Droid X Makes Calls All By Itself

[DrHardcrab]

Starting having problems with this about a month ago. Phone is sitting on my dresser and NOBODY is near it and it makes calls all by itself! In the past 2 weeks, it's done it at least 15 times. And the REAL pain is: It does it at 3 o'clock in the morning!!!! People are getting mad at me for waking them up AND scaring them (thinking something is really wrong).

Last night I was watching TV and I heard voices coming from my phone. It had called my BOSS at 11:15 pm (and woke him up). He was not happy. It calls my voice mail. Several of the people it has called are people I haven't called (or them call me) in over a year! It even called my wife this morning and I wasn't aware of it and she got worried something was wrong.

One of the other things it has done is downloaded pictures and apps. Nothing "dirty" but a couple weeks ago it was background photos and "skins" for my phone and there were like 300 of them!!! I deleted them all and then another batch came through a couple days later. I'll have my phone charging and when I go to look at it, it's actually "surfing" on some web site that I have never (and WOULD never) visit. Again, nothing like porn. But just weird stuff.

Am I being hacked? Do I have some kind of virus? Are there really ghosts in the machine?

HELP!!!  I'm about ready to throw this thing away and get a different phone. Any ideas???

[DrHardcrab]

Test

[dirkbonn]

If it's making calls, surfing the web and downloading pictures it does sound like it's been hacked or has a virus.   If it was just making calls or just one of the things you describe, then maybe some software "bug".  But to surf the web and go to websites you've never been to and then making the decision to download something, well, that  takes some kind of programing.

[Cody21]

That's very strange ...  It does sound like you somehow picked up a Virus or rogue App. If it is somewhat reproduceable (e.g., happens every night), you COULD try just running in SAFE MODE for a few nights. Just put it in SAFE MODE before you go to bed and see if it happens again. If it doesn't occur anymore during this test period you most likely have a rogue app that you downloaded.

Other options? Maybe do this in the following order.

- go back an uninstall any/all 3rd party Apps that you got in the last month (when this all started)

- Clear Cache form the Power Up method.

- as a silver bullet, the (gulp) factory reset  ...  but if you decide to do this, make sure you don't just download and install all your apps right away ... run in "Stock mode" for a duration that you feel like the problem is solved.  (ps, if you go to Verizon with your problem they will likely do this anyway.)

good luck .. you certainly have a unique problem. if you need instructions on how to do any of this just ask, or do a search in the forum for the procedure.  Please let us know if you're able to fix this and what the solution is.

[B33]

The steps & procedures that Cody described i Totally agree with but i would go accouple steps further i would one report this to MOTOROLA an Verizon as Well just to let them Know of the incident with the phone for there records an if you Need a replacement but doing those things that Code Wrote in His post. Is a good place to Start. I would call them first before you go thru with the Procedures as they may want to test your phone to see what's causing it to ack in the way it is.

Hope you get this resolved soon an Let us know of the Outcome of what is found out on your X.... B33

[#6]

DrHardcrab, thanks for sharing your concerns about your device with the community. I understand how frustrating this issue can be to have your phone randomly making calls all the time. I agree with the troubleshooting steps from the community. Since this issue just recently started, it could possibly be caused by a new application. Try removing applications that were installed around the time this started. If you have an antivirus program, remove it, it is not needed and can do more harm than good. 

If this is still occurring, the next step would be a factory reset. This will set the phone back to factory defaults. I would recommend loading applications one by one and waiting a day or so in between. The final step would be exchanging the phone through warranty if still occurring. 

Please let us know what happens.

[DionM_VZW]

Hello there and thank you to all contributing community members! Hi DrHardcrab! The community has come up with some excellent suggestions to resolve what you have described. If you have tried them but are still experiencing this issue, please send me a personal message through this forum. Thanks!

[DrHardcrab]

Thanks for all of your suggestions and I apologize for not getting back sooner. I took my phone into the Verizon store and a rep told me that the Lookout program was the problem (said it was not compatible with the newest update). I disabled it and said everything should be good. It was good for one day and then, once again, it called my boss in the middle of the night.

As much as I hate to do it, I think I am going to do the factory reset. I am not very happy right now.....

[DrHardcrab]

I meant to say that HE disabled the Lookout program (not me). But I even asked him: Wasn't this program already on the phone???!!! How come everyone else I know that has a Droid X does not have this problem????

[dirkbonn]

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DrHardcrab wrote:

I meant to say that HE disabled the Lookout program (not me). But I even asked him: Wasn't this program already on the phone???!!! How come everyone else I know that has a Droid X does not have this problem????

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Just curious, what is the "Lookout" program? I've had my "X" since launch day and can't find anything even vaguely similar to a "Lookout" program that I installed or that came pre-installed.

[DrHardcrab]

It's "anti-virus" program that was already on my phone when I purchased it (which was around the 1st week on December last year). The latest problem I am having: Icons are popping up on my home page. Yes, they are icons of programs I use, but I can't get rid of themed to be I could drag them to the trash can, but now if I try, the program I am trying to get rid of just opens up. (and, yes, I am holding it down until it is "hi-lited"). At least it didn't call anyone during the night.....

[dirkbonn]

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DrHardcrab wrote:

It's "anti-virus" program that was already on my phone when I purchased it (which was around the 1st week on December last year). The latest problem I am having: Icons are popping up on my home page. Yes, they are icons of programs I use, but I can't get rid of themed to be I could drag them to the trash can, but now if I try, the program I am trying to get rid of just opens up. (and, yes, I am holding it down until it is "hi-lited"). At least it didn't call anyone during the night.....

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DrHardcrab,

Did you purchase your phone from Verizon or from a private seller like ebay?  I guessing since you said the anti-virus app "Lookout" was already on your phone it was a used phone. If that's the case, I would think a factory reset is in order (because who knows what the previous owner did to the phone), oh, and don't let your apps get reinstalled automatically.

Best of luck......

[DrHardcrab]

Bought it from the Verizon store. Brand new.

[dirkbonn]

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DrHardcrab wrote:

Bought it from the Verizon store. Brand new.

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To the best of my knowledge the app "Lookout" was never preinstalled on any Verizon phone.  Did you perhaps purchase a certified pre-owned phone?  then it could have been there from the previous owner and mistakenly not removed by Verizon.

But then that would make me ask the question, why did the previous owned get it replaced?

Good Luck.....

[mortb]

It's a bit late, but I'll still throw my two cents in. First, I'm afraid one of your apps has a virus. It's a known fact that some apps are extremely dangerous. Wildman had a message on this board a while back talking about this very thing. You might want to do a search on this topic. As for Lookout, I had to download it, it was not one of the several preinstalled programs. Basically, it is an anti-virus and I have not experienced any problems with it. As for not installing any anti-virus program, I disagree with that (see the beginning of this message). The smartphones, as far as I'm concerned are tiny computers and a virus can slip in. If this occurs, I sure would want to know. So far Lookout has done a good job and I am happy with it.

[droidsw]

I have used Lookout for months and never had this issue. What is concerning is why Lookout did not detect the virus, if it is once, that seems to be taking over your phone.

I think the reason VZW suggests you remove Lookout is just to eliminate any variables.

Bottom line is, if you read the permissions, some apps do have access to the internet and your contacts.

It's been said, but do a reset and don't install any apps at all. Give it a day, or two and if the problems disappear, you can chalk another issue up to a bad app.