Galaxy S8 Plus won’t send MMS when connected to wifi, mobile data and roaming not working

Hello Android owners! Today’s troubleshooting article will address texting and connectivity issues on the #GalaxyS8. We hope you’ll find this post helpful.

Problem #1: How to improve wifi range on your Galaxy S8 wifi

I had a cheap vodafone smart prime. I upgraded to an S8 recently. My router is good and my old cheap phone had no problems with wifi range. It connects fine when i am near. But as soon as i move say 25-30 feet away it says i have a bad quality connection and will reconnect when it improves. How do i change this? i cannot find anything online at all. And i really like my phone so i need this fixed asap. Thanks.

Solution: Wifi radios in phones are not universal so its normal for some to have a relatively shorter wifi range than others. In our own experience, Galaxy S8 devices usually starts to lose wifi signal when its about 30 feet away from a router (shorter if there are walls or interference in between). In other words, there’s nothing much that you can do in your phone to improve its wifi range. Wifi range is determined by the hardware of your phone and there’s no software tweaks that you can do improve the hardware.

If you want to improve the range of your router, you can use signal extenders for your wifi. Visit your local electronics shop and ask for them. If your router was provided by your internet service provider, ask them if they have a wifi signal extender that you can use.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 Plus won’t send MMS when connected to wifi

My Samsung S8 Plus will not send text messages while at my home. It works fine everywhere else. All the other phones in the house still work. I have done all your steps on your suggestion page. I had Verizon look into it and they just came back saying it is my device. HELP!! It worked fine until about 3 weeks ago. Again, it only DOES NOT work while at my home. We use WIFI to use our phones as we live in the country. I can send MMS messages just fine anywhere else. Any suggestions or help. I do not know where else to find an answer. Solution: Some carrier-branded phones automatically switches on mobile data if it detects that a user is trying to send MMS. In case you don’t know, MMS needs cellular internet connection (mobile data) to work. So, even if a device is already connected to wifi, mobile data will be turned on by the system to allow MMS sending and receiving. If your S8 Plus did this before, then perhaps there were some settings that were changed. If it’s your first time to use your phone to send MMS, then it may not be configured properly to allow mobile data to turn on automatically. You have to talk to your carrier again so they can double check all settings to allow this feature to work.

You can also try to reset your phone’s network settings to return all of them back to their defaults. Resetting network settings resets all wifi and mobile data connections back to their defaults. The following changes will occur by performing a Reset of network settings.

Stored Wi-Fi networks will be deleted.
Paired Bluetooth devices will be deleted.
Background data sync settings will be turned on.
Data restrictive settings in applications that were manually turned on/off by the customer will be reset to the default setting.
Network selection mode will be set to automatic.

The following device connections status will default to when the device was being powered on for the first time.

Airplane mode: OFF
Bluetooth: OFF
Data roaming: OFF
Mobile hotspot: OFF
VPN: OFF
Mobile data: ON
Wi-Fi: OFF

To perform a Network reset, follow these steps.

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap General Management > Reset > Reset network settings.
Tap Reset settings.
If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

Problem #3: What to do if Galaxy S8 mobile data and roaming won’t work

Dear Droid Guy, I have not been able to get network connectivity and roaming to work for me on my S8. We are based in the Netherlands and travel a lot. A week ago we arrived in France and roaming died on me. I cannot use my phone (emergency service only) and only get online via wifi even though I have internet in my bundle. When I ask manually for a software update it tells me I have the most recent android version which is not the case. I feel maybe getting my software updated would solve the issue but how do I do that, and now do I back up data since that entails a factory reset I think? I sure would appreciate your help. I’ve always liked this phone and don’t want a different one. Thanks.

Solution: Roaming service is typically configured before you leave your home network in order to work. In other words, you should have contacted your carrier in the Netherlands before heading out for France so roaming configurations on your account is made. We don’t know if your original carrier can still do the modifications on your account now that you’re no longer out of their network. You should contact them for information.

Doing a factory reset on your device won’t do any good because it will change the fact that your account with your Netherlands carrier has not been configured properly.

Problem #4: Unlocked Verizon Galaxy S8 won’t work on Cricket Wireless network after factory reset

My phone was accidentally completely reset and now will not do anything but make calls and send texts unless connected to WiFi. I checked and my data is turned on so I don’t understand the problem. It is a Verizon wireless phone but I use it with cricket wireless. All of the Verizon stuff is back on the phone and the cricket stuff is gone. It’s a galaxy s7 but that option isn’t available to choose on the drop down menu below.

Solution: Doing a factory reset on an unlocked phone will return all software information to their defaults, including network settings. This is the reason why a factory reset is not advisable for phones that are being used on networks other than the one it was originally built to work with. Contact Verizon and see if they can give you another unlock code for your device. If you let a third party shop unlock your phone for you in the past, ask them to unlock it again so it works with Cricket Wireless.

Problem #5: What to do Galaxy S8 if cellular signal is very weak

Hi..we have two S8s with 4G through Verizon. From the beginning, incoming and outgoing phone calls have to be done in certain spot in our yard. We live in a rural area. There are towers about 8 miles away. We also have Verizon JetPack. Phones very seldom ring while in our home. A message says missed call. Verizon says a $250.00 booster will help. Don’t want to pay that. Does the WiFi needs to be on for the Booster to work. Is there a simple solution ? A plug-in booster that works without WiFi that does not cost $250.00 ? External antenna ? Replaced batteries and did soft-resets. There must be thousands of people with the same concern. Thank You for your time and Professional Advise!!

Solution: First, you must not forget that the main reason why you have connection problems is due to weak cellular signal from Verizon towers. While distance from a Verizon tower may play a role for this weak signal situation, that’s not the sole reason. Sometimes, even if you’re near a transmitting tower, there might be other interference that can affect the signal quality reaching your home. So, unless you can improve the signal from Verizon, you can never expect good cellular services like voice calling, SMS and MMS, or mobile data.

This is where the suggestion of Verizon for a signal booster comes in. A signal booster, as its name suggests, amplifies the weak signal from the tower before transmitting it to your location. Installing a signal booster MAY improve the network services at your home. Keep in mind that does not work all the time so adding it can be trial-and-error. If it doesn’t work, you can either switch to other carriers who may offer better service close to your location, or just accept the fact that Verizon’s services will be the same. And no, a signal booster does not require wifi in order to work. It works like a mini transmitter that merely strengthens cellular signal before transmitting it to your place. If verizon signal is really bad in the first place, even multiple signal boosters may not improve the situation. You won’t if it will work unless you try it so we suggest that you talk to Verizon so they can assess how well it will work.