Random and frequent reboots on FP OS 18.09.2

Hi all,
I´m posting this because I haven´t seen anyone writing about my specific issue. Ever since the latest update (Fairphone OS 18.09.2, less than a month ago), my phone has become quite unreliable, it reboots randomly and frequently, no matter what it´s doing, or not doing, regardless of the apps running, Wifi on, wifi off, flight mode, no flight mode, …
Last time I had this issue (two years ago, December 2016), I ended up having to send it back (it was considered DOA, dead on arrival, I had bought it a year before) because of a hardware failure preventing basic operability, after a long period of testing, emailing back and forth, I got it back, random reboots stopped being so frequent (considering the previous state, good enough, I guess).
I would say, and I sure hope, now it´s related to the update rather than a hardware issue, it would be too much of a coincidence, but you never know. Is this being taken into consideration? Is anyone else having this problem? Can´t rely on the phone now, imagine you´re expecting a call you won´t get, because the thing decided to reboot itself and you didn´t notice because you were not constantly staring at the contraption. Not functional.

3 Likes

This might relate to a “loose” battery, as was the case with my phone.
I would think so, especially as you have experienced this behaviour before the update.
If that’s the case, the solution is quite easy and satisfactory.
If have described it here:

2 Likes

Thanks for your quick reply, mate!
But nah, my phone´s battery frame is tight, carried out the test, no reboot.

1 Like

Hi,
I’ve the same issue since the update to 18.09.2 was done. Before the update the phone did not have this behavior.
It happens while using the phone (browsing / using apps) and while doing nothing (charging or not).

2 Likes

Hi
Same problem here.

1 Like

Hi,
I’ve encountered a same story here. I’ve rarely experienced this symptom before updating to 18.09.2. It seemed very good performance after update, then start encountering reboot once when recharging battery, then even worse in a middle of day, and very fast battery drain.
I’ve tried rebooting to safe mode, which seems working pretty well. So it seems the problems are on the software.
I’ve tried going Apps setting - then three dots on the upper right , reset app preferences. Then, tried one by one to clean each app’s cache and turn off background data. for those do not needed.

It seems better.
I’ve encountered once again a reboot when charging the battery, probably due to internal temperature rising (but never a problem before update), but it seems more stable by now.

2 Likes

After one day of observation, unfortunately this doesn’t solve the problem.
One restart during recharging battery in the night. Once again in the middle of the day leaving phone on my desk.

I’ve just found an option called “Data Saver” in the data usage setting, try to see if it changes something.

1 Like

I have exactly the same problem (reboots and quick battery drain)
First in spring 2018 - it ended up with changing the telephone by the support.
After that everything was fine - until the last update.
Now again random and frequently reboots and the battery is draining quickly.
The battery screen shows a consumption of 15% since last charging, but there are only 65% left.
I followed the battery guide, but it didn’t solve the problem.
Exactly like in spring.
Before the last update eyerything went well.
And now again the same problems, I had before the replacement.

Hi, I had the same problem, now I’ve got another battery, thanks for the help:)

Hi, my girlfriend’s FP2 started to reboot randomly too after the update to FP OS 18.09.02.

I also had several reboots of my FP2 (while charging in flight mode overnight) since I updated it to Nougat roughly a week ago. Had the same issue a few times (in 1.5 years) before the update but now it’s more often.

I follow up my own observation above:

  • in my case, reset app preferences / clear cache / stop background data traffic definitely improved the stability.
  • some older version app makes phone unstable.
  • using Apex Launcher or other 3rd party Launcher seems making phone unstable (but not so sure).
  • I’d say battery lifetime (I received my phone on April 2016, so more than 2 years old) is better on this OS, but overnight recharge make the phone rebooting. I’ve tried several different charger with different output ampere without any success. I’ve tried even in safe mode but again rebooted, so I’d rather think there’s a bug somewhere.

Hey,

I’ve got the same problem after the latest update! And I never had the problem before. So, a loose battery could not be the reason.
I am pretty sure the update causes the problem but I can’t find any rules that make the phone reboot itself.

