How to fix Galaxy A5 wifi issue: keeps disconnecting and won’t allow internet connection

Hello Android fans! Welcome to another troubleshooting episode that answers some issues regarding the #GalaxyA5. The main issue we want to deal with today talks about one particular wifi issue that also occurs in other Samsung devices. Be sure to check the situation that a user reported so you’ll understand why we have a rather abridged set of suggestions. This post also cover other related issues so hopefully you’ll find this helpful.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy A5 wifi issue: keeps disconnecting and won’t allow internet connection

I will be living in a hotel type accommodations for an extended period. The Wifi provided is much the same as a hotel. I am able to connect to the wifi, but it keeps either disconnecting completely (often within minutes) or giving me an authentication error. When it disconnects, I will go back into the wifi settings and click in the network to reconnect. The wifi will sometimes say connecting but nothing happens and connecting disappears or it simply does nothing at all. If I disable the wifi then turn it back on, it will reconnect for a short period. All my other wifi devices have no issues staying connected. I do not have access to the router so cannot make any changes. I have tried resetting network settings, clear cache and resetting the entire phone with no change. It is only this wifi that I have the issue.

Solution: You’ve covered almost all the possible troubleshooting steps for this situation. Since even a factory reset has not resolved the problem, the problem must be on the router side. It may be limiting the number of devices that can connect at one time, forcing your A5 to disconnect. It’s also possible that your A5 is restricted or not permitted to connect to the internet at all. We suggest that you talk to the wifi administrator so they can help you narrow down the factors.

Use Static IP

In case the router is having DHCP issues or assigning IP address to devices, you can try to see what happens if you assign an IP address to your A5. Here’s how it’s done:

Open Settings app.
Tap Wifi.
Tap and hold on your preferred wifi name.
Tap Manage network settings.
Select Show advanced options.
For IP settings, select Static instead of DHCP.
For specific information to be filled out, make sure to coordinate with the wifi administrator so you’ll know what values to enter for the following:
- IP address
- Gateway
- Network prefix length
- DNS 1
- DNS 2
Leave Proxy and the rest as they are.

Problem #2: Galaxy A5 screen keeps returning to default Home screen after update

Samsung A5. Home screen keeps resetting to default (touch wiz, not in easy mode) so I lose all the folders I created with saved items, and all folders for apps that I created and organised. Happens randomly every couple of days. Have plenty of storage and no apparent memory issues. Everything else on phone working fine. Wondering is this is a hardware/firmware issues and time I got a new phone, or something that has happened following an update (although OS last updated weeks ago, way before this started happening. Possibly touch wiz updated but I didn’t see a notification about it so not sure.) Have been googling and checking out forums but have found nothing… If you can advise in any way I would be very grateful ?. Many thanks.

Solution: If the problem started after a system update, these are the troubleshooting steps that you want to do:

Clear the cache partition
Observe in safe mode
Install app updates
Factory reset

Clear the cache partition

This is a standard troubleshooting first step if you encounter issues following an update. Wiping the cache partition will ensure that the phone’s system cache is fresh. Sometimes, updates may corrupt the system cache, resulting to all sorts of issues. To do this, follow the steps below:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition”.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” 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.

Observe in safe mode

This one should help you check whether or not one of your apps is causing the problem. Safe mode suspends all third party apps. So, if the problem won’t occur in this mode, you can bet a bad third party app must be to blame.

To boot your device to safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name 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.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
Observe the phone while it’s on safe mode.

To identify which of your apps is to blame, you need to use the method of elimination in narrowing down the possibilities. Keep in mind that Safe mode won’t pinpoint the app for you. You have to exert efforts to identify it. Here’s how to do that:

Boot to safe mode.
Check for the problem.
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.
After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
If your A5 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Install app updates

Updating apps is hardly seen by many as a way to fix things. For most Android issues though, keeping apps up-to-date is one sure way of minimizing or even eradicating bugs. Be sure that all your apps are on their most recent version. If you’re lucky and the problem is due to an incompatible app version, this may be a simple fix for you.

Factory reset

Finally, don’t hesitate to do a factory reset if nothing appears to help. This is an important troubleshooting step and possibly a solution. Wiping the phone and returning all its software information to defaults is necessary in this situation to know if bad software is to blame.

To factory reset your A5:

Turn off your A5.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ 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.

Problem #3: Galaxy A5 apps keep crashing, Google Assistant keeps popping up

I have a Samsung Galaxy A5 running on Android 7.0. On 7/15/18 the google assistant started to take over my phone. I have since completely disabled any phone assistant and I have done the soft reset twice (although I’m not sure it was done correctly). I uninstalled and opted out of the google Beta testing and reinstalled google. My phone continues to close apps as I use them. It will move my screens and close them out or take me back to the home screen. I have now disabled google thinking the update was the problem but the problem persists. I cannot even use basic factory apps. I cannot use my text, and I have to be quick to try to call anyone from my phone before it closes the call screen on me. Once in call it works fine. I cannot go into my app settings or anything for that matter without it closing out and if I try to go back into any app it quickly shuts the app down yet still has it running in the background. I am at my wits end! What is going on and how do I fix this?!?! Please advise.

Solution: We don’t have the full history of your device to be able to tell you exactly what’s going on. Since it appears that you seem to have multiple, system-wide issues at once, we recommend that you wipe the phone with factory reset. This will force your phone to return all software settings to their known, working defaults. If an operating system bug is causing all these troubles, factory reset should fix them.

We assume that you did not root or flashed your device. If you did tamper with the official software though, try to reverse whatever you did and return everything to their stock (default) state. For instance, if these issues started to occur after you attempted to root, unrooting must fix the problem. If you did try to install custom ROM, reflash the previous stock firmware and you should be good.