How to fix Galaxy J5 texting issue: won’t send SMS

This troubleshooting article will answer four issues regarding the #GalaxyJ5. These issues are examples of common connectivity troubles experienced by a lot of people. If you have problems sending or receiving texts, or connecting to the internet with your J5, this article might help.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy J5 texting issue: won’t send SMS

This is a new phone and I cannot send SMS messages to anyone with either the Messages app provided by Samsung or any other app downloaded from the Play store. I could do this when I first tried (I sent a couple of hello messages which were received) but now I get a “sending failed” message and a red exclamation in the Messages app. My sim can send texts in the same location when used in another device (an iPad). I went through the checks on your pages including clearing the data and the cache. and none of them sorted the problem. I have tried powering on and off the phone, trying flight mode on off and various other tips from the internet. I can receive SMS messages from some senders but not all.  I successfully transferred all my contacts to this new phone from iCloud (my last phone was an iphone). I can send and receive emails, make and receive calls, send and receive WhatsApp so I am a bit puzzled by this annoying fault.

Solution: There are a number of possible reasons for this issue. Let’s discuss each of them and the ways to address them individually.

Deactivate iMessage

If you are using the same SIM card from your old iPhone, it’s possible that some of your incoming messages are being sent as iMessage. Because iMessage is a proprietary messaging system for Apple devices only, your text messages may not be fully using your carrier’s texting service. Make sure that you deactivate iMessage by following the steps from official Apple page.

Incorrect Message Center Number

One of the common reasons why a device fails to send a text message is an incorrect Message Center Number. To check if you have the correct MCN in your device, follow these steps:

  1. Open Samsung Messages app.
  2. Tap More settings icon at the upper right.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Tap More settings.
  5. Tap Text Message.
  6. Tap Message center.
  7. Enter the correct Message Center number. If you don’t know what your carrier’s MCN is, call your network operator and get it straight from them.

Reset Network Settings

In some cases, incorrect network configuration can cause texting issues. Be sure to clear your phone’s network settings if changing the MCN won’t make a difference.

To reset your Galaxy J5 network settings:

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

Factory reset

If the issue is not yet resolved at this point, make sure that you wipe the phone with factory reset. Doing so will return all software settings to their defaults. If the reason for the problem is software in nature, factory reset will most likely help.

To factory reset your J5:

  1. Create a backup of your data.
  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 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.

Get help from your network operