**Please note, i have already searched this forum and found some similar threads as: charging paused, voltage too high, SGS2 charged all the time, Charging suspended. Voltage too high and Phone keeps charging after plugin off the charger but none of them had exactly my problems so i'll try to describe mine better here.**
Some background and possible cause first
I have been using Omega ROM @ 2.3.5 (yes it's old, but it doesn't matter) for more than 6 months now and i haven't had any problems with it, but a few weeks ago i decided to upgrade to ICS so i did a full backup with CWM and also backed up sdcard to pc. Did a full wipe, formatted sdcard and installed the AOKP ICS, hated the camera app, wiped everything again, installed normal ICS, it was looking ok but i needed my usual apps the second day so i decided to go back to my 2.3.5, restored backup, restored sdcard. I don't remember exactly if i had the phone plugged in before installing ICS or after going back to 2.3.5 but when i disconnected it, it showed that it was still connected and charging...
Please note that everything was ok before updating to ICS (which is one reason why i believe it's software related), i used the original mains charger / micro usb cables at home and i also used a cheap car charger but long before this started happening, and the last time i used the car charger was 2+ moths ago.
The thing is, i don't care if it things it's charging all the time, my problem is that when charging it keeps the cpu active, and even when setting it to 100 MHz the battery only lasts about 5-10 hours with low-moderate usage (see the screenshots of cpu spy, it is clear that the phone does not enter deep sleep while it "thinks" it's charging).
Symptoms
At first, it kept showing it was charging all the time, sometimes when reaching ~10% it went back to normal (YES, normal aka reporting as no plugged in and no charging (=discharging), so i don't think there's any short-circuit/something wrong with the usb connector (which i tried to clean up, as suggested, but the problem is still there) :
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Then (and currently) after 1-2 mins of disconnecting charger/usb cable it stops the charging animation but *#*#4636#*#* and some battery app stats show that it's still plugged in but discharging (also it reports over-voltage, which is weird because when it is still charging it shows health:Good).
Also, if it goes back to normal (aka not charging and not plugged) and i connect the mains charger then disconnect and connect usb cable it will still see/think that the mains charger is still connected and i can't connect the mass storage to pc (the dialog never shows, because it still thinks it's connected to mains) and vice-versa, but the battery is charged no matter where it thinks it's connected.
Now the weird part, and the reason why i don't think it's hardware (aka usb pin short circuit or anything else stated in the other threads) if i remove the battery for long enough (something around 10-12 hours) over night, in the morning the phone would be completely normal (i was able to do this 2 times so far and both times the phone clock&date were resetted which makes me think the "connected" state is stored somewhere in a temporary memory powered by a small battery which keeps track of the time and alarms?; also if the time isn't resetted, the phone would still think it's connected (yes, even after removing the battery for some 8+ hours)), but the problem reappears if i connect charger/usb cable (something to note here, if i connect the cable and it's not plugged in, the problem doesn't start so this excludes micro usb connector problem).
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And also, as in some other posts, while the phone is shut down it keeps showing the charging animation along with some warning high temperature? triangle:
Here is a screenshot of Battery monitor widget showing some weird voltage spikes, is it possible to reach 5V?
The wakelocks (from Better battery stats app):
Also, something that i've wondered if all S2s do, when i remove the battery and plug in the charger (of any kind) the phone shows a no battery image:
One other thing that might worth mentioning is that sometimes, just a few seconds after i lock the phone, the screen just lights up for a second then turns back off for a few times (2-5 times), but this might be just an app problem and it's not really currently bothering me.
Also i just noticed when posting the screenshots that the battery is always pretty hot, is 32 - 37*C too hot or is it ok?
Conclusion
Well, it's been 3 weeks since this problem has started because i updated to ICS and i still didn't fix it. My plan is to order an Usb jig from ebay, get everything back to stock and send it to warranty, but this will take some 2-3 weeks until i get the jig and another 2-3 until the guys fix/replace it so i'm posting here hoping for some suggestions from more experienced members or people that also had this problem, because i ran out of ideas to try here.
It's a very nicely thorough post, very detailed. I like it.
However, I believe your conclusion that it isn't a hardware issue with the port is a faulty one. I think 100% of the times I've seen issues like this it's an issue with the port that is resolved either by cleaning it, (which will likely only be a temporary solution) or replacing it. It's VERY likely they will do just that (replace the port) if you send it to service. If you can get it covered under warranty, do it. Otherwise the part will run you probably $15 or so, USD.
But the fact that the problem comes and goes away without physical actions and also the fact that everyone started getting this after upgrading to ICS makes me a bit suspicious...
dany123i said:
But the fact that the problem comes and goes away without physical actions and also the fact that everyone started getting this after upgrading to ICS makes me a bit suspicious...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the fact that anyone who experiences issues like this, when they replace the part, it fixes all these issues?
if it comes and goes, I'd check the port for something when the issue is present. There's likely something lodged in there when it's happening, which gets dislodged when it's NOT happening.
People tend not to protect the port. It can get damaged over time. Also, ICS versions will seem more sensitive to it, because of additional programming and error messages specific to charging and voltage errors added in.
ctomgee said:
And the fact that anyone who experiences issues like this, when they replace the part, it fixes all these issues?
if it comes and goes, I'd check the port for something when the issue is present. There's likely something lodged in there when it's happening, which gets dislodged when it's NOT happening.
People tend not to protect the port. It can get damaged over time. Also, ICS versions will seem more sensitive to it, because of additional programming and error messages specific to charging and voltage errors added in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or ICS screws something up permanently or maybe you're right, and it really is the port, anyway i'll still experiment a while until my jig arrives, if i discover anything i'll update the thread.
Btw, thanks for reading my entire post :highfive:
dany123i said:
Or ICS screws something up permanently or maybe you're right, and it really is the port, anyway i'll still experiment a while until my jig arrives, if i discover anything i'll update the thread.
Btw, thanks for reading my entire post :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wish everyone who had an issue that needed help was as thorough as you. Most often, posts in Q&A unfortunately look like: "Halp! My fone broked! Whut happen?!?!"
So while some may scoff at the length of your post, they need to understand; when troubleshooting issues, more than enough information is ALWAYS better than not enough.
