As we welcome 2016, here are some of the #GalaxyNote5 connectivity problems shared to us by some members of our community. We hope that the solutions provided below will also help others that may be experiencing similar troubles.

These are the specific topics discussed in this post:

Error Searching network on Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy Note 5 icons and widgets change to different colors
Galaxy Note 5 Google Play Store and Clash of Clans not working
Galaxy Note 5 no longer booting up after charging
Galaxy Note 5 randomly disconnects from mobile network
Galaxy Note 5 won’t connect to 3G network

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.

Problem #1: Error Searching network on Galaxy Note 5

Phone will not connect to mobile network. I can go to the mobile network screen in Settings and when I try to search for networks it says error searching network. I try to choose manual network and says the same thing. I have tried rebooting, rebooting in safe mode (same issues in safe mode), clearing the cache during restart. And most anything else I could think of. IMEI does show up, Wi-Fi does work fine. When I restart the phone, it does connect to mobile network then lost immediately. Shows x over network bars. Have also run Malware scans (360 Security) says it is good. Not sure what else to do besides factory reset. I have not made any known updates. Latest app download was 2 days ago (Ibotta) — Nick

Solution: Hi Nick. Assuming there’s no hardware failure involved (possibly a networking chip or part), doing a factory reset is an indispensable troubleshooting you must try. Since you have done almost all the other suggestions we usually provide for potential software problems, performing a master reset will help ensure that there’s no firmware-level problems behind this trouble. For a quick reference, here are the steps to perform a factory reset on your Note 5:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
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.
Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
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.
The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note 5 icons and widgets change to different colors

The icon of apps like “Here maps” & others appears to be black completely, the same thing happens several times with different applications or with folders & sometimes the widgets appears to be liquidly, I mean the blue coloured weather widget appears with greenish lines in it and somewhat with some other widgets.

When such things occur, I have to either reboot the phone or I have to wait to get it settled by itself.

So, is there anyway to fix it rather than rebooting it or formatting by pressing power button, volume up & down button.

I don’t want to lose my data. — Nilay

Solution: Hi Nilay. If this problem occurred after an update or an app installation, the first next thing that you can try is to ensure that the system cache is refreshed. Outdated or corrupted system cache can sometimes lead to issues with other apps or the operating system. Wiping the cache partition usually fixes the problems easily. If you haven’t done it before, here are the steps to delete the system cache on a Note 5:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
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.
Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
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.
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 Google Play Store and Clash of Clans not working

My name is Ikaho and I’m using a Galaxy Note 5. Since last month once is reset my note. I cannot link my email and for which I cannot use Play Store nor can bind my account playing Clash of Clans. Whenever I try to bind my email it shows something like it couldn’t establish proper connection” but I’m sure this is not because of connection error cause I have even tried with a hi speed Wi-Fi. But the problem is still not solved every time I try loading but still it’s the same.

I also tried connecting with customer care and they even help me with remote support and helped with troubleshooting problems on setting and cleared all the data’s and from app manager and Play Store from there and so on but they even failed to assist my problem. So I will be ever grateful to the Samsung team if the team could assist me to get rid of this issue cause my phone is still new in look and process. So kindly look on the problem stated above from genuine user ikaho! will be waiting for the reply and assistant as soon as possible thank you. — ikaho

Solution: Hi Ikaho. First of all, we don’t work for Samsung and they don’t pay us anything eventhough we do provide free troubleshooting tips for their products. Secondly, the issue you have of being unable to use your email for Google Play Store and Clash of Clans game may not be phone problem. The best thing that you can do to check if your email is having problems linking with Play Store is by using another phone or device so you can login using your credentials. If you have another Android phone, try to login to Play Store and CoC game to see if you have any problem. If the issue persists on the second device, make sure to contact Google or the customer service of Clash of Clans game so they can help you on the things that you need to do.

Problem #4: Galaxy Note 5 no longer booting up after charging

Hello. My problem first started when I plugged my phone into the charger. It didn’t charge even though the sign of charging had been on the screen.

