How to easily remove pop ups from your Galaxy S9

Today’s troubleshooting article addresses some #GalaxyS9 issues, particularly in removing ad pop ups. This issue is one of the common situations that a lot of Android users experience. We hope this article will help in fixing your own version of this issue. This post also answers other related issues for the S9 so be sure to browse through all the cases.

Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy S9 Plus won’t stay connected to hidden wifi network

Have a brand new Galaxy S9+ from AT&T. In a nutshell, the phone will not reconnect or stay connected to a WiFi network where the SSID is not being broadcast. I went through all of your suggestions for the phone including a factory reset. And I know it is not the router because (1) it is up to date and (2) there are a dozen other devices connected to it that work fine. I can manually add the network and the phone will connect just fine to the hidden network. After a period of time it will drop the connection (frequency shift with the router?) and then show that network as out of range. If you add the network again, it will connect just fine (so not a range issue). Same happens when you leave the house, the connection is dropped and will not re-establish itself when you return unless you manually add the hidden network back it again. Change the router to broadcast the SSID and the phone immediately links to the “out of range” WiFi and stays connected.

Solution: As far as wifi connectivity is concerned, Samsung Galaxy devices do not have options to troubleshoot this type of issue. Yes, it’s possible that this may be a phone bug but the situation can also be due to a router limitation. We can confirm though our own Galaxy S9 Plus (international version) does connect to a hidden wifi network without dropping it after some time. To identify where the problem lies, we suggest that you try connect to another hidden wifi network. This is more practical way of narrowing down the factors than replacing the phone first. If your S9 Plus continues to drop the connection to a hidden network (from a second wifi), you can assume the problem is phone-related. If possible, you want to talk to Samsung and see if there’s a way for them to replace the device for you. Keep in mind that if your wish is granted, you may get a refurbished or reconditioned S9 Plus instead of a brand new one.

Problem #2: How to easily remove pop ups from your Galaxy S9

Constant pop ups on galaxy S9 Sprint phone. me and my wife both have S9 phone, The problem: my wife phone constantly having pop ups one every 30 seconds. My phone hardly ever. I have already done a factory reset 1 month ago.  It stop the ads for a short time, but then they came back again. She use very few apps. Does this have to be application problem or could be the phone itself or is Sprint the carrier responsible for these annoying pop ups. She wants a new phone, not sure that will prevent the problem.  What is the best protection out there to prevent this from happening?

Solution: The quantity of apps does not determine the situation on your wife’s phone. Instead, just like in some aspects of life, quality is really the key. Even if her phone has only an app installed but it’s of poor quality or malicious, pop ups can still show.

Usually ad pop ups in Android devices are results of installing malicious apps or apps designed mainly to monetize through persistent pop ups. If you really want to fix the issue for good, make sure that you screen thoroughly what apps you install. Keep in mind that apps are expensive to make and maintain. Only a very small fraction of app developers do not want to monetize their products. If an app developer can’t produce the monetary return developers are expecting, they may resort to using unapproved or unethical means, like allowing their app to overly display ads, or to install backdoors to allow other apps to be installed even without a user’s knowledge. Apps of this type may also steal personal information and other data to sell to third parties.

Observe in Safe Mode

If you want to check if you have an app issue, you can try to boot your wife’s S9 to safe mode. In this mode, no third party apps will be allowed to run. So, if the ads or pop ups are absent in safe mode but return in normal mode, you can bet the reason for them is due to an app or apps. If you haven’t tried restarting to safe mode before, here’s how to do it:

  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.
  8. Observe the phone for a few hours and see if pop ups continue.

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 S9 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Wipe the phone

An easy way to remove pop ups is to return all software information of a device to their defaults or by doing a factory reset. When it comes to pop ups though, factory reset is just a “band-aid” solution. You’ll most likely encounter the same issue, just like what happened to your wife, if you’ll not be very selective with apps you install. Be sure to educate your wife by telling her to install apps from reputable sources only. Try to stick to official apps and avoid those from unknown or suspect developers. It may also help if you check user reviews before adding an app. Some users may report suspicious activity after installing an app so you can use their reviews to stay away from that app.

For reference, here are steps on how to factory reset an S9:

  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 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Problem #3: Galaxy S9 won’t connect to wifi, keeps getting “Authentication Error Occurred”

I work in an area that does not have cell phone reception so mostly wifi reliant here, but my samsung S9 will not connect to the wifi often saying “Authentication Error Occurred.” and since I can’t use the cell service i had to factory reset my phone and in order to get back into my phone i need the wifi, hopefully you can help me out here.

Solution: “Authentication Error Occurred” is an indication that your S9 is unable to connect to a wifi because it’s not allowed by the wifi network, most probably due to incorrect passkey.  Be sure to enter the correct passkey (or wifi password). If you are 100% positive that you are keying the correct passkey, then you can try other means of fixing the issue.

Forget wifi network

This should be the next best thing to do. This simple troubleshooting step often fix “Authentication Error Occurred” scenarios. To do it on your S9:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Connections.
  3. Tap the wifi network.
  4. Tap and hold the wifi network you want to forget.
  5. Select Forget network.

Reset network settings

Should forgetting of a particular network won’t help, you can then try to reset the device’s network settings. This will erase not just wifi networks and their passwords but also other stuff like Bluetooth pairings and settings, VPN settings, and cellular connection settings.

To reset network settings of an S9:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset Network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button to confirm.
  6. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

Problem #4: What to do if Galaxy S9 has poor or weak cellular signal

I have a Galaxy S9. I’m having reception problems out of it I’ve not change my service provider but now I have 1 bar too. no Bar in the same area. they used to have 3 to 4 Barr of service sometimes. I have to type my text then put the phone away from me about 3-foot before I get reception to send a text. it also helps if I have it plugged into my charger to get reception and when I talk on it, it dropped calls halfway through the call. but if I use my earphones and set the phone away from me will not drop call then I do live in a mobile home and it’s hard to get reception in the house but I got the same phone and I used to get reception where I don’t anymore. I don’t have this trouble when I leave the house in town is there something I can put on my phone to get better reception at home please contact me back with any answer you may have by email or call if you like 870-847-0025. 

Solution: We suggest that you talk to your network operator about this problem first. Based on your description, the problem appears to be inconsistent signal quality in your location. Such a problem is mostly due to poor service, and not exactly a device-related problem. It’s wise if you let your carrier’s technical support team help you identify where the problem is coming from.


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