How to fix Note 5 call dropping issue, won’t detect 4G LTE, other issues

For our #GalaxyNote5 users, here’s an addition post for you. This article discusses 10 common and new Note 5 issues and their respective solutions. We hope you’ll find this one helpful.

Note 52

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Galaxy Note 5 screen not working after moisture exposure

Hi. Having issues with the touch and display after taking my 2-year old Note 5 for a jog. It was a long run and i think sweat might have seeped in the ports or somehow. The screen has purple spots on the top and the doesn’t respond to touch in some areas. It seems like the phone is responding to touch without even doing anything like the widgets and Google Now keep opening as if i am touching the screen every other second. — Vigneshraj

Solution: Hi Vigneshraj. Try booting the phone to Recovery mode so you can factory reset the device. If a factory reset won’t bring the screen back to its normal working state, have it repaired or replaced. Here are the steps to reboot the phone to Recover Mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Problem 2: Galaxy Note 5 screen flashes a different color before unlocking

Hi. My problem is this. when my screen times out and goes black, when i press the Home button to lighten it back up and unlock my phone, the black screen flashed a coppery colour before it comes onto the unlock screen. I have no idea why it’s doing it. I have tried a few things, but not been able to fix it yet. I’ve also previously had an issue with the screen flickering when it was on auto light but i seem to have fixed that problem somehow. Thanks. Any solutions would be great. — Tessctucker

Solution: Hi Tessctucker. Can you remember doing anything different before this problem started to occur? Did you change some settings or install anything? If you did, try to reverse what you did and see if that will fix it. For example, if you installed a particular app prior to noticing the problem, try to uninstall it and see how it goes.

If the issue happened out of the blue, consider doing a factory reset to establish a baseline. After a factory reset, make sure not to install any app right away. Let the phone run for a few hours, all the while observing the phone. If the screen continues to exhibit the same unusual behavior, have the phone repaired or replaced.

Problem 3: Galaxy Note 5 has no signal, won’t detect network

I am based in Malawi, Africa. I have just bought Samsung Note 5. I have everything set but when i insert my local (Airtel SIM Card) the phone does not read the card so that I have not mobile network. However I can browse using WiFi. I have tried setting and resetting the APNs but to no avail. Can you please assist? —  Paul

Solution: Hi Paul. There are few reasons why your phone may not be detecting the network. Let’s discuss each of them briefly.

SIM card must be active. This is a no-brainer but you should make sure that the SIM card you’re using is activated by your carrier. If you have another known, working phone, make sure to insert it there so you’ll know if the SIM card is fine.

Is the phone CDMA or GSM? Since you did not mention if you’re in a GSM or CDMA network, we’ll assume that it’s GSM. In general, CDMA phones only needs a SIM card in order to access LTE, while GSM phone can’t work without it. Make sure to do some research about your phone by checking if it’s a CDMA or GSM. You can use the model number to get accurate information. Keep in mind that in most cases, CDMA phones won’t work in GSM networks and vice versa.

Radio frequencies. In order to detect a carrier’s signal, a phone must be equipped with a network chip that can work in a certain radio frequency or band. Make sure that your phone’s frequency bands are compatible with your carrier’s. Contact your carrier to ask what their frequencies are and compare them to the frequencies of your phone. Again, you must do some online research so you’ll know more about your phone.

SIM card slot may be defective. It may be rare but having a bad SIM card slot can still happen. Try to use another SIM card that’s compatible with your phone and your carrier and see if your phone can read or detect it. If it can’t, you have  a hardware problem. Send the phone in for repair or replacement.

Problem 4: How to use older Android version on a Galaxy Note 5

Hello. My issue is ever since the update to Marshmallow, I am not able to move certain downloaded apps to my SD card anymore. I use to be able to. Now I have storage issues constantly. Is there any way to reload a prior version? — Bree

Solution: Hi Bree. Try doing the usual solutions for post-update issues first — cache partition wipe and factory reset. If they won’t fix your issue at all and you still want use the older Android version, try flashing.

Flashing is basically modifying core system files and folders so you want to make sure that you do it properly. Not doing so may result to complications, including permanently bricking your phone. Flashing procedures vary by phone model so be sure to look for a good guide for you device.

Keep in mind that not all apps are designed to work from an SD card. If some apps will continue to be problematic when you move them to an SD card, or if you won’t be able to move them at all, then stop transferring them.

For reference, here are the steps on how to wipe the cache partition of your Note 5:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
  3. Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
  4. Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
  5. The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.
  6. Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
  7. When the process is complete, use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
  8. The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.

To factory reset your device, follow these steps:

  1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
  2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
  4. Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
  5. Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
  6. The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.
  7. Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
  8. When the process is complete, use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
  9. The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.

Problem 5: How to fix Note 5 call dropping issue

I have a Note 5 and all of a sudden my phone calls keep dropping. I can never finish a phone call..i thought it was a problem with the network and changed my SIM card and the problem seemed to have resolved. And now it has happened again. My phone is updated but I’m not sure if this issue was related to the update or not. Thanks in advance. — Amal

Solution: Hi Amal. Calls can drop for a variety of reasons. It can be due to a bad app, a software glitch, a hardware problem, or a network issue. To know which of these things is happening, you try to eliminate one from the list in a logical order.

Wipe the Phone app’s cache and data. This should be the first thing that you want to do. This will ensure that the problem is not app-related. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
  3. Once in there, click on an application.
  4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons for the application. For pre-installed apps, Clear Data may be the only active button. In that case, just ignore Clear Cache option and simply tap on Clear Data.

