Re: Frozeo phone

db <dieterhansbritz@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a motorola g100. Today, while I was typing a message, it froze
totally. On the keyboard, where there should be letter M, there was a
large circle with a dot at the bottom and three dots under that.

Never seen that.  A pic of the screen (you'll probably have to use the
camera in another phone or a separate camera since screenshotting
probably won't work at that point) uploaded to online storage and giving
a URL to it (e.g., imgur.com) would give helpers a much better clue as
to what you saw; however, it's too late now unless it recurs.

Which keyboard was it?  Could be the bundled keyboard with the phone,
the Google keyboard, or something else you installed.  Possibly it could
also be an app presenting a fake keyboard.  If you have apps that are
adware, an ad can show what looks like the navbar or keyboard of the
phone, but it is produced by the ad.  If they haven't attempted to
overlay the navbar, use the Back button to get rid of fullscreen ads.
Do not tap the "X" button at the top right since that can run a script,
so you don't know what that "X" does.  For me, any app that displays
fullscreen ads is malware since those can lockout any access to the
phone's screen underneath.  The app author will deny responsibility,
because the ad originated from source not created by the app author;
however, the app author permitted full screen ads, so it is their fault
when fullscreen ads take over the phone.  Get rid of adware apps, or pay
for them to get rid of the ads (and make sure the ads are gone when you
pay).  The Play Store is rife with adware, and many use ad platform code
they never wrote (so the app author has no control on how they display),
and which allows fullscreen ads.  Ads can be malicious, especially
fullscreen ads, and even those with an "X" to supposedly close them that
instead run scripts, so don't get or use adware apps.

Consider any adware app that presents fullscreen ads to be potentially
malicious.  Ads can pretend to be the navbar or the virtual keyboard.
Also check whose virtual keyboard you are using.  Some users will just
use what came bundled on the phone, but some will replace with Google's
Gboard, Microsoft's Swiftkey, OpenBoard, Grammarly, AnySoftKeyboard, and
many others.  Go back to the one bundled with the phone even if it has
less features.  After you get rid of the adware apps, or pay their
ransom to get rid of ads, then experiment with keyboard replacements.

No phone function worked, and it took several tries to turn the phone off.
I was then able to restart it.

Alas, since the battery is not user serviceable (requires breaking apart
the case which is not what most users will do), you cannot simply remove
and reinsert the battery.

This phone combine the Power button and fingerprint reader.  The problem
with that design is sometime you are trying to power off the phone, but
it instead thinks you are trying to scan your fingerprint.  Another
design defect is using the Power button to sleep the phone.  You want to
power off, but as you withdraw your finger then it thinks you want to
come out of sleep mode.  I have the same setup on my LG phone.  Although
I have 8 fingerprints recorded, seems the first one (right index finger)
is the one more likely to get the Power button to work as a power button
instead of trying to scan my finger or to go on/out of sleep mode.  It
may help to go into the Android setting to General -> Lock -> Power key
instantly locks to turn that off.  Another option under the fingerprint
options is to enable/disable using the fingerprint scanner to unlock the
phone.  Quite often I press the Power button to unlock, but it
immediately relocks as I'm drawing away my finger, so I have to press
and release the Power button VERY quickly to unlock.  Still a bit flaky,
but not as much.  I have to apply and hold my finger until the buzz ends
for recognizing my finger, and then slow press in the Power button to
lock.  To unlock, I have to press the Power button very quickly (press
and withdraw fast) to unlock; else, it thinks it is supposed to relock
right after unlocking.  Next phone I get will have the fingerprint
scanner under the front glass instead of combined with the Power button.

I also tried sticking a paper clip into the small hole at the top, which I
thought is for a reset, but no good there either.

My guess is you stabbed the headphone jack.

https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g100-10791.php

Says it has a 3.5 mm [headphone] jack.  That's disappeared in a lot of
newer phones forcing you to switch to Bluetooth headsets.  Carlos' guess
was a mic port, but I think that would be too small for a paper clip
unless it was a thin mini-clip. 

There is no recessed Reset button in any cell phone I've ever seen. It's
a phone, not a router or cable modem.

What would do this?

An app.  Look at what you've installed.  You might find a lot of them,
especially if you used them only once or twice over a long time, are no
longer needed, or there are non-adware apps to do the same thing.