Don't worry you're not alone.I'm having this issue for about a week and I don't think that it is a hardware issue because my problem appeared when I was doing a restore from backup from custom rom to stock rom and the only thing that I did is that I pulled off the charger while my phone was doing the restore process. The second thing that I think it is not a hardware issue is that my phone is new I bought it two month ago and the USB jig is so clean, I compared to my brothers phone he has sgs2 too and he's USB jig is full of dust and cockroaches and mushrooms and stuff like that but its working perfect. I'm so sorry that I don't have the answer for you but I'm so mad about this problem that I needed to say something and by the way good luck and pm to me if u find the fix
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
bennycop said:
Don't worry you're not alone.I'm having this issue for about a week and I don't think that it is a hardware issue because my problem appeared when I was doing a restore from backup from custom rom to stock rom and the only thing that I did is that I pulled off the charger while my phone was doing the restore process. The second thing that I think it is not a hardware issue is that my phone is new I bought it two month ago and the USB jig is so clean, I compared to my brothers phone he has sgs2 too and he's USB jig is full of dust and cockroaches and mushrooms and stuff like that but its working perfect. I'm so sorry that I don't have the answer for you but I'm so mad about this problem that I needed to say something and by the way good luck and pm to me if u find the fix
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please take note.
This is not a hardware problem. This is a Firmware/Backup related problem
Had this exact problem on a friends SGS2 and it kept on happening after he did a restore from Titanium. Not that Titanium is broken BUT your backup stored on your SD has a CRC somewhere. What can I say ... It happens.
Just do a complete wipe and install the Rom you want. DO NOT RESTORE YOUR BACKUP !!!
Install everything again as per normal and set it up and you should be good. If this then still occurs then you can be sure its the hardware but this resolved it for him,
toxicdust said:
Please take note.
This is not a hardware problem. This is a Firmware/Backup related problem
Had this exact problem on a friends SGS2 and it kept on happening after he did a restore from Titanium. Not that Titanium is broken BUT your backup stored on your SD has a CRC somewhere. What can I say ... It happens.
Just do a complete wipe and install the Rom you want. DO NOT RESTORE YOUR BACKUP !!!
Install everything again as per normal and set it up and you should be good. If this then still occurs then you can be sure its the hardware but this resolved it for him,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's a bit presumptuous to say it's DEFINITELY not a hardware issue. I've seen a TON of posts where people replace the part for the USB port and the problem disappears.
Maybe for someone its is a hardware problem but my problem appeared during restore from buckup.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Same problem
dany123i said:
Or ICS screws something up permanently or maybe you're right, and it really is the port, anyway i'll still experiment a while until my jig arrives, if i discover anything i'll update the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you discover the source of the problem? I am having the same issue with my sgs2 (only 6 months old). I have all the same symptoms - it tells me the USB is connected and the phone is charging, and I get the same alternating symbols when the phone is off (battery charging/temperature warning). I have done nothing out of the ordinary - no system alterations, all is as it was when I got it, other than apps etc I have downloaded. The port doesn't look that dirty, although having read your posts I am inclined to think that this may be the source of the issue? Any help would be appreciated!
solved
Same issue after upgrade, was searching for days ...
Factory restore, but didn't work.
Forced to stop all services, cleared all cache and cleared Ram and after restart everything back ok. Was not a hw issue.
toxicdust said:
Please take note.
This is not a hardware problem. This is a Firmware/Backup related problem
Had this exact problem on a friends SGS2 and it kept on happening after he did a restore from Titanium. Not that Titanium is broken BUT your backup stored on your SD has a CRC somewhere. What can I say ... It happens.
Just do a complete wipe and install the Rom you want. DO NOT RESTORE YOUR BACKUP !!!
Install everything again as per normal and set it up and you should be good. If this then still occurs then you can be sure its the hardware but this resolved it for him,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this guy over here, just wanted to congratulate you for this post.
And yes...back ups can be a BH.
Related
Hi All,
Yesterday my SGS2 stared doing some strange things. Self restarting, connecting to charger without any cable in it! Switch on from a sleep, then self restart...
I did hard reset tonight, and today about few hours its the same....
Of course that I have installed many of applications as before this problem. But I dont know if it is a problem of some application....
Any idea how to fix it?
Many thanks
Can it be caused by battery?? I have this phone almost 6 months...
Are you on 2.3.6?
If not, flash 2.3.6 or another rom just try it
i think your battery is not the problem
no, I have stock rom KI4 2.3.5 ... till now was everything OK
I found now an app (need for speed hot pursuit) which was moved on sd card (I don't know why, I didn't move any apps on sd card), just its deleted... we'll see
second factory reset, without any new applications installed = the same.... spontaneous restarting.....
PetoG said:
second factory reset, without any new applications installed = the same.... spontaneous restarting.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure .. I think Power key will be the problem
Do diagnose pls do below steps
1, Just power off the phone & remove the battery for 2 mins
2, then plug the battery & don't power on
3, Wait for 5 mins, if it automatically powered on then power key problem.
If not then something problem in only ROM.
formated SD Card, I saw that there was also some files created by Android system... Now it seems, that 1,5 hour is everything OK But never say never
I Know this is a month old but was wondering if everything is still ok with the random restarting?
The reason I am asking is that it has been happening to my SGS2 though I believe it may be slight, v.slight water damage; as I was walking in a rain shower at the start of the week and realised my phone USB port was partially exposed to the elements, and after a few days it started to exhibit the same symptoms.
Currently the phone is sitting in a bag of rice in the hot-press to try and extract as much moisture from it.
If anyone else has any experience of similar problems, your help is appreciated.
Thanks
Same **** happened to me when I dropped my s2 in snow. The problem is in USB controller. There are two ways. first is to change USB controller in service centre. The second is to try to clean it yourself with isopropanol and brush
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Took the phone out of the Hot-Press and bag of rice earlier to day and it has know been successfully fully charged (not charging was another problem); will continue to monitor the situation (not difficult since half of my life is on the phone...).
@beeboss: Thanks for reply, was wondering what kind of brush, Toothbrush? soft/hard? I expect that cleaning it yourself is a v.delicate job, it wouldn't put me of doing it, it's just better to have the correct equipment as I've came across corrosion of circuits on a bigger scale and I cant see scraping it with a v.fine scalpel to be a good thing in the case of the phone; Though I did not have isopropanol at the time of the big circuit corrosion...
Thanks for the help
This started earlier in the week. I think I loaded the Free Monopoly, Contract killer and Text Plus in the morning when it started. I'm thinking this was Tuesday or Wednesday morning after Christmas.
At the Time I immediately killed and uninstalled all three of the recent app additions. This did not appear to resolve the issue.
Symptoms
Screen would not remain off for more than a few minutes without turning itself back on again. Full screen wakes.
Occasionally and without warning the phone would completely turn itself off, requiring the very long power button press to turn on again (was a full power-down).
Since this has started I decided to upgrade to the latest unamed rom.
This does not appear to have helped anything, although the frequency may have been reduced. I don't think this is related to the ROM since the issue survived the factory reset / wipe / rom change.
Questions
Are there any internal logs that may help to point me in the right direction?
If so, where / how can I view them?
I'm seeing a RILJ dialer something under Partial wakelocks in BBS.
I see this as [p]_RILJ under Kernal wakelocks as well. Any Idea what this is?
I admit, I was getting a bit silly with the quantity of Apps I had loaded and still running well at the time. Amazed the phone was still going very strong with no issues at all. I'm trimming this back on the new rom.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Random Illumination Wakes and sleep crashes.
Still trying to nail this down.
Additional observations.
Timing appears to be random.
When I say the screen wakes up, I'm mean illuminating.
The wakes appear almost as often as the power off freeze. What I mean is the quantity of complete power off's is similar to the screen wakes.
It's very possible that the same event may be causing both the screen wake and the hard starts. Neither issue occured prior to this the starting of both events.
I have occasionally seen the "Driving Mode" steering wheel icon pop-up, while unplugged. I've not connected this phone to any kind driving interface as of yet, so this is a surpriseds.
Today I had additional issues with extremely heavy battery drain in a short period of time. I had incorrectly added 2650mA under battery capacity beneath Calibration tab of "Battery Monitor Widget Pro".
Still looking for help finding and viewing any error logs on the device.
Does anyone know of some basic error log files on the device?
Again, all help is greatly appreciated.
Under Recent unamed ROM but I do not believe the ROM is the issue.
iqak said:
Still trying to nail this down.
Additional observations.
Timing appears to be random.
When I say the screen wakes up, I'm mean illuminating.
The wakes appear almost as often as the power off freeze. What I mean is the quantity of complete power off's is similar to the screen wakes.
It's very possible that the same event may be causing both the screen wake and the hard starts. Neither issue occured prior to this the starting of both events.
I have occasionally seen the "Driving Mode" steering wheel icon pop-up, while unplugged. I've not connected this phone to any kind driving interface as of yet, so this is a surpriseds.
Today I had additional issues with extremely heavy battery drain in a short period of time. I had incorrectly added 2650mA under battery capacity beneath Calibration tab of "Battery Monitor Widget Pro".
Still looking for help finding and viewing any error logs on the device.
Does anyone know of some basic error log files on the device?
Again, all help is greatly appreciated.
Under Recent unamed ROM but I do not believe the ROM is the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These random screen wakes, particularly with the car mode activations, are what I was seeing when my usb port on the device failed. there are several threads in the general and QA forums regarding usb failures, you might want to dig around in there to see if other behavior is similar. I think one poster mentioned cleaning out the USB port with alcohol and a small paint brush. I had tried doing the same with canned air, but that did not help me. I ended up with a warranty replacement device.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
I think you may be onto something.
Since the event I am also having issues connecting up to my Win7 Pc.
On the morning of the event, I remember a brief weirdness to the charging indication. I think it said it was charging when it wasn't or vice versa.
So now the question becomes.
What do I need to do before an exchange?
Purchased from Best Buy on US Launch day without extended warranty.
Do I still have a warranty?
Can I go to the AT&T store in Sacramento?
I think you may be onto something.
Since the event I am also having issues connecting up to my Win7 Pc.
On the morning of the event, I remember a brief weirdness to the charging indication. I think it said it was charging when it wasn't or vice versa.
So now the question becomes.
What do I need to do before an exchange?
Purchased from Best Buy on US Launch day without extended warranty.
Do I still have a warranty?
Can I go to the AT&T store in Sacramento?
Your phone has a 1 year hardware warranty. Talk to Best Buy, and force them to give you a replacement. I did that with AT&T, not putting it on the phone insurance, but the phone's warranty that came with it, for free.
Backup your apps using a tool like ROM Toolbox from the market (it's my favorite). When you restore your phone, all apps that AREN'T sideloaded will come back with the last Google Sync you made, so sync now. If you're sure, 100% that it's hardware and not software, make a backup via CWM and ignore all previous instructions, but if you're like me, you'll want a fresh restart with the ability to axe all the apps you don't use on a clean ROM.
When backing up all non-sideloaded apps, Google does it for you, use a backup program from the market to ONLY backup your sideloaded apps.
HUGE ADDENDUM:
READ THIS. Alright, before taking it back to Best Buy, flash Entropy's "Back To Stock" ROM and kernel. If you don't, you're done. Warranty voided. If they are intelligent and check the flashcounter, and see you tripped it, but you're on a stock ROM, you can talk your way outta it. Try thinking of something before you go in. The excuse I will use if ever needed is I was clueless about why my phone was ****ing up, so my friend who said he could fix it took my phone for a day and temporarily fixed it, and it worked alright for a couple days before the issue came back. So you can claim ignorance IF NEEDED, but most of the time they don't check. Just be sure to have an answer for if they do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
I do have a jig and I do not have the Exclamation Icon.
However my boot animation is no longer stock and I have not been able to read the flash counter. The Power-off, Hold volumes and plug USB thing is not working for me.
To date, I have not caught anything in software to cause this.
Getting myself ready, Thanks a million.
iqak said:
I do have a jig and I do not have the Exclamation Icon.
However my boot animation is no longer stock and I have not been able to read the flash counter. The Power-off, Hold volumes and plug USB thing is not working for me.
To date, I have not caught anything in software to cause this.
Getting myself ready, Thanks a million.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you used a root method that should not have increased the counter, I think you can mobile Odin back to stock unrooted to prep for warranty return.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
Shot back to this ROM
Kernel + cache + rooted UCKK6 system package: http://www.multiupload.com/NYL3XT51Y0
Feels like olden times.....Naked in front of the Gym class.
Beyond Best Buys 30 Days so had to go to the AT&T Service center.
They grilled me, checked, wiped, reflashed, yada-yada-yada.
Gave me the could be an app shpeel, did you use a car charger questions etc.
Long story short....
They want to try a new battery 1st.
So, news years eve overnight, maybe by Monday.
