Galaxy Note8 from AT&T won’t receive long SMS and MMS

Hello everyone! Welcome to our new troubleshooting article for the day. This post answers some issues regarding the #GalaxyS8. If you encounter problems with your own S8, try browsing through the entire list of cases and see if there’s anything that can help you.

Problem #1: Galaxy Note8 from AT&T won’t receive long SMS and MMS

Note 8 N950U First off. I guess everyone is scared. Lawyers, FTC, Ask Maggie (CNET), Gadget Guy etc. of Sam and AT&T. Samsung wouldn’t warranty my phone because I couldn’t send it in for 9-11 days. Sick father who has to be able to contact me at all times. Nothing else to do but turn to AT&T. This phone has the same problem but worse. (Camera) I bought the new phone from AT&T due to the emergency situation. My question here refers to mms though. In very short. AT&T sent me This “replacement” (used) phone for a brand new one I purchased outright. Sent overnight. From AT&T. They won’t unlock it because of about 6 stories but the ones I go by are #1. It’s not an AT&T phone. #2. It’s on someone else’s account. I am now with Straight Talk. The only thing that does not work is long texts and mms. I can break the texts up and send fine. ST says it’s because the phone is not unlocked. I am still looking for other things. I just can’t see this being the only thing that wouldn’t work. My Note 3 worked fine with ST. (another phone bought brand new that AT&T would not unlock.) We will see.. I have an unlocked N950U1 that will be here Thursday. I have done everything on your list and ST’s list. Any ideas?

Solution: Every carrier, including MVNOs or mobile virtual network operator such as Straight Talk, has their own versions of Android Operating System in order to allow their services and products to work or promoted. These carrier-specific Android versions are modified vanilla Android versions meant to work with carrier-specific hardware so they can’t be installed in other devices. This is the reason why there are thousands of Android firmware versions even though they all come from one original, vanilla version from Google. This is also one way for carriers to discourage their subscribers from jumping ship.

Although most Samsung smartphones nowadays are now factory unlocked, it’s not a guarantee that they will work normally when used in a different network. For instance, even if a Verizon Note8 comes network unlocked, there’s no guarantee that all features of the phone will work normally when used outside a Verizon network. Sometimes, mobile data may not work at all, causing related services like MMS to stop working as well. If you have an AT&T-branded Note8 and you’re now using it in Straight Talk network, it’s possible that there’s a firmware restriction that prevents it from working properly when the device receives long SMS or MMS. If Straight Talk can’t figure out the reason and all they say is due to the phone needing to be unlocked, that’s probably the case. There’s no way for us to verify this though but you just have to take their word for it. So, try to contact AT&T again and ask them to unlock the device for you. If that’s no longer possible for whatever reason, we’re afraid you just have to accept it.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note8 User Interface restarts when wifi is turned off

About June of this year I noticed that if I turn off the WiFi, the User Interface reboots. Not the whole phone as the uptime does not reset to zero. Spectrum/BrightHouse is my internet and WiFi provider. At work, I can connect to the Spectrum/BrightHouse hotspots. For the last month they have been having problems. It is during this time I discovered the WiFi reset issue. I’ve done the cache partition clear and that did not solve the problem. As this is a Note8, doing the soft reset, removing the battery, is an adventure. I’ll try it if you say so.

Solution: The cause of this problem can be anything, especially since we don’t have any information regarding your phone’s history. It can be due to a firmware coding bug, an app issue, or even a hardware malfunction. To see if it’s due to a software bug, you can try doing some basic troubleshooting stuff.

Clear cache partition

A corrupted system cache can lead to all sorts of troubles. To check if your Android has corrupted or outdated system cache, clear its cache partition with these steps:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Install app and Android updates

Updates, whether they’re for apps or Android, sometimes include coding changes to fix known bugs. Make sure that all apps in your device are up-to-date. The same should be true for the operating system. If the issue you’re experiencing is due to a coding issue, there’s a chance that updates may fix it.

Reset app preferences

Some apps and services require core system apps and services in order to work properly. If you’re fond of changing or disabling apps or services without checking what they do, you may have accidentally disabled an important core system app. To ensure that all required apps are enabled, follow the steps below:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings (three-dot) icon at the upper right.
Tap Reset app preferences.
Restart your Note8 and check for the problem.

Reset network settings

Some network issues are fixed by deleting network settings of a device. You case definitely falls under a network issue so resetting your Note8 network settings makes sense. If you haven’t tried it yet, follow the steps below:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap General Management > Reset settings.
Tap Reset Network settings.
If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

Factory reset

Lastly, try to wipe your phone and return all software settings back to their defaults with a factory reset. This is an inevitable solution that you should do if all our suggestions above won’t help. To factory reset your Note8:

Create a backup of your data.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Problem #3: Galaxy Note8 making sounds during the night

So, this is weird as it only happens at night, between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am and not every night. Only happens a couple nights a week and not on the same the night. It also happens a couple of time in the same night. My Samsung Note8 will suddenly ding (my notification sound) 8 times successively. My screen doesn’t give any indication as to why this is happening. There are no texts or alarms or voice mail, etc. Nothing. I have reset all of my notification settings so that the only notifications that are on is my phone, text and my alarm clock. I’ve turned off all notifications in “Accessibility”. I don’t know what else I can do.. Please HELP! Thank you.

Solution: There may be an app that’s set to automatically sound off during certain times and dates behind this issue. Try checking your calendar apps or any other apps that’s capable of setting scheduled alarms or reminders. If you can’t figure it out via this method, wipe the phone and reset the software back to their defaults.

The steps on how to factory reset your device is shown above.

Problem #4: Galaxy Note8 changes ringtone to silent on its own

Hello. For several weeks, my Note8 has been randomly but consistently setting my ringtone to “Silent.” When I change it back to my preferred ringtone, it will stay that way from minutes to perhaps an hour before I realize that it is back to Silent. I don’t have a third party ringtone app installed, and I can’t replicate the automatic switch to silent on my own. Restarting the phone hasn’t alleviated the problem. All other sounds seem to be working appropriately. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Solution: Try to restart the phone to safe mode and observe if the problem occurs. We suspect this is being caused by a third party app so using safe mode utility tool may help. If the issue won’t happen on safe mode, you can bet there’s a third party app involved.

To boot your phone to safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
Observe the phone and check for the problem.

To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

Boot to safe mode.
Check for the problem.
Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
If your Note8 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.