After that, I tried to reboot my phone, but suddenly I had the “downloading … please do not turn off target” after I restarted it. I left the phone plugged to the charger for few hours, because I thought it was downloading an upgrade or something.

I checked the phone after few hours and it was dead, I tried different chargers but unfortunately it didn’t solve the problem.

I plugged the phone into the computer, there was a notification for a new hardware was plugged but not recognized. Also, when the phone is plugged for few minutes, I can hear the sound of electricity for a bit then an electricity sign pops up on the screen then disappears.

I hope you find a solution for this problem.

Thank you in advance. — Ali

Solution: Hi Ali. If your Note 5 no longer boots normally even after leaving it charged for several hours, the problem is most likely hardware in nature. Make sure that you try using another charger first to see if there’s an issue with the existing one. Sometimes, the charging cable can malfunction out of the blue so using another charger is necessary.

If the charger’s fine, make sure to have the phone checked by a professional. At this point, anything can be the cause of the problem — a bad charging port, depleted or damaged battery, or failing component in the power circuit. Our blog does not provide hardware troubleshooting and diagnostics so your only choice is either have the phone repaired or replaced.

Problem #5: Galaxy Note 5 randomly disconnects from mobile network

I had my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 for a few months without any trouble. My phone sometimes would not connect to the mobile network. It usually happened in certain building and in my basement, but it would also happen at random times. I did a factory reset twice and still the same problem. During this when I connect to a WIFI network, I don’t have any connectivity issues with WIFI.

Recently I tried using the phone again and I had problems with text messages not sending but once I resent them, they would send. Today it suddenly stopped connecting to the mobile network at random again. When it has its problems, it doesn’t lose connection with the network, it just gets too weak to connect. At first I thought that it could be the areas and locations but I bought a Samsung Galaxy AVANT and had no problems with the mobile network and in those areas. Other people do not have problems in those areas and I know that it’s not the SIM card since I was able to get it to work in my newer phone. I took my note apart and it looked really clean and well made on the inside with no problems. The only solution I can think of is to replace the mother board or the antenna cable. Is my problem cause by hardware or could it be Lollipop? — Jordan

Solution: Hi Jordan. Random drops in cellular connectivity can be caused by a few factors like firmware on the device, condition of the networking components, network quality of service, malware, or third party apps. If you updated the operating system or an app prior to noticing the problem, that might be a good clue on where to start your troubleshooting. Try to do another round of factory reset and observe the phone for several days without installing any third party application. This will help you narrow down the possible causes. If your software troubleshooting won’t change anything, there must be a hardware problem behind the problem. Make sure to have the phone checked for possible hardware defects.

Problem #6: Galaxy Note 5 won’t connect to 3G network

Hi. I have Samsung Galaxy Note 5. I am having issues regarding 3G Connectivity/network. Only GSM Network mode is working fine. When I change the Network mode from ‘GSM/WCDMA’ to ‘WCDMA only’ signals are gone and message comes up saying “No Service. Selected Network not available.”

When I click the message, it goes to Available Networks option and start Searching after few minutes nothing happens. It searched nothing.. I tried automatically searching, nothing happened.

In my area 3G is provided by Etisalat Afghanistan..

I have also tried my SIM to different mobile, 3G signals are coming in that mobile. Tried different networks SIM with the same result.

Tried flashing same firmware version of different country but result is same, 3G signals not coming. Tried flashing Modem file but no advantage gained.

Any solution for this issue? will grateful for the responses!! — Salim

Solution: Hi Salim. Your phone may not be compatible with the network’s 3G technology in your area. Try to call your service provider to ask for direct assistance regarding this matter. If your Note 5’s 3G connectivity works fine outside this area or when using another SIM card from a different service provider, there must be a compatibility issue at play.

Engage with us

If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem.

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.

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Galaxy Note 5 randomly disconnects from mobile network, other connection problems