How to fix Galaxy J3 Bluetooth issue: Bluetooth randomly turns off by itself

Hello Android fans! Welcome to our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting article of the day. This post will cover common questions about the #GalaxyJ3 so be sure to browse through the entire article. We hope you’ll find it helpful.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy J3 bluetooth issue: Bluetooth randomly turns off by itself

We have 2 brand new Samsung J3 2018 phones. Randomly last week, my husband lost his bluetooth connection. Phone Button wouldn’t turn on. Did all of the suggested fixes, restart, took battery out, cleared caches. Finally (and brutally) went through a factory reset. It worked. Thankfully, he had his old phone and was able to switch his apps, etc over again. A week later still ok- so far. Yesterday, I encountered the same problem. I have done everything except the factory reset. I went to the ATT store and they recommended calling the warranty dept and getting a new phone. I am writing you before I do either of these options. I am fearful that the issue needs a firmware update and will keep happening if we dont get to the root cause. Your help is greatly appreciated. 

Solution: We don’t have the full history of your device to know the real cause. However, if the problem comes and goes, like when it disappeared after a factory reset, it must be due to an app or an operating system bug.

Restart to safe mode

To check if it’s an app issue, try restarting your J3 to safe mode. Here’s how to do that:

  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 and check for the problem.

Don’t forget, safe mode is a utility that prevents third party apps from running. If Bluetooth works on safe mode, then there’s no hardware issue at all. The problem must be caused by a bad third party app. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and do a process of elimination. Here’s how:

  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 J3 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Do another round of factory reset

Should rebooting to safe mode won’t help, you can try to wipe the phone again. If Bluetooth works after a factory reset but becomes problematic again after some time, you can go ahead with your plan to replace the unit. At this point, there’s no way for you to know if the issue is due to a firmware coding issue or not. You can rule out hardware issue though. If it is, the problem would be consistent and not intermittent.

Problem #2: Galaxy J3 can’t transfer files to Windows PC

When I try copying music files from my computer (Win 10) to the music folder on my SD card in the Samsung Galaxy J3 Luna Pro, I get a window saying copying but not saying what it’s copying and then it eventually closes with nothing copied. I have successfully copied from my old SD card to the new one in the phone and then copied another couple of albums successfully, but for the last two days copying has not been successful. I’ve tried it many different ways and tried syncing from Windows Media Player, which also did not work. I took the battery out of the phone and replaced it, but still nothing. Any suggestions? I have one Russian app that doesn’t seem to run right and doesn’t seem to want to uninstall although I’ve attempted twice–that’s eBoox New. The phone also seems to reboot by itself a lot since installing eBoox. This problem with copying files came up only after installing eBoox.

Solution: You seemed to have identified the cause of your issue so why don’t you try to do a quick check? We don’t know what you mean exactly by being unable to uninstall it but if you are unable to delete it entirely from the system (which is not a good sign anyway), do a factory reset. Then, once the phone had been wiped clean, try to move files from your computer again when the problematic app is not installed. This is the only way for you to know if your suspicion is right or not.

For reference, here are the steps on how to factory reset your J3:

  1. Create a backup of your data.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home 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.

Problem #3: Galaxy J3 won’t install update

I would really like to update my phone to the most current operating system it can use. I have a Galaxy J3. Everytime i check for updates on my phone, it says it is up to date. I tried downloading Kies. It said i needed to download smart switch. I downloaded smart switch and it says my phone is up do date with it’s Android. It is an ATT phone that is unlocked and currently running on Cricket wireless. Where do I go from here as far as how to upgrade to a faster version of android. Is that even possible? Thanks!

Solution: Samsung phones are usually built to cater to the needs of a carrier that order them. In your case, your phone is originally an AT&T device so its firmware is meant to work with AT&T specifications and not for Cricket Wireless. Carrier-specific firmware can’t work in another device so this is the reason why your J3 can’t receive OTA (over-the-air) updates at all.

If you want to update your J3 with more recent firmware version, you can try to flash it. Use Google to find a good guide on how to do it.

Keep it mind that flashing is a risky procedure and can potentially brick your device. Do it at your own risk.

Problem #4: Unlocked Verizon Galaxy J3 can’t read T-Mobile SIM card

Have been trying to unlock my Galaxy J3 so that my daughter can use it. I got this phone through Verizon and it is paid for. I am no longer with Verizon. Both my daughter and I are with T-Mobile. Verizon said phone is already unlocked, but when I put in the T-Mobile SIM card it always says “SIM card not from Verizon wireless.” Have done both soft and hard reset. Cannot figure out how to disable or bypass setup wizard. Have even tried the special numbers that are entered into the dialer. Have set network to lte/gsm/muy. What can I do to get this to work? Please help me. Thank you.

Solution: Having your device network unlocked is not a guarantee that it will necessarily work in another network. You also have to consider other factors such as software compatibility and hardware (radio frequency).

Verizon uses CDMA technology which is totally different from T-Mobile’s GSM. There’s a chance that your J3’s software may not be compatible with T-Mobile’s system, thereby causing it to fail to work with a SIM card. There’s also a chance that your phone’s radio may not be equipped to work with T-Mobiles operating frequency band. To know if any of these is causing the problem, talk to a T-Mobile technical support team. They should be able to help you tell if your device can work with their system or not.

 


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