yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III General] Obagleyfreer:
That's really odd that both yours and your wife's phones suddenly died at around the same time.

Do you share a charger?

Can let us know some details about both phones, where phones and batteries were made etc

It appears, from what I can gather, that it is a hardware fault. The ROM and kernel don't seem to matter. People's phones are dying regardless of which ROM they're running.

At least CPW have fixed both your phones for you :)

Maybe you could ask if they have had a few customers bringing back dead phones?

It'll be interesting to know what their technicians say about it.
[Galaxy S III General] Ausboy 2011:
this is happening a lot to people... I hope Samsung do something about this!!
[Galaxy S III General] dervish666:
What happened: Used as Satnav, it was charging on a 1A car charger, battery probably pretty full. Brought it in tried to turn it on and nothing happened. Had a white pulsing LED, after battery pull no reaction.

What ROM/Firmware: CM10

What kernel: Can't remember

OV or UV: Nope

Where phone was made:

Where battery was made: Standard battery but I do use a Anker battery as well, can't remember if it was in the phone at the time.

On the bright side, I have just got it back from Samsung who repaired it without question. They have also given me a 32GB model instead of the 16GB I had before. :D

Very happy dervish. :D
[Galaxy S III General] tqgia2:
I know it is a hassle, but could people please post where their phone came from (language which was default on phone might be good, for example mine was Greek). Might allow us to isolate a particular region/batch
[Galaxy S III General] ph512:
My 2 S3's were purchased at the same time from mobiles.co.uk (CPW) - English language by default, unlocked and with no network branding. I had not tampered with these devices in any way. They are totally stock handsets running JB (updated via Kies). They were only used with the Samsung chargers too. Mine had approx 100 apps on it, but my wife hardly had any on, just about twenty or so.

I'll update this page once I get them back so we can share the causes / fixes in my case
[Galaxy S III General] Calpol:
What happened:

Phone was charging on Zenis dock. Checked it at 95% and returned 1 hour later to find it stuck on Samsung boot screen. Had to remove battery to unfreeze it. Phone would not boot and stuck on Samsung screen. Would only boot into Download mode but would not accept any relash of OS via Odin. Reflash attempts met with Invalid PIT partition fault. Tried to reflash a PIT as advised on XDA but with no success. On connection to charger phone displayed grey battery graphic.

Handed into Samsung service centre who confirmed battery was completely dead and that new battery allowed phone to turn on but no ability to reload software. Phone now has been sent to Samsung in the UK

What ROM/Firmware:Stock T Mobile 4.1

What kernel: STOCK

OV or UV: Nope

Where phone was made: UK model bought in June 2012 from Mobiles.co.uk

Where battery was made: Dont Know

Phone is English language version and has run fine for months. It was updated via OTA to 4.1 about 2 weeks ago when Tmobile released the ROM. since then I re-rooted it but have never flashed any other ROM.
[Galaxy S III General] Isadora:
What happened: Picked up phone after its usual overnight charge , was showing the normal green "full charge" light but phone was completely dead - black screen, no download or recovery mode via key combo, no response to jig.

No self-reboot, freeze or anything that would indicate a problem prior to phone dying.

What ROM/Firmware: official UK ICS, (can't remember the firmware number now, but whatever the latest official UK unbranded was by mid-October)

What kernel: stock (rooted with cf-root)

OV or UV: Nope

Where phone was made: just says "made by Samsung"! UK sim-free, received 16th June

Where battery was made: Original Samsung battery. Made in Korea, assembled in Vietnam

Anything else that could be of use:

Always left my phones and other toys to charge overnight, been doing the same with the S3 since getting it on 16 June, using the Samsung charger that came with it. No longer doing that with the S3 just in case!

Phone came back with new innards, battery is the one the phone went in with.

As to really getting to the bottom of it, I guess only someone at Samsung might be able to tell us why so many S3 are committing suicide...
[Galaxy S III General] midyat47:
Did you guys tried a electric shock?

Maybe your gs3 back to life? :D

Hit thanks when its okk :thumbup:
[Galaxy S III General] romeo57:
What happened:

I just flashed Wanam 4.2 ROM. Booted up normally. Then i proceed to install TiBu, and restore apps + data. After 10mins, I came back just to check the progress. It was dead.

