Hello #GalaxyS6 owners! Welcome to another article that addresses some S6 issues we’ve received from you for the past few days. If you can’t find anything useful in this article, be sure to also visit the rest of S6 articles we’ve published in the past.

For now, these are the specific topics we’re covering for you:

Pre-owned Galaxy S6 won’t unlock due to Factory Reset Protection
Galaxy S6 LED light won’t go off for SMS notification
Galaxy S6 can’t make or receive calls
Galaxy S6 won’t read any SD card
Galaxy S6 keeps shutting down by itself after installing Android Nougat
Galaxy S6 won’t update firmware above Android Lollipop
Galaxy S6 edge stuck in Samsung logo screen
Galaxy S6 edge shuts off when battery level is low
Galaxy S6 cannot connect to vehicle’s Bluetooth after the update

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: Pre-owned Galaxy S6 won’t unlock due to Factory Reset Protection

Hi. I have a Sprint SM-G920P. My wife bought it online but when we got it it’s asking for an original Gmail account. We tried contacting the dealer without success. So i tried side sync, Odin, ADB, Kies and i came across your method. When i plug in the OTG cable nothing happens. I’ve seen that a screen is suppose to pop up but nothing. Any ideas as to what i can do?….i am out of options. — Jayalvarez7905

Solution: Hi Jayalvarez7905. The OTG cable workaround was discovered by a YouTube user over a year ago so there’s a chance that Samsung may have already patched it. We are not aware of any other way to bypass Factory Reset Protection at this time so you’re out of luck.

Problem #2: Galaxy S6 LED light won’t go off for SMS notification

I have two problems with my phone after a recent update. One is that my LED light for text notifications does not go off unless on complete silence or with sound when it used to work when on vibrate. I followed advice from someone through Verizon to go back to factory settings and still does not work.

Second is with my text board. Before I did an update, if I accidentally put a b or v between two words, the phone would automatically fix that and put a space in. No longer. It’s almost like everything my phone would do prior has stopped. — Kevin

Solution: Hi Kevin. Android updates change system files so sometimes things can behave differently after they’ve been installed. If factory reset did not fix your 2 problems, then the problem may be caused by an app, or by poor firmware coding.

The first one may be fixed by uninstalling the problematic app or by making sure that all your apps are compatible with the running Android version. There’s no way to know if our hunch is correct though so you must treat this a trial-and-error situation. If the problems go away after uninstalling an app, then you must have removed the cause.

Sometimes, installing app updates can also fix post-update problems so make sure to do that as well. If you have a lot of apps from unreliable sources, make sure that they are all compatible with your operating system. Otherwise, simple uninstall apps for good and check if the problems will not occur.

If nothing changes even after a factory reset with no apps installed, that means that the odd behaviors you’re reporting here are caused by the firmware update, which may in turn, be due to inefficient coding.

For your LED notification concern, the issue may be settings-related. If the phone is running Android Marshmallow or Nougat, make sure to check Settings>Notifications>Scroll down to the bottom and tap LED Indicator>Turn on LED Indicator.

Problem #3: Galaxy S6 can’t make or receive calls

A couple of days ago my phone wouldn’t let me use the Internet I had paid for, for the month. I was OK at home on WiFi but when I left the house…nothing. That eventually fixed itself. I don’t know how. I put it down to kids tampering with mobile data button. Now it won’t let me make or receive calls. I checked everything you mentioned on your page. I then just tried turning it off and on and tried to make a call. it wrang the number but no one picked up. I then noticed a pop up message came up on screen for a split second that read “calls deactivated ring +.” now it only stayed briefly and didn’t always pop up when I tried to ring just the first 3-4 times after turning phone off and on again. I tried tapping get the message to see if it brought to a number to ring but it just disappeared. Really confused. I didn’t buy it in a shop but off a friend who got it as a present off his ‘EX’ but he said it wasn’t a bill phone so I don’t think it’s locked as I have been using it over 2 months. — Mark

Solution: Hi Mark. The best team that can help you with this problem should be your carrier. To be honest, we have no idea what’s going on with your device as you haven’t provided any helpful information at all. A lot of times, voice calling problems are network-related so your carrier should be able to identify where the problem is coming from and how to fix it.

