Hi everyone! We bring you another article about #GalaxyS7 issues and solutions. If you don’t find your issue published here today, keep watching for more posts in the coming days.

Below are the topics we cover in this material today:

Galaxy S7 won’t send text messages (SMS)
Galaxy S7 became unresponsive after an update
Galaxy S7 loses audio during calls
Galaxy S7 won’t play videos in MMS mode
New Galaxy S7 won’t stay on and shuts off with 49% battery level

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 won’t send text messages (SMS)

My phone is having trouble sending regular text messages only. This happens several times a day in the exact same settings as when it seems flawlessly. This can happen when sending texts to any phone, iPhone, Android, etc and when it starts failing for one, it will fail for all. I’ll get the little sending circle icon, which will stay there for up to 2 minutes before saying it failed to send. Other times it will just take 30 to 60 seconds to just send even 1 line of text. I have full service when this occurs, and I have noticed that it happens more often when I’m connected to Wi-Fi (T-Mobile lets you call and text over Wi-Fi), but will happen when just normally connected.

I have gone into T-Mobile twice to trouble shoot, and was then given a replacement phone for my 2 week old one, as well as a new SIM card. The new phone lost half my contacts and all of my old data on transfer, and then still had the same texting problems the day I got it back. Even stopping all text function for several hours, despite several restarts, turning off for a while and then back on, but nothing worked and it wouldn’t send a text until it decided that it was done with its tantrum. This suggests to me either a design flaw or programming issue, as this is 2 phones in a row now. I’ve been a huge Android and Galaxy supporter, but this issue with such a basic function is just too much, and I’m considering going back to the devil (iPhone) if I can’t find a solution. Any help you could lend would be most appreciated! Thank you. — Anthony

Solution: Hi Anthony. Firstly, we want to make it a point that the best party that can help you with this issue is your network provider alone. All text-related problems should be handled by carriers because there are critical factors that only them can handle. These factors include network and account side information that are not accessible for third party support teams like us. An issue like yours can also be caused by a bad firmware (operating system), glitch on the carrier-provided Messaging app, network trouble, third party app bug, to mention a few. The troubleshooting tips that we provide in this blog are generally similar to how they identify issues with their customers. Of course they have the added advantage of knowing whether or not there’s an on-going network outage affecting certain areas, or if the current update they released is causing some problems. It is in this sense that we want you to call them again for a resolution.

As regards the troubleshooting steps that you can try on your end, you are limited to doing potential software solutions only. Below are the troubleshooting that you can try.

Boot the Galaxy S7 to safe mode. Booting in safe mode is an important first step in this particular case since the problem has been happening on at least 2 devices. This means that there’s a chance that one of the installed apps on both phones is interfering with the messaging app function. To check if that’s the case, you must observe the phone while it’s on safe mode. While this mode is enabled, all third party apps and their associated services will be prevented from running. If the issue won’t occur, that’s a sign that one of your third party application is problematic. Here are the steps on how to boot your S7 in safe mode:

Press and hold the Power key.
As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Delete messaging app cache and data. If nothing will change, your next troubleshooting step is to delete your messaging app’s cache and data. Simply follow these steps:

Go to Settings.
Proceed to Applications.
Select Manage Applications.
Tap the All tab.
Look for the messaging app and tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons (in this order).

Keep in mind that tapping on Clear Data button will delete your text messages. Make sure you create a backup of your messages before proceeding.

If the above procedures won’t make any difference, contact T-Mobile again for resolution.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 became unresponsive after an update

Same as many have described. Black Screen, Blue blinking light. Totally unresponsive to any keys. Mine started a few days after update. It had low battery and i plugged it into my car charger. It said moisture detected, but there WAS NO MOISTURE. It quit taking a charge and the battery went dead. Afterward it went to the current state. and stayed that way until next day, when the blue light turned itself off. I plugged it into my car charger and tried to start it up. nothing. then i did the soft reset and it started. While on the charger, the startup began, and went to the ATT start screen where it quickly ran out of battery and died. I gave it about twenty minutes on the charger and tried again this time it went further and got as far as to say updating android step 6 of 6. At which point it died again and went back to the black screen with the blue flashing light. Now it is again unresponsive to any keys. There is something seriously wrong with this latest update. My son had a very similar issue with his S7 edge after the software update, but got it to restart after a couple of days. My thought is to let it die off completely until the blue light is off. charge it for a long time. and then try to restart again. The advice on your site is not helpful regarding this issue. Thanks. — John

Solution: Hi John. If the advice you got from our blog did not help, then that means your issue is beyond your ability to fix at your level. Software troubleshooting can only be done if you can turn the phone back on and not totally unresponsive. If your S7 is dead, won’t power on normally, or won’t boot to other modes (safe mode, recovery mode, download mode), then there’s nothing much that can be done. If the update was pushed by your carrier, make sure that you let them know about the issue so they can help you. Otherwise, call Samsung and have the phone replaced.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 loses audio during calls

This has been going on sporadically for a month but now it’s worse. My phone has decided it no longer wants to work as a telephone. Everything else works, but when I make a call or a call comes in, it’s just silence on my end. I have done the ‘try it in safe mode’ idea – doesn’t work still.