What ROM/Firmware: Wanam 4.2

What kernel: Stock

OV or UV: Nope

Where phone was made: It wrote, "Made in Korea by Samsung"

Where battery was made: "Cell made in Korea, Assembled in Vietnam"

I sent my device to service centre, they repaired it within 2 working days.

Sent from my GT-I9300
[Galaxy S III General] UncleBeer:
This is a stretch, but I wonder if Titanium could have anything to do with the bricking. I had an auto-backup scheduled in the middle of the night, after which the phone died. I don't know there's a connection, but interesting you mentioned TiBu.
[Galaxy S III General] ph512:
Neither mine nor my wife's phone had Titanium backup installed - not saying it wasn't that in your cases, but wasn't in mine
[Galaxy S III General] Obagleyfreer:
I'm not sure if it's relevant but I checked the stock charging voltages on my S2 and it's a Wall:650Mah, USB:450.

The default on S3 is the same for USB(450Mah) but the wall charging voltage default is apparently 900Mah!

I know the battery is higher capacity but my S2 has a 2100Mah Samsung battery in it and charges just fine @ 650Mah.

Maybe 900Mah is just too high?

I'm no electronics expert so I could be talking rubbish but it's an idea.....
[Galaxy S III General] Password1234:
Where did you check the stock charging voltages bro? I experienced something almost to this effect except that I woke up this morning and the menu and return keys were lit up (screen was off) , tried pressing some buttons but nothing responded. I then long pressed the power key and then it booted up normally and since has been working ok. Was so worried and paranoid at the time! I'm from South Africa if it's any use. Just to make sure these scares/sudden death issues are not just in one continent/country.
[Galaxy S III General] Obagleyfreer:
Well it's not very scientific but I use Siyah Kernel on both my S2 and S3 and just checked the default settings on there.

Actually Gokhan states that the stock charging voltage for a wall charger on the S3 is 1000Mah! (Siyah default). But another member on here (an electronics professional) said it's 900Mah so I just went with that.

It might be over kill but to be on the safe side I have lowered the voltages in Stweaks down to 900Mah and 450Mah and I am only charging my phone through USB until we figure out what is causing this problem.

It seems that this issue is worldwide, it's not specific to country, Android firmware version, Kernel etc

It seems this is totally random and can happen without warning to anyone, scary stuff.
[Galaxy S III General] MattBooth:
I hope mine breaks and I get a free 32GB model!!
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
What are the causes of those deaths? Im usibg cm10 and cm10 kernel should i be afraid ? Should i turn it to stock? I dont want to break my s3 and i love cm10

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
It's not a specific rom or kernel that breaks phones.
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
What causes them?

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
A likely suspect is faulty hardware, but nobody knows ATM.
[Galaxy S III General] UncleBeer:
Mmmm, I bet Samsung's got a pretty good idea by now. I'm sure they're getting an earful from their service centers and hopefully their engineers are poring over dead boards so they can prevent similar cases in future.
[Galaxy S III General] tizbac_1:
hmm

I've read all the cases there and i think that this is caused by some NAND flash corruption / damage, the problems people had before the death ( crashes , slowdown ) are all caused by bad blocks on flash developing, if they develop in the wrong place ( bootloader ) you are screwed.

Also the fact that some people says that notification led was blinking tells us that it was still running.

Other possibility maybe a faulty voltage regulator, and i see a lot of confusion here...

Voltage is measured in volts , it can damage the phone from the charger side , but there's NO WAY that the battery can generate a surge, a li-ion cell chemically can provide at most 4.2 volts which is completely in the specs.

I'm curious instead if people that had dead phones were charging them with android running or in LPM ( low power mode , i.e battery icon at the center of the screen ), maybe the firmware part of LPM can fail with some timing pattern of power outage and corrupt flash
[Galaxy S III General] Ballastatuz:
I'm happy I got rid of mine :)
[Galaxy S III General] spoonymoon:
Apparantly

It seems to be a faulty emmc unit from sammy - damm just got a brand new pepple one :crying:

Actually i really like it, best phone i had until now - but hey s... happens

i dident expect it from sammy especially because its the third generation + loads of other variations, they should now better than this :(
[Galaxy S III General] gspears:
What's the evidence of this? Last time they had a faulty eMMC chip the phone would brick after flashing used a format or reset command that would trigger the eMMC chip.