I admit this could be a possibility because I have had the battery lose a large amount of capacity in a short amount of time one the order of Full to Dead in 2-3 hours. This has occurred to me on maybe three or four occasions since launch day. Phone got warm to hot at the same time. This usually included a hard kill power off. Nice big gap / drop in battery stats.
Is there any way the phone would get a charging indication yet not charge?
Like if the USB port got wonked or crossed with something?
Additional Weirdness:
I have had the phone freeze up on me, picture turn weird as it gradually whitened to full white screen only.
No response from the keys or screen with the exception of a long power button press to recover. This occurred a few times since the original event (maybe 3) with the last one happening while plugging it back in for some juice for the return today.
Keeping this up to date in case others run across the same funkyness.
iqak said:
Shot back to this ROM
Kernel + cache + rooted UCKK6 system package: http://www.multiupload.com/NYL3XT51Y0
Feels like olden times.....Naked in front of the Gym class.
Beyond Best Buys 30 Days so had to go to the AT&T Service center.
They grilled me, checked, wiped, reflashed, yada-yada-yada.
Gave me the could be an app shpeel, did you use a car charger questions etc.
Long story short....
They want to try a new battery 1st.
So, news years eve overnight, maybe by Monday.
I admit this could be a possibility because I have had the battery lose a large amount of capacity in a short amount of time one the order of Full to Dead in 2-3 hours. This has occurred to me on maybe three or four occasions since launch day. Phone got warm to hot at the same time. This usually included a hard kill power off. Nice big gap / drop in battery stats.
Is there any way the phone would get a charging indication yet not charge?
Like if the USB port got wonked or crossed with something?
Additional Weirdness:
I have had the phone freeze up on me, picture turn weird as it gradually whitened to full white screen only.
No response from the keys or screen with the exception of a long power button press to recover. This occurred a few times since the original event (maybe 3) with the last one happening while plugging it back in for some juice for the return today.
Keeping this up to date in case others run across the same funkyness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the "try a different battery" story too. Conveniently my wife also has the I777 as well, so tried hers. No joy for me. After that, rma was approved. Good luck!
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
It ain't the battery man. The symptoms you described fit perfectly with a fried micro usb port.
If you haven't set the flashcounter off, and your phone has the AT&T boot logo, then you're good to go as far as exchanging it goes. DO IT UNDER WARRANTY AND NOT INSURANCE. This is the **** quality of the usb connecter, not user caused.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
I doubt it too, since the original event involved the AM unplugging from the charger. I always check the Next Amazon app, 1st thing.
I can honestly say that:
The phone has absolutely never been dropped.
The USB cable nor port has never been stressed, tweaked nor twisted.
Never used the phone with the cable attached.
Neither the phone nor the Taurus gunmetal case have a single scratch.
The phone has never been close to water, save for the obligatory post shower, AM, moist towel screen wipe (ok.... too much info).
I think I had 137 apps on this thing until the 1st event last week. In those original two months I've had maybe 5 force closes or other events. The force is definitely strong in this one!
I hope they forget the "new" battery when the time comes for the full swap?
As always, thanks for everyones help. I'll post this through beyond conclusion for the rest of us.
Definitely the USB port is screwed. I'm on my third phone cuz of this issue. First guy at best buy said it was probably because I wasn't using stock launcher. Whatever. Second replacement was easier, just a young girl who never even looked at my phone, and just gave me a new one. I did go to a different best buy second time to avoid possibly getting another phone from a bad batch. I've posted on other threads on this issue about the fact that this problem might be caused by the lack of a cover over the USB port. Maybe i'm wrong, but it seems to easy for junk to get in there. If you can't flash back to stock via computer, you can try mobile Odin, however I ended up soft bricking my phone trying to run the stock Odin one click via drop box through mobile Odin. Don't know if file didn't completely DL through drop box, but I couldn't fix soft brick since I couldn't connect phone to comp using the USB port. Long story short, my advice, flash stock while you still can, and keep it that way cuz the problem most likely won't go away.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Additional info:
I performed a factory data reset (from the settings screen) prior to re-loading the unbrick/return to stock ROM. Also wiped all three memory areas prior to the rom.
Last night the Driving mode Icon and V-Lingo kept popping back up as if I were connected to a car adapter. I have no use for either as I have no car adapter yet (was at home). No cable was attached at the time and the phone was sleeping. This occurred a half dozen times or so.
I also randomly receive the USB connected icon despite having nothing connected to the phone. Says MTP-Initialization.
Odin 3 worked yesterday without any issue. Droid explorer also appears to work but Kies has refused to connect since the event, even with the New years update. The Win7 pc randomly recognizes the phone. Sometimes it's ok, but mostly it does not show up at all with the pc saying "USB device not recognized...".
With USB Debugging turned on, Kies says:
"Reconnect the device in Samsung Kies (PC Studio) mode.Current mode not supported by Kies."
I switched USB debugging off 1st thing this morning and it looks like Kies USB is working ok now.
Kies Air works like a champ.
Still think the USB Port is dorked. Probably the USB controller chip as I don't think I have any physical looseness. I really wish USB connectors were longer and deeper with screwed attachments to the motherboard in addition to the soldering.
Correct me if I am wrong here, but I thought that the "Driving / V-Lingo Mode" is Hardware triggered and it is not possible to trigger this mode with any software. At least that is the impression I got by reading the car cable connection cable discussions.
More fuel for the bad USB port fire?
Since the multiple wipes and return to stock, I do not think I've had an event from sleeping to hard crash / reboot required.
Still having wake-ups and spurious driving mode activation's both plugged in and unplugged. This may or may not be accompanied by the V-Lingo, terms prompt.
Prior to going back when the replacement battery fails to improve things....
Can I kill / Delete everything on the phones internal SD memory?
Not thinking,.. I still had the Titanium Backup directory along with Clockwork Mod etc. still on the phone when I brought the phone to the service center. Had they checked the phone directory, I could have lost warranty, etc.
Any other directories I should look for?
Just Realized I had not stated my Hardware Level.
Model: SAMSUNG-SGH-I777
Android Version: 2.3.6
Baseband Version: I777UCKK6
Kernel: 2.6.35.7
Build No. GINGERBREAD.UCKK6
Still getting spurious wakes with the USB port thinking:
It's connected to a PC.
It's connected to the car
or V-Lingo launches thinking I'm about to take a trip.
All of these occur with nothing connected at all, and typically the phone is sleeping. Still have not had a repeat Hard crash since the wipes and return to stock.
Do we have enough of a known hardware history here to know / avoid certain builds?
