How to Fix Galaxy Note10 Signal Issues

ByHarvey Hisona

Samsung’s latest Note flagship, the Galaxy Note10 has been sold by the millions around the world, making it one of the top selling premium devices for 2020. As we close the year, we bring you the solutions to one of the most common issues for this device: Note10 signal issues. If you’re one of the unlucky owners of this amazing device that experiences Signal issues, don’t worry as we will make sure that you’ll have a working phone after reading this post.

How to Fix Galaxy Note10 Signal Issues

A lot of Galaxy Note10 users complain of network or signal issues all the time. In this article, we’ll show you how to fix these problems. We hope that you’ll find this helpful.

What causes Note10 signal issues

There can be many reasons why even an expensive premium phone like the Note10 encounters network problems. Some of the common ones that often encounter include the following:

  • Temporary device bug

  • Network glitch

  • Network outage

  • Software issue

  • Bad app

  • Virus

  • Malware

  • Poor network configuration

Is there anything that you can do about signal issues?

Network problems are usually fixable on your end if the cause is not due to a coding issue or a network glitch.

Solutions to Galaxy Note10 signal issues

In order to fix this problem, you need to loosely group your troubleshooting steps in knowing if the signal issues is caused by a glitch from the network side, or if it’s within the phone itself. As Galaxy Note10 signal issues vary on a per case basis, you’ll have to determine whether or not our suggestion is applicable in your case.

Verify signal issues is due to network-related issues

First, you want to find out if the reason of the problem is initiated by your network. Signal difficulties may sometimes be a product of unforeseen network troubles. This is usually easy to spot as there are easy indicators that you can check.

Know the nature of the problem

Signal issues can come in many forms. For some, it may appear as intermittent loss, while for others, it may be an annoying weak reception, which eventually leads to poor to no service at all. Some users may report signal issues when they encounter slow or low quality cellular connection. Before you try to fix your problem, you must know what exactly you’re experiencing so you can skip unnecessary troubleshooting and proceed directly to the best solution. For example, if it appears that you signal strength issues when in a particular place only, it’s possible that the area may have poor signal reception problem. In this case, what you can do is to simply finish whatever you’re doing and restart the device once out of the area.

Identify services that are affected

What particular service are you having trouble using at this time? Is your Galaxy Note10 having an issue sending a text? Are you having trouble placing or receiving a call, or both? Is mobile data slow or totally out? If you have any or or all of these services not working, you want to make sure that you keep them in mind in your troubleshooting.

Check with another device

One of the best ways to know if there’s on-going network outage is by checking at least two devices. If you have another phone or tablet running on the same cellular network, try to observe the signal bars on each of them. If you have the same exact problem on at least two devices, you can assume that the problem is network-related. You can skip the rest of the troubleshooting steps below and get help directly from your network operator.

Reseat SIM

Another simple way to fix a signal problem is by disconnecting the SIM card. Just be sure that you turn the phone off before removing and inserting the card. While you’re at it, make sure that you also take the time to clean the copper contacts of the card. Just wipe them with clean, soft cloth.

Troubleshoot your Note10 for signal issues

The next set of troubleshooting steps below are focused on fixing the issue coming within the phone itself. You must go ahead with these potential solutions if you followed all our previous suggestions and you’re positive that there’s no network issue at all.

Restart device

Rebooting can benefit your phone in a lot of ways. If you haven’t tried this yet, make sure that this is the very first thing that you do at this point. Network problems go away usually go away on their own but some may be shaken off faster with a restart. Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Another way to restart the device is by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.

  2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.

  3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more.

The second restart procedure tries to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

Rebooting your device regularly at least once every week can be beneficial. If you tend to forget things, we suggest that you configure your phone to reboot on its own. You can schedule it to do this task by doing these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.

  2. Tap Device Care.

  3. Tap the 3-dot at the top.

  4. Select Auto restart.

Troubleshoot SIM ToolKit

Some forms of network problems are caused by a corrupted or malfunctioning SIM ToolKit app, also known as SimMobilityKit (if you’re running Android 10). To ensure that your Note10’s SIM ToolKit is in top shape, you can try three quick possible solutions to fix Note10 Signal issues.

Force quit SIM ToolKit app

There are two ways to restart an app in your Note10. Learn how to do each of them below.

Method 1: Close an app using Recent Apps key

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).

  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously.

  3. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Method 2: Close an app using App Info menu

Another way to force close an app is by going within the app’s settings itself. It’s a longer way compared to the first method above but it’s equally effective. You want to use this method if you plan on doing other troubleshooting for the said app like clearing its cache or data. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open Settings app.

  2. Tap Apps.

  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).

  4. Tap Show system apps.

  5. Find and tap the app.

  6. Tap Force Stop.

Clear SIM ToolKit app cache

Clearing an app’s cache can sometimes fix an app malfunction. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.

  2. Tap Apps icon.

  3. Open Settings app.

  4. Tap Apps.

  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).

  6. Select Show system apps.

  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.