That is nothing like what's happening here. The phone just dies after charging or sometimes just sitting and needs a new motherboard. There is no evidence of people bricking after software mods in this thread.
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to make some changes to the code, that cause eMMC behave this way. Because ATM it looks like NAND corruption.
[Galaxy S III General] Obagleyfreer:
Some of the cases my gave been caused by NAND corruption but not every sudden death case has symptoms leading up to it. Some people's phones have been completely fine, then for no reason they're dead.

NAND corruption is a good theory but I don't think there is enough evidence to say for sure.
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
Of course you are right. I just hope these problems get explained someday and that there is some way of preventing them.
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
If i restore my phone to stock firmware i wont have any sudden death right?

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] :
Wrong...
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
Unfortunately you are wrong. Sudden death can happen to any ROM, recovery and kernel combination.
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
How can i return to stock then?

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
Again, sudden death can happen with stock ROM also.

But here is a guide.

http://www.totallydubbed.net/2012/06/20/how-un-root-flash-stock-rom-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-gt-i9300/
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
Thanks for the link..but i have one more question the never rooted or flashed phones can have sudden death?

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] :
Yes. It's happened to people who have never flashed anything
[Galaxy S III General] patriotaki:
Damn..samsung should investigate it more

Sent from a modified Galaxy S3 using Swift Key.
[Galaxy S III General] pRo_lama:
What FW did you have ???
[Galaxy S III General] dimi22:
Anyone can tell me how to check if the bootloader updated??? Please
[Galaxy S III General] hellsgod:
If you flashed ELLA with ODIN you have the new Bootloader. If you have root and now a little red "!" appears on the beginnig of the boot process, you have the new Bootloader.

hells
[Galaxy S III General] valentinrascu:
yes, is update the boot loader.

---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ----------

try the new boot loader.
[Galaxy S III General] zyclops1:
Is this the fix

m.gsmarena.com/samsung_releases_fix_for_s_iii_kernel_exploit_in_the_uk-news-5288.php
[Galaxy S III General] fmtrx:
For exynos exploit as stated officially. Nothing more.
[Galaxy S III General] THE DEAD ZONE:
I am sure it was official 4.1.1

but the PDA or the CSC I don't remember
[Galaxy S III General] clin81:
I think XXELLA is the sudden death fix, but Samsung has not yet released any statement because if it was a failure would make a bad impression ... we are the guinea pigs
[Galaxy S III General] jay_m3:
your case is not a sudden death as long as you can get into download mode, maybe you got some parts corrupted on yr EMMC but it can be fixed by using the none corrupted parts to write on, it's like cutting off the bad part for more info, you can find details on google
[Galaxy S III General] THE DEAD ZONE:
may I have the link to download it ? please

thanks in advance....
[Galaxy S III General] kaiur:
I thougt that this was sudden death; in almost all cases I've read they can get into download more but not in recovery mode..
[Galaxy S III General] MIKEMON:
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=36198777&postcount=187

here link
[Galaxy S III General] THE DEAD ZONE:
the effected phone users said that happened during charging and reset many time before

that exactly what happened to my s3

I hope that is not hardware defect
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
You were right. This is sudden death, and it's impossible to recover from it.
[Galaxy S III General] nageshv24:
anyone? Because I also updated to XXELLA and it is showing

AP:I9300XXELLA

CP:I9300XXELLA

So does this confirm that the bootloader is also updated? Thanks....
[Galaxy S III General] chevli:
Unfortunately, this is the exact same issue I had and I ended up having to send it in for repair. I don't know if what jay_m3 said would work or give you back any data but as far as I am aware, you will have to send it back. I doubt flashing the new FW will work either.

That's the downside to upgrading fw, the red exclamation mark appears. It is worth waiting to see if this is actually the fix before attempting to install or to see if someone can find a way to get rid of the red exclamation mark before upgrading. This is the exact firmware I got after I got mine fixed and I rooted and that's what mine shows. The fix physical though (and maybe not the firmware) as I got a new Mainboard.

If samsung has not released an official statement then it shouldn't be speculated that this is actually a fix. For all we know members of samsung could be starting rumors on the forums pretending it is a fix by trying to get everyone to update to the new firmware. We know this update informs the engineer with a red exclamation mark if the device is rooted. This could be grounds for samsung not to fix your device if it actually dies due to PIT/NAND error. Afterall, saving them money on repair costs.
[Galaxy S III General] MIKEMON:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=network+signal+info&c=apps

Here this application, info bootloader.
[Galaxy S III General] dimi22:
I flashed the latest update with kies.

