Nexus 10 Random Reboots

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Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
'My Nexus 10 started to randomly reboot several times a day after the Kitkat update and because it is outside the warranty period I cannot get it replaced.'

It reboots no matter what is running and sometimes it reboots immediately after a power up but never enters a reboot loop.

I've tried a factory reset and running it in safe mode but that didn't stop it.

I've not been able to replicate the reboot fault until yesterday when I ran the BBC iplayer and downloaded a 1-hour Horozon video of about 650Mb and when I tried to play it I got a reboot and that happened consistantly.

I tried a complete power down and reboot then tried to play the downloaded video but it always rebooted.

I tried deleting and re-saving the video incase it was corrupt but it still rebooted.

I tried deleting the video and streaming it and I could watch it that way without any reboot.

I've tried downloading three 1-hour Horizon videos of about the same size and only one plays without rebooting.

A check of running apps shows just the keyboard and a couple of system apps but I still get the reboot when I try to play the saved video.

I thought about removing apps one at a time to see if that would solve it but I've basically got the same apps I had before the Kitkat update.

I wondered if I could undo the Kitkat update and flash the previous rom to see if that would solve it for Kitkat was not a big improvement.

I've never used a custom rom and not run anyting other than stock software.

I would be most grateful for any suggestions on how to fix this rebooting problem and whether going to an earlier version of Android is feasable and how would I do it.

PS. There is a BBC iplayer option to download videos using less resolution and when I choose that option the Horizon file size falls to 344Mb which is about half the size of the original and it solves the reboot problem when playing the saved video.

So it would seem that the BBC iplayer reboot problem is related to file size.
 
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gc84245

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2013
469
76
East Coast of Canada
It's fairly easy to downgrade, just Google "nexus factory images" and you should find all the old versions of android straight from Google. There should be guides online for how to flash a factory image. Just make sure to back up all your files to your computer as it will wipe everything.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
 
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Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
It's fairly easy to downgrade, just Google "nexus factory images" and you should find all the old versions of android straight from Google. There should be guides online for how to flash a factory image. Just make sure to back up all your files to your computer as it will wipe everything.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

Thanks for your help.

I've found the factory images and I'm now looking for a simple detailed guide how to do the downgrade.

My Nexus 10 is on 4.4.2 (KOT49H) and I think I'll try downgrading one level to 4.4 (KRT16S) to see if that solves the reboots problem and if not then I'll try downgrading further to 4.3 (JWR66Y).
 

gc84245

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2013
469
76
East Coast of Canada
Thanks for your help.

I've found the factory images and I'm now looking for a simple detailed guide how to do the downgrade.

My Nexus 10 is on 4.4.2 (KOT49H) and I think I'll try downgrading one level to 4.4 (KRT16S) to see if that solves the reboots problem and if not then I'll try downgrading further to 4.3 (JWR66Y).

Here is a good guide (sorry, I would have posted it earlier but I didn't have my computer with me at the time and was posting from my phone):

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1907796
 
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Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
Here is a good guide (sorry, I would have posted it earlier but I didn't have my computer with me at the time and was posting from my phone):

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1907796

Thanks for the guide link.

Unfortunately, my laptop is running Windows 8.1 and it is difficult to install the USB driver and Android Development Kit needed to flash previous Android versions, so I've given up until I can find the way to do it.

PS. I've found a way of installing the ADB and Fastboot drivers on my Windows 8.1 laptop and here is a link:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2588979

So I'm back on track to solve my random reboots using an earlier version of Android.
 
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AleT

Member
Jun 7, 2006
37
4
London
I noticed the iPlayer hard crash thing too. I can play downloads, but as soon as I pause it and attempt to restart, or just slide the progress bar to move to a different part of the video, the tablet hangs then reboots. It's completely reproducible, and doesn't happen on any of my other devices.

Apart from that, my n10 has now gone 20 days since the last random reboot, so it's a lot more stable in general than it used to be!
 

rxnelson

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2011
676
76
Apart from that, my n10 has now gone 20 days since the last random reboot, so it's a lot more stable in general than it used to be!

Arghh...this thing is a POS. I haven't used it in 2 months. Today I fired up chrome for some browsing. It hard locked within 5 minutes. I left it for an hour plus with the screen on and still locked up. Just frustrated. Worst Android device I've owned.



Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
 

Koopa777

Senior Member
May 18, 2012
765
326
Either you have a faulty app or your tablets have a hardware defect. The random reboot issue, where the GPU driver would leak memory and force a kernel panic, has been fixed since Android 4.3 in July. This includes the Chrome reboot issue. I've had 2 reboots over 13 months, and both were cause by a ROM issue. I assure you, there is nothing wrong with the Nexus 10. Try a 4.4.2 factory image and see if that solves anything.
 

Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
Either you have a faulty app or your tablets have a hardware defect. The random reboot issue, where the GPU driver would leak memory and force a kernel panic, has been fixed since Android 4.3 in July. This includes the Chrome reboot issue. I've had 2 reboots over 13 months, and both were cause by a ROM issue. I assure you, there is nothing wrong with the Nexus 10. Try a 4.4.2 factory image and see if that solves anything.

I still get random re-boots in `safe mode` which is supposed to only allow apps installed with the system to run which leaves a bad 4.4.2 which could be checked by a re-flash of the factory image or faulty hardware.

I was planning to downgrade to 4.3 to see if that solved the re-boots but I might try a re-flash of 4.4.2 first to see if that works..