Yesterday I hard rebooted my phone. It worked for 2 phone calls then quit again. Today it is back to square one. I can see myself dial, it shows the call dialing and then silence – not working in regular mode or safe mode. The only apps on the phone are the ones that came with the hard reboot, so I don’t think it’s an app(s) causing it.

I have a ticket with Samsung and less than a month on the warranty – should I send it to them or is there another solution? Would replacing the SIM card do anything? So frustrating…not sure I’ll choose Samsung/Android next time. Also interesting to note is how got my phone gets even since this issue started but it never did before this… Thanks in advance! — Sheradec1

Solution: Hi Sheradec1. If nothing changes even on safe mode, try doing a factory reset and observe how calling works for 24 hours. Make sure that you don’t install anything during the observation period so you’ll see if the problem is due to an app, on the phone itself. Keep in mind that the problem can also be caused by a glitch on the network side so you also need to address this potential issue by calling your carrier. In the meantime, here are the steps on how to do a factory reset:

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.

Should the issue continues even when the firmware has been restored to default, calling your carrier is the next logical step. They may also suggest replacing the SIM card so we say you go for it. If you have the option for a phone replacement, you can also try that.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 won’t play videos in MMS mode

Hello, i seem to be having two issues. First, I have been taking a lot of videos in MMS mode on my Galaxy phone and after some time I started receiving an error message that says sorry this video cannot be played. I have deleted many of the videos and still get the message from videos starting about a quarter of the way through to the first video i recorded, they all worked a short while ago.

Second issue is that I have been downloading videos to my computer via USB and have been getting video files that are anywhere from 7 GB to 10 GB. most are around 9 GB and my video players will not play them. Most of my other videos are 400 MB to 2 GB at most and they play just fine. How can I fix them so they play?
Thank you in advance. — Brian

Solution: Hi Brian. We can’t see any logical connection between the first and second issues but your S7 may be having trouble creating and reading videos. We haven’t heard of this problem happening on other Galaxy S7s so there’s no way for us to know the true cause. You must do some troubleshooting on your end to identify and eliminate the bug.

The first thing that you want to do is wipe the phone’s system cache. This can be done by doing these steps:

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.

Another potential solution that you can try is to clear the video app’s cache and data (steps provided above).

Alternatively, you can try install a different video app to see if that will make a difference. If nothing will change, consider doing a factory reset.

For your second issue, the first thing that you can do about it is to check if your video files are readable by a different device. If your current computer is having trouble opening or loading videos, find another computer to play them. If the second computer will have the same issue, that’s an indication that the video files may be corrupted. There’s also the possibility that the file format of said videos may not be compatible with your computer’s video player. Make sure that your computer’s video player can read the file format of the videos. Do some research what file format the video player can read to give you an idea. If the current video file format is compatible with your computer’s video player but the issue persists, that’s a clear sign that said videos must have been corrupted when they were created or transferred from your phone, which makes it connected to the first issue you raised. Since there’s no way to fix corrupted files, there’s nothing much that you can do for them.

Problem #5: New Galaxy S7 won’t stay on and shuts off with 49% battery level

It’s a Samsung Galaxy S7. The phone is brand new. I bought it sealed in the box. I’ve only had it for about 3 weeks and all of a sudden my battery was at 49% and it just turned off.

I tried all the suggested options in the threads and nothing has worked. The phone will start up and stay on for about 20 seconds and then turn off on its own when I put the charger on it. It doesn’t pick up the phone and show the red light like usual. instead it acts as if it’s not charging until about 15 minutes and then it shows up as no battery and charging. after that it shows the 49% and charging. Once I turn it on, it stays on for maybe 20 seconds.. just as long as it takes to type in my passcode and move my app screen and it turns back off again. I’m assuming it can’t be the battery as it is a new phone. I’m willing to try anything. I really can’t afford a new phone right now.

Thank you. — Kylie

Solution: Hi Kylie. If this problem exists even after you did a factory reset (which is usually a must-do in most of our articles), then you can assume that you may have a bad phone. As far as resolution is concerned, there’s really nothing much that you can do on your end. We highly suggest that you find a way to have your device replaced.

Related reading: Galaxy Note 5 battery loses power fast

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Galaxy S7 won’t play videos in MMS mode, other issues