Lumia 920 Random Freezing (possible) "Fix"

[Scott Maier]

I say "Fix" because this is more of a temporary workaround until an official fix can be made. And, as always this worked for me, but YMMV.

The Short Version:
Disable Facebook syncing in email+accounts (I'm not talking about any app. This is the account setting under Settings > email+account that feeds the People Hub).

The Long Version:
I have had my Lumia 920 since 1/2/2013 and it has been randomly freezing up on me through out the day. It would freeze up during charging at night, either on the charging pad or plugged into the USB charger. It would freeze up randomly during the day after I had locked it. It never froze while I was actively using it, but, it was always a crap-shoot if it would turn on. Every time it froze I would have to do a soft reset (volume down + power button for 10 secs). I would say it froze about 2-3 times a day, sometimes more.

I tried a lot of the suggestions on this forum: turn off wifi, turn off bluetooth, hard reset the device, turn off background processes, etc. Nothing seemed to work. I opened a twitter dialog with @NokiaCareUS and they had me do everything I just mentioned. The last thing they wanted me to do was hard reset it and install my apps one at a time and see which one might be causing the issue.

So, I did this, and I went a little more drastic. I hard reset it and then left everything default for a day. The only thing I added was my Microsoft account so that my contacts and text messages would sync. My phone stayed running for 3 days with no freeze up (that rules out hardware issue). I then added my email syncing and added my Facebook account to email+accounts. That did it. Sometime overnight my phone froze and the alarm didn't go off again (I had a backup device this time :smile.

I wasn't sure what did it, email or Facebook syncing, so I disabled one and then the other. As it turns out, the Facebook syncing was causing it. Since I have disabled Facebook syncing, no freeze ups.

I have probably just jinxed it but it has been two days now without a freeze so it is promising. Can anyone else test this theory and see if it works for them?

 

[helsten2]

My freezes have always been during or just after (mainly) wireless charging. I have not had any freezes if I disable wifi during charging.
Now I have deleted my Facebook account from the phone (not using it anyway). Will do an overnight wireless charge with wifi enabled - and see what happens ...

EDIT:
No freeze on first night. Will continue testing ... rly:

 

[dkp23]

My official fix for random freezing is by returning or exchanging the phone. I understand random freezes like once in a blue moon, but it should not be happening on a weekly/daily basis/even monthly basis.

I understand this is a post to help resolve the freeze issue specifically, but does anybody really want to go through all this when freezing happens on their phone when it shoulnd't be?

 

[realwarder]

My official fix for random freezing is by returning or exchanging the phone. I understand random freezes like once in a blue moon, but it should not be happening on a weekly/daily basis/even monthly basis.

I understand this is a post to help resolve the freeze issue specifically, but does anybody really want to go through all this when freezing happens on their phone when it shoulnd't be?

Totally agree. We had 1 out of 2 phones freeze and reboot. Replaced it and both perform perfectly without issues.

 

[TobyGadd]

I replaced one that froze every hour or so. It would even freeze during set up--so I know that it wasn't a "rogue" app. The replacement hasn't frozen once in two weeks!

 

[Scott Maier]

My official fix for random freezing is by returning or exchanging the phone. I understand random freezes like once in a blue moon, but it should not be happening on a weekly/daily basis/even monthly basis.

I understand this is a post to help resolve the freeze issue specifically, but does anybody really want to go through all this when freezing happens on their phone when it shoulnd't be?

I would agree. If it was my wife's phone it would have gone back the next day and I was ready to take it back myself. Deep down the software developer in my was intrigued to find the issue. When I ruled out the hardware as the issue I knew it was something I was doing.

I was also a little skeptical taking it back because there were a bunch of posts on here about people having the same issue with a new phone.

Do you have Facebook setup in People Hub and it's not freezing?

 

[xsonwong]

Hope you can have longer test to prove it is the root cause

Once you found that, ask Nokia and Microsoft to fix it!!

However, I doubt why only some 920 have this problem but not other phone...

 

[helsten2]

Quick update:
Still working well. No freeze after I deleted my Facebook account from the phone ...

EDIT:
Frooze again ...

 

[meteoricone]

POSSIBLE SOLUTION - I had freezing once/day first week & was about to return mine for exchange (I LOVE THIS PHONE!), but a fellow WP user told me all I needed to do was eject the SIM card & re-install firmly (as if the SIM card was not in well enough). I did it, skeptically, and proceeded to TRY to get the phone to freeze - I had about 12 apps running at once + IE, everything. It wouldn't freeze and hasn't in 2 days! I have about 5 more days in my 14 day exchange window with AT&T, so I'm hoping the SIM issue fixed it. (Sounds too simple to be true, but so far,so good)...

