Phone Keeps Restarting on Its Own

[Mariyan]

Hi.

I'm having some issues with my ZenFone 5 (TOOJ). It was working fine until yesterday afternoon , but it suddenly started restarting out of nowhere (it was literally just lying on the table on idle mode) and got stuck on a restart loop.

I'm not sure what's causing it, but I noticed that the problem happens after my phone went to sleep due to inactivity or if I pressed the power button to wake it from sleep. It also happens when I plug the phone into a charger or connect it to my computer via USB.

I set the phone's display to "never sleep" and I also disabled the lock so I won't have to press the power button to unlock it. This worked for several hours yesterday, but now, even if the phone didn't go to sleep (the screen goes dark on its own while I'm in the middle of using it) or was not plugged into a charger, it keeps restarting on its own.

The issue doesn't appear to be exclusive to my device as I read people with Nexus, One Plus One, Samsung, and Motorolla phones who experienced the same problem. I also read complaints from iPhone users who described the same issue. The problem also appears to have been happening as early as 2010 based on similar tech support questions that I saw. Most people reported the problem after their phone got an OS upgrade, but I have no idea when my phone was last updated (I don't recall seeing any alert about my phone's OS being updated) or if Android phones' OS ever get updated after purchase.

I've done some initial research and followed the troubleshooting tips given in some forum threads, but they haven't worked so far.

Some background info on my phone:

Hardware Info:

• Android version 4.4.2
• GPS version 6.19.6.216527
• Wi-fi version: 5.90.195.89.32
• Bluetooth version: V18.23.38.1.0
• Touch Panel Version: 163617_354c0112
• Battery version 110:645:3c-448a-Cg011-110:645:0
• Battery type: Non-removable
• My phone is not rooted

Apps that I have on my phone aside from the preinstalled ones:

• Adobe Acrobat
• Camera Apps (After Focus, Cam Scanner, High Speed Camera)
• Photo Editing Apps (Lightroom, Pixlr, Toolwiz,
• CC Cleaner
• Games (City Island, Crosswords, Fill the Words, Fruit Splash, Pokemon Go, Solitaire)
• Clean Master
• Google Suite
• IM apps (Line, FB Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp)
• Instagram
• Shareit
• Spotify
• Google Maps
• Kaspersky Internet Security

1. My phone did not fall, get crushed, or had any similar accidents
2. My phone didn't get wet
3. The outside of the phone isn't dusty
4. My phone does not have an SD card installed
5. Same problem happens regardless whether there is mobile reception or none
6. Most recently installed app was WhatsApp (more than 24 hours before the issue started)
7. Antivirus app has not reported anything unusual
8. The phone has not shown me any error messages
9. There's more than 1GB of storage left (phone worked fine before even with only 400+ MB of storage left)
10. Auto-download of updates is disabled

What I've done so far to isolate the problem / attempt to fix it:

• Cleaned apps' cache
• Used CC cleaner to clean everything else
• Enabled and disabled lock
• Set phone display to "never" sleep
• Toggled Wi-fi and mobile data on and off
• Enabled and disabled Airplane mode
• Uninstalled apps that I rarely use
• Checked if phone is overheating (it's not)
• Removed the SIM cards and put them back on (problem persists)
• Ran phone in Safe Mode (problem persists)
• Tried to turn off "Switch Access" (phone doesn't have that option)

I haven't wiped my cache's partition or done a factory reset, but there are people who were experiencing the same problem who did and reported that it did not change anything, so I'm saving that option as a last resort.

Has anyone been able to resolve this issue? So far, all of the threads that I have been in to indicate that the issue is practically unresolvable as I have yet to see someone with the same issue declare their problem solved. The closest that I saw was someone who claimed that factory reset solved their issue for a day until the same thing started happening and persisting again the following day.

I really hope someone can help.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the very long post. Just hoping that all of the additional details can help resolve the problem.

 

[mikedt]

I believe this is a phone from 2014. So it could be the battery is just worn out and needs replacing. Unexpected restarts and other instability can be caused by a duff battery.

 

[Mariyan]

I believe this is a phone from 2014. So it could be the battery is just worn out and needs replacing. Unexpected restarts and other instability can be caused by a duff battery.

Thank you for the advice! Yes, I bought it in late 2014. I'm also considering the phone's age as a possible issue, but I also read users experiencing the same issue despite having had their phones for only a couple of days, so I want to check as many potential culprits as possible before I completely reset the phone or buy a newer one. Greatly appreciate the advice, though.

 

[tube517]

Just a suggestion: Uninstall Clean Master and CC Cleaner. Both are unnecessary. Clean Master puts adware on your phone. and you can clear cache in your phone without using a 3rd party app.

Since your phone is only down to 1 gig of space, delete as much as you can. Not sure if Kapersky is built in, I would delete that as well, if you can. It may be a permanent system app so it might not allow you to do it.

Will this solve your random reboots? Probably not but it's an old phone so the less apps the better.

I agree w/Mikedt. I suspect the battery (phone).

Factory reset is looking like the last thing you need to try.

BTW, your post was very detailed and I wish all people looking for help would follow your example!

 

[Xavier Black]

I agree with @tube517 and we all wished people would be more detailed..it's such a pleasure(at least for me) reading something in a expanded way..

Also bare in mind that Mike DID NOT suggest you to change your phone..Just the battery when he mentioned about your phone's age..

I was also going to suggest to uninstall cc cleaner, clean master and face book messenger..just for a day or two..see what happens.
You have a combination if very heavy apps..fb, Skype..and so on..I don't know if your phone is designed to handle all that heat..
That boot could be a defense mechanism..

 

[Mariyan]

@tube517

Thank you for the advice! I will try them today.

Thank you! I wasn't expecting that. I usually feel compelled to include as many details as I can when posting things and people usually complain. Happy to hear that it's appreciated.

 

[Mariyan]

I agree with @tube517 and we all wished people would be more detailed..it's such a pleasure(at least for me) reading something in a expanded way..

Thank you for your input! I'm really happy to hear that long, detailed posts are welcome.

Also bare in mind that Mike DID NOT suggest you to change your phone..Just the battery when he mentioned about your phone's age..

Oh, yeah... I'm sorry... @mikedt My attention span was slipping because I've been stressing over my phone. Could also be because I'm subconsciously prepared to buy myself a new phone in case the issue continued to persist so my eyes / attention span missed the battery part.

I was also going to suggest to uninstall cc cleaner, clean master and face book messenger..just for a day or two..see what happens.
You have a combination if very heavy apps..fb, Skype..and so on..I don't know if your phone is designed to handle all that heat..
That boot could be a defense mechanism..

Thank you for the advice! I'll try them today.

 

[James_Watson]

I think it must be battery failture. You need to change the battery.
Or you need a new phone.