Hazy Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:14 am

Nothing is too obvious to a techno idiot like me but unfortunately I have done that and still the problem persists. Thanks for the input though.

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Post by Angela Fuller Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:27 am

I am no better than you H and have a Galaxy 1....but if it is turning itself off every 30mins it may well have something to do with the settings....programed to switch off after 30mins ?
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Post by Hazy Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:24 am

Hi Angie, you know me well enough to know how blind I am to the obvious but unusually this isn't the case this time! Thanks as always Very Happy

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Post by Angela Fuller Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:52 am

Hazy, Have you contacted Amazon re this problem.  Even if outside the 1yr guarentee they might feel inclined to do something to help...I know they can be very understanding.  Also, have you contacted Samsung....and explained the problems you are experiencing....  I know with my older Samsung phone I had a problem and they asked me to send to nearby address where the problem was sorted at little cost......Just a thought...
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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:08 pm

A daft question Hazy, but are you sure it is switched off?
Regards a factory re-set you mentioned and the worry about your data. You really should in any case be backing up this data! There are many ways of doing so and loads of software out there to help (or confuse). One of the main decisions would be to either backup to the "cloud" (read internet). If you are happy to do so, then Google can be used to sync a great deal of your data. I would not personally do this at the moment, but it is a good method if you are happy doing so. Alternatively, and more robust in some ways, you can backup to your PC via USB. Again there are many apps out there that do most of the work for you, for a one off re-set, it's likely fine. Picking which one is a case of research as to which is regarded as best. These are two examples Helium LINK1 and MobileTrans LINK2 I've no idea how good they are. For me a factory re-set would be a very, very last resort.. But backing up my data is essential, Lax is right in saying an SD card is not needed, but again I would see one as being essential for this kind of device. Most of our data is stored on the SD card, so a factory reset would not touch it, especially if it's removed. It also means we can if need be simply replace the SD card if it becomes full or wish to make it a year by year archive (mails for pictures). If you are not already sick to death of it, I would suggest you join this forum and search for an answer, if not found post the issue. I'll certainly be checking it out as there seems to be a number of very knowledgeable S4 people on there Smile

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Post by Vicino Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:34 pm

Hi Hazy and auguri to one and all.............

Having read some superb advice from other posters here about your smartphone problem.................I'm not too sure where you actually are but if you are anywhere near Montegiorgio, I would not hesitate in popping in and asking these people.

Global Multimedia
Via Falarienze Ovest, 25
63025 Montegiorgio
                     
0734 964087

They are based on the 'Fermo' valley road and are straight across the street from a TIM shop (also a possible ?).


[*]Francesco, Danilo or Simone are all superb, and enjoy a challenge, and speak some English, they are VERY helpful.      
I would be very confident of them sorting you out.

If you are not nearby, pop into a local computer shop near to your house ?

Good luck,

V
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Post by Angela Fuller Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:43 pm

Good advice Vicino.....sometimes these things get so complicated for us gals, especially as we have other far more important tasks to achieve....on an hourly basis...best  to take the phone to those that can....sort the problem  I know I would if in UK......


Last edited by Angela Fuller on Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:45 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : spelling)
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Post by stevegwmonkseaton Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:54 pm

Vicino wrote:Hi Hazy and auguri to one and all.............Having read some superb advice from other posters here about your smartphone problem.................I'm not too sure where you actually are but if you are anywhere near Montegiorgio, I would not hesitate in popping in and asking these people.Global Multimedia
Via Falarienze Ovest, 25
63025 Montegiorgio
                     
0734 964087

They are based on the 'Fermo' valley road and are straight across the street from a TIM shop (also a possible ?).


[*]Francesco, Danilo or Simone are all superb, and enjoy a challenge, and speak some English, they are VERY helpful.      
I would be very confident of them sorting you out.

If you are not nearby, pop into a local computer shop near to your house ?

Good luck,

V



[*]

Great advice and there is nothing better than a good recommendation if you can get there. If not, then further good advice to try a local shop or even these people Samsung Site Italy Smile

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Post by Flip Wed Dec 31, 2014 3:03 pm

H, if you save all your contacts etc to your SIM card then it would be fine to do a factory reset as they would remain intact there.
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Post by Angela Fuller Wed Dec 31, 2014 3:36 pm

yes, as Flip says I always save to SIM not phone just incase there is a problem with the phone....sensible advice...
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