I'm not very confident about flashing and I've had the additional problem of working on windows 8.1 on my laptop.
 

rxnelson

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2011
676
76
I am running the factory image, 2nd one with same issues. I'm not necessarily disputing what you are saying but there were plenty of people telling me they had a perfect tablet when the memory leak wasn't fixed.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
 

Unibrow

Senior Member
Jan 23, 2011
149
22
I am running the factory image, 2nd one with same issues. I'm not necessarily disputing what you are saying but there were plenty of people telling me they had a perfect tablet when the memory leak wasn't fixed.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

The memory leak was fixed but apparently, it's reappeared for me with the latest kitkat update. Quite frustrating, you'd think Google would be on top of these things. What's the point of fast updates if you're waiting months on end for a fix. If I don't powerdown my tablet when I'm finished using it I can guarantee a reboot during use. In the last 24hrs, it has rebooted on me twice while using Chrome. Quite irritating to be honest
 

Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
It seems from previous posts that re-flashing 4.4.2 does not solve the reboots and I've not found a way to downgrade to 4.3 on Windows 8.1 to see if that works.

So I've tried another factory reset, but this time I've not allowed any non-Google apps to be installed other than the Photon browser which I need for flash Websites and the Re-boot logger app to record any reboots.

I'm using my Note 3 for the rest of my apps as that is still on 4.3 and doesn't have the reboot problem, but that might change after the KitKat upgrade.

I was getting at least 2 or 3 reboots a day so I should soon know if running 4.4.2 after a factory reset with just two 3rd party apps solves the problem and if so then that will suggest a rougue app. which I can reveal by re-installing the apps piecemeal.
 
Last edited:

Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
I've just had another random reboot so I've done another factory reset but not signed in to Google so there have been no downloads and the only program I've run is Settings to increase the screen timeout to 30 - minutes.

If I still get random reboots then it is nothing to do with 3rd party apps or updates for I've not downloaded any.

That just leaves the hardware or the original 4.4.2 assuming the factory reset returns to that.
 

Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
I didn't experience any reboots when not signed into google after a factory reset so I signed in and restored my tablet using Google backup.

I soon started to get reboots again, but I noticed that since the KitKat upgrade a website I use very often was sometimes automatically loading the Play store to try and get me to use their much inferier app. It doesn't happen on my Note 3 which is still on 4.3.

If I tried to close the Play store app to get back to the browser by swiping it away then it crashes and keeps trying to load over and over. If I hit the home button the Play store automatically re-appears still loading over and over, but after swiping it away several times it goes away or stops with an error message asking me to report the crash which I did and the browser is closed.

In order to fix this I disabled the Play store app so that it did not appear in my list of apps.and the website instead of loading the Play store app re-directed the browser to the Play store website which was better for I was still in the browser.

Since I stopped this particular website loading the Play store by removing it, I've just had one re-boot instead of several and my tablet is no longer overheating. I am a heavy user and have my tablet on many hours a day, so one re-boot is acceptable to me.

I've downloaded a Play store apk which I can install if needed but always remove it before using the website which tries to automatically load it.

It is a nuisance and I wish I'd stayed with 4.3, but I can live with the occaisional re-boot that might not be noticed if I only used my tablet lightly.

I'm annoyed that a website can automatically load the Playstore without me requesting it and that KitKat allows it.

I hope my experience helps others who are getting several re-boots a day.

PS

I did a factory reset then removed the Play store app before using the problem website so that it never loaded it in case that was needed.
 
Last edited:

Koopa777

Senior Member
May 18, 2012
765
326
Flashing the 4.3 factory image downgrades everything. For what it's worth, I noticed that the userdata partition is constructed differently than in 4.2.2(my last factory flash). That could have something to do with it. But also, I've been on custom ROMs since I got the tablet, yet I've never rebooted on 4.4.X. I guess try a vanillish ROM(like RastaKat) to see if that reboots.
 
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Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
Flashing the 4.3 factory image downgrades everything. For what it's worth, I noticed that the userdata partition is constructed differently than in 4.2.2(my last factory flash). That could have something to do with it. But also, I've been on custom ROMs since I got the tablet, yet I've never rebooted on 4.4.X. I guess try a vanillish ROM(like RastaKat) to see if that reboots.

Now that I'm just getting one reboot a day and my tablet is running cooler I can live with that and I don't mind re-installing the Play store when needed for continuous updates can be a nuisance.
 

Gaugerer

Senior Member
Sep 9, 2011
776
102
I finally managed to downgrade to 4.3 and I'm hoping that will solve all the problems I had with 4.4.2

But all seems well at the moment.

I'm not being booted from websites to the Play store, I can use the BBC iPlayer to download and run 1-hour videos and flash player works better.

Google has downloaded 4.4.2 (KitKat) but I'm not going to install it.
 
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    It's fairly easy to downgrade, just Google "nexus factory images" and you should find all the old versions of android straight from Google. There should be guides online for how to flash a factory image. Just make sure to back up all your files to your computer as it will wipe everything.

    Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
    1
    Thanks for your help.

    I've found the factory images and I'm now looking for a simple detailed guide how to do the downgrade.

    My Nexus 10 is on 4.4.2 (KOT49H) and I think I'll try downgrading one level to 4.4 (KRT16S) to see if that solves the reboots problem and if not then I'll try downgrading further to 4.3 (JWR66Y).

    Here is a good guide (sorry, I would have posted it earlier but I didn't have my computer with me at the time and was posting from my phone):

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1907796
    1
    Flashing the 4.3 factory image downgrades everything. For what it's worth, I noticed that the userdata partition is constructed differently than in 4.2.2(my last factory flash). That could have something to do with it. But also, I've been on custom ROMs since I got the tablet, yet I've never rebooted on 4.4.X. I guess try a vanillish ROM(like RastaKat) to see if that reboots.