Galaxy Note 5 keyboard not working, can’t unlock screen or enter PIN, S Pen problem, other issues

Hello #GalaxyNote5 users! Welcome to another post that covers a number of uncommon Note 5 issues and their solutions. We hope we’ll be of help to you.

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 keyboard not working, can’t unlock screen or enter PIN

Dear thedroidguy.com. I can’t UNLOCK my device as there is NO KEYBOARD appear on the screen. The Pop out note that comes out is Samsung Keyboard has stopped – x close app. Thus, the phone can’t be UNLOCKED because needs to be unlocking using password. But since there is NO KEYBOARD so PASSWORD can’t be entered. Please help. Thank you thedroidguy.com. — Dayana

Solution: Hi Dayana. First, you want to make sure that you restart the phone. Sometimes, bugs can occur if the phone has been running for a long time already. In case you won’t be able to restart the phone normally, try a soft reset by pressing and holding Power and Volume Down buttons for 12 seconds. If prompted to select, use the Home key. Once the phone has restarted, enter your PIN.

If your Note 5 keyboard continues to malfunction, your next step would be to boot it to Recovery Mode so you can try wiping the cache partition or perform a factory reset. Here’s how:

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. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Problem 2: Galaxy Note 5 wifi keeps disconnecting

My phone has Wi-Fi connectivity issues. My router has multiple Wi-Fi networks being broadcasted and when I connect to one, I’ll have the signal for a while (varies from about an hour to several hours, sometimes days), then randomly on the top task bar where you can view notifications, battery life, and Wi-Fi status, the Wi-Fi status icon will have an exclamation point on the icon. I’ll go into the Settings and see ‘internet may not be available under the connected Wi-Fi and when I switch networks it fixes it and then it happens once again. — Ryan.bister1337

Solution: Hi Ryan. Does the problem only occurs when you’re connected to your own router or not? If only in your router, the problem is not phone-related so you should troubleshoot the router issue with the help of your router manufacturer or internet service provider.

If the problem occurs regardless of the wifi network you’re on, start by wiping your phone’s cache partition. There may be an issue with the system cache, maybe a bug that developed over time so make sure that you refresh it.

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.

Keep in mind that wiping the cache partition will only affect the system cache. If the problem continues, the next step is to ensure that Android and ALL apps are up-to-date. There may be a problem with your phone’s networking chip and sometimes, update can fix an issue like this.

If your phone is already running the most updated Android version and apps are all compatible and up-to-date, do a factory reset. This will be the last thing that you want to do. If the issue persists after completely wiping the phone and removing third party apps, there may be an unknown hardware issue in the main board. In that case, you want to have the phone replaced.

For reference, these are the steps on how to factory reset 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 ‘Yes — delete all user data’ 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.

Problem 3: Galaxy Note 5 S Pen handwriting recognition not working

I have a problem with handwriting recognition in S pen on my week old Note 5 . When I write a note in action memo, i.e. name and phone number or web address, I click the “Link to action,” I always get “Recognition Failed.” The handwriting is set to English. I have factory reset, cleared cache, no change. I have changed the language but problem didn’t resolve. can anyone help me to fix this problem. My phone model is SM-N920i. — Mohdshakeel777

Solution: Hi Mohdshakeel777. Troubleshoot a Note 5’s S Pen is almost always easy and straightforward. That’s how Samsung designed this accessory. Before you attempt any S Pen troubleshooting though, we would like to warn you that if your device has been rooted or running unofficial firmware, there’s a chance you’ll encounter S Pen problems. Make sure that you revert all software settings to defaults by removing any root software or custom ROM. Once you’ve done that, make sure that Android and all apps are updated.

Samsung keyboard

Another good thing to do in this case is to ensure that you stick with the default keyboard app. Sometimes, third party keyboard apps are buggy so make sure that you only use the tried and validated Samsung keyboard app.

If you’ve been using the native keyboard app all along, you might want to delete its cache and data as well. Here’s how:

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.
5. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
6. You should now clearly see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons for the application.

Once you’ve wiped the cache and data, you then want to ensure that Pen detection option under Samsung keyboard app is enabled. You can do that by going under Settings>Language and keyboard>Samsung keyboard. Turning the Pen detection option on tells Samsung keyboard to switch to handwriting recognition mode when the S Pen touches an input field like the one in Action Memo.

Install the S Notes extension pack

The default Note 5 S Note app is limited so Samsung released an extension pack for it to add more features. Be sure to install said extension pack by doing the following:

1. Open S-Note
2. Tap More
3. Tap More Features.
4. Tap Select Extension

Have the phone replaced

If the issue remains after doing the steps above, there must be an unknown issue either with the operating system or hardware. Contact Samsung so the phone can be replaced.

Problem 4: Galaxy Note 5 data recovery when screen is damaged

My phone screen was damaged and i have no way to unlock my phone to retrieve all data. I tried to unlock it through Find my mobile and Samsung kies, but for some reason it is not finding my device. I also tried plugging to a PC to retrieve contents, but i still cannot retrieve anything due to a locked screen. I’ve tried phone doctor, fonelab etc and its frustrating as nothing works. Please help if you can. — David

Solution: Hi David. A screen lock is the first line of protection for any Samsung device so unlocking it must be done to access contents of the internal storage. Since the screen is broken, you won’t be able to unlock the screen. There’s no other way to unlock the screen unless you have the right software to bypass the screen lock protection. Such software are not available for end users and only law enforcement personnel with legal permission to unlock a device have them.

You can either have the screen fixed, or simply have the phone replaced. A screen repair may resolve the issue, especially if the problem is isolated to the screen only. However, if the motherboard is the main reason why the screen is not working in the first place, a repair may not work.