Galaxy S8 keeps saying its offline when using Google app

Hello and welcome to our latest #GalaxyS8 troubleshooting episode. We’ve been getting a lot of S8 issues lately so this post is one of our responses to them.

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 S8 battery drain and lose of storage space after an update

After my last update my battery drains and i keep losing storage on my phone. I have uninstalled almost all my apps. My storage was 5GB a couple of days ago then it dropped to 1GB. I havent done anything to use up my storage. I get a message every couple days that some apps are overloading my cpu and when i looked to see what apps are using my battery it’s device maintenance, gear vr service, settings, voice wake up. It shows that those apps are using 100% of my battery when my battery gets low. I have cleared my phones cache. Its been doing this for a couple of weeks now.

Solution: Without a full history of your Galaxy S8, it can be hard to know what exactly is going on. We suggest that you return all software information back to their defaults and observe what happens afterwards. To factory reset your S8:

1. Create a backup of your personal data.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. 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).
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the problem returns after a factory reset, you should then check the possibility that one of the apps is causing it. Try running the phone on safe mode for few consecutive days and observe it. If storage appears to work normally and won’t ballon as you’ve described, one of the third party apps must be causing it. To boot your S8 to safe mode:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your S8 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 moisture detected error after an update

My cell phone has never been exposed to moisture but after a system update I keep randomly  getting the message: Check charger/USB port Moisture has been detected in your charger/USB port… I’ve done the Liquid Damage indicator check, – negative. I’ve started the cell phone in safe mode, – still have the message. When this message is showing I can’t charge my cell phone. Please help.

Solution: If moisture detected error started after an update, your device may be one of the few ones affected by a bug that sends incorrect reading of the USB port state to the operating system. The most effective solution for this bug so far is unit replacement but some users were able to resolve it on their device by wiping the cache partition or factory reset. If you haven’t tried these possible solutions yet, we suggest that you try them before sending it in.

1. To wipe the cache partition:
   Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
4. Press the Volume down key to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
5. Press the Power key to select.
6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

For steps on how to factory reset, refer to Problem #1.

Problem #3: How to bypass FRP on Galaxy S8

I’m trying to bypass FRP with OTG cable and file I downloaded.  Phone doesn’t see flash drive when plugged in. Phone is at Google page asking for email and password.  I’ve unplugged and re-plugged cable but no luck. Any suggestions? Sorry, I don’t know what Android version.

Solution: Factory Reset Protection is a security feature added a few years ago to discourage thieves from using stolen devices by factory resetting them first. Initially, FRP was buggy and has a few loopholes, including one that allows an OTG device unlocking the phone. Samsung has since patched these bugs up and at this time, we are not aware of any unofficial way to bypass FRP. If you are the legitimate user of this S8, you have two options:

• enter the correct Google username and password
• bring the device to Samsung

If your S8 can currently connect to wifi, you can try to reset your Google account password in another device first, then use the updated credentials to bypass FRP. If you’ve already tried that, then you have no other choice but to get support from Samsung.

Samsung has a special flashing tool that can erase the current security settings of your device to bypass FRP. Make sure to bring the original proof of purchase and a valid ID for this purpose.

Problem #4: Galaxy S8 keeps saying its offline when using Google app

My S8 suddenly started saying I’m offline whenever I try to Google something even though I am logged on to my home wifi. I’ve tried restart, full turn off/ wait 30 minutes and turning wifi off then back on. It works randomly, but less than it doesn’t work.

Solution: Try clearing the data of Google Services Framework to fix it. These are the steps:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
4. Select Show system apps.
5. Find and tap your app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear Data button.
8. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

If clearing Google Service Framework data won’t work, remove your Google account from the device, then sign back in.

 

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