If you haven’t tried it though, you can also troubleshoot the device before calling your network to see if it will change anything. The only troubleshooting step that you can do, if you haven’t done it yet, is factory reset. This will ensure that your phone’s software is reverted its defaults. Here’s how to do it:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
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 #4: Galaxy S6 won’t read any SD card

I want to purchase my employer provided S6 as we have updated phones at work. It was a Verizon phone, and I have put my AT&T SIM in it and manually set it up to the AT&T network. That part is working fine. However, I am finding that I am not able to add memory because of this SD card unsupported issue. I have a pile of SD cards and have tried many of them — 32GB, GB16, 8GB. They all say unsupported, and when trying to format you get the same error as I have seen many people post including this one on you own thread. exactly, word for word.

When I plug it into the phone it says “unsupported SD card” and wants to format it. I say okay but then it gives a command 7 volume partition disk 179,64 public failed with 400 10 command failed. This has to be a hardware or software issue with this phone as too many people are stating the same thing. It is not a failed SD card, as I said I have tried a pile of cards. There actually was one card that came up with at least something, but I could not copy to it or format it either.

I suppose it could be a failed card slot due to some inherent flaw in this model. So I may rethink buying this from my company. — Lee

Solution: Hi Lee. This problem can either be an intentional restriction put in place by your company’s IT, or an isolated case with that particular device. To see if it’s the former, consider asking your company’s IT guys or try checking another company phone to see if it’s restricted as well.

If there’s no software restriction on this phone at all, then you should treat the problem as an isolated hardware issue, which means the only to fix it is by sending it in to Samsung.

Problem#5: Galaxy S6 keeps shutting down by itself after installing Android Nougat

Soon after my Galaxy S6 upgraded to Nougat (currently running 7.0), it frequently shuts down for no apparent reason. Several times a day — sometimes multiple times an hour. I’ve taken many steps to address it so far.

I have cleared the cache partition, recalibrated the battery, booted in safe mode, disabled all non-essential apps, and even done a full device reset…it still shuts down. And it’s a “hard” shut down; it’s on one moment and off the next, with no transition screen or buzz like you get when the battery runs out. It shuts down both when unplugged (frequently) and when plugged in (rarely), but to this point it has never shut down while plugged in overnight, when the only active app is a noise app. I’d love to hear any ideas I haven’t already tried! — Andrew

Solution: Hi Andrew. You’ve already done all possible software solutions for this issue so the problem must be hardware in nature. Make sure to contact Samsung so it can be checked or replaced.

Problem #6: Galaxy S6 won’t update firmware above Android Lollipop

I think my Samsung S6 is stuck in Lollipop update. However there is no option to update it in the About Phone tab which is what I want to do. I have had a look online and know that my software is Samsung Exynos 7420 which apparently means I have a genuine Samsung but I don’t have a root. Not sure what this affects but saw it pop up a few times in forums. I’m with Spark in NZ and have a working SIM too. Please help! Thank you so much in advance! — Toby

Solution: Hi Toby. There are a couple of things that you can try to update the phone’s software. Below are your options:

try updating using Samsung Smart Switch app
manually flashing a stock firmware

Before you attempt to install any update, make sure that there’s at least 1GB of available space in the phone’s internal storage device (not the SD card). There shouldn’t be any app that should prevent installation of the latest system update. If you’re running a custom ROM on this device, make sure that you revert it to stock first.

If you’re planning to update the software via Smart Switch, make sure that you have a standby computer for the task. If this is the first that you will do an update like this, try to follow this link for instructions on how to install Samsung Smart Switch. Once you’ve installed Smart Switch on your computer, you may also have to install Samsung Smart Switch Mobile on your S6. After that, it’s just a matter of connecting your S6 to your computer (you must run the app first in your PC) and letting it detect if there’s any pending update for it. If the app will not prompt you that there’s an update available for your phone, that means that this method will not work.

