We bring you yet another article that talks about #GalaxyS7 issues and solutions. We hope that some of you will find this post helpful in fixing your own problems.

These are the specific topics discussed in this material:

Galaxy S7 messaging app won’t sound notification when receiving SMS from particular number
Galaxy S7 Edge corrupts SD card
Galaxy S7 Gmail app reply button not working properly
Galaxy S7 can’t be factory reset due to Factory Reset Protection (FRP)
Galaxy S7 not reading SD card
Storage space in Galaxy S7 not showing true figure

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 S7 messaging app won’t sound notification when receiving SMS from particular number

I’ve had my phone for a few months now. I never had this problem before but whenever my husband, and only my husband’s number texts me. I get the message through the messaging app itself. But it doesn’t make a notification at the top of the screen like it used to or come across a game I’m playing or even make the notification sound. Whenever someone else, anyone else texts me, I don’t have this problem. So I can get up to 10 messages on my phone from my husband sometimes because I have to go in manually to see it. This is very unfair to have this problem with one lonely number that I’ve had in my contacts for years. This has caused quite a few arguments and needs to be fixed. Please help. Thanks. — Nicole

Solution: Hi Nicole. The first thing you want to try is wipe the cache partition. Minor firmware and hardware glitches can be fixed by deleting the system cache. In fact, we technicians always recommend doing it before performing any of the reset procedures.

The cache partition is a repository of system files used by the operating system during app load times. Rather than come up with sets of files to hasten loading times, your Android device “caches” previously created system files in the cache partition so it can access them easily the next time an app is loaded. In an ideal world, files in the cache partition should be refreshed automatically during an app or system update. This doesn’t happen most of the time though. Sometimes, manually wiping the cache partition is necessary in order to refresh it. Because the files themselves are temporary, they can be deleted safely without impacting the operating system or the apps. The system will automatically create a new set of cache files that next time you load your apps.

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
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.’
Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If refreshing the system cache won’t do anything, you must wipe the messaging app’s cache and data next. This will force the phone to virtually “re-install” the said app, resetting all notification settings back to default. Here’s how it’s done:

Go to Settings.
Proceed to Applications.
Select Manage Applications.
Tap the All tab.
Look for the messaging app and tap it.
Tap Storage.
From there, you will see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 Edge corrupts SD card

Recently, my Galaxy S7 Edge has been presenting itself with a large variety of problems. It began when my microSD became corrupted. I was receiving a ‘storage not found’ notification from Spotify, and most of the pictures in my Gallery which were on my SD card had appeared broken. Resetting it did nothing. Furthermore, my keyboard sometimes become unresponsive, and ‘TouchWiz Home’ kept crashing so I couldn’t go back to the home menu. Unsure if it was a problem with my device, I shoved the card into my PC, and attempted to repair it. It told me that it was irreparable because it was corrupted, so I thought it was a problem with the card. I replaced the card and the problem seemed to disappear. 3 days later, my photos still sometimes appear corrupt. Music playback sometimes stops abruptly, and then my phone becomes completely unresponsive, not even allowing me to do a force reset. It’s becoming a rather troublesome problem. What should I do about this? — Jayjaystownjo

Solution: Hi Jayjaystownjo. Try wiping the cache partition and observe the phone for a few days. If that won’t correct the erratic behavior of your phone, don’t hesitate to start fresh by wiping the phone clean via factory reset. Here’s how:

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.

Once you’ve factory reset the phone, make sure that you also reformat the SD card. It is important that you reformat it using your phone and not any other device.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 Gmail app reply button not working properly

Hello. My Galaxy S7 is fine except for a little quirk in the GMAIL application. When I need to REPLY to an email I have just read and I click on the small arrow pointing (curving) to the left which is the symbol for making a REPLY, the cursor automatically goes to the END OF MY SIGNATURE BLOCK INSTEAD OF THE AREA JUST BELOW THE EMAIL I AM TRYING TO REPLY TO. Each time I have to redirect the cursor to the proper location before typing a reply. This did not happen when I was using a DROID MINI but in all other respects this Galaxy S7 is a great little smartphone. Thank you for your kind attention. — Will

Solution: Hi Will. We haven’t observed this behavior in any of our devices when replying via Gmail app so it must be isolated to your device. In order to fix it, the first thing that you want to try is reconfigure your Gmail account on the app. This means you need to remove your Gmail account from the said app before setting it up again. If that won’t solve the issue, the next step is to wipe the cache and data of the said app (steps provided above).