 

[Smity Smiter]

This guy is right!!! It's the SIM, and I'm guessing it's because the SIM card is not a proper one but a full sized one cut into a micro SIM.
It was freezing every 5seconds, I enabled flight mode and it's fine now! Spread the word people, it's the SIM.

 

[Surendran Nambiath]

The problem is real, I faced it the first time I put my new NOKIA Lumia 920 on charge - which is, about an hour after buying it! While charging, the screen froze up completely! After about 15 minutes, the screen did respond, but its behaviour was unpredictable: it would work at times, other times it wouldn't. Sometimes, taking it off charging allowed me to answer calls, while at other times, I'd watch the phone ringing, without being able to actually take the call, even though I pulled it off the plug! Totally Frustrating!

Things got worse about 3 days later - the screen began to freeze even while I wasn't charging the phone and it would stay frozen for longer and longer periods of time - sometimes the whole day! I could see all the action happening behind the frozen screen - Missed Calls, Unread SMSs, Unread Mail, Photos Clicked, Volume Changes - everything worked, except the bloody screen!

Around that time, (about 10 days had elapsed since I'd bought the 920, by then), I had to go off on a week's tour. I got myself a new SIM (my older SIM had been cut, so as to fit into the NOKIA 920's MicroSIM slot!), charged up my old (and perfectly working, though terribly slow) Samsumg Galaxy Tab GTP1000 and set off on tour... My son, all of 17 years age and a htc 8S (running the same Windows 8), was unable to make the 920 work even once, during the week I was away! On return, lo and behold, it worked fine the first time. And promptly froze again, this time permanently!

I had been reading about the problem all along on the Net and had tried various suggested options - Soft Boot, turning off Wi-Fi, turning off Mobile Data, etc., but the problem continued all through my testing. I wasn't convinced that the Cut SIM was at the root of the problem - a similar Cut SIM worked just fine on my son's htc 8S! I therefore took recourse of the last option - returning the 920 to the Service Center. I would have liked to solve the problem myself, since I have always been the unofficial troubleshooter and 'repairman' of all things digital, wherever I had worked in the past, but enough was enough!!

At the NOKIA Service Center, I was greeted by 2-3 pleasant, young ladies, who patiently listened to my 920's symptoms. They assured me that the problem would be set right within an hour. Perhaps I was receiving extra-good service, for, a couple of NOKIA Finland officials were present that moment at the Service Center, on what I guess was an Inspection Tour!

An hour later, (during which time I had lunch at a seedy place nearby), I was told that my 920 was not repairable at the Service Center. It would have to be taken to the RF - Repair Factory. I grumbled, ranted and raved, even though I knew there was no other option but to wait out the 10 days that it would take for the Repair Factory guys to repair the 920. By then, luckily for them, the Finnish NOKIA officials too had disappeared - presumably for their lunch, presumably at their luxury hotel...

I took half a day's leave from my office a second time, when 7 days later (as against the 10 days I was told it would take), I was informed that my 920 was repaired. However, what I got was in fact a replacement Phone with a different IMEI Number. No complaints though... The replacement Phone works flawlessly till date (about a month has now gone by, touch wood...) and I am truly enjoying the 920-Windows 8 experience! Am eagerly awaiting Windows 8.1 now...

My advise to all 920 users out there, who have the screen freezing/ flickering problem is - GET IT REPAIRED OR REPLACED AT THE NOKIA Authorised Service Center - nothing else really works!

 

[thzman]

Afraid to speak of the devil, but I must agree with the previous poster. My 920 was also acting up and freezing at irregular times, also as previously mentioned during setup which drove me crazy. I had it sent for repair and I guess they exchanged the motherboard or something, because my phone also got a new IMEI number. I've been using it for three days now since I got it back and it hasn't frozen once, so I'm almost back to trust in this phone again. I just hope it stays that way and look forward to the update presumably coming in July.

 

[n6ix]

my lumia 920 today got freeze problem again this month..
This happened 2nd time since it was brought to Nokia Center and repaired. And for sure they just do hard reset only.
I try to delete all my music files cos I think it eating up the memory of the phone and delete some apps.
and try your suggestion not to sync the facebook on email accounts.
also the delivery of message on messaging tile not update precisely. but its a great feature somehow.
Thanks I observed my phone for a while cos I recovered it, not doing a hard reset yet.
Soft reset doesn't work either.