Hello Android community! We bring you another list of #GalaxyS5 issues we’ve collected during the past few weeks. If you can’t find the solutions you’re looking for, don’t forget to visit previously published posts in this link.

Galaxy S5 reboots on its own when battery level is low
Unable to type anything on Galaxy S5
Accidentally dropped Galaxy S5 won’t turn on
Galaxy S5 keeps getting corrupted
Galaxy S5 screen showing white static line
Galaxy S5 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, or you can install our free app from Google Play Store.

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.

Problem #1: Galaxy S5 reboots on its own when battery level is low

Hello. I have an Android phone Samsung Galaxy S5 for at least 2 years and only recently I started having issues with it. 6 months ago I have changed my battery because it bulged and inflated and looked like my screen was about to burst like a scene from Alien movie. However, only 1 week ago it started acting weird, mostly after some updates that I decided lately (after they auto-updated) to return them to factory settings and disable them (ex: ANT- radio service or remote TV guide and so on), than, my phone acted really weird. It started to turn off at 14% battery and never wanted to go turn on, unless I had the power cord on. So I left it to power up until green light showed it was fully charged.

After 8 hours passed and almost midnight I decided to listen to some music and it was at 56% battery (I never used the phone in those 8 hours since recharging, not even wi-fi was turned on, or screen brightness), and it started to turn off. After multiple turn on, the battery percentage was less then what I thought it was, like 3% loss every turn off and turn on, while the temperature of the phone nearly skyrocketed, i could barely hold it in my hands.

I followed thru all the tips and steps on this page to see if i can troubleshoot, soft reset, disable apps and lastly i did a factory reset. I never installed other apps i used to have before i factory reset it, and updated the important ones like Samsung services, Samsung accs, and google accs and services as they were necessary. It worked well for 2 days, even let the phone reach 2-3 % battery left and then recharging it, but it started turning off at 49%, 26%, 25% again for no reason.

I suspected i took a phone virus, but i can’t check, and since i factory reset it, it shouldn’t have been possible, but now i am out of troubleshooting steps or ideas on how to fix it. — Emil

Solution: Hi Emil. We suggest that you retrain the operating system first so it detects battery level correctly. This process is called battery calibration. If you haven’t done it yet, here’s how to calibrate your battery:

Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
Charge the phone without turning it back on.
Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
Repeat the cycle once.

If the problem won’t go away, the next thing that you can try is to flash a stock firmware. Flashing or installing official firmware is an effective way to remove malware. If you suspect that the phone has been infected by a malware, make sure that you this step. If you haven’t tried flashing before, use Google to search for guide on how to do it. Keep in mind that flashing, if not done properly, can cause severe boot problems. Make sure to follow the steps and that you use the correct firmware for your phone model. Using an incorrect firmware can cause boot loop issue so make sure you have the right one before proceeding.

Problem #2: Unable to type anything on Galaxy S5

My Galaxy S5 recently began blocking any text entry. I can not type text into any field i.e. passwords, text messaging, Google search, Calendar, etc. I found that if I restart my phone, I can enter text as I could until the other day. However, as soon as my screen goes black (receiving and accepting phone call and placing phone to ear, locking phone, allowing screen to shut off from any action) and I reactivate the screen, I can no longer enter text into any field.

I have tried turning it off and on (temporary fix until I shut off the screen). I have removed the battery, SIM card, and SD Card; reinstalled. I have adjusted my Samsung Keyboard settings as well as reset my Samsung Keyboard.

Also, I have tried downloading a 3rd party keyboard from Google Play. I still have the same issues. I have not tried a factory reset yet, but it is on my list of things to try when I have more time. I accept the fact this phone has been in service for the last 3 years, and is well past it’s prime. I am curious to know if there is a fix to this issues so I can continue to use the phone until I can get a new one. Thank you. — Jason

Solution: Hi Jason. We haven’t seen this issue anywhere so it may be an isolated case brought about by something unique in your phone. It can be caused by an unknown software bug, or by a third party app that’s not compatible with the software.

To check, we suggest that you do a cache partition wipe first. Wiping the cache partition refreshes the system cache, which in turn can fix bugs. Here’s how it’s done:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
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.

If refreshing the system cache won’t work, the next troubleshooting steps that you can try is to restart the phone to safe mode. You need to do this since there’s a chance that a third party app is causing the problem. Safe mode in itself is not a solution but a means to check if one of the third party apps is to blame. If the problem won’t occur while in safe mode, that’s a confirmation of our hunch that one of the apps is causing the trouble. Here’s how to do it:

Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 20 to 30 seconds.
Once you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key immediately but continue pressing the Volume Down key.
Your phone should continue booting up and you will be prompted to unlock your phone as usual.
You will know if the phone successfully booted in safe mode if the text “Safe mode” is displayed at the lower-left corner of the screen.
Observe the phone for a few hours so you can replicate the issue.

If wiping the cache partition or booting to safe mode won’t help, you must do a factory reset. Make sure to back your important files up before doing it. Here are the steps:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S5.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
Press the Volume Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

Problem #3: Accidentally dropped Galaxy S5 won’t turn on

We are about to upgrade our Galaxy s5s in the next month. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, however, I work for Uber and after a bad drive my husband and I downloaded the life360 app so he can track where I am if there is some kind of problem.

Last weekend he was out with a friend. His phone asked to update and he has been the type of person to always update when it asks and will jump my case because I don’t ever update. While it was updating he accidentally dropped it. But the fall was only a 5-inch fall from his hand to a table. Also at that time the phone has a protective case on it as well as his screen is covered too. My son says that my husband also tried to charge his phone with a friend’s charger. The update was almost done and his phone screen went to a Samsung screen and on the top right it said rebooting. If we tried to mess with the phone at this point it would flash a quick screen to visit a site (but we didn’t get to read what site since this screen would disappear very quickly) and it would jump back to the screen saying it’s rebooting.