No. Not much effort has been put into figuring the faulty USB port out. Entropy and I even hashed it out in Q&A, both of us thinking it might have been the software. Truth is, you'll probably find more info in the international SGS II community than here, as more were sold, and our SGH I777 was discontinued only a month or two after being brought to the market.
Because it hasn't been reported on much, no one has thought to start observing the hardware for faults. You should consider doing so - I can tell you some information on my phone model later, after I remove the battery and such. Maybe shoot GTX or Entropy a PM to ask them for tips on identifying different hardware models and state why you're interested. As I said, I'll post my info on my new replacement, and observe it to see if the same problem occurs as it did in the last one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
Here's a link to the thread I started when mine went tango uniform:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1369647
I mentioned at one point about looking at device serial numbers to attempt to track bad hardware, but I'm not sure if that info is safe to post online when not coupled with device imei. I would think it is safe, but not sure.
Unfortunately I don't know if I can track down the info on my defective phone now, since it has been gone for several weeks.
Also: I was under the impression that the i777 had in fact NOT been discontinued, only not stocked in COR stores in LTE markets. I'd be interested in documentation on the discontinuation if you can provide it...
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
Wow, your thread has quite a few similarities.
With the exception of the ROM selections, the device responses appear to mimic my own dead on. I was on "update-unnamed-v1.0.4-full" when the issue reared its head. Jumped to v2.0.1 to see if it helped, but again, I seriously doubt this issue is ROM related.
I'm still waiting for the "overnight-ed" battery.
I expect it will arrive tomorrow. With any luck I can grab it from home at lunch and charge it at the office. Put an effort into trying it at least.
That pushes my eventual return out till Wednesday evening / Thursday morning. I'll be sure to get the serial number data from it before it goes back.
Would it be insecure of me to post the old serial number data after the exchange?
I'm wondering if charging device, cable or PC could have had something to do with the failure. Pretty sure the cable was stock, but the plug may have been a logitech. This arrangement had been used nightly since launch date, so I doubt it.
Electronic chips can do some funny things. I'm fairly certain the port itself is still firmly attached.
As always, thanks for everybody's help.
I did the OTA ICS update about a week ago and everything has been great so far. Today, my phone started acting up a bit, but it's an issue that has came and went all day.
Half of the time I tough the screen, it's like it registers it as 1 huge vertical click. For example, if I open the app page and try to flick through pages, every app in that column opens. If I try to type, it hits other keys in that column as well (IE backspace erases 1 character and puts a p in its place).
I tried wiping the cache & davlik cache, rebooting, checking running apps for anything that could be causing it, but nothing seems to be working. If it starts acting normal, it's only temporary. I'm not sure how well droid antiviruses work, but the avast one was supposed to have over 90% detection so I installed that but the scan came up clean. I used CWM to make backups before the jump to ICS, and after (after restoring apps with titanium backup). I made another backup and restored to right after I updated to ICS to see if the issue is still there, and it is.
I am currently restoring my pre-ICS backup. If the issue is there too, i'll try a factory reset. In the mean time, has anyone else had this issue or have any thoughts on how to fix it?
Schwaka said:
I did the OTA ICS update about a week ago and everything has been great so far. Today, my phone started acting up a bit, but it's an issue that has came and went all day.
Half of the time I tough the screen, it's like it registers it as 1 huge vertical click. For example, if I open the app page and try to flick through pages, every app in that column opens. If I try to type, it hits other keys in that column as well (IE backspace erases 1 character and puts a p in its place).
I tried wiping the cache & davlik cache, rebooting, checking running apps for anything that could be causing it, but nothing seems to be working. If it starts acting normal, it's only temporary. I'm not sure how well droid antiviruses work, but the avast one was supposed to have over 90% detection so I installed that but the scan came up clean. I used CWM to make backups before the jump to ICS, and after (after restoring apps with titanium backup). I made another backup and restored to right after I updated to ICS to see if the issue is still there, and it is.
I am currently restoring my pre-ICS backup. If the issue is there too, i'll try a factory reset. In the mean time, has anyone else had this issue or have any thoughts on how to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should have known that was a terrible idea, trying to restore it to the pre-ICS backup bricked it, but I got it back up and running on a fresh install of ICS, but the problem is still there. Sad to say, but it's likely the phone if nobody else is having this issue. I'll get it restored to my latest backup and unroot it so I have a functional phone until Verizon can do something about it. I'll keep this thread updated so if anyone else has a similar issue, they have an idea of what to do.
Flash ics again. The problem you reported happens when you try to use ur razf while charging right?
Cheers
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
pedrotorresfilho said:
Flash ics again. The problem you reported happens when you try to use ur razf while charging right?
Cheers
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that you mention it, yes. I thought it was doing it while not plugged in as well, but it hasnt done it all day. I plugged it in to test it, and it immediately started happening.
Are you using the original charger? We purchased an "oem" charger that makes all of our Androids go crazy. But nothing happens with other OS. I am aware it is a voltage issue though.
From RAZR by Tapatalk
g_mosh said:
Are you using the original charger? We purchased an "oem" charger that makes all of our Androids go crazy. But nothing happens with other OS. I am aware it is a voltage issue though.
From RAZR by Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having that problem with the original OEM charger..but I don't care since I never use my phone while its charging
g_mosh said:
Are you using the original charger? We purchased an "oem" charger that makes all of our Androids go crazy. But nothing happens with other OS. I am aware it is a voltage issue though.
From RAZR by Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep the original charger at home and take the charger from a previous android phone (1A charger) to work. I put one in the top outlet and the other in the bottom just now to test it. The other charger acts up by the 3rd app page change, while the original went 30-40 without a single issue. This is definitely interesting!
eyriiii said:
I am having that problem with the original OEM charger..but I don't care since I never use my phone while its charging
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where I work now I have about an hour of work and 7 hours of doing nothing which is spent playing games/web browsing. My battery is usually down to 5-10% by the time I get off if it doesn't die. So, I started taking my charger and after its down to 10% I plug it in and continue what I was doing.
I can vouch for the wacky touchscreen issues while the phone is plugged in to a charger! It can be a huge pain in the ass at times.
Same problem here
Same problem here with the touch screen. Usually, it starts happening after the phone has been charging a little while, like 20-30 minutes.
I can unplug it, replug it, whatever, from that moment, the problem remains and it is really anoying, especially to type text messages or anything else...
I''m using the OEM charger and cable.
Interesting fact, I remember I had the same issue with my Nexus One.
