Galaxy S7 can’t hear callers when using Bluetooth headset, other issues

Is your #GalaxyS7 having calling issues when using a Bluetooth accessory? This troubleshooting article tries to address this issue so we hope you’ll find our solutions helpful. Keep reading and let us know if you got the help you need via comments below, or by contacting us directly.

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.

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 can’t open files in SD card with exclamation mark

Photos and videos have exclamation mark issue, they have a completely blank grey photo screen when enlarged. I tried to transfer and open them with my PC but same results. Had even tried powering the phone off/on and clean the cache with no improvement. The couple of photos taken right afterwards were fine and then the problem occurred again. Lost quite a view precious moments and gutted. — Julia Body

Solution: Hi Julia. One of the most obvious indicators of corrupted files is an exclamation mark on the affected file. If only some files are affected or corrupted, there’s a chance that your SD card has bad sectors in it. Save the files you can and then reformat the SD card using your S7. Hopefully, the card will work fine normally afterwards.

. As far as making sure that future SD card failures won’t result to heartaches, you can do the following:

• Don’t unmount or interrupt the SD card. You may be doing this unintentionally by stopping the app or removing the SD card physically from the phone without unmounting it first. Also, sometimes your phone may turn off on its own due to low battery while an app is saving to or reading from the SD card. Any of these situations can potentially cause file or SD card corruption.
• Old SD card. SD cards can age too. Although we have cards that’s been running for years now, there’s really no telling when they’re going to fail. There are way too many factors that cause an SD card to fail and any one of them can occur any time. The older your SD card is, the more likely it runs the risk of failing.
• Create backup to the cloud. Despite the negative raps storing files in the cloud gets following the US government’s access to popular services, we continue to recommend that you store irreplaceable files like photos or videos in the cloud. This is your insurance in case something bad happens to your local storage, like your SD card.
• Handle your electronics properly. Electronics may be indispensable right now but most of them are largely unreliable, especially the storage aspects. Storage devices like hard drives, SSDs, and flash drives are still susceptible to failures from time to time. They need care like a child. If you don’t treat them well, they may not last long. SD cards are especially prone to failure as users tend to ignore them most of the time. They usually work in the background and a lot of people don’t know how to take car of them. To minimize the chance that your SD card fails on you, make sure take care of the device that uses it. For instance, if you tend to abuse your phone where you insert your SD card by exposing it elements, carelessly removing the SD card from its slot, or regularly stopping apps, updates, or the devices during read/write situations, don’t expect your gadgets to run properly.

Problem 2: Galaxy S7 won’t unlock due to “unknown error, try another account or wait for 24 hours.” error

After using device for 2 days I had to factory reset for return to seller for exchange. My Google account wasn’t removed so they sent it back to have me remove it but all I  get now when I verify my account is “Unknown error, try another account or wait for 24 hours.” I know it’s the right account and password. It registers the login in my Gmail account, the device is in my devices list in gmail but I can’t verify the account. I did have a timeout on the first account verify after they returned it. Do I need to be on the same wifi network as the first attempt? Not 100% sure on the Android version. — Greg

Solution: Hi Greg. Your phone is currently protected by Factory Reset Protection (FRP) so you’ll have to ensure that the device is connected to the internet before you attempt to unlock it with your Google account. You don’t necessarily need to use the same network. As long as the device is connected to the internet, that’s enough.

Factory Reset Protection works simply. As long as the phone can connect to Google servers via the internet and you can provide the correct Google account username and password, everything should be okay. If you continue to encounter the same error message after meeting these two requirements, you should ask Samsung’s help. Bring the device to your nearest Samsung store with the proof of purchase and let them unlock the device for you.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 can’t hear callers when using Bluetooth headset

I am using a Galaxy S7 with the latest software installed. About 15 months ago (late 2016) my Bluetooth headset stopped working with my phone. I got the phone new in late 2015 and everything with the phone worked fine. Then one day, out of the blue, the audio on my Bluetooth stopped connecting on a call. At first when I restarted my phone, the issue seemed to go away. It kept reappearing and eventually a phone restart no longer solved the issue. I researched online and found someone with a similar issue who said to disable google svoice. That seemed to work one time, but the problem reappeared. I gave up trying and decided to live with the issue. Here is what I currently experience: when I make a phone call with my Bluetooth headset connected, I hear a beep when the call initiates, but I hear no ring and I can’t hear the other person when they answer, nor can they hear me. I am able to hear music and videos through Bluetooth, but not phone calls. I have been hoping that software updates will fix the issue, but The issue still exists after over a year do frustration. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. — Micheleabeisler

Solution: Hi Micheleabeisler. Either there’s an issue with one of your apps, or with the Bluetooth headset you’re using. So, an important question that you should look into is this: can you hear callers when not using a Bluetooth headset?

If the answer to that question is a yes, then consider using another Bluetooth headset and see if our suspicion, that your Bluetooth headset right now is defective, is correct.

If you can’t hear callers during calls even when you’re not using a Bluetooth headset, the problem is probably app-related. To troubleshoot the issue, try the steps below:

Clear cache and data of Phone app

Whether you’re using the default Samsung Phone app or any other third party voice calling apps, the first troubleshooting step that you should do is to clear the cache and/or data. Here’s how:

1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
2. Navigate down to Apps. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
3. Once in there, look for the application and tap it.
4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
5. You should now clearly see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons for the application. Try wiping the cache first. If that won’t work, do a clear data option.

Wiping a Phone app’s data will delete your call logs. Make sure to back them up first if you want to keep them.

Observe the phone in safe mode

Should wiping the app data won’t fix the issue at all, it’s possible that a third party app may be to blame. To check, boot the phone to safe mode and see what happens. Here’s how:

1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
2. Press and hold the Power button.
3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Safe mode blocks third party apps so if voice calls will work normally, that is, you’ll be able to hear callers with and without your Bluetooth headset, then one of the downloaded apps is the culprit.

Wipe the phone via factory reset

Factory reset is the drastic solution in this case. As long as there’s no hardware malfunction involved, you should be able to fix this problem with factory reset. You should only attempt a factory reset if both solutions above won’t work at all.

1. Create a backup of your important files.
2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
3. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
4. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
5. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
6. Touch Continue.
7. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

 

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