I took the battery out and put it back in and it would continue with the reboot screen again. Now the phone won’t turn on at all. I have put other batteries in it that I know is fully charged and nothing. I’ve taken the battery out and held the power button for 30 seconds and nothing. I have used the original power cord and plugged in to my laptop. When it was plugged into my laptop I pressed the power button and it will vibrate. The screen doesn’t come on the colored notification light doesn’t flash, but it will still vibrate.

Please help me if you can. Should we for now or not update or phones when asked? — Jennifer

Solution: Hi Jennifer. There’s very little that we can do to try and fix an issue like this. The only thing that we can suggest is to see if the phone can start in other modes so you can do a follow up troubleshooting. If the phone remains unresponsive to different hardware button combinations, the next step in the troubleshooting ladder should be repair.

System updates are released for a reason so make sure that you install them if they become available. Updates don’t just contain enhancements but also patches to known bugs. We can’t see any why you won’t install them.

For reference, here are the exact steps on how to boot your phone to other modes as well their respective follow up troubleshooting:

Boot in Recovery mode:

Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Boot in Download Mode:

Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
Wait until the Download screen appears.
If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

Boot in safe mode:

Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
Press and hold the Power button.
Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

Problem #4: Galaxy S5 keeps getting corrupted

I have a Samsung Galaxy S5. Apps are continuously crashing and a screen pops up stating, “You recently turned off location services for Google. Would you like to turn it back on?”

Now I can’t open the built-in Internet app. I’m really getting sick of factory resets. I just got my picture folders organized from the last reset 6 months ago! I can’t install security updates & there’s always something going on from viruses. I pay for Nortons & they continue to let viruses cause these problems.

I’m not downloading smut, clicking ads, or accepting unknown sources, so I don’t know why my phone keeps getting corrupted. Samsung tells me to send it in for software reconfiguration & Verizon wants me to just buy a new phone.

This phone has performed great for my needs in a cell phone. I just want to know why all of these problems started when new phones with newer software came out? — Qp4life09

Solution: Hi Qp4life09. Smartphones can start showing signs of aging after a few years and they’re not exactly designed to last forever. Performance degradation is subjective and depends on how a user uses his or her device. For some, one year may be long enough while others, like our own Galaxy S3, has been around for over 4 years now. If your S5 keeps getting corrupted, it may not necessarily be due to malware infection. The longer you use your device, the higher the chance that its Nand chip, or internal storage device can get corrupted. There’s no direct way to check the true status of your phone’s storage device but the general rule is, if it’s been around and is now showing problems, it’s probably high time for an upgrade. If you don’t want that, then you should stop complaining about having to factory reset as that is the most effective way to fix issues in an old phone.

Problem #5: Galaxy S5 screen showing white static line

When I start up my phone I get the white static screen. I can hear the startup and when it’s done loading I can get into the phone but after awhile of using it, it will start freezing and when I power off I get half screens. I have taken it in to a Roger Centre and they hooked it up to their computer and it says no hardware issues found. I tried formatting the phone going back to Lollipop and then updating to Marshmallow again but still same problem.

I also had them look to see if the cables were all ok and they seem to be. I’m at a loss with what to try next. Any suggestions I’d greatly appreciate. Thanks. — Jennifer

Solution: Hi Jennifer. Looks to us you have a hardware issue but if your carrier’s technicians said there’s none, then you should send it to Samsung so it can also be checked or replaced.

Before you send in though, make sure that you do the basic software troubleshooting such as wiping the cache partition, observing in safe mode, and factory reset. These three procedures should help you determine if the problem is caused by software or not. Make sure to observe how your phone works after a factory reset. If the same symptoms are present after wiping the phone with factory reset (without apps and updates), you can assume that bad hardware is to blame. Factory reset will revert all software settings to their defaults, thus effectively eliminating any glitch that may have developed after you installed your apps and after installing updates. Because factory state software is generally bug free and known to work, there’s no reason for the phone to malfunction, at least software-wise. If the white static screen continues, that may be a sign of a bad screen assembly.

You can’t obviously fix a hardware problem with a software tweak so you want to let a professional handle the matter for you.

Problem #6: Galaxy S5 won’t connect to 3G network

I have Samsung Galaxy S5 AT&T variant. I have been using it since last two years and it worked fine on 3G as well as 2G on other career its unlocked for all. Suddenly, it stopped working on 3G and was only accepting edge/2G as network. I tried forcing it wcdma using testing code from dial pad, upon which it showed no service, whereas beside this i had a S5 which was having full service on same network 3G. I tried switching multiple networks and SIM cards and my phone works only on 2G, regardless of manual activation and APN settings for all networks i tried. i have Lollipop 5.0.1 OS. — Umerclever

Solution: Hi Umerclever. Try to install the latest update for the operating system to see if it will any difference. If possible, you can also try to flash older firmware on the device to see if it will fix the problem. There’s a chance that the current modem firmware may not be updated and is causing the problem.

Keep in mind that an issue like this can be account-related as well. Your carrier may have made some changes that prevents your account to connect to 2G network only. Try inserting your SIM card to another S5 to see if can connect to 3G.

One other reason for this problem can be a defective phone antenna. If there’s no account or network issue, consider a phone replacement.

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Galaxy S5 reboots on its own when battery level is low, keeps getting corrupted, other issues