My parents probably think I'm dead because they don't check their email.

June 9, 2012 3:46 PM

Help me fix my Samsung Galaxy S Android phone that is suddenly not working.

This morning I suddenly started to get the error message "The process com.sec.android.app.twlauncher has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again." It pops up every time I try to access the home screen. Force closing makes the phone's screen go blank ... until a second later the error message pops up again. Turning the phone on and off does nothing. I can't use any of my phone's functions.

I've googled the error message but I'm getting conflicting information.

The nearest US Cellular store (my provider) is over two hours away. I'm on my family's plan from back home.

posted by Kutsuwamushi to Technology (17 answers total)

Response by poster: Removing the battery also does not work.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:06 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: And I cannot buy any credit with Skype because Verified by Visa is a trainwreck.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:07 PM on June 9, 2012

twlauncher is Samsung's TouchWiz launcher. Can you use an alternative launcher in the meantime? Something like this?

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/how-to-install-and-use-launcher-pro-on-android-50005821/
posted by chengjih at 4:10 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: I can't access any of the functions of my phone, including the market. I don't know how to install an alternative launcher without actually being able to use my phone. Is this possible and if so are there instructions somewhere?
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:16 PM on June 9, 2012

From the play.google.com store, which has android apps, I was able to select an app online from my computer and push it to the phone (as long as the phone was turned on). This was with a Droid 2, but it seems it might be the same process.
posted by HuronBob at 4:28 PM on June 9, 2012

Try Google play or call US Cellular. They can do a remote reset.
posted by k8t at 4:30 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: Tried to google play thing, but whatever is wrong with my phone is causing the process to crash.

I will try the remote reset thing if there aren't any other options.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:36 PM on June 9, 2012

if you can boot the phone, do a soft reset... if you can not boot the phone, a hard reset is in order. YOU WILL LOOSE ALL DATA, APPS & ANYTHING NOT SAVED TO THE SD CARD. The SD card is safe. You do back up your data regularly... right?

soft & hard reset info

Good luck...
posted by digital-dragonfly at 5:57 PM on June 9, 2012

Anything more that you can do will involve wiping the phone. Instructions are available online, but it basically involves turning your phone off/removing the battery, reinserting, and then powering on while holding a certain key combo that is different for different Android phones and selecting the clear storage option.

If that doesn't work, you can hook it up to your computer and flash the phone.
posted by wierdo at 5:58 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: My phone doesn't have any data on it that I am attached to. If I do a hard reset, will it still be linked to my US Cellular account? I can't do anything to it that requires taking it in to be reactivated or whatever.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:07 PM on June 9, 2012

US Cellular is a CDMA system. on a GSM system [t-mobile] using a sim chip - no problem. Maybe someone could chime in about CDMA accounts.
posted by digital-dragonfly at 6:23 PM on June 9, 2012

It won't change your ESN, so no, it shouldn't do anything to your activation.
posted by wierdo at 7:14 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: Point is moot - it refuses to reset. I had a friend call my mom to tell her what was going on, and my mom called US Cellular, who apparently can't do a remote reset. It looks like I will be overnighting my phone to my parents so they can take it in to the store.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:19 PM on June 9, 2012

This is a Galaxy S, not an S II? What's the model number? If you have a MicroUSB cable so you can plug it into your computer you can reflash it yourself.
posted by wierdo at 8:24 PM on June 9, 2012

Response by poster: Phone reset! The secret was to hold the up and down volume keys down simultaneously, not just the down key like the instructions online said. I lost all my data, including contacts, but I don't care that much.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 9:47 PM on June 9, 2012

Awesome! If you had your phone set to sync with Google, it should load all your contacts, among some other things, once you set it back up.
posted by wierdo at 9:57 PM on June 9, 2012

I have an SII and had the exact same problem. I took it back to an AT&T store and unfortunately they couldn't fix it, so they sent me another one (it was still under warranty).
posted by ccalgreen at 3:05 AM on June 11, 2012