Is Your Phone Restarting Due to a Bad Battery? The Complete Guide to Diagnosing and Fixing Your Phone's Infinite Loop
It is one of the most frustrating situations in the digital world when a phone chooses to give up on you. You are on a call, attempting to send a vital text or are simply scrolling through your social media feed when your phone suddenly turns black. It reboots and then it goes off, then it starts again, and so on and so on. This is a vicious circle also referred to as a boot loop which can make you feel powerless.
Although there are numerous causes that can make a phone restart every now and then, a broken battery is one of the most popular suspects. But how can you be sure? Whether it is the battery or something different: a software bug, hardware malfunction, or something else entirely? This is a simple guide that will take you through phase-by-phase in diagnosing the actual problem and will put you at the position of being able to fix the problem or of knowing when to consult a professional.
The Suspect of the First Instance: A Malfunctioning Battery
Our second step before getting into the troubleshooting process is to establish the reasons why a battery may make your phone turn off without notifying you. Lithium-ion batteries are used in all contemporary smartphones. These batteries are marvelous to maintain a charge and provide the power but there is a limit to their life. Each time you charge your phone, you are on a charge cycle. Through hundreds of such cycles the chemical make-up of the battery becomes worse. This is natural aging referred to as chemical aging.
The older the battery, the less capacity to store a charge and provide a steady, stable stream of electricity it has. A new battery is capable of delivering a potent constant stream of current to charge your phone processor, display, and all the capabilities. The power needs of your device are taxing an older degraded battery, particularly when you are doing processor-intensive activities, such as opening a new app, playing a game, or using the camera. In case the phone mysteriously requires a surge of power that the old battery is incapable of supplying, the phone then goes into its safety protocols and the phone powers off entirely to wring harm on the inside parts. That is what you consider as an arbitrary boot-up or boot loop.
Preeminent Clues a Failing Battery Is the Reason
You are in a boot loop, but you do not know whether it is a bad battery, right? Look for these key signs:
Random Restarts with a High Percentage: This is the most indicative symptom. When your phone would restart many times, even when the battery is at what would most people consider a healthy capacity, say, 30, 40, or even 50 percent, it is a good indication that the phone has a much smaller maximum battery capacity than its software is telling it. The voltage of the battery is suddenly decreasing, and the phone ends up shutting off as though the battery is empty.
Too fast battery life: Do you have to charge your phone more than once a day, even with light usage? When your phone has a much shorter battery life than it used to be, and the percentage decreases sharply in a little-long time, then it is a classic sign of a chemically aged battery. The battery is unable to support the same volume of energy that it used to support and the charge you input just will not last.
Physical Swelling: It is a severe symptom, which you must treat on an urgent basis. When it seems that your phone screen or the back cover is bulging or losing its attachments to the phone frame, then it may be an indication that your phone battery swollen. This has been attributed to the accumulation of gas in the damaged battery cells and it might lead to a risk of fire. Turn your phone off and bring it to a specialist to dispose of safely and repair it.
Overheating: It is normal that your phone may become slightly hot during gaming or being charged, however when it becomes unusually hot when you are using it or even when your phone is sitting, it is possible the battery that was once good is trying too hard to be able to produce a consistent power output. This additional work produces heat which may cause restarts as the phone attempts to cool itself off in order to help avert internal damage.
Eliminating the Other Ordinary Criminals (The Lineup of Suspects)
Although a broken battery is an excellent culprit in most cases, it is not necessarily the cause. The frequent system restarts on your phone might be as a result of several other problems such as software malfunctions and hardware damage. It is necessary to exclude these other common issues before you leap to the conclusion that you require a new battery.
Software Issues: Software issues are the overwhelming majorities in phone troubles, and frequent restarts are not an exception. These are the problems that can usually be left alone with ease.
Corrupted or Old Applications: An application that is not updated recently or one that has been installed in an improper manner may contain a bug which results into a crash in the system. The first place to start the investigation is to check if you have just downloaded a new app before the restarts started. These buggy applications may cause some conflicts with the operating system of your phone resulting in unwanted breakdowns.
As with any software, bugs in your phone operating system (iOS or Android) are possible. In some instances, an OS update may be glitched or an update may not install at all leaving you with a corrupted system. The shortcomings can make your phone keep restarting in an attempt to mend itself.
Malware or Viruses: It is rare with the use of modern devices but a malicious app can infect your phone. Those apps could be made so that they run tasks in the background, which consume so much of your phone resources as to cause a re-boot. It is particularly so when you download applications via non-authoritative sources.
Beyond The Battery Hardware Problems
It can also be the physical parts of your phone, which cause your troubles.
Physical Damage: That is not the only way that your phone will drop and break your screen. A shock may loosen internal connections to the motherboard, the CPU or other critical components. Although the damage may not be apparent to the naked eye, a microscopic break or a loose connector may result in intermittent problems and random shutdowns.
External Factor Overheating: Your phone must be able to cool so it can work well. The heavy and dense phone cover may serve as a blanket and would keep the heat inside and would not cool down. Equally, placing your phone in direct sunlight, a car dashboard or any other hot space can overheat and reboot as a precaution.
Dirty Ports or Faulty Accessories: It may sound weird, yet dirty charging port may lead to power delivery problems. The port can collect lint, dust, or other debris, which results in unequal connection of your phone with the charging cable. This may result in fluctuation of power that subsequently may restart the phone. It is also applicable to a tattered, worn-out, or broken charging cable or a broken wall adapter.