Boot to safe mode. Some third party apps can be problematic and can result to all sorts of problems. To know if there’s a third party app causing this trouble, you want to simulate the problem after you’ve restarted the phone to safe mode. In this mode, third party apps and services are prevented from running. If one of them is to blame, the problem should not occur while the phone is in safe mode. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and hold the Power button.
  2. Once the Samsung Galaxy logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  3. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  4. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Do a factory reset. As already mentioned above and in some of our posts, factory reset is the ultimate software solution for all things software. If the cause of the call dropping issue is on the operating system or one of the apps, factory reset should fix it. Make sure that you test the phone right away after setting it back to its factory defaults. See steps above on how to do it.

Contact your carrier. If your calls continue to drop even after a factory reset and without apps installed, the problem must either be hardware related, or an issue with your carrier’s system. Make sure that you let them know about the situation so they can help you identify the cause.

Problem 6: Note 5 unable to send videos and photos on Snapchat when on mobile data

I currently have a note 5 and all my apps such as Facebook, Instagram, & my Google Chrome are working just fine with the 4G LTE network. The problem is that my Snapchat isn’t letting me upload any videos or pictures unless I’m on Wi-Fi. It is not working on my regular network. My current carrier is Cricket Wireless. Can you all help me fix this? Please and thank you! — Maricela

Solution: Hi Maricela. If you’re having problems sending videos or photos over LTE, try using 3G network only. Some users before were able to use that as a workaround. This is definitely not ideal but it was a way to make the thing work.

If that won’t work at all, contact your carrier and let them know of the problem.

As a device troubleshooting measure, make sure that you uninstall and reinstall Snapchat. If nothing will change, contact Snapchat support.

Problem 7: Galaxy Note 5 won’t detect 4G LTE

Hi. I’m using a Galaxy Note 5 Samsung. The first time i use mobile data i can get 4G in my Note 5. After I change SIM card, I can’t get any 4G. I already make sure the card is 4G and got internet access in it. There is one day the phone suddenly got in 4G but then return to 3G /H+ again. so i knly get H+ signal so far how can i fox this? —         Andersenprasetyo.gani

Solution: Hi Andersenprasetyo.gani. Sometimes, a simple reboot can fix an issue like this. Make sure that you turn the phone off and let it sit for some 10 seconds before turning it back on.

At times, SIM cards can get damaged for some reason. Try using a new SIM card with 4G LTE capability.

If that won’t work, do a factory reset and see how 4G works again. Here’s how:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap the Settings icon.
  3. Under the ‘Personal’ section, find and tap Backup and reset.
  4. Tap Factory data reset.
  5. Touch Reset device to proceed with the reset.
  6. Depending on the security lock you used, enter the PIN or password.
  7. Tap Continue.
  8. Touch Delete all to confirm your action.

Finally, make sure that you contact your carrier so they can help you as well. There may be an on-going outage or maintenance works in your area so tweaking something in your phone won’t really help at all.

Problem 8: Galaxy Note 5 calendar app won’t make any sound notification

Note 5 – Calendar sound notification does not work. Have checked and tested all settings numerous times, restarted the phone numerous times, still doesn’t work. Will only give quick vibration and flash the screen with the event. Unless you see it happen, you miss everything in the calendar. Tried multiple calendars from the app store, all do the same thing. — Mmsicotte

Solution: Hi Mmsicotte. We can’t think of any common or know bug that causes an issue like this. If multiple calendar apps do the same thing, you should try a factory reset to see if there’s an operating system glitch causing it.

Problem 9: Galaxy Note 5 won’t install Nougat update

I have Galaxy Note 5, running OS Android 5.1.1. I want to upgrade to Nougat but when i search for software update, a message occurs that your operating system is modified in an unauthorized way. Kindly update through Smart Switch. I have also tried the smart switch, it runs but it fails in the end. Please help me. — Hasan

Solution: Hi Hasan. If you can’t install an update via Smart Switch either, you should reflash the device. This will allow you overwrite the current ROM with a stock Nougat version, or a custom ROM.

We don’t provide flashing guide in our blog so we suggest that you use Google to search for one.

Keep in mind that flashing has its risks and is usually not recommended for average users. A lot of bad things can happen if it’s not done properly. In some cases, even if all steps are done correctly, problems can still occur afterwards. If you intend to accept the risks, including the possibility that your phone may become permanently bricked, then go ahead. Again, be sure to find a good guide. We suggest that you visit some forums like XDA-Developers forum in order to get in touch with other Note 5 users who may have the same phone model as yours.

Flashing will allow you to use either a Samsung/carrier provided firmware/ROM or a custom ROM. The choice is up to you but take into consideration that custom ROMs may not be as stable as official ROMs. Developing an Android operating system is demanding resource wise and most custom ROMs are collaborations of brilliant Android users. That means that custom ROMs may sometimes be buggy and may remain so for a long time because it can take time for developers to address the problem. Anyway, again, it depends on your pick but be sure to know what you’re doing.

Problem 10: Galaxy Note 5 can’t install update

I have another Note 5 that is unlocked. Originally from AT&T. Why is it still on Android version 5.1? I even put my friend’s AT&T SIM card in and then checked for updates and it still said my device was up-to-date. Rubies was yesterday 6/22/17. It’s driving me nuts. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks. — Chad

Solution: Hi Chad. Try using Smart Switch and see if there’s a pending update for your device. Make sure to use the PC or Mac version and not the one in your device.

If you can’t update your Note 5 via Smart Switch, refer to our suggestion for Hasan above.

 


TheDroidGuy Mailbag

🛠️If you have questions, check our Help section for details on how to submit your questions.💡


Posts You Might Like

Leave a Comment