But how can i check if my bootloader updated??

Is there any program that checks your bootloader version?

and what is the latest bootloader version?
[Galaxy S III General] Stile35:
This is very good point. Maybe this is the reason why they put it... :good:
[Galaxy S III General] iArmghan:
and what is the new bootloader version? so other can check
[Galaxy S III General] Vrykyl:
Ok so I FINALLY got my gs3 back from repair today, after 3 weeks at the center being fixed.

As to what was fixed (if they even stated so)

Slip inside the box says its had a new pba fitted

What ROM/etc. that was put on my phone after it was fixed

Android 4.1.2 I9300XXELL4 [JZO54K.I9300XXELL4]

What parts of my phone were replaced/if it was completely replaced or just repaired

Phone was repaired, new pba fitted (16gb)

Anything else that may or may not have changed

Nothing afaik

How much it cost if anything, (at this stage I am 99.9% sure it'll be free)

Nothing at all, completely free. Phone was rooted AND custom rom'd when I sent it off - Samsung repaired it for free anyway

Overall pleased its fixed, not so impressed with the time taken, or complete lack of communication from samsung regarding deaths and an official fix.
[Galaxy S III General] nhariamine:
For those who ask for the new XXELLA Bootloader file :

flash with Odin pc in PDA.
[Galaxy S III General] darkcell:
why the hell samsung didn't announce a statement...or tells us the truth!! damn...
[Galaxy S III General] qwerty12:
Admittedly, the conspiracy theorist side of me also thinks this. I intentionally did not update my bootloader after seeing ODIN flashes tz.img as that alone signifies to me that the BL update is more likely to be about security regarding the bootloader. I also think, given what Samsung have done on the past, a fix for the sudden death issue is to be found in the kernel. This is all speculation, however, since Samsung haven't put out update 7 of their kernel code. In my case, I'm willing to gamble that the fix is in the kernel as I'm in a good position to get my phone fixed if it dies and I like having my status as official while running CWM.

As has been mentioned by AndiP, you can cat /proc/cmdline. (Or /proc/last_kmsg if you're not rooted.)
[Galaxy S III General] dimi22:
Do you know how to check if the bootloader updated. I did an update trough kies.
[Galaxy S III General] THE DEAD ZONE:
still the same problem

<ID:0/020> Added!!

<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..

<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..

<OSM> Please wait..

<OSM> KIES_HOME_I9300XXELLA_I9300OXAELLA_742798_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.

<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..

<OSM> Leave CS..

<ID:0/020> Odin v.3 engine (ID:20)..

<ID:0/020> File analysis..

<ID:0/020> SetupConnection..

<ID:0/020> Initialzation..

<ID:0/020> Get PIT for mapping..

<ID:0/020>

<ID:0/020> There is no PIT partition.

<ID:0/020> Added!!

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

any solution for this PIT problem ????
[Galaxy S III General] PjotrFias:
No. They have to replace motherboard since NAND memory is destroyed. Sorry.
[Galaxy S III General] Product F(RED):
That's what I've been saying. Your eMMC chip doesn't suddenly die one day; it degrades over time and then dies completely. Even if your phone hasn't died, I'd ship it off for repair or replacement.
[Galaxy S III General] ajayverma99:
I have just upgrade my Boatloader and now my Binary count is 1 and triangle app is not working...
[Galaxy S III General] x3sed:
Ok... Mine is a GS III International model bought in Jun without any warranty!

I just flashed the new ELLA Build hoping that the sudden death treat is actually dead.

I'll let you know guys if I do encounter any problems since I'm screwed either way (Don't posses a warranty).

