Ellipse 8 Hangs / Reboots During App Optimization

[CR_Millers]

I have an Ellipse 8 - fairly new just a couple of months old.  The battery went dead yesterday so I plugged it in using the charger that was issued with the device.  It charged over night and when I started it up this morning it went through the normal boot sequence.  When it got to optimizing apps it started at app 1 and went through app 50 or 60 (out of 73 apps) before it reverted back to the logo startup screen.

I was able to turn it off by holding down the power and the minimize volume button and I am able to restart the device.  However, it seems to hang / reboot when it goes through optimizing apps.  If I let the device try to restart itself it goes through the logo startup screen then tries to optimize apps (fewer number of apps get optimized each time it goes through this reboot sequence).  I let it run all day and it is still struggling to reboot / start up.

I'm guessing that there might have been an app running that didn't get shut down correctly because the battery died.  I'm trying to figure out how to get beyond this and get the device restarted successfully.

Any thoughts / ideas?

[SuzyQ]

Try booting in Safe Mode:

1. Ensure the device is powered off.
2. Press and hold the Power button until the Ellipsis logo appears then release.
3. With the Ellipsis logo on screen, press and hold the Volume down button.
4. Continue to hold the Volume down button until 'Safe mode' appears in the lower left of the screen then release.

If it does actually boot then you know it IS one of the apps that is causing the issue.  Go to Settings (still in Safe Mode), Storage, and clear the App cache.  Then see if it will restart normally.

Post back with what happens after these steps and we'll see if further troubleshooting is needed.

[CR_Millers]

Ensure the device is powered off.

Check.

Press and hold the Power button until the Ellipsis logo appears then release.

Pressed the power button - Ellipsis logo appears - released the power button - Check.

With the Ellipsis logo on screen, press and hold the Volume down button.

While the Ellipsis logo is on screen, I pressed and held the Volume down button - Check.

I kept holding the volume down button waiting for something to happen.  It then went to the Verizon check mark logo screen.  I didn't get a "Safe Mode" screen or words just the Verizon check mark logo screen.

Continue to hold the Volume down button until 'Safe mode' appears in the lower left of the screen then release.

I kept holding the Volume down button through the initial Ellipsis logo screen until it went to the Verizon check mark logo screen and kept it down until the screen went black and a box appeared with blue letters saying "Android is upgrading..." and the device started optimizing apps.  By then several minutes had passed waiting for this screen and my finger was sore so I released the button.  I also pressed the Volume down button while it was updating thinking that might trigger something but no luck.

Thinking that I might have missed something I pressed the power button and the Volume down button to shut it off.  I waited a few minutes then tried it again with the same results.

Feeling a bit adventurous I shut it down the device down, waited a few minutes and started the process over again.  This time when the Verizon check mark logo screen appeared I pressed and held the Volume down button with a fresh (not sore) finger and again, no 'Safe mode' indication.

With only one scenario left in this possible trilogy, I powered the unit down, waited, and then with a fresh digit I started the sequence again: power on - check; Ellipsis logo - check; Verizon check mark logo - check; "Android is upgrading" screen - check; and it was on this screen I pressed the Volume down button.  Alas, the results were the same - it rebooted to the Ellipsis screen, the Verizon check mark screen, and then the "Android is upgrading screen" (and repeat.....).

So that's where we sit right now: Ellipsis screen, the Verizon check mark screen, the "Android is upgrading screen", reboot to the Ellipsis screen (rinse and repeat.....).

[SuzyQ]

OK - try this - Press and hold the power button - do you get a menu of choices...Power , restart. etc?  If you do, tap and hold the Power off - that may get it to boot into safe mode....

[CR_Millers]

When I hold the power button down during start up it doesn't do anything.

When I let it cook for hours (i.e. meaning I let it go through its repeating reboot sequence) it will (every once in a while) finish the boot sequence and I can access the device.  This is short lived as I see a lot of pop-ups with apps that have stopped including:

Google Play

Google Keyboard

My Verizon (something or other - it happens fast)

There are a few more but after a minute or so it goes back into reboot mode.

Wherever I can I try to click on "Ok" or "Report" to see if that cancels / stops the app.  Again, after about a minute or so it starts the reboot process.

I really don't have anything on the device that I'm worried about losing.  I can always re-install apps if needed, and I don't have any pictures on this device so if there isn't a way to save it I don't mind trying a hard reboot.  Just let me know if I've reached that point where the only course of action is a complete reboot.

Thanks!

[SuzyQ]

When/if you can get the device to the state where it is booted, and you hold the power button in to get the shut down menu... when it says Power Off - press and hold THAT to get to safe mode.  Not the power button itself, but on the screen where it says Power Off....

It may be simpler at this point to do a factory reset and wipe the tablet, if you can get it to a point where that is possible, especially since you there isn't enough on it to make it worth all the hassle of trying to preserve it.

[CR_Millers]

Just wanted to follow up:

After trying all of the above and still not getting the shut down menu I took it to Verizon to try a factory reset.  When they couldn't do a factory reset (basically it went through the whole boot sequence as detailed earlier) they suggested sending it in since it is still under warranty.

I'll be sending it off today for service. 

Thanks for the help!

[CR_Millers · Accepted solution]

Wanted to wrap this up - turns out I had to have the Motherboard replaced and the OS reloaded.

Thankfully I had a backup on the cloud for what little data I had - saved me from trying to remember the apps I had loaded!

[SueC56]

I have the same problem and never get to a screen where I can do anything.  It is continuously optimizing apps.  If I leave it unplugged, it will quit (obviously) when it runs out of power.  When I charge it again and try to boot, it goes back into optimizing apps.  It is a never ending process.  I AM able to power the tablet off, but that is ALL I can do.

Sue C

[SueC56]

RESOLVED:  I took the table in to the Verizon store.  They did a factory reset on it.  After that it reported no SIM card, so they replaced the SIM card and now everything is back in working order.  Yay.

Sue C