I have a replacement Note 3. My Vodafone SIM, which worked fine in the original, fails in the replacement. When I try to access Settings, the menu briefly flashes, then the phone reverts to the home page. Will a Factory Data Reset fix this?

Question

Hi,
I have a Note 3 and a Vodafone SIM that are not playing well together. 
The history is:
I got my Note 3 over 2 years ago.  We visited Italy 2 years ago and I bought a Vodafone sim at a Vodafone outlet.  Everything worked perfectly during that trip and a subsequent trip to France.
Last October, I had to replace the Note 3 because the camera was failing.  I had insurance, so the insurance company sent me a refurbished Note 3. When I tried to use the SIM last December, the Note 3 had problems. When I put the SIM in and started the Note 3, the phone recognized the sim (but gave me an error that, according to Verizon, is spurious).  I could make phone calls but I could not access the data network.  In order to access the data network, you have to go into Settings. More Settings, Mobile Networks and set the Access Point Name.
With the replacement Note 3, I cannot access Settings.  As soon as I try to access Settings (with the Vodafone SIM installed), the Settings menu appears and then immediately the home screen comes up.  After working with Verizon for over an hour, I was able to get into Settings and set the access point name by booting into Safe mode.  But as soon as I rebooted into 'normal' mode, Settings failed and I could not access its menu (to turn on wifi, for example).  There are a couple of other apps that did the same thing - but I cannot remember which ones.
I have talked to Vodafone - they have no clue.  I talked to a Samsung rep I ran into at Best Buy, he thought the Vodafone SIM might be corrupted.  And now a Verizon tech I talked to last week thinks it is a firmware problem on the phone and I should do a Factory Data Reset.
Have you ever heard of this problem?  What do you think might be causing it?
Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

On2CO,  I'm glad you have reached out to us today. Thank you so much for the very detail description on what is going on with the device. Sounds like there might be an issue with an application that might be causing these issues. The reason I say that is, when the phone is in Safe Mode you are able to access the Settings screens with no issues. While in Safe Mode that does block all 3rd party applications from running on the phone. I would suggest on trying to back up the device and perform a factory reset: http://spr.ly/6-182Vuo (you would want to make sure to uncheck Automatic Restore in step 3). Once the reset is complete try to see if you can get into Settings. Then, I would recommend on adding 3rd party applications back on to the device one by one to see if we can find what app might be causing this issue. Please keep us posted if you have any further questions or concerns.   KevinR_VZW Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!