PS: mine is a RW 1.100
[Galaxy S III General] chevli:
It is known that the triangle away app does not work on the new bootloader and has been mentioned in many previous posts. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn't upgrade and let your phone naturally die to get a motherboard replacement. (under warranty of course)
[Galaxy S III General] howard bamber:
The phone takes what it needs . You can not over charge with a higher amp charger. It just charges faster.mine is 2'1 amp/hour, and is fine

From box 13......
[Galaxy S III General] fedort:
Get everyone to update to the new firmware? Of all people worldwide who own a Galaxy S3 there is only a very small percentage of people who roots and flashes their phones.
[Galaxy S III General] iArmghan:
A weird thing happened! After updating to XXELLA bootloader... the ! which use to be there before is now gone... don't know how ...Btw i am on Ultima Rom 8.0
[Galaxy S III General] chevli:
By all means if you don't root & flash, then update. I said what I said for the people who do root/flash & worried about their phones dying and wondering whether this will prevent it from dying (which hasn't been proven).
[Galaxy S III General] whitebait:
Only solution is to send it to Samsung or your carrier for a warranty replacement of the mainboard.
[Galaxy S III General] dazzer1975:
sorry for the newb question, but how do i find out my hardware revision? (My phone was repaired by samsung and upgraded to 32 gb

ignore, just discovered the code to dial.

my hw rev is mp 1.400

No idea wha the differences are between the hw versions and how likely 1.400 is to suffer a sd
[Galaxy S III General] linas_ltu:
signs to the way of death

Someone already said, but just want to confirm that (for those who are waiting for the officially confirmed fix, but not the speculations) you should only charge the phone when it is completely off. I checked both with the wall charger and USB through laptop the use of CPU (with CPU spy). It uses maximum recources (1400 mhz) of processor power all the time when charging!!! That's why my phone becomes very hot after 5 mins of charging (I didn't happen at the beggining when I purchased the phone). The phone is cold when being charged when it is off.

It's really inconvenient, since I still do not want to leave it overnight, so I need to turn off the phone in the middle of the day to charge. Just retarded. Very dissapointed with Samsung's issues. Firstly, wireless bug, then battery, then exynos exploit and now sudden death on top of that.

I am using RW 1.100, Polish 4.1.2 jelly bean rom, rooted.
[Galaxy S III General] fedort:
Fair enough
[Galaxy S III General] Dean-xXx:
*#12580*369#
[Galaxy S III General] Product F(RED):
Well, the issue made it to Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/04/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-sudden-death-fix-coming/

Keep submitting it to news sites guys!

Also, if you have a 32GB version, you're most likely safe. The 16GB's are defective only, for whatever reason (maybe a different manufacturer).
[Galaxy S III General] sniry:
flashing bootloader using ODIN over an AOSP/AOKP/CM rom

Hi guys,

Can I flash this bootloader using ODIN over an AOSP/AOKP/CM rom? Or should I go back to touchwiz?

Thanks!
[Galaxy S III General] jay_m3:
*#12580*369#

hit thanks if it helps ;)
[Galaxy S III General] dazzer1975:
just sorted it mate, found the other thread listing all the codes...

Anyway, thanks given for the appreciation of taking the time to offer help.

Cheers guys (all who posted the code)
[Galaxy S III General] jay_m3:
well your case is not a general truth as mine has only 30° c when it on charging, also CPU doesn't run at that freq, even though, if you are using power saving option cpu is limited at 1000MHz
[Galaxy S III General] darkcell:
I think many sgs3 died were because someone plays god and exploited/hacked them...whether it rooted or not...lol
[Galaxy S III General] nhariamine:
i think you should have to wait ,because this isn't comfirmed to be a fix for sudden death issue. flashing bootloader is in my opinion risky, and there is no going back or downgrade the bootloader it stays forever...
[Galaxy S III General] celll:
no you can t flash
[Galaxy S III General] camil:
do you know this for sure? or it's just an educated guess? I'm asking because I have the 32GB version and I'm a bit scared as my phone is about to celebrate it's 6th month birthday
[Galaxy S III General] sachinaik:
Yes it is confirmed by Samsung that only a few batch of 16GB models are affected.
[Galaxy S III General] Sad56:
Many 32 gb versions also have the sudden death problem in French forums.

At the beginning of the s3 only one provider have the 32 gb versions in France.

For the rest of peoples, we have to own a 16gb or wait many weeks to have a 32gb.

Don't know if it was the same for the rest of the world.

But seems the real thirst versions of 32gb have the same problem :(

Envoyé depuis mon GT-I9300 avec Tapatalk
[Galaxy S III General] nhariamine:
The majority of forums DIDN'T show ANY cases of 32 GB models of GS3 as victims of sudden death, only SOME really small amount of 16 go models of S3 were affected by this, don't believe everything that u read ...