Galaxy S8 Google search won’t work when using mobile data connection

Hello and welcome to another #GalaxyS8 troubleshoting article. Today’s article deals with two issues that some S8 users have reported: predictive keyboard not working and Google search not working. We hope that you’ll find our solutions helpful if you happen to encounter these problems.

Problem #1: Galaxy S8 predictive keyboard stopped working after an update

My Galaxy S8 predictive keyboard is not working. I tried to follow your steps to fix it, but cannot find the Samsung keyboard app when I check my apps. It is giving me suggestions, but ridiculous ones, for example I type just and it suggests jyst or mist. The corrective typing where it changes i to a capital I automatically is gone, too. I restarted. I changed all the keyboard toggles from on to off then back on again, the restarted again. It seems that this happened during an update a while back. I don’t have many apps other than preloaded ones. I also don’t know how to do a restart in safe mode. Any clarification you can give will be appreciated. — Terry

Solution: Hi Terry. Predictive keyboard or text works best with time and training. The more you use it, the more your device learns the words you usually use. If this feature started acting up after installing a system update, it’s possible that the keyboard app’s cache and data or the system cache has been corrupted. To fix the problem, you need to do two important solution options: cache partition wipe and clearing the cache and data of the keyboard app.

Clear the cache partition

Updates sometimes corrupt the cache partition and this can lead to all sorts of issues. If you are positive that the keyboard app issue started after you updated Android, then cache partition may help.

To clear the cache partition on your S8:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
Press Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and 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.

Clear app cache and data of keyboard app

Should wiping your S8’s cache partition won’t help, the next best thing that you can do is to either clear the keyboard app cache, or return the app itself to its default by deleting its data. To do each of these procedures, follow our steps below.

How to clear Keyboard app cache:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings at the upper right hand (three-dot icon).
Tap Show system apps.
Find the Keyboard app (if you’re using the stock Samsung keyboard, look for Samsung Keyboard) and tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap CLEAR CACHE.
Restart your S8 and check for the problem.

How to return Keyboard app to its defaults:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings at the upper right hand (three-dot icon).
Tap Show system apps.
Find the Keyboard app (if you’re using the stock Samsung keyboard, look for Samsung Keyboard) and tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap CLEAR DATA.
Restart your S8 and check for the problem.

Reset app preferences

Some apps may fail to work properly if a necessary app for it may had been disabled. To ensure that the keyboard app has its critical apps and services up and running, you want to reset all app preferences. Resetting app preferences will have the following effects:

re-enables previously disabled apps and services
resets default apps for actions
turns off background data restrictions for apps
return app permissions to their defaults
unblock app notifications

To reset app preferences on your S9:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings (three-dot) icon at the upper right.
Tap Reset app preferences.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 Google search won’t work when using mobile data connection

I have just purchased the Samsung Galaxy S8 and have an active plan with Straight Talk. Why can’t I search stuff up on Google without Wi-Fi? I selected the Mobile Data and turned it on. Everytime I try to search anything it says Network Error, No Data Connection and tells me to turn on Wi-Fi. My last phone was a cheap LG and I never had this problem. I could be anywhere, in the store, at a restaurant, at the park, or even at the zoo and I could look up anything on that little phone. Why is the S8 so complicated? — Kerrie Leblanc

Solution: Hi Kerrie. Does your active plan with Straight Talk includes mobile data subscription?

Some users may mistakenly think that having permission to send and receive SMS and make and receive calls both mean mobile data subscription is also active. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It has to activated as a separate service in order to become useful. Tapping on mobile data button even when you don’t have an active data plan with your carrier won’t give you internet access at all. If you’re not getting our explanation, or if you’re unsure, try this:

Turn off wifi.
Turn on mobile data.
Launch an app that requires internet connection to work, like YouTube.
Try to play a video and see if it works. If it does, then that means you have mobile data connection. Otherwise, you have to contact your carrier and subscribe to their mobile data plan first.

How to troubleshoot mobile data on your S8

In the event that you do have an active mobile data plan but it doesn’t work at all, you need to do a few troubleshooting steps in order to identify the cause. A problem like this can be caused by a number of things so you have to isolate likely reasons first.

Verify you have good signal reception

First and foremost, you want to make sure that your device does not have a signal issue. Try checking the number of network bars at the top. In order for mobile data to work, the device must be getting strong, consistent signal from your carrier’s tower. Anything lower than 3 bars is not good for mobile data connection. Try to go out in more open areas in order to improve the signal strength of your device. If you think your S8 constantly gets low signal bars all the time, contact your carrier so they can advise you oo what you can do.

Check network mode

There are 3 network modes in a standard smartphone: 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE. Even if your S8 has excellent signal reception but you happen to be using 2G, mobile data connection will not work fast. Make sure that you check the network mode on your device by doing the steps below:

Open Settings app.
Tap Connections.
Tap Mobile networks.
Tap Mobile network and make sure to select 4G or LTE (whatever your options are) or set it to automatically select them.
Check for the problem again.

Reset network settings

Your issue is supposed to be fixed by now but if our suggestions above haven’t changed anything, the next troubleshooting that you can do is to reset the device’s network settings. Here’s how:

Open Settings app.
Tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Reset network settings.
Tap RESET SETTINGS button to confirm.

Safe mode

We don’t know the full history of your device but if the problem occured after installing an app, said app may be the cause of the problem. Try deleting that app from your device and check for the issue. If the problem stays, you can then troubleshoot further by booting your S8 to safe mode. In this mode, all third party apps, those that you added after setting up your phone for the first time, will be blocked, only allowing apps that came with the operating system. So, it’s a good tool to know if one of the third party apps is causing the issue.

To boot your S8 to safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.
While in Safe mode, you can now uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

Factory reset

Should nothing fixes the issue at all, don’t hesitate to wipe your device via factory reset. This is a drastic step that will erase your files, remove apps, and return the software to its defaults so be sure to back your data up ahead of time. Once you’ve done that, follow the steps below to factory reset your S8:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Contact your carrier

Factory reset is supposed to address whatever software or app issue there is on the system. If your S8 continues to experience problem when switching from wifi to mobile data, you should contact your carrier for help. They should be able to tell you if there’s a network problem that prevents your device from connecting properly to their system, or if you need to contact Samsung to have the phone repaired or replaced.