Droid 3 getting very hot!

Dfwgrl
Newbie

My Droid 3 I have noticed is getting very hot when ever it is charging.  Like to the point it hurts to hold.  I dont' use it while it is charging.  What is the deal with it getting so hot?  And plus it isn't charging with my car charger.  Any suggestions?  I LOVE my phone...but just getting nervous about it getting so hot.

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Iain1
Newbie

Similar problem here. Mine is a Droid 2. I powered up my Droid last week and it immediately downloaded the latest OS update. Since then the phone has gone from 3 days without charge to less than four hours and it gets very, very hot. I don't use many functions on this phone. I don't use GPS, Bluetooth. Rarely use apps - it is really used for email and I've not changed any settings. I've found a number of forums out there that speak about similar problems (not necessarily linked to the download) but all of them talk about excessive heat and battery drain even though useage hasn't changed. Lots of talk about dramatically shortened battery life occurring at the same time as the heat issue. A number of people have changed their battery but no one is reporting that it fixed the problem. It is almost as is this OS update has caused a background program to run constantly. People say that if you use apps a lot the unit can get very hot so it would make sense.

An email to Verizon came back with a response that there were no reports of any problems with the latest OS update but there is enough noise out there on the forums that suggests that something is wrong.

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Iain1
Newbie

One other thing. My battery usage screen says that "wakelock" (whatever that is) is using 33% of the power, followed by 30% "Phone idle" then 23% "cell standby". So over 50% is phone idle and cell standby. Four hours or less battery life and lots of heat for the phone doing mostly nothing.  Two weeks ago I'd get three days battery for doing the same and no heat.

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Dfwgrl,

Good afternoon! I am sorry to learn that the device is getting that hot while charging. It is definitely normal for the device to become warm to the touch while connected to a charger, but never hot. Is the entire phone becoming hot to touch, or just the area on the back of the device where the battery lies? You mention it not charging with your vehicle charger. When did this stop? Are you using the original charger included with the device? It is important to remember to use only approved chargers and batteries for each device. I recommend trying a different outlet to charge the phone. Also, while cool, check the battery for any blemishes, swelling, or dents. Please let me know further information so I and the community can continue assisting.

Thank you,
AdamE_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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CoreyFeldman
Newbie

My Droid2Global also gets hot from a "Motorola Service" called "keepawake".  Whatever this is starts up while using the phone normally (checking email, txts, etc) and will continue to run, making the phone warm/hot and draining the battery.  I found in another forum that it's possible to "force quit" this leach by starting up the camera, and then quitting the camera.  This has worked for me for a month or so, but it's annoying.  If I forget and then find that the phone has warmed up, the camera-on-off trick will fix the problem until the next time.

Guess I'll try the hard reset mentioned below.

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CoreyFeldman
Newbie

Ok, I'm back!

The good news is that doing the hard reset fixed the problem.  My phone no longer gets hot while just sitting around doing nothing and the battery holds it's charge longer.

Follow the directions here:

http://bit.ly/n1gYBs

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Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

How hot is it getting?

Try installing this app and report back how warm it is getting.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.systempanel#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDUwMSwibmV4dGFwcC5...

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Mama2KBR
Enthusiast - Level 3

Ok, I'm glad that I'm not the only one that's been having this issue since the latest software update was rolled out. Whew!

My phone has been getting scorching hot. It has reached 120 degrees at one point. That's just the one time that I checked for sure. I haven't been having this problem for months & then they rolled out this update and blam-o! The battery life itself had also dropped tremendously as well.   My usage has not altered either.

Nope. I'm not a  happy camper.

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syzygymfl
Enthusiast - Level 1

I am experiencing extremely hot phone/battery but usually not with charging, just with same use.  Have had same phone for almost two years and just with recent upgrade phone goes from lasting 3 days to lasting four hours.  Only connectivity I have is bluetooth and then only in the car.  Have not changed my usage and for the most part only use it for e-mail, phone and txt.  It DOES get very hot very fast if I use the maps function.

I also routinely now get an error message that says VZ Navigator can't load and i need to force close it.  Frankly never use it and would just as soon delete it but can't figure out how

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi syzygymfl,

Are you still using the original battery that came with the phone? You mentioned that you have had the phone for almost 2 years. You may need a new battery.

If this started happening right after the sw update, one thing you can try is performing a hard reset. Some times it is helpful to perform a hard reset after a sw update. http://bit.ly/n1gYBs

If you continue to have this issue after the hard reset or replacing the battery please post back so I can further assist.

John B

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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dstiles377
Newbie

I am having the same issue... My phone recently updated a few days ago, and since then my phone is getting really hot and the battery drains in a couple hours while sitting still on stand-by.  Nothing else has changed besides the update.  What would a hard reset do?  It sounds like I would lose a lot. 