Should updating via Smart Switch fail, your other option is to flash an updated firmware manually, also known as flashing. This procedure is a bit complicated so make sure that you do some research on how to do it first. Providing a guide for this process is beyond the scope of this article so be creative on this one. Google can always help in finding a good guide for you.

Problem #7: Galaxy S6 edge stuck in Samsung logo screen

Hi. My name is Marcus and i have a Galaxy S6 edge. I don’t know why i didn’t get insurance when i bought the phone but i didn’t. One day i had lots of apps open and was on Snapchat for too long and my phone overheated and turned off by itself. then it cooled off and i was able to turn it back on and about a day later i was able to cut it back on. But then it cut off for good and no matter how long i waited, it wouldn’t turn back on. I assumed i had a battery problem and bought a toolkit and a new lithium ion battery and now my phone cuts on but as soon as it gets to the first black screen with the white Samsung Galaxy letters, it turns back off. Do you have any idea of what the problem maybe?? — Marcus

Solution: Hi Marcus. If replacing the battery yourself did not fix the problem and the phone continues to fail to boot to normal mode, the only troubleshooting that you can do is to try and see if you can boot it to other modes. If that won’t work either, then you should really let a professional physically check the device for you. A problem like this can go beyond the battery so unless you are trained to check for other factors that can prevent the phone to boot properly, it’s time that you let a someone who knows do it for you.

For reference, here are the steps on how to boot your S6 to alternate modes:

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 #8: Galaxy S6 edge shuts off when battery level is low

Hi there. I am using a Samsung Galaxy S6 EDGE and it suddenly switched off automatically when i tried to take a picture with flash on and when i try to switch it on back. Once the logo appears, it switches off again automatically but when i connect with charger it works normally. If i unplug the charger, it switches off again and even the battery is 100% it shows 55%, 65%, and 75%. When i try to turn it back with charger connected and last week i updated to Android 7.0 OTA and this all happens after 2 or 3 days from updated. i tried all the solutions can be found on websites and forums but nothing works. Kindly please help me. Thanks. — Anonymous

Solution: Hi Anonymous. If you haven’t tried to recalibrate the battery yet, that should be the first thing that you should do now. This will help ensure that the operating system is retrained how to detect battery levels correctly. Here’s how it’s done:

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 phone continues to shut down on its own, you can also try a factory reset to deal with any possible software issue. If that won’t solve the problem either, send it in for repair.

Problem #9: Galaxy S6 cannot connect to vehicle’s Bluetooth after the update

There was an Samsung update approximately a week ago and since then I cannot maintain a Bluetooth connection in my vehicle (2013 Toyota Avalon). I had no problems prior to this and once it disconnects, it is very sporadic about reconnecting (with much difficulty) and then stays connected only about a minute. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy s6. I don’t believe it is an issue with the car because I seem to be able to pair and connect my husband’s Galaxy Note. I would appreciate some help. Thanks. — Diane

Solution: Hi Diane. If you haven’t wiped the cache partition and performed a factory reset yet, we suggest that you do them to fix any possible bug in your phone. If that won’t work, unpair your both devices from each other and try to pair them again. You also want to delete the old pairings if there are several of them before reconnecting them again.

Finally, contact the Bluetooth car kit maker and see if there’s a way for you to install a software update on the device. A lot of times, newer devices like smartphones will encounter problems after an update because older Bluetooth car kits suddenly becomes incompatible. In some cases, updating the car kit can fix issues like the one you have. In other cases, the situation will remain as it is because the car kit simply can no longer work with newer Bluetooth systems. In either case, you have to talk to your car maker or the car kit manufacturer to see if there’s a solution to the problem. We know it can look like the problem is being caused by the phone but trust us, newer Bluetooth devices have simply moved on while Bluetooth car kits remain, well, old.

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Galaxy S6 LED light won’t go off for SMS notification, won’t read any SD card, other issues