Galaxy S8 moisture detected error, won’t charge due to moisture detected error, other issues

We’re just starting to publish #GalaxyS8 issues and solutions so welcome to one of the first few posts for this device. We will be publishing more of the same articles in the coming days so keep out for 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.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: How to fix Galaxy S8 moisture detected error, won’t charge due to moisture detected error

My new Samsung S8 immediately for no reason told me to shut it off due to moisture in USB…so I did for a few hours….then it was doing nothing when I went to turn it on so I did what most would with an older phone sat it in rice for a day…then I turned it on and it would come on with a brand new fast charger and showed a battery with an wall outlet picture under it so I check my cords an outlets.. on some other chargers it buzzed and buzzed repeatedly…..eventually after messing with it check water damage and such it came in and acted as if it was downloading something so I let it try …hole bother day goes by nothing happens…i’ve watched Youtube videos read forums and searched everywhere I’m stuck what do I do??? — Meganborecky03

Solution: Hi Meganborecky03. You have come to the right place.  If your phone keeps showing moisture detected error, we have a few fixes for your to try below. This error message usually shows up if the system detects moisture or water in the USB charging port. It doesn’t mean that the phone is damaged. It only indicates that the device blocks charging via USB charging port to prevent shorting other components.

Moisture Detected Fix #1

With that said, usually this error occurs when you are charging your phone while the phone is off.  As simple as this may sound, but simply turn on your phone first (or reboot your phone) and then plug in the charger.  It’s simple as that.  The moisture detected error typically show up when you try to charge the phone while the phone is off.

Moisture Detected Fix #2

If your phone is out of battery and you cannot turn on the phone first prior to charging, then try holding the power button and volume down at the same time, and while holding both buttons, plug in the charger, you should see phone load up with the last bit of juice.

Moisture Detected Fix #3

And if you’re still getting the error, the last thing you can do is to take advantage of the wireless charging function.  You would likely have to pick up a new wireless charger if you don’t already have one.

Moisture Detected Fix #4

Here’s a low tech solution, take a Q-Tip and clean around the charging USB port to make sure it’s completely dry and dust free.  Also try using a blow dryer at low heat to blow around and dry out the area.  You might think this is so obvious and simple, but it has worked for several of our readers!

Moisture Detected Fix #5

By the way, you may continue to get this error over and over, even if your phone have not come near any water in days.  What we’ve found is that you can try this:

1. go to apps settings
2. go to system apps
3. USB Settings
4. Storage
5. clear data
6. reboot phone

comment below if this helps!

Problem 2: Galaxy S8 charger won’t go all the way in to the charging port

Hi. I recently had an upgrade to the Samsung S8 and twice now the charger jack plug has stopped going in to my phone to allow it to charge. i only ever use the charger that was supplied and it worked fine for 2 weeks, then stopped. i had a complete replacement and the same thing has happened this morning. I can get the jack plug to go in, so it slow charges but that is it. There is no debris or anything in the charger jack plug or the phone so im at a loss Please help i am a nurse and need my phone and find it unacceptable to have this problem happen again. Thanks. — Cheryl

Solution: Hi Cheryl. Your problem is hardware related so you don’t want to do anything to damage the charging port. There may be a bent pin in the port that causes this problem. We know it’s hard to really see the inside of the port without the aid of some form of magnification so we suggest that you let a professional take a look at it. If the device is covered by a replacement warranty, we suggest that you demand for a new phone instead of going through repair.

Problem 3: Galaxy S8 won’t send SMS to random contacts

I sent 6 text messages yesterday morning (Wed 5am) to my close family and friends. I text them regularly. and all failed and I cannot resend them either because they fail. However I can send messages to my husband (I text him all the time) and random friends. I even deleted their contact info and re-entered them in hopes that would help but it didnt. I have also turned my phone off for an hour in hopes that would help–it didn’t. — Storm

Solution: Hi Storm. The first move that you want to do here is to ensure that this is not app-related by wiping the cache and data of the messaging app. Here’s how to do that:

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 messaging app 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.
6. Try wiping the cache first and observe how messaging works. If the problem stays, do the Clear Data option.

Tapping on Clear Data button deletes all your conversation threads so if you want to keep a copy of some, make sure to back them up ahead of time.

Another good thing to do in this case is to try using another messaging app. Doing so will help you identify if the problem is due to a bug in the current app or not. There are many free messaging apps that you can use like Google Hangouts or Facebook Messenger so just take your pick.

If the problem remains regardless of the messaging app, contact your carrier. The problem may lie on their end. Even if not, they’re still obligated to help you fix the problem though.

Problem 4: Galaxy S8 screen becomes totally black when Maximum Power Saving Mode is enabled

Yesterday, i turned my phone onto Maximum Power Saving mode through a notification. Now when phone turns on, i see boot screen, but screen is black after loading. If i press the Bixby button, a special Android notification pops up at bottom that can’t use Bixby in Maximum Power Saving Mode. I rebooted and charged it, no help. I can load it into recovery mode and it shows the screen fine. i tried wiping the cache, but no help. If i try loading into Safe Mode, i have same issue as normal, it’s a black screen, but says ‘Safe Mode’ at the bottom left. But i can’t see anything so i can’t uninstall anything. I tried ringing the phone and trying to answer it by swinging across, but that doesn’t work. Thanks for your time. — Vinnie

Solution: Hi Vinnie. Is it possible that you may have simply set screen brightness to the lowest setting? We don’t know if we understand your concern correctly as we haven’t heard or experienced this problem ourselves. We tried replicating your case in our own S8 and everything works fine, even if screen brightness is at its lowest. We suggest that you do a factory reset via Recovery mode and see how it goes from there. Otherwise, just stay away from Maximum Power Saving mode at this time until we can find more information about this problem. We’re going to update this post once we have an effective solution.

