Some of our #GalaxyNote4 owners may not yet be familiar with troubleshooting a random reboot issue so this is one of the issues covered in this post. If you want to look for other Note 4 troubleshooting, kindly visit this page.

1. Galaxy Note 4 keeps shutting down by itself
2. Galaxy Note 4 freezing and slow performance issues
3. Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi not working properly
4. Problems after updating Galaxy Note 4 to Android 6.0.1

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page, or you can install our free app from Google Play Store.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

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Problem #1: Galaxy Note 4 keeps shutting down by itself

I have owned my previous Note 4 just over 1 year now. All was working great until a few weeks ago when the phone would just die. I did not notice at first that the battery was not drained I just assumed.  When it started happening more often I took note that it was not the battery as it was always over 40% or more  when the phone shut off. I would attempt to turn it back on without plugging in but it would get held up on the Sprint logo. Once I plug in it will turn back on and show more than 40% battery power.  If I did not try to turn it back on without plugging in first it would show the battery level at 40% plus.  I would then turn the phone back on.  The phone would not be hot when this occurs, It happen doing different things like talking, texting, taking photos/videos, or surfing, Facebook etc.

When I took it to the Sprint store they tested the battery and stated it was great. They told me the phone cache was nearly full so they deleted and stated it did not occur again for the duration of the two hours it was in their possession. I do not know if they utilized the phone or left it sitting there and I do not know if it was plugged in.  What I do know if that it occurred in the techs hands with in 5 min of my arrival when she was showing me how to clear the cache.  At that moment she stated she would order me a new phone. The weekend was horrible I stayed tethered to an outlet. Again just doing what I have done with my phone for the past year. I came from a Note 3 so there was plenty of stuff transferred from the N3.

Monday late day I received the new Note 4 with the prior battery. I get home and started adding Gmail back to the phone and it shuts off.  I plugged in and turned back on it had 28% battery… hmm not sure what to think it is a “NEW” phone.  Ok continue to set my phone up not yet adding any apps besides Google when the phone shuts off again, this time over 50% battery. Now I am not happy. I continue to add apps to the phone while plugged in hoping it is the battery and not the phone.  It occurs again this morning while checking email, texting and looking at Facebook.  I went to the store this afternoon, they are now ordering me a battery to check that although they tell me if that does not fix it then perhaps I have something in the phone that is causing it and they need to wipe the phone.

OK any other suggestions?  I use my phone for business and really need it to function at its most optimum…still tethered. — MarZia

Solution: Hi MarZia. There are a number of factors you must consider in fixing a random reboot issue. We know how frustrating it can be to experience this problem and it can take some time and effort to isolate what the true cause is. Below are some of the things that you must check to identify the reason for the problem.

Check for problem apps

Based on your problem description above, we noted that you haven’t actually considered looking into the aspect that an app may be to blame. Actually, a troubleshooting for this issue should start by considering if a bad app is causing the trouble. If you have plenty of third party apps, the first thing that you must do is to boot the phone in safe mode. While in this environment, your phone will prevent third party apps from running. If the issue fails to occur, that’s an indication that one of your apps is indeed the problem.

Kindly follow the steps on how to boot your phone in safe mode:

• Turn off the phone completely.
• Press and hold the Power key and the Volume Down key.
• When the phone starts to boot, release the Power key but continue holding the Volume Down key until the phone finished restarting.
• Safe mode will be display at the lower left corner; you may release the Volume Down key now.

Disabled services or system apps

If you are fond of tweaking or turning off apps from time to time, chances are you have unintentionally disabled critical system apps or services. Make sure that you check under Settings>Applications Manager and check if there are items under Disabled tab. Try to turn everything back on under this tab then restart your device to see the difference.

Check if the operating system is corrupted

Sometimes, firmware updates can cause incompatibility or even corrupt the OS itself. Although the possibility of a corrupt OS more commonly happens after rooting or installing custom ROM or OS, it can also sometimes occur for stock ones. If you modified your phone’s software in any way, we recommend that you revert back to stock. However, if your Note 4 still runs that carrier-provided Android version, it would be best if you do a factory reset. Doing so will restore all phone settings back to default. Make sure that you create a backup of your personal data like photos, vides, contacts, etc before you proceed. If you haven’t tried this procedure on your Note 4 before, just follow these steps:

• Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
• Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
• When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
• When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Volume Up key.
• Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
• Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
• When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
• The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

In case a third party app is causing the trouble, make sure to observe the phone for 24 hours after a factory reset without installing any app.

Battery may be loosely connected or not working properly

If you noticed, the first three procedures are meant to check if the cause of the random reboot issue is software in nature. If nothing seems to change after doing all of them, you can assume that the issue is bad hardware. At times, the issue can also be caused by loose battery so make sure that this is not the case by inserting paper at the bottom part of the battery to make it fit more snugly it its slot. If that won’t make a difference, simply use another known working battery.

Malfunctioning hardware

Finally, should the issue continues, it can be safely assumed that a part/s may not be working as expected at this time. A failing processor, for example, can     create an incomplete process in processing data leading to a bottleneck in the flow of information somewhere. Some bad hardware can also lead to overheating, which can, in turn, result to a full shutdown intermittently. Overheating may or may not be an indicator of a bad hardware. In order to prevent further damage, most electronic devices are designed to shut their system down automatically once internal temperature reaches a certain level.