Cheers,
Caro

Hi,
same problem, after last update phone doesnt swith off and reboots itself, battery goes quickly and while recharging not possible to turn phone on and phone gets really hot…

Hi folks
It´s been practically two weeks since this thread was opened, and unfortunately this problems doesn´t seem to be even close to being solved.

There´s several things I´d like to point out.

  • It seems quite clear that for most of us the problem is not hardware related. Even so, it´s wise, as @BertG mentions above, to take the test.
  • Concerning possible solutions, or rather palliative measures, @maskhat suggests things like resetting app preferences, cleaning each app´s cache and turning off background data. Personally, I tried the first two for a week, to no avail. I just turned off background data for most of the apps and I´ll see how it works and report on it.

Some stuff I have encountered:

  • Sometimes, after a random reboot, the screen doesn´t react to touch. Solution: Hold the power button for 20/30/whatever seconds.
  • Battery usage is indeed better than before the 18.09.2 update, as well as the response time of most of my apps, but…
  • Obviously, after having to go through a certain daily amount of reboots, the battery gets drained.
  • I might have found a pattern: Whenever I go for a run, it reboots at least twice (if not more) in a lapse of 30 to 45 minutes, sometimes it happens after just 5 minutes. This period is quite usage intensive, since I normally activate, GPS, data connection (sometimes) and bluetooth; regarding software, it´s got both the running and music app on, both updated to their latest versions. This kind of usage didn´t trigger any reboots before, now it´s the new normal.

My FP2 seems to be rebooting even more frequently, whatever the usage intensity is. As some people, as well as myself, have mentioned, the possibility of a reboot is likely when the phone is charging or just being idle, or when it´s being used. This last thing is what I´d like to reiterate, the issue is as much the amount of times it reboots throughout the day, as the moments it does: for me it´s quite a classic to see the alarm didn´t go off, because the phone is asking for the PIN (please don´t suggest disabling the PIN prompt, nor buying an alarm clock) when I wake up, fortunately/unfortunately I´m a light sleeper; the above mentioned problem while running (I know, first world problems, not really an issue) In any case, it goes and it may go off in circumstances where the level of annoyance could reach sky high rates, causing potential loss of data, important calls and whatnot. It´s a connectivity device that can not be relied on at this moment, because it just can not stay connected.

I´m happy to see that people from Fairphone are having this in mind, as they have included this thread in the Android 7 update: most annoying bugs, FAQ, etc thread, where, @pastaman, issues like not being able to turn on the phone while charging are acknowledged as known bugs. But it is still very bothersome. Hope the FP crew can get to a solution.

1 Like

The usual disclaimer applies: The forum is a community effort, and the moderators are volunteers from the community - so do note that we’re not the company. I do know, however, that there are a number of bug reports in the bug tracker, and that the Fairphone developers do read along there - so yes, they should be aware. If you want/need customer support, contactsupport is still the best way to go, but feel free to discuss here to see whether there are any common patterns.

3 Likes

Hi, I can report the same restart issue since the last update. The FP2 reboots between 2 and 6 times a day. In most cases when the phone is idle lying on the desk, it does not matter if the loading cable is plugged in or not. I can not really see a schema in the behaviour.

Hi, I have the same problem since uploading to FP OS 18.09.2. It goes off and reboots several times a day and at night - in various situations, running apps, phoning etc. I can not detect any pattern. Unfortunately I already saw the alarm didn´t go off, because the phone is asking for the PIN. My FP2 has become very unreliable … Shall I downgrade it to Marshmallow again and run the update anew?

Same problem as well. Already late for work once because the alarm didn’t go off :frowning:

Same here :frowning: I even got a new battery but no change. Almost every time the phone reboots it doesn’t recognize the two SIM cards I have, and one of them is less than an year old. I need to switch it off, remove the battery, switch on… twice or more before the phone can “see” the SIM. It already happened that it rebooted late at night when I needed to go home.