Solutions to do when Galaxy S8 shuts down during a phone call [troubleshooting guide]

Some #GalaxyS8 owners have recently raised a curious issue about their device shutting down when receiving calls. Today’s troubleshooting article will address this issue. We also include a sample letter we received from one S8 user. Hopefully, our suggestions below will help.

Problem: Galaxy S8 shuts down on its own during a phone call

Hi There. About 2 months ago I started to notice an issue where my S8 will turn off during a phone call. I have not been able to figure out why. Sometimes I can have an hour phone call and it is fine, but then I will have it turn off on me after a 10 minute conversation. It seems that when it does happen it continues to happen at an increasing frequency (I wiped the cache partition, but that does not seem to help). Could it have to do with service or battery temperature? It happens both when have it charging and when it is not hooked up to a charger. Also, it have never turned off on me when I am doing anything but a phone call. I have closed all apps and run a wipe cache partition and only had my phone app open and it still turns off on me. I tried to detail everything I could, but let me know you need any more info. Thank you for your time. — Kevin

Solutions to do when Galaxy S8 shuts down during a phone call

Hi Kevin.  Your issue can be a product of a software glitch or a hardware malfunction. To know the cause and hopefully fix the issue, continue with our suggestions below.

Solution #1: Calibrate Android and Battery

After some elapsed time, Android can sometimes lose track of correct battery levels, which can then result to erratic battery behaviors. If you’ve noticed that your phone shuts down on its own even if the battery indicator has not reached 0% yet, that’s probably because Android is no longer detecting the true remaining power in the battery. In some cases, a randomly restarting device is also a sign of a battery misbehavior, which again, can be due to miscalibrated OS.

To see if Android needs calibration at this time, follow the steps below:

1. Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
2. Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
3. After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
4. Restart your Galaxy S8.
5. Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
6. Repeat steps 1-5.

Once you’ve recalibrated Android, check how it works when there’s an incoming call. If the problem continues, proceed to the second solution.

Solution #2: Clear cache partition

The next good thing to do in this case is to ensure that your S8 is using a fresh system cache. This cache, stored in the cache partition, is used by Android when loading apps and services quickly. The more extensive the system cache becomes, the more efficient Android becomes too when loading pages or when launching apps. However, sometimes, this cache gets corrupted for some reason. This can result to all sorts of issues including battery drain and untimely shut down of a device. To keep your S8’s system cache fresh, consider wiping the cache partition at least once every few months. If you haven’t done that lately, these are the steps:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
4. Press the Volume down key to highlight wipe cache partition.
5. Press the Power key to select.
6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Wiping the cache partition won’t delete personal data such as photos and videos so you don’t have to worry losing anything. The cache is consist of temporary files and folders only. Android will slowly rebuild this cache over time. The more you use your device, the more Android can better create a system cache.

Solution #3: Clear Phone app data

Voice calling function uses the Phone app in order to work. Some bugs can lead to instability issues while others may lead to some features to stop working properly. To ensure that the Phone app is working fine, we recommend that you clear its data. Doing so will return it to its factory version. This will also eliminate possible bugs that may have developed over time. Be aware though deleting your Phone app’s data will also clear your phone logs. If you want to preserve them, we recommend that you back your account using Samsung Cloud service under Settings > Cloud and accounts > Backup and restore.

To clear your app’s data, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Find and tap Instagram.
4. Tap Storage.
5. Tap Clear Data button.

Solution #4: Observe your S8 in Safe mode

Another possible reason why your S8 may not be working properly may be due to a third party app. Some apps that you can download from the Play Store may not be up to standard, with some even designed to do malicious actions once installed. To see if one of the apps is causing a problem, let your S8 run in safe mode. In this mode, all third party apps and services won’t be able to run. So, if your phone won’t shut down during a call when it’s on safe mode, that’s a clear indication that a third party is causing this trouble.

To restart your S8 to safe mode, these are the steps:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Solution #5:  Wipe the phone thru factory reset

Factory reset is the drastic troubleshooting step that you can do in this situation. We hope it will not come to this but if all our suggestions above help, make sure that you follow them up with a factory reset.

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Solution #6: Call Samsung

If the problem won’t go away at all, even after the device has been factory reset, you can assume that bad hardware may be to blame. It can be a malfunctioning battery or another component. Make sure that you let Samsung examine the phone so you’ll know if it can be repaired, or if it needs replacement.

 

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