  8. Tap Storage.

  9. Tap Clear Cache button.

  10. Check for the problem.

Reset SIM ToolKit app

A more effective way to fix app-related issues is to return its settings to defaults. You can do that by clearing the app’s data.

  1. Go to the Home screen.

  2. Tap Apps icon.

  3. Open Settings app.

  4. Tap Apps.

  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).

  6. Select Show system apps.

  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.

  8. Tap Storage.

  9. Tap Clear Data button.

Reset network settings

Sometimes, all it takes to fix a network problem is to just reset the current network configuration. If you haven’t tried this yet at this point, follow these steps:

  1. On the Home screen, tap Apps icon.

  2. Open Settings app.

  3. Tap General management.

  4. Tap Reset.

  5. Tap Reset network settings.

  6. Tap Reset settings to confirm.

Install updates

Some forms of network problems are caused by poor coding from a carrier’s side. This means that the device is having a problem because a programming problem has not been fixed and it’s causing Android and the hardware to not work optimally. When detected, carriers will work on a fix and this fix is usually rolled out via updates. Make sure that you install whatever update there is to install a possible fix.

Turn off Roaming

If you are not in your home country and mobile data not working on your Galaxy Note10, Roaming may be to blame. You usually need to enable Roaming feature in your account first before leaving your home country so you can continue using network services normally abroad. Exact procedures on how Roaming is activated varies by carrier so be sure to contact your network operator for accurate information.

On the other hand, if you just returned from a trip abroad, the reason for your problem right now may be that Roaming is not turned off. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.

  2. Tap Connections.

  3. Tap Mobile networks.

  4. Move slider of Data roaming to the left to turn it OFF.

Change Network mode

Switching from a network mode sometimes help. Try the steps below to see if it works on your case.

  1. Open Settings app.

  2. Tap Connections.

  3. Tap Mobile networks.

  4. Tap Network mode and select 3G or 2G.

  5. Restart device and repeat steps 1-3.

  6. Tap 4G or LTE or auto-connect to return to the original configuration.

Manually disconnect from network

At other times, manually releasing a device from a network’s coverage temporarily can fix network problems. If you haven’t tried doing this as of this point, here are the steps to follow:

  1. Open Settings app.

  2. Tap Connections.

  3. Tap Mobile networks.

  4. Tap Network operators.

  5. Tap Select manually.

  6. Wait for your device to search for networks.

  7. Once it’s done searching,, select another network to connect to. For example, if you’re on T-Mobile, pick AT&T or any other network.

  8. Your phone will be forced to return with an error because it won’t be able to register successfully.

  9. Afterwards, select your own network again and see if your device will now be able to re-register.

Check for bad app

If you continue to experience signal issues on your Galaxy Note10, the next good thing to try is check for possible bad app. The best way to easily do this is by restarting your Note10 to safe mode. This software environment is usually used by technicians to check exactly what we’re trying to do.

To restart your Samsung Galaxy Note10 to safe mode:

  1. With your device turned on, press and hold the Power button until the Power off menu appears then release.

  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.

  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.

  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.

  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” should appear in the lower-left of the home screen.

  6. Check for the problem.

Safe Mode may be a useful trick in checking for a problem but it won’t pinpoint the exact app. In order to identify which of your apps may be behind the problem, you’ll have to do a process of elimination. Here’s what you need to do exactly:

  1. Boot Galaxy Note10 to safe mode.

  2. Check for the problem.

  3. If the issue returns or once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps one by one. You’ll need to do spend some time doing this if you have plenty of apps installed. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.

  4. It’s important that you only uninstall a single app at a time. After removing an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem again.

  5. If your Galaxy Note10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4 until the rogue app has been identified.

Refresh system cache

Some network issues are brought about by a corrupted system cache. If this happens, it usually follows a major software overhaul, like after a system update. To ensure that the system cache is top shape, try to clear the cache partition. Here’s how:

  1. Turn off the device. This is important as your device won’t boot to Recovery Mode when it’s on.

  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby / Power key.

  3. Once the Android Recovery screen comes up, release the buttons.

  4. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe cache partition.’

  5. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe cache partition.’

  6. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.

  7. Press the Power button to confirm the action to clear the cache.

  8. Wait for a second as the system wipes the cache.

  9. Press the Power button again to reboot the device. This will return the device to the normal interface.

  10. That’s it!

Restore software to defaults (factory reset)

In most cases, network problems are fixable on a user’s level. If if you’ve already followed everything above and your Note10 still encounter bad signal issue, consider wiping its software with factory reset. Factory reset is often effective in resolving issues coming from software problems.

Below are the two ways to factory reset your Note10:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10 via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy Note10. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.

  2. Open Settings app.

  3. Scroll to and tap General management.

  4. Tap Reset.

  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.

  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.

  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10+ using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.

  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.

  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.

  4. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby / Power key.

  5. When the green Android logo displays, release both keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).

  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.

  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’

  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’

  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.

  10. Press the Power button to confirm the action to clear your phone data.

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Get help from us

Having Issues with your phone? Feel free to contact us using this form. We’ll try to help. We also create videos for those wanting to follow visual instructions. Visit our Youtube page for troubleshooting.

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