Loose Internal Connections: This is a more severe hardware problem, which is not merely a drop. Internal parts may just get loose under the wear and stress of daily use, a factory defect or simply wear and tear. In this instance you will require a professional technician to diagnose the issue and repair.
Storage and Memory (RAM) Overload
The performance of your phone is determined by the storage size as well as the short-term memory (RAM). When they are stretched to the max then your phone becomes unstable.
Running Out of Storage: As soon as your phone's internal storage is almost filled up, it has nothing left to create temporary files to support apps and the operating system. This may lead the phone to freeze, stutter, and eventually crash and restart due to this insufficiency of breathing room. Imagine it to be a cluttered desk; you can never do any work when you have nowhere to lay anything.
Too Many Background Apps: Screen will show a number of applications that are still running in the background despite closing them. Although this is fantastic in terms of multitasking, the excessive use of apps at once may end up using much of the RAM on your phone. This can slow the whole system and ultimately lead to a complete crash and re-boot of the system.
The DIY Diagnostic and Troubleshooting Checklist
You know what to look at now, so now you should become a detective and find out what is really wrong with your phone. This checklist is presented in order to help troubleshooting give the greatest results.
Step 1: The Quick Fixes
They are the quickest and easiest solutions to attempt. They are usually working and they can spare you much time and labor.
Restart Your device with Force: This is not similar to standard shut down. It restarts the phone, and erases any tiny software bugs that may be having the problem.
- In the case of iPhones: In most contemporary iPhones, press and briefly release the volume up button, then the volume down button, then press and hold the side power button until the Apple logo shows up.
- On the Android phones: Press and hold the power button and wait for about 10 seconds. You will find an option to restart in most android phones.
Take off your phone: Take out your phone, Case, screen protector, and all other accessories. Take your phone and use it a bit to check whether the problem is still there. This will assist you in knowing whether an accessory is causing the overheating or it is hitting a button by mistake.
Clean the Charging Port: Clean the charging port with a small brush (such as a dry toothbrush) or a toothpick to remove any lint or debris. Do not put anything metallic in it that will damage the pins.
Step 2: Monitor Your Battery
When the band-aid pales, then it is time to investigate the prime suspect. Both Android and iPhone have inbuilt applications to monitor the health of your battery.
- Settings: Android devices (such as Samsung or Google Pixel) also have a section in their settings called Battery or Battery Usage that can also give some health information.
- Third-Party Apps: Get a trusted third-party app in the Google Play Store, including AccuBattery. These applications are capable of tracking your phone battery performance with time and provide you with an approximation of the health of your phone.
- Secret Code: In certain Phones, you can dial a secret number such as ##4636## which opens an unknown menu titled Testing. There, you may go to a battery information and check its state.
Step 3: The Software Audit
Likely you have a software problem, since your battery health status is good.
Update Your Phone's OS: It is important to ensure you have the current version of the operating system in your phone. Check in settings, Software Update. These updates usually have very important bug fixes which can resolve stability problems.
Update All of Your Apps: Visit your app store (Google Play Store or Apple App Store) and update your apps. A broken or an obsolete app may lead to the crash of the whole system.
Safe Mode: Entering the safe mode is a very important process in the diagnosis of software problems. Safe Mode temporarily shuts off all third-party applications, only the base operating system is run.
- In Android: Hold the power button until the power menu comes up, then hold the power menu Power Off menu and it should exit you to reboot to safe mode.
- On iPhone: On iPhone, there is no official safe mode, but you can turn off or update the newly downloaded applications one by one, to determine which of the applications may be causing the issue.
When your phone does not boot up when in the Safe Mode, then it is due to an app that has been downloaded. Once that, you can go back to your regular phone state and start uninstalling applications one after another, the latest ones first.
Clear Out Memory: When you see that your phone is already over 90 percent full, then it is time to empty it. Clear your own cache on your most regularly used apps, delete old photos, videos, unused apps, and so on. This will liberate the system resources and avoid crashes.
Step 4: The Last Resort
In the event that you have done all the above and your phone is still caught in the restarting loop, then you have one final, drastic measure to take before resolving to get it repaired.
Back Up All Your Data: The most important step is this. A factory reset will clean your phone. Ensure you back everything like photos, contacts, documents, and any other valuable files to the cloud or a computer.
Do a Factory Reset: It will bring your phone back to the same point as it left the box, all data and settings removed. Click on Settings > System > Reset options > Factory data reset (Android) or Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings (iPhone) and choose Factory data reset/ Transfer or Reset iPhone.
Conclusion: When It is Time to Turn to a Pro
When you've checked the whole checklist, including the quick fixes, and the complete factory reset, and your phone continues to restart, then there is a high probability that it is a hardware problem outside the dirty port or accessory. The first suspect at this stage is a defective battery, although a loose internal part or damage of the motherboard are also possibilities.
It is not advisable to correct these problems on your own, which may create additional harm. You have to get your phone professionally serviced. A full diagnostic may be carried out at an authorized repair shop or at the manufacturer of the phone in order to identify the exact source of the issue. When, in fact, it is a dying battery, then a professional replacement will rejuvenate your phone and save you the expense of purchasing a new one.
Finally, a phone that keeps re-booting is not only a nuisance, it is a definite sign. Through this help, you are able to diagnose the issue quickly and correctly and then make the correct actions to repair your phone so that it does not enter the vicious circle that everyone fears.
Comments
Post a Comment