Please explain "Safe Mode"

[fredkahan]

During a "Power Off" my TF300T (with the most recent firmware update installed) entered "Safe Mode" with an intervening sick Android robot (it had a superimposed exclamation mark!) No permanent adverse consequences that I can detect on subsequent rebooting and the Safe Mode went away.

I have yet to see on this Forum a formal description of the orderly way to enter Safe Mode or a discussion of its purpose. On this site: How to: Enter Safe Mode in Jelly Bean – Droid Life it is claimed to be a new feature of Jelly Bean 4.1, but I was unable to deliberately induce this mode following their directions.

I would appreciate guidance on this issue. Thanks.

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[Frederuco]

I found that using a custom ROM for Jelly Bean on my TF101, if you do a 3 second press on the power button, the context menu pops up. Then long press the option for POWER OFF and it prompts me as in the linked article.

I have not had the need to run in safe mode, but it does not allow you to run anything other than stock apps.

[fredkahan]

Thanks, Frederuco! With my standard TF300T firmware (4.1.1 / 10.4.2.17 20121018 ) I was able to reproduce the "Safe Mode" entry by a long press on POWER OFF as you specified. This also answered another question I had .. how do you simulate the spontaneous "warm reboots" (like a PC's Ctrl-Alt-Del) that annoy so many of us.

BTW, it is speculated on the Droid Life link in my OP that "Safe Mode" is Google's way of diagnosing any future malware apps. Is that how you see its function?

[Frederuco]

Thanks, Frederuco! With my standard TF300T firmware (4.1.1 / 10.4.2.17 20121018 ) I was able to reproduce the "Safe Mode" entry by a long press on POWER OFF as you specified. This also answered another question I had .. how do you simulate the spontaneous "warm reboots" (like a PC's Ctrl-Alt-Del) that annoy so many of us.

I'm a bit unsure, CTRL ALT DEL has changed over the years, back in the win 9x days, two in rapid succession would do a reboot. Now, it just brings up a menu. If you are talking about the task manager to end tasks, the quickest way to end most tasks in JB (and ICS) is to tap the recent apps button (two overlapping rectangles) and then swipe left or right. This works with most apps, but not Navigation, Music or Pandora. I have an app called Fast Reboot that kills all tasks and is like a warm reboot that works quite well when my tab is acting wonky.

[/QUOTE]BTW, it is speculated on the Droid Life link in my OP that "Safe Mode" is Google's way of diagnosing any future malware apps. Is that how you see its function?[/QUOTE]

Yes, I think that is what I see it for. If your tablet is doing something strange, reboot in safe mode to see if the strangeness stops. That way you know if it is an issue with the coreloaded firmware, or if it is an aftermarket app. Still won't tell you exactly which app, but it will help to prove the firmware is or is not the issue.

[fredkahan]

Your last point, that safemode allows a determination whether aftermarket apps are responsible for misbehavior, was very valuable to me. I am one of those troubled by random reboots, most seriously during unattended standby when the battery has several times been drained. In "safe mode" I have now demonstrated to my satisfaction that WiFi is responsible for the rebooting. My unit has yet to spontaneously reboot in safe mode with WiFi off and microSD dismounted. Thanks Frederuco for inspiring my effort!

[Swipe]

I have now demonstrated to my satisfaction that WiFi is responsible for the rebooting. My unit has yet to spontaneously reboot in safe mode with WiFi off and microSD dismounted. Thanks Frederuco for inspiring my effort!

Curious - Does it reboot when you leave the microSD in the tablet mounted and then let it go to sleep in normal mode?

[fredkahan]

Yes. My experience in "normal mode" is that having the microSD mounted definitely aggravates random rebooting, even more-so than leaving WiFi on.

[Dutchess]

Frederuco your tip for Safemode issue also worked on my TF700T too :-) Thanks for sharing!