How To Fix Samsung Galaxy S3 That Does Not Turn On, Turns Off Randomly

Welcome to our focused troubleshooting series that deals with power related issues on the Samsung Galaxy S3. What we will be concentrating in particular are are issues regarding the device not turning on or randomly turning itself off. These are major issues that can render the phone unusable if it occurs quite often. If you own this particular model then I suggest you bookmark this page for your future reference.

In this installment of the troubleshooting series we will tackle five problem sent to us by our readers regarding these specific issues.

If you own a Galaxy S2 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to send us an email at [email protected]. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do send us an email try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.

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S3 Does Not Turn On From Sleep Mode

Problem: Hi DroidGuy. I have from the UK and have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that has recently started to play up. What happens is that when my phone goes into sleep mode you should be able to by pressing either the home key or power key wake the phone up so you are either at the home screen or the lock screen if you have a password set (number or pattern). Mine is set to wake up to a pattern password screen. For some reason when my phone goes into sleep mode, which mine is set at 15 seconds, my phone randomly sometimes does not wake up from sleep mode and I either take the battery out or hold the power button for the phone to restart and this also happens even if the phone is charging. I have also noticed that while the phone is in sleep mode the phone is still active, in the sense people can ring or message me but the phone will not make a sound or vibrate. Please can you help to identify what the issue can be so i can resolve it. I am running Android Version 4.3 and am currently on the latest firmware. If you require any further info please let me know. Regards

Solution: The first thing that comes in to mind is that a certain third party app may be causing this problem. To check if this is the case you should start your phone in Safe Mode.

• Turn the device off.
• Press and hold the Power key.
• When ‘Samsung Galaxy S III’ appears on the screen, release the Power key Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
• Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
• ‘Safe mode’ will display in the bottom left corner of the screen. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode.’

If the issue does not occur in this mode then there is a big possibility that an app is causing this. Find out what that app is and uninstall it.

If however the issue still persists then back up your phone data and do a factory reset.

• Turn off the device.
• Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
• When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
• Press Power button to select.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
• Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
• Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

S3 Turns Off Randomly

Problem: My battery seems to discharge more quickly now being 2 years old.   It will turn off when at any percentage below 30% randomly or go down to 5% you never know.   Then when I plug it in it initially shows no charge but will soon show about 1/3 charge.   Not sure why? Any ideas?

Solution: I believe it’s now time to replace your battery with  new one. Having been in service for more than two years it will now lose its capability to hold sufficient charge and will not perform a it used to.

S3 Does Not Turn On

Problem: Yes my wife has a Samsung galaxy s3 and out of the blue today it turned off well she thought it went dead let it charge for half an hour and it wouldn’t come back on so I said take the battery out put it back in and see. After doing that nothing happened but as soon as the battery touches the prongs on the phone the camera light flashes once. Every time you put the battery back in the light flashes but the phone will not come on. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Solution: Do you have another phone battery? if you have then try using it on your phone to check if the battery your phone is using has a problem.

If the issue still persist then attempt to enter the recovery mode by performing the steps listed below.

• Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
• When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.

If you can enter the recovery mode then proceed with wiping the cache partition of your phone.

• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
• Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
• Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
• With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.

If however you are not able to access the recovery mode then the problem may already be hardware related. Bing your phone to an authorized service center for checking.

S3 Turns Off Randomly

Problem: So im having a hard time with my phone.  My phone turns on but it doesn’t want to stay turn on.  It’s the second phone I went thru in 3 months now. Is there anyway how you would be able to help me with my phone?  Thank you so much. Hope to hear from you soon.

Solution: You should first eliminate any software related issues that may be causing this problem by performing a factory reset. Make sure to backup your phone data before proceeding.

• Turn off the device.
• Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
• When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
• Press Power button to select.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
• Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
• Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

If your phone still does not stay on then you should try to replace your phone battery with a new one as this may be causing the problem.

S3 Turns Off When Using Camera

Problem: when ever i go to camera to take a shot my t-mobile Samsung galaxy s3 shuts down automatically unless i put it on charge and when i re on it back before charging i have 1% battery. should i buy a new battery?

Solution:Try getting a new battery as the one you are currently using may be causing the problem.

If the problem persists even with the new battery then backup your phone data and do a factory reset

• Turn off the device.
• Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
• When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
• Press Power button to select.
• Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
• Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
• Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

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