There’s a chance that the issue may be due to a bad Android update or operating system so if the two procedures won’t work, don’t hesitate to do a factory reset.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 can’t be factory reset due to Factory Reset Protection (FRP)

My mother was recently diagnosed with early onset dementia. She now has trouble remembering her password and is locked out of her Gmail account. Her phone is requiring her Gmail account password (not sure why because she doesn’t have a passcode on her phone) to operate the phone. I have tried a factory reset and it still requires the Gmail password. Can I bypass this so I can delete the Gmail app from her phone? All I want on her phone is the ability to text & call. I don’t know which Android version she has since the phone is locked. — Lyndeweston

Solution: Hi Lyndeweston. Starting with Android Lollipop, Samsung had integrated an additional security measure on their devices so no one can perform a factory reset unless the Google account is either removed first, or its correct password entered. This security measure is called Factory Reset Protection (FRP). Basically, it strengthens the phone’s defenses again theft and unauthorized changes by blocking any attempt to factory reset the device without first doing any of the two conditions above. If the phone prompts you to enter your mom’s Gmail password during a factory reset, then FRP must be protecting it. You must exert all efforts to enter the correct password if you want to unlock the phone. FRP doesn’t not discriminate whether you are the device owner or not, or if you have simply forgotten your Google account password. If you can’t provide the correct credentials, there’s no hope that you can still perform a factory reset.

There was a simple hack previously published RootJunky in YouTube before that showed FRP can be bypassed but we don’t know if it’s working at this time. Since you cannot expect help from Samsung or Google on this issue, we suggest that you try the said hack. Keep in mind that hacks like this may already be patched by Samsung at this time so if it will not work, you’re out of luck. Please visit this page for instructions.

Problem #5: Galaxy S7 not reading SD card

Hi. My Galaxy S7 has been acting up lately. At first, it was just restarting at random times and I wasn’t too bothered by it. Then I noticed the phone started to get slower. Finally, while I was listening to music with earbuds and trying to load my gallery, my music suddenly stopped playing and the gallery albums were all gray. Somehow, my SD card wasn’t mounted although it was still in the phone and I hadn’t touched it. All my music was stored there and so were most of my pictures. My phone shuts off randomly or goes all dark except for the taskbar sometimes and sometimes the apps take forever to load, or won’t load at all until I close it and restart the phone.

I already tried taking SD card out and positioning them in again, but my phone never detects the SD card unless I try to put it in while my phone is on. Even then, it gets stuck on “Preparing SD card; checking for errors,” then proceeds to automatically go pitch black as if it turned off. What really bothers me is the fact that I can’t mount my SD card though, and I don’t want to erase anything in there. Can you help me or tell me what’s going on with my phone? My phone is updated to date and it was working fine until about 8:30 this morning, by the way. — Helen

Solution: Hi Helen. First of all, you want to ensure that the problem is not due to a bad SD card. To check, turn off the phone and remove the SD card. Then insert the card to another device or to a computer so you can see if a second device can still read it. If a computer or another phone won’t be able to access the contents on the card, that’s a clear indication that the SD card has been corrupted for some reason. You have no other options in this matter but to simply reformat it, which of course means deleting everything off it.

However, if the SD card can still be accessed by a computer or another device, try to create a backup of your contents then factory reset your Galaxy S7.

Problem #6: Storage space in Galaxy S7 not showing true figure

Hi! I’ve had my phone for a while, and consequently have installed and uninstalled plenty of apps, as well as downloaded plenty of pictures which I then backed up either to the cloud or my SD card and then deleted. My phone says its 16G of storage is full, and that ‘used space’ is what is taking most of it up. However, when I go to where ‘used space is broken down’ it doesn’t add up to the 10GB but my phone THINKS it is! I’ve taken pains to clear my caches and hidden files, delete any music or photos, old text messages, superfluous apps–everything. I’d attach screenshots to an email, but I can’t! On the ‘storage’ screen, it says 10.3GB are being taken up in ‘used space’. But when I tap on ‘used space’ for the break down, it tells me I’m 5.29GB on apps, and less than 1 GB on other things (pictures, videos, audio, and downloads). That doesn’t add up! What’s wrong? Thanks for your help! — Emma

Solution: Hi Emma. The “total” amount of used space under Storage does not always show the correct figure. The same can be said of the breakdown. We’ve been trying to get an official explanation from Samsung about this discrepancy ever since we noticed it on the Galaxy S3 years before but so far nothing. We think it’s because the breakdown does not take into account the true figure taken up by some apps or services. Whatever the true explanation is, it’s just pointless not to accept whatever the phone is telling you. For now, we suggest that you simply take whatever figure the phone is showing under Storage.

To free up more space, make sure to delete apps that you haven’t used for sometime. Games can sometimes install large updates so make sure that you get rid of them if you no longer use them. The same is true for other apps so we strongly suggest that you go over your list of apps (that are kept in the phone’s internal storage device and NOT in an SD card) and uninstall whatever is not necessary.

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Galaxy S7 can’t be factory reset due to Factory Reset Protection (FRP), other issues