Problem 5: Galaxy S8 stops charging after charging port got wet, moisture detected error showing up

Hi. I saw Samsung’s commercial opening the Galaxy S8 from the box under water in a shark cage and then recording the sharks. So i put my phone in the water at the beach yesterday for 10 seconds. It’s still working but the charging port says moisture detected and it will not charge. It’s been 24 hours. Is the phone water proof or not? I bought a wireless charging port. — Heather

Solution: Hi Heather. We’ve seen the commercial too and we say it’s a bit extreme given the fact that the phone is not technically water proof. It’s only water-resistant in up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water for up to 30 minutes and even so, we won’t tell you to intentionally dunk your $700 phone in water. That’s because water-resistance protection is simply not water proof protection. Period. If you want to see the difference between water resistance and water proof protection, do some little Google search.

Now, for your main problem (well It’s not really a problem), you don’t have to worry at all. Try the steps we mentioned above to fix moisture detected error for Galaxy S8.

Problem 6: Galaxy S8 icon notifications for SMS won’t show, first call attempt always goes to voicemail

I have a new Galaxy S8 and I’m not receiving text notifications at all when the screen is unlocked or when it is locked. I do not care about notification sounds; I’m not getting the icon notifications, which I care about. I double-checked my notification settings, and messages has notifications set to allow. I double-check blocked application notifications under “advanced,” and notifications for messages are also set to “allowed.” I’m not sure if you can help me solve another riddle, but for the past 3 months or so, every time I have called my partner, the phone call goes to voicemail the first time, even when he’s not on the phone, and then the second time goes through. This is causing me to lose my mind! No one else mentioned to him that this happen when they call him. I live in Kansas and he lives in Iowa. He has an iPhone 6, and I’ve had 3 phones over the past 3 months, all of which this happens with. When I’m in Iowa, the problem usually goes away (but not always). Thanks for your help! — Cydney

Solution: Hi Cydney. To ensure that you’ll get an icon notification for SMS, you have to enable Allow notifications option under Advanced settings of the Messenger app. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Move slider to the right for the messaging app you’re using.
4. Tap ADVANCED button at the top right.
5. Tap the messaging app you’re using.
6. Move the slider to the right for Allow notifications option.

If these steps won’t fix the issue, try wiping the cache partition by doing the following:

1. Turn off the device.
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.

Should the issue remain, you can also try a full factory reset. Here’s how:

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
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 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.

Your second concern regarding initial call attempts going directly to voicemail may be network-related, or something caused by a bug in the software so you want to talk to your carrier about it. If factory reset won’t fix it as well, coordinate with your network’s technical team to solve it.

Problem 7: Galaxy S8 drains battery fast and won’t charge fully

Took pictures in salt water. A little while later the phone started glitching and the battery drained. Let it dry out for a few days and tried charging the phone, but it would not charge past 10%. Replaced the battery but would not charge past 45%. Wiped the cache partition and rebooted, afterwards the phone showed 96%. Now when the phone charges it won’t show past 18%-45% but it’ll last all day. Sometimes when I have the phone plugged in the battery still drains. When that happens it’ll restart and then it shows a charge of somewhere in the 90% range.

Tried wiping the cache partition again but nothing changes. Not sure if i have a defective battery or if it could be anything else. Any info with this issue would help. Thank you. — Eddie

Solution: Hi Eddie. Try recalibrating the battery first and see how it goes from there. If you haven’t tried doing this procedure, here’s how it’s done:

1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
9. Repeat the cycle once.

If nothing will change after a battery calibration, do a factory reset. If that won’t help either, there must be a physical damage to the phone that needs fixing. Send it in for repair or replacement.

Problem 8: Galaxy S8 won’t turn off

My daughter forgot her password after she put her fingerprint in her Galaxy S8 now the phone doesn’t recognize the print & wants the password. I have tried to hard reset this phone but it won’t let me turn it off. Any suggestions on how I can get this problem fixed so this phone isn’t a paperweight????? — Xxkimberlyxx08

Solution: Hi xxkimberlyxx08. The most effective way to restart an unresponsive or frozen S8 is by simulating a “battery pull,”  also known as soft reset. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds.
2. Once the phone starts to vibrate, let go of the buttons.

Hopefully your phone will restart normally and you would be able to turn it off afterwards. If that won’t work though, simply wait until the drains the battery.

Problem 9: Can’t turn off camera shutter sound when taking photos in Galaxy S8

Wanted to turn off camera “click.” Have done so by muting system sounds. But…I don’t know what other sounds I’m turning off by doing so. Can you give me a list? I’m having trouble finding out through googling. Thanks. — Mitch

Solution: Hi Mitch. If you are in the United States, you’re out of luck since it’s illegal to take a picture using a digital camera or smartphone without the shutter sounding off. Yes, that’s right. Samsung is obviously abiding by said law but some phones can still take pictures without making a sound by simply pressing Volume Down button on the side of the phone until the phone goes into vibrate mode. If you haven’t tried that yet, go ahead and see for yourself.

If the first workaround won’t work, try using third party camera apps.

 

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