However, it seems I have no problem at all with my car charger, which is plugged directly to the phone (no usb cable needed), with one one these system that allow you to change the part plugged to the phone. The brand is energizer. :good:
My girlfriend's Note started acting weird. When she plugs in the charger it randomly stops and starts, sometimes for periods of seconds, sometimes minutes. We checked every combination of cord and charger (AC and car), and they all do the same. We both cleaned out the charger port, but that didn't have any effect. As a matter of fact, just sitting there motionless on the table it will still randomly start and stop charging.
I also noticed that the battery level seems to be off. At one point it was down to maybe 20% (in the yellow). I rebooted and it was up to 30 (in the green). I don't have any real numbers, it was only something I noticed. It's not rooted so I couldn't clear out the battery stats. Instead I drained it down to 0%, charged it all the way to full while it was off. It seemed to help for a day, but the problem came back later.
Could it be battery? Or phone? She has at&t insurance on it, and we're going to run to the (official) store. I just don't know if they send it back or replace it. She can't really be without a phone, so I'm hoping it's the battery (unless they want to replace the phone on the spot).
All we know is you have an at&t phone. What have you done to it?
same problem with Samsung Galaxy Note
Hi there everyone, i'm having the exact the same problem and my galaxy note is acting just like that- weird !!
About two months ago I updated to ICS and after that no issues, only once did it not charge as it was supposed to until i turned it off, removed the battery and put it back in.
Only now has it been charging like explained above -- the charging process as well as battery indications would be very inconsistent -- that is to say, it would charge for some time and then stop unexpectedly, whether turned on or off during the process.
Also, recently my PC would not recognize the phone on Windows 7 anymore, whereas before that it had been recognized seamlessly.
I've been using my galaxy note for about 8 months now, as well as about 2 months on ICS, and only now has there been this persistent issue.
Also, I did not use it inappropriately, rather with extreme care. I also got a phone case and have been using orginal software and hardware only, so the phone has been properly handled.
However, I have been using it pretty much, so it might be "wear and tear" in terms of battery usage, even more so, because it's been regularly charging and discharging in the car or at home, at the same time. Still, what surprises me is that my PC would not recognize it anymore even when it's turned on. Then, at times it would also go to "car mode", although it is not connected to the car dock. These issues have come up just now, as well, so i can imagine it might be a software or even port-related issue.
Unfortunately, at this moment I cannot take it to the store i bought it from to have them check the phone, so that's why I'm trying to figure out the problem myself. After all, if it's software or battery-related i might be able to fix it without having it replaced.
The phone is not branded and free to use with any carrier.
@ Face of Boe:
Did you go to the store then and have it replaced or was it in fact the battery, or did they (you) fix the problem otherwise?
Any help would be highly appreciated.
Chris
Try your preferred mobile repair shop first.
Face Of Boe said:
My girlfriend's Note started acting weird. When she plugs in the charger it randomly stops and starts, sometimes for periods of seconds, sometimes minutes. We checked every combination of cord and charger (AC and car), and they all do the same. We both cleaned out the charger port, but that didn't have any effect. As a matter of fact, just sitting there motionless on the table it will still randomly start and stop charging.
I also noticed that the battery level seems to be off. At one point it was down to maybe 20% (in the yellow). I rebooted and it was up to 30 (in the green). I don't have any real numbers, it was only something I noticed. It's not rooted so I couldn't clear out the battery stats. Instead I drained it down to 0%, charged it all the way to full while it was off. It seemed to help for a day, but the problem came back later.
Could it be battery? Or phone? She has at&t insurance on it, and we're going to run to the (official) store. I just don't know if they send it back or replace it. She can't really be without a phone, so I'm hoping it's the battery (unless they want to replace the phone on the spot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this exact same problem a couple weeks ago...it all started one day at work when I had my phone plugged in (as I usually did if it was in one place for more than 5 minutes), but after turning on my screen for the the first time in an hour or so, I noticed that it hadn't charged at all! The indicator at the top didn't even show that it was plugged in.
Figuring it was just some kind of little glitch, I unplugged it, blew inside the charge port as well as the cable (old Nintendo habits die hard lol). Well as I went to plug it back in, I realized that NOW the indicator showed it was "charging", and my phone had gotten super hot in just the 30ish seconds it took me to blow the port and cable (heh.)
So obviously I freaked out and immediately shut it down, pulled the back, and removed the battery to let the two pieces calm down and make nice - before ultimately putting it back together and booting up after 15 minutes or so.
So the good news was that the "reverse charge" issue was gone...but the bad news was, the charge activity started acting literally word-for-word like your girlfriend's. Intermittent charging when it was sitting still, not charging at all for a period of time, losing more battery than it was gaining while it was plugged in and the screen was OFF...so yeah, it sucked. I did notice that I could push the cord back while it was plugged in and it would stay charging, but obviously I can't sit in one spot holding my phone for 5 hours a day - and that stopped working after a few tries anyway.
I spent countless hours on the internet, googling different phrases to try and find similar instances of this happening - but to no avail. Everyone's story was just a little different...and pretty much everything I found outside of XDA* was written by people over in England who dropped their N7000 in the snow, causing the charge port to be corroded. The conclusion from everything else I found regarding this issue for the i717 was essentially always "the only way you can fix this is to get a new phone, but you're screwed because this glitch causes the phone to look like it has water damage and therefore renders it ineligible for manufacturer warranty claim or even insurance claims".
To make matters worse, not only was my phone effectively unchargeable, but it was discharging at an absolutely absurd rate. I'm talking approximately 20% every TEN MINUTES!
So I got desperate (it's Sunday by now)...all of the cell phone repair places were closed where I live, but I was able to do some searching and found this guy that was surprisingly available at the AT&T store closest to my house. That kept me alive until Monday, when I was able to take it in to the guy who I've been going to ever since the iPhone days (he is FANTASTIC). So he looks at it, takes it apart, and in about 5 minutes he tells me that the small little strip where my charge port attaches to the mother board (or whatever) had a lot of cracks running across it that were causing it to short-out. He said that it's a very common problem with the AT&T Galaxy Note, I guess due to them using a pretty cheap part in that regard. This obviously explained the intermittent charging, the brief "reverse charge", and even the battery drain (if the motherboard was shorting out).
So what did he do?