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j55
Newbie

I was having the same issue with my phone, a Droid 2 purchased Jan 2012.  Didn't change usage, settings, etc.  Got VERY  hot, sometimes while charging, sometimes just while idle.  Hot to touch hot, not just warm.  Battery also began draining so it wouldn't hold a charge reliably...sometimes only a couple hours with little to no use, after being able previously to go 3 days without recharging.  I use very few aps.  Took to Verizon store where service rep reviewed aps and usage, changed some settings, said try for a week or so and if no improvement, they would likely give me new battery to try; if that didn't work, they would likely replace the phone as they have been having issues with this phone.  The settings changes made NO difference.  Went back to store about 10 days later and repeated service/battery/problems.  This service rep skipped new battery step and just put in for a "new" (refurbished) phone to be sent to me.  Today I'm in the process of setting up the new phone which came via mail.  It would not set up automatically following screen instructions, but customer service came on the phone and did something from their end that allowed me to continue the activation.  Now my phone is working...sort of.  It will not allow my yahoo.mail account to load as an app. so I can't access my email (main reason I'm paying for this phone/plan.)  Have tried a dozen times including closing my inbox on my computer, restarting phone/email install from first screen and re-entering name/password a bunch of times, and everything else I could think of.  Tried camera, which works, but is "grainy" compared to my first phone, and pictures are not  re-sizing/acclimating to direction of screen (tall/wide view) to allow for bigger viewing of picture as before.  Guess it's back to the Verizon store for 3rd time unless someone has some help here.  I would also be leary of a hard reset without more info.

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dstiles377
Newbie

Well, I ended up backing everything up, copying, saving, doing whatever necessary (as well as accepted the fact that some data will just be lost). I did the master reset and so far so good. My husband has the same phone and had the same problem at the same time. I think somehow the software update had some sort of glitch that makes some thing continuously run. For me the reset worked. It has worked for my husband too. I can't eait to buy another iPhone!! Good luck!

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commonsense101
Specialist - Level 2

phones get hot.. its normal

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hello j55!  I’m glad we were able to replace your device!  I want to help you with getting the device up and running the way you had it previously.  Have you tried installing the Yahoo Mail application from the Play Store: http://bit.ly/MYzFbo ?  You should be able to sync your Yahoo Mail to your device this way.  As far as the camera issues, please try resetting the “Camera” application: http://bit.ly/vCcflu  Let me know how that works out for you.  Thanks!

AnthonyTa_VZW
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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Dfwgrl
Newbie

My phone is STILL very hot all the time.  Now I turn it off to charge it.  Once it is at 100% charged I will take it off the charger turn it on...and it is dead within the hour.  I have to carry my charger with me everywhere I go just so I have a phone with me.  I am not due for an upgrade until July and won't pay the full price for another phone.  And I know if I get another one it will be refurbished and I have had nothing but problems with refurbished ones.  I will just have to suffer until July I guess.

DFWgrl

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silver6056
Specialist - Level 1

Dfwgrl wrote:

My phone is STILL very hot all the time.  Now I turn it off to charge it.  Once it is at 100% charged I will take it off the charger turn it on...and it is dead within the hour.  I have to carry my charger with me everywhere I go just so I have a phone with me.  I am not due for an upgrade until July and won't pay the full price for another phone.  And I know if I get another one it will be refurbished and I have had nothing but problems with refurbished ones.  I will just have to suffer until July I guess.

DFWgrl

Did you try a factory reset?  The other possibility is a bad battery: generally you might not want to spend any more money on an failing phone, but you can get Motorola replacement extended battery (BF6X) on Amazon for about $14, non-Motorola versions for less

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi Dfwgrl,

It truly makes me sad to know you've been experiencing this issue since April and now it's worse.  I absolutely don't want you to settle for a phone that is malfunctioning in this manner!

I do realize your hesitancies with a Certified Like New Replacement, but keep in mind that your phone had issues as a new phone. We work very closly with the manufactures and complete a 100 point inspection on the warranty replacements to test out their functionality before we send them out.

Please allow me to help you own a functioning phone! I've followed you so all you have to do is send me a private message with your phone number, contact number and best time to call.

I really hope I hear from you soon.

Thanks,

MelissaM_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @vzwsupport

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toml1366
Newbie

My wife and I both have Droid 3s since August of 2011.  We're experiencing the same issue since the last OS (2.3.4) update back in June.  Prior to the update the phone worked flawlessly, now they are a mess.  They get extremely hot; experience lock ups on a daily basis, reduced battery life (40% to 50%) and commands for simple things (i.e. dialing) can take several minutes to complete.

Back in June I worked with techs from both Motorola and Verizon.  The first Verizon tech I dealt with was probably the most honest one of the bunch.  He told me that Motorola had infringed on a Microsoft patent pertaining to the battery.  It sounds like they implemented a change to the code to overcome the issue and litigation.  He felt the update didn't take properly so I did a recommended reset.  This worked for about two weeks and I went back to the problems above.  Subsequent tech calls told me it could be an app(s), which I don't disagree with but my wife has very few apps and has the same issue.  I also tried a different battery and it does the same thing. 

Further calls to Verizon had them telling me that I needed to implement changes within my phone to conserve resources.  All of them I had already done and they didn’t work.  On one call to Verizon they had me boot the phone into safe mode, this did clear up the problem and the phone ran cool.  This does indicate that something is going on in the background to cause the issues.  I don't think this is a 3rd party app, I'm convinced it's poorly written code by Motorola.  In the end I think we're screwed, they know there's a problem but it will go away with attrition.  For me I'm going away permanently.  This has been handled poorly by Verizon and Motorola.  I will never own another Motorola phone and I very much despise the share plans Verizon has created and I would have to get into if I want another phone from them.  The Android OS is also very unstable on phones that reach a year old, the applications are evolving so fast, and are so resource heavy, to a point that a 1 year old Android phone has challenges meeting the apps demands.

For anyone else experiencing this problem, you're stuck, there's no update coming to fix this.

Later,

Former Motorola Customer

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