MHL kernel wakelock problem

BadMedicineLK

Member
Aug 17, 2012
12
2
0
Charleston, SC
I am totally stock, unrooted.It all started after I turned on Google Now. I was trying it out for a few days, didnt like it so I turned it off. After that, I noticed a considerable dip in battery life. After checking with better battery stats app I found that the phone would no longer go into deep sleep and the culprit was "mhl-kernel-wakelock". I have tried everything to get rid of this wakelock.

I have tried: phone reboot, battery pull, wipe data from all media player apps and usb service, deleted all my apps, reinstalled them. I tried a full data wipe/reset and wiped cache.I tried charging my phone while off. I deleted all my media off of my sd card and got a new sd card. I tried connecting to windows based pc. Nothing works, the wakelock remains.

I have never used my note 2 to connect to the tv or anything like that. Also my usb functionality no longer works. It wont talk to the computer. The phone will charge though. I have searched google extensively and there is very little information regarding this wakelock. I'm afraid it might be at the hardware level. The only other thing I can think of is buying an MHL cable to HDMI and hook it up and hopefully when I disconnect it it will shut off the MHL mode that it is stuck in. Obviously I could also root and flash a ROM with a different kernel, but I really enjoy stock and the spen features etc.

If anyone has any suggestions im wide open. Thanks


EDIT (2/1/13): I also realized that when I tried Google Now was around the same time that my house lost power during the night and the power flickered WHILE my phone was charging from the wall outlet. I initially attributed the problem to Google Now, while in actuality it makes much more sense that a power surge fried my USB port on my phone.
 
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DaRkL3AD3R

Senior Member
Dec 5, 2010
784
240
0
I know this probably isn't the answer you were hoping for but I think it might be a good idea to go ahead and, assuming you're comfortable doing this, root and unlock your device. I recommend you try out Jelly'Beans' Build 4 ROM. It has all the great features of stock with the bonus of being much lighter on your phone (smaller system ROM file) and you can set it up to look like AOSP Jelly Bean. Or if you really don't want that look and prefer TouchWiz, you can do that too.

I would do this anyway as imho, it's better to be unlocked and free for the remainder of days you own this device, rather than get an OTA and lose the possibility of unlocking ever again.

And this has a good chance to resolve your situation as you would be totally wiping the system partition and chances are thats where the issue is.
 

droidstyle

Recognized Contributor
May 7, 2011
6,470
3,601
253
Fort Wayne
back up whatever you dont want to lose and wipe data/factory reset from stock recovery. you can try a cache wipe first, but a data wipe will fix guranteed.
 

BadMedicineLK

Member
Aug 17, 2012
12
2
0
Charleston, SC
I think I'm screwed. I can't even access the hidden menu from the dialer pad to attempt change the USB mode. It looks like a hardware failure, even though I haven't done anything out of the ordinary. It would explain why its stuck in MHL mode with the constant wakelock (despite multiple factory resets and data wipes). and why no USB ( tried 3 different cables) cable or any number of computers (3 different computers) cannot recognize, connect, or exchange information with it via USB. This blows.

I registered with Samsung and am trying to fill out a service request through their website, but it just says the troubleshooting guide is unavailable right now and it won't let me get past that step to actually request a service repair. FTW
 

BadMedicineLK

Member
Aug 17, 2012
12
2
0
Charleston, SC
Just an update in case anyone has this problem. I was able to get the battery drain under control. However, I'm not absolutely sure which setting it was, but under screen settings it was either auto-rotate or screen timeout, but I pretty much changed them all back to default, rebooted and changed them back to the way I liked them. For some reason it disengaged the MHL mode that it was stuck on. This is even after 3 factory resets and data wipes.. all it took was to switch one of those on and off.

The other problem I had was that my USB hub quit working, although it would charge, but not communicate with any computer. After a couple more days though, it stopped working altogether. It wouldn't charge my phone or do anything. I tested my charger and cord with another phone and computer it works/charges flawlessly.

After that, I took it into Verizon (crossing my fingers, since I got my Note II on release day with no insurance... so way passed the 14 day return period) and told them that I did get my phone back in late November, but I had never tried to plug it into my computer since I got it (even though I had and new about this problem for awhile) so I told them it was probably defective from the release date, I just didn't know about it. Long story short, after talking with 3 of the reps and them mindlessly googling dead-end solutions that I had already tried, the manager issued DOA on my device and shipped me a new Note II for free.

F yeah... very happy at this point. The new one I got is not a refurb, runs flawlessly. I rooted, unlocked, and running Clean ROM... all right before the OTA hit.