Replaced the little strip that connects the charge port to the motherboard...took him half an hour...cost me $25. Advised me that, when I plug my phone in from now on, to try as hard as possible to keep the phone still and not move it around. So at least in my case, it was NOT the battery. If you'd rather be cautious and not take the phone into a store if you can avoid it, you can probably get a replacement battery online for just a few bucks and at least eliminate that.
So the moral of the story is: DO NOT try to take the phone in to AT&T store or deal with your warranty/insurance until you take it in to a decent repair place and have them take a look at it.
Hopefully this helps...I'm sure you are wanting (like I was) a software solution, but it is what it is. And just curious, did your girlfriend have any similar "reverse-charge" instances like I described above?
tl;dr: The problem is the charging port, not the battery. Should be an easy and inexpensive (<$50) fix at a legitimate cell phone repair location.
*The silver lining in this whole thing was that it caused me to stumble upon this forum...so I went from stock ROM, stock everything (before my charge port issue) to having flashed about one ROM per day over the last 5 days because I've been so interested in the entire world of customization that I only discovered after seeing a thread with "Gubment Cheeze" in the title (who WOULDN'T at least look at that to see what's up??) here on XDA and starting to read. I've been a 24/7 lurker ever since
I read the last post by cpa poke and I must say it's quite risky to actually have a phone repaired by an unlicensed dealer/repair shop, because you'll cause any warranty left on the item to be effectively void.
I do know it is tempting for any of us to get our phone fixed as soon as possible, but then I think we should keep it cool and try to work out what else we can to do to make it work -- even though it might be temporarily -- until we can return it properly, as according to warranty indications.
Any of you trying to get a "repair fix" might want to consider that it may well be rather short-lived, because the same problem could persist for some reason -- that your repair shop did not recognize. If ultimately you have to get it repaired again, your ("fantastic") repair guy might then not be able to solve the problem and at that point any warranty claim would be quite certainly rejected, either (because of any previous unauthorized modifications to the device).
As far as I'm concerned, I have been testing my device with different chargers, currently it's charging consistently while turned off.
Also, I don't think I have had any of the "battery drainage" problem while charging, rather the battery indications were rather unreliable.
Then, I have read the problem could be solved by changing the battery. So I'll see if that makes a difference as soon as I get a replacement.
Another option will be to factory reset the item. I'll try that as soon as I get a backup of my phone data.
To all of you who are stuck with this issue I suggest you try some of the above: different chargers, removing and reinserting your battery, or else a battery replacement, factory reset.
Also try and leave the phone for some time and try to charge it then while turned off -- that's how I got my phone to charge again (until now), and according to the battery symbol it's almost fully charged -- the issue might still persist after that, but maybe it'll work until I can fix it otherwise, or get a replacement. After all, if it's been handled properly we should expect to get it replaced.
chris110284 said:
I read the last post by cpa poke and I must say it's quite risky to actually have a phone repaired by an unlicensed dealer/repair shop, because you'll cause any warranty left on the item to be effectively void.
I do know it is tempting for any of us to get our phone fixed as soon as possible, but then I think we should keep it cool and try to work out what else we can to do to make it work -- even though it might be temporarily -- until we can return it properly, as according to warranty indications.
Any of you trying to get a "repair fix" might want to consider that it may well be rather short-lived, because the same problem could persist for some reason -- that your repair shop did not recognize. If ultimately you have to get it repaired again, your ("fantastic") repair guy might then not be able to solve the problem and at that point any warranty claim would be quite certainly rejected, either (because of any previous unauthorized modifications to the device).
As far as I'm concerned, I have been testing my device with different chargers, currently it's charging consistently while turned off.
Also, I don't think I have had any of the "battery drainage" problem while charging, rather the battery indications were rather unreliable.
Then, I have read the problem could be solved by changing the battery. So I'll see if that makes a difference as soon as I get a replacement.
Another option will be to factory reset the item. I'll try that as soon as I get a backup of my phone data.
To all of you who are stuck with this issue I suggest you try some of the above: different chargers, removing and reinserting your battery, or else a battery replacement, factory reset.
Also try and leave the phone for some time and try to charge it then while turned off -- that's how I got my phone to charge again (until now), and according to the battery symbol it's almost fully charged -- the issue might still persist after that, but maybe it'll work until I can fix it otherwise, or get a replacement. After all, if it's been handled properly we should expect to get it replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree that taking it to a repair place should only be reserved for desperate/time sensitive situations, the only reason I chose that route over going through AT&T or an insurance company was that, from everything I'd read, the symptoms alone would likely cause them to assume water damage - thus rendering the same scenario as if the 3rd party repair voided the warranty.
Im having the same problem with myGalaxy S3 today, random intermittent charging..
I Just took off the back cover a few minutes ago and found a little glob of water sitting above the charging port!! Aaah!!
Don't know how it got there, but going to let her dry out and see if it resolves itself.
info:
rooted S3 i9300
2 months old
ROM: Complex-D 2.1.3
Getting random freezes on this ROMfor a few days also, so going to flash a new rom and see if the problem persists
Is it me, or is this a retardly common issue with i717s? I've had this same issue twice. I replaced the charger flex board when I bought the phone in the first place. And now it hasn't been a month and the flex board seems like it's out again.
My phone had this issue and all I did was oder the charging port from parts4repair.com and it cleared the issue up
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Are you using the Samsung charger for your phone? It seems you are over volted and burn your usb port.
rangercaptain said:
Are you using the Samsung charger for your phone? It seems you are over volted and burn your usb port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed .....and another thought comes to mind..
Non-OEM charger tips, especially car dock chargers and desk chargers have port tips using different material thicknesses.
I am speculating here, but it's likely that the off sizing would produce intermittent charging problems or damage to the device.
Of course, the overcharging effect would certainly account for rapid flex cable burnouts.
Without the cables and a micrometer, impossible to know for sure.
OEM is certainly preferable....g
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA Premium HD app
srkrono said:
My phone had this issue and all I did was oder the charging port from parts4repair.com and it cleared the issue up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same about a month ago, when I got the phone. Now it's out again.
rangercaptain said:
Are you using the Samsung charger for your phone? It seems you are over volted and burn your usb port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know this was anything more than a myth. Though, I'm not sure this is my problem. I can charge the phone - for now - by putting the phone on my bedside table and putting a small weight along the length of the cable so it holds the jack at an angle against the port.
I know I'm gonna get flamed for that last statement.
