Random powering off

crawbot

Member
Jul 26, 2011
2
0
Has anyone else noticed the power shutting down at random times? Its not happened while in use, only when the device is locked. The power has not been low during those times either.
 

Douvie

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,030
71
Has anyone else noticed the power shutting down at random times? Its not happened while in use, only when the device is locked. The power has not been low during those times either.
Usually you can adjust the time out to about 30 minutes. But it goes into SLEEP MODE not total power shut down. Maybe you're mistaking SLEEP MODE for Shut down.
 

Icebike

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
1,523
186
I've seen this powerdown while sleeping a couple times.
No idea why it happens, nothing was running on the tablet at the time. I even got a new MicroSD card, suspecting it was corrupted. (it wasn't).

Still no clue what this is all about, unless a silent upgrade was pushed to the device for some reason.
 

nivram

Member
Feb 2, 2012
16
2
I had the same thing happen the othet day Tablet was fully charged and just randomly powered off?
 

crawbot

Member
Jul 26, 2011
2
0
It definitely isn't sleep mode, because it completely boots up afterwards. It has even happened while plugged in with the power cord.
This is happening about once a week and making the tab unreliable for my alarm clock.
 

Douvie

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,030
71
It definitely isn't sleep mode, because it completely boots up afterwards. It has even happened while plugged in with the power cord.
This is happening about once a week and making the tab unreliable for my alarm clock.
One of the apps or widgets may be crashing. If I remember correctly my wife's tablet did for awhile after she downloaded some app. After we uninstalled the problem away. I've had tne tablet kick out of an app.

Sleep mode is where the tablet darkens screen and turns off the some background tasks. To come out of sleep mode short push the power button.
 

nate39

Member
Dec 28, 2011
13
0
I have had this problem ever since I got my tablet; I bought it used. I have found others with the problem but haven't found anyone who has fixed it. I am hoping ICS will take care of it but who knows.
 

frapshake

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2011
244
35
I pre-ordered my tablet from Best Buy and it has randomly shut completely down from the beginning, several months ago. It happens maybe once a month, and I think it happened twice a month a couple of times. I did suspect, as Douvie said, that it could be an app or widget causing it, but haven't tried to find out since it hasn't been a huge problem for me, and as nate said, I'm also hoping ICS will take care of it. I also thought it just might be the nature of Honeycomb. What has me a little concerned though, this last time it shut completely down a couple nights ago, when I tried to start it in the morning by holding in the power button for a few seconds, it wouldn't start right away and I had to do it a few times before it would start.
 

nate39

Member
Dec 28, 2011
13
0
Same here. I have to push the button a few times before holding it down will boot it. Plus it happens to me once a week.
 

frapshake

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2011
244
35
I just read a good thread on this problem over at the xda developers forum in the Iconia A500 General section. The name of the thread is "Any solution to the auto shut down problem?" Several people posted things they've tried and a few sound worth a try. Too much info to put in this post, but one that really caught my eye was posted by kylec and he/she said, "...I noticed if it does happen, I just press the power button a few times and if it does not wake, I flip the rotation lock on, then off then try the power button again and it seems to wake up." I personally haven't had a chance to try this yet because it hasn't happened to me lately, but several posters after he wrote that thanked him and said it worked for them. Also, several posters said turning wifi off before sleeping the tablet seemed to help and getting a wifi toggle widget from the market and putting it on your home screen and toggle off wifi before sleeping seems to help a lot of people on xda. I use the wifi toggle widget at night when I sleep the tablet and I very seldom have the problem in the morning.

One more post on that forum that got a lot of positive response is from a poster named kambingbakar. He/she said to install Captivate Keep Alive from the market and set it to 0 percent. He/she said since they did that, they haven't had the problem again. Only problem with that, someone posted, is that it does drain the battery a little faster if used for a long period of time.

The thread is interesting because some posters had the problem with a new tablet before installing apps, and some put theirs back to stock and still had the problem, so it really sounds like it could be a variety of things. A hardware problem, an app causing it, or a glitch in Honeycomb because a solution that works for some people won't work for others. Let's hope ICS solves the problem for most, if not all.
 

Douvie

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,030
71
You could be right. But IF, and again I say IF, I remember correctly it started happening some months after I got the tablet just before the HC v3.2 upgrade. I downloaded a WIFI app and since then some weird stuff, like a screen flicker, happens too - just momentarily then it gone. Maybe this is causing the same problem.

Still it could be an issues btw the OS and an app.
 

frapshake

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2011
244
35
You could be right. But IF, and again I say IF, I remember correctly it started happening some months after I got the tablet just before the HC v3.2 upgrade. I downloaded a WIFI app and since then some weird stuff, like a screen flicker, happens too - just momentarily then it gone. Maybe this is causing the same problem.

Still it could be an issues btw the OS and an app.

It sounds like, in your case, an app could very well be causing this problem for you. That weird screen flicker since downloading that WIFI app, to me, is a red flag. Could very well be causing a problem. You say WIFI app, not sure if you might have meant widget. I have been using the WIFI Toggle Widget made by Droidmania for months and it is super easy to toggle WIFI on and off any time I want to, and I have never noticed any problem using it. Just FYI in case you might like to try something different. I am one of the lucky ones who really benefited by updating to the latest 3.2 version.
 

Douvie

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,030
71
I just checkec my apps. I have WIFI analyser and WIFI connection library. I believe it could be these causing my problem.
 

frapshake

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2011
244
35
Douvie, for what it's worth (not much I'm sure), I have been using WIFI Analyzer for over a year and feel pretty confident that it isn't causing any problems for me. I haven't installed WIFI Connection Library though. Doesn't mean I don't think they are causing the problem for you though, because everybody's tablet and setups are different.
 

Douvie

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2011
1,030
71
I think I'll have to analyse what exactly is going on. As you say everyone has different programs running, I mean apps, so it is still looking for a needle in a haystack.
 
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