If you think that a hardware failure is to blame for the problem, getting a phone replacement may be your best option right now.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note 4 freezing and slow performance issues

Hi. Since about Friday, 22nd April, 4 days ago, my phone has not been working as it should; it is very slow to respond in opening apps, typing on the keyboard, and will often just freeze for about 20 seconds when I’m on apps doing things, like WhatsApp typing a message, or SnapChat loading snaps and typing to friends. Sometimes even, it will just turn off and then turn back on again. I have tried deleting most recent apps to see if it made a difference, and it hasn’t. I have then cleared the cache partition, which has also not made much difference, although, this does seem to have reduced the amount of times my phone just randomly turns off and on again.

I can’t remember exactly the date, but within the last week my phone has had the update 5.1.1, which from my recollection, there was no problem with my phone straight after this update, its only now I’m having the issues. Ultimately , from looking online, it looks like the next best option is a factory reset. However ideally I’m trying to avoid this as i don’t want to lose personal data. Can you please tell me what actually does get deleted when you factory reset though? Will I lose all my contacts info, apps, photos (including ones on external SD card)? What do i need to do now, in order to be able to get these things back after the reset? — Charlotte

Solution: Hi Charlotte. We highly recommend that you perform a factory reset. This procedure will reset all phone and operating system settings back to default. If the cause of the problem is due to a corrupted firmware glitch, a factory reset should fix it.

This procedure will erase everything kept in the phone’s internal storage so make sure that you create a copy of your photos, videos, important documents, contacts, etc to a computer before you do it. Factory reset won’t affect the SD card though so you can safely leave the contents there.

In order to restore your personal data back to the phone afterwards, simply connect the phone to your computer and copy the files back to the gallery or documents folder. To backup your contacts, we recommend that you use Smart Switch.

Don’t worry about your apps as a full list of them is kept in your Google account. After a factory reset, simply open the Google Play Store and re-download them.

Problem #3: Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi not working properly

Won’t stay connected to Wi-Fi. Anytime that I try to do anything on Wi-Fi it just sets there and spins. I can’t send text like if I’m on a call and get a text and try to respond, it gives me an error message and fails. Everything else in the house has no problems with our Wi-Fi. I will be trying to do sometime while connected to Wi-Fi and it tells me that it’s trying to find network.

I have taken my phone into the Sprint store several times and called Sprint Costumer center at least 5 times…they tell me that it’s a Samsung problem so I then have talked to Samsung 3 time and they tell me that it’s Sprint…they have tried to factory reset my phone, they have done the ##72786# which pretty much just runs through the update again and still have the same issues. There seems to be more problems everyday…I pay for services that I can’t even use any apps that try to connect through Wi-Fi, it will connect and stay connected for at the most 15 minutes then lose the connection. — Angie

Solution:  Hi Angie. How does Wi-Fi performance work after a factory reset? Did you observe how the phone works after a factory reset without installing any apps? If you can’t answer these questions right now, simply do another factory reset and observe the phone for at least 24 hours. If Wi-Fi continues to remain spotty even without any apps installed, that’s an indicator that the problem may be a bad hardware. Your best choice in this case is to have the phone replaced.

On the other hand, if Wi-Fi works fine after wiping the phone of apps via factory reset, make sure to remove apps until you have eliminated the problem.

Problem #4: Problems after updating Galaxy Note 4 to Android 6.0.1

There are 4 problems that started immediately after updating to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow on my Galaxy Note 4.

1st is whenever I restart the phone, its display turns off after 3 seconds even before the keyboard could pop up to type the Password. I have to press power button again & after at least 3 attempts I could get to type the password. Earlier it was possible to unlock the phone with Fingerprint scanner after restart now I have type Password only to unlock.

2nd phone freezes & even if I press power button several times display remains off but most of the activity keeps running in the background like Music Playing, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi/Mobile Data, SMS & other notifications. Only solution is to remove battery & restart.

3rd Problem is its battery is draining way faster than it was on Lollipop version.

4th problem is when I turn on Power Saving mode the notification area gets grey background which looks very ugly above the colorful wallpaper. — Sagar

Solution: Hi Sagar. The first three issues may be fixed by doing these things:

• wiping the cache partition
• doing a factory reset
• updating all apps

The cache partition is a directory where Android save files used for apps to run smoother and faster. If you’ve noticed, apps usually load slower during the first time you run it since installation. But the next time you open it, it would be faster and even smoother. Of course, not everybody can notice that.

Wiping the cache partition is one way to get the phone out of Safe Mode or from being stuck on the logo during boot up. This procedure will delete all files stored in the cache partition. This is how it’s done on the Note 4:

• Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
• Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
• When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
• When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
• Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
• When the wiping of the cache partition is finished, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the power key.

The steps on how to do a factory reset is covered above.

Finally, if nothing changes, make sure that you only install apps compatible with Android Marshmallow. If you are not sure if a third party app is not yet updated to work with Android 6.0, uninstall it or contact its developer for information.

Your fourth concern is a design issue and not a problem at all. There’s nothing that we can do about that. Don’t use Power Saving mode is you don’t want how the screen looks.

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