Perhaps someone can help. I've been trawling the net for answers to this issue, and have checked out a number of helpful threads, but it was something that still kept reoccurring for me. Today is the final straw - I just cannot get my phone to charge. I plugged it in last night at 40%, and after charging all night, and most of the day (save for when I unplugged it to restart, or remove battery), it's at 5% and falling.
Edit: After about 9 hours of intermittently restarting/removing battery repeatedly it's charging again. Didn't do anything new, and it'll doubtlessly repeat this fiasco again, as it tends to do.. So any suggestions are still more than welcome.
Issues I'm having:
Refuses to enter deep sleep - hangs at 384mhz.
Doesn't charge - even when shut down and plugged in.
///Keeps turning wifi on. (This is a new one that it's just started doing today. Enabling airplane mode does nothing. It just turns wifi back on.) - Edit: got it to stop doing this - didn't do anything other than restarting and removing battery a lot.
Things I've tried:
Silencing all the alerts.
Factory reset.
Uninstalling some apps I thought may have been doing it.
Disabling syncing.
Not using wifi.
Not plugging anything into the headphone jack.
Only plugging in/removing charger while the phone is unlocked.
Removing battery and waiting a few minutes.
Restarting repeatedly.
Other considerations:
I haven't changed anything. Stock ICS, updated OTA. It's under warranty.
Using original charger, and have never used any other chargers.
Side question - can anyone confirm that there are 4 pins in the charger, despite there being 5 indentations for them? I mean, in the bit that plugs into the phone. I know I saw a thread somewhere that detailed some info about the chargers, but I can't find it, and I'm wondering if my charger is off.
Any help or suggestions would be fantastic. This thing is frustratingly unreliable. I never know if I'm going to wake up to a useable phone or not.
Ugh ...
Thats a long list of broken features..
Did the phone get upgraded to ICS via kies or OTA ?
Is sounds like a bad firmware flash to me.
So if you are able, and the device will connect properly to PC, a kies restore may be in order here.
Otherwise, a warranty exchange is on the table as well ...g
gregsarg said:
Ugh ...
Thats a long list of broken features..
Did the phone get upgraded to ICS via kies or OTA ?
Is sounds like a bad firmware flash to me.
So if you are able, and the device will connect properly to PC, a kies restore may be in order here.
Otherwise, a warranty exchange is on the table as well ...g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA, and there didn't seem to be any issues with it. It began a few days after I upgraded to ICS, and as far as I know, I can't revert to Gingerbread without rooting (pardon - phone noob here), so will a kies restore actually help? Or would that be to try to reinstall ICS? (In case this is relevant, it's not consistent - sometimes I'll have up to a week with no problems.)
I'm keeping the warranty exchange as a last resort because it did work perfectly fine on Gingerbread. (Kind of hoping JellyBean will fix things..)
At any rate, thank you for replying and for your suggestion! I will dig around in Kies since that wasn't a route I've tried yet. Right now, it seems to be charging again so I'm going to let it get some power first. (And in case anyone is having similar problems, I didn't do anything to make it start charging other than what I've been trying on and off for the past 9 hours - just restarting, powering off, powering on, removing battery, etc repeatedly.)
Kies will push ICS to the device again ..but will often correct any data corruption from an OTA flash.
They were not always good downloads.
Kies will want to emergency restore the device, causing data loss.
It sounds like you may want to wait a bit longer, but I can't say how long on a JB update ..g
gregsarg said:
Kies will push ICS to the device again ..but will often correct any data corruption from an OTA flash.
They were not always good downloads.
Kies will want to emergency restore the device, causing data loss.
It sounds like you may want to wait a bit longer, but I can't say how long on a JB update ..g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha, understood. Thanks for the warning re: data loss. I back up regularly but will double check that everything is saved before fiddling. Would try tonight, but it's gotten up to 20% and seems to have decided that that's the end of charging..
I believe, for my carrier, early Jan, so I may wait it out. (Though last time it kept getting bumped forward for a good few months.)
Sounds good ...
If you need further help, just revisit this thread.
We have a good bunch of note users here, that are happy to help out ....g
Even though it's been a long time, I hope that necroing the thread isn't too big a taboo. I thought I'd update this thread for any other poor sod who may be looking. (Not that my issues are over...) And if anyone has any more suggestions.. well, awesome.
I was unable to get Kies to actually connect to my phone, so the suggested solution did not work. After a few days of fighting Kies, I decided to just wait for JB. After JB, I was okay for a while, but then the draining started up again. This time I noticed that I had 4 processes running and eating up a ton of CPU. I don't recall what they were off the top of my head, but I think Media Storage, Download Manager, DRM Protected Content Storage and yet another. Force closing any one of them stopped them all, and stopped the drain, but they'd start up again. I'm not sure what triggered them, and a bit of digging showed that they are actually useful processes that I can't fully block, so.. for a bit I'd just check what processes were running if I noticed a quick drain, or used an app that alerted me when the phone was awake despite screen being turned off (not always reliable, sadly.) I couldn't catch it all the time, however, so that was really not useful. By the time I caught it, I'd have lost maybe 20% battery.
I read that those processes may be caused by a corrupted file in the internal "SD" or the external SD card. I hard reset, formatted the internal memory, removed the external and after that booted into recovery mode and cleared the cache, just in case.
Last night, after all this, the phone was still being flaky - holding at 1% on the charger for hours. As an added bonus, it now seems to run 4G incessantly, whereas previously it would only activate if I had an MMS coming in. (No data plan, I just have MMS capabilities.) I haven't even looked into that, because I'm just so sick of it all that I'm going to be trying to root today and see where that gets me.
Hopefully that will help anyone else who may be facing this..
Rooted (without screwups, woo), formatted internal memory, removed external micro SD card. Reinstalled my more "vital" apps, and got rid of some of the Rogers bloatware. Phone ran beautifully for a few days, then this morning I noticed battery drain and Media Storage was running at 50% CPU. Stopped it, and the drain stopped.
I didn't add my photos to the phone yet, except for a few albums that sync from Picasa Web Albums. I don't have any music or videos on there.
At this point, I'm debating a custom ROM but I have no idea if that will actually help with this issue? I'm a total noob when it comes to playing around with my phone, and it's only through sheer stubbornness that I gathered up the courage to root after weeks of researching. Another option is trying to find an app that just alerts me if one of those processes starts running so I don't have to keep checking what processes are active on my phone like some junkie. Does anything like that exist out there? I have a battery app that alerts me if the phone is awake with the screen off, but it doesn't always catch it - usually fails, in fact.
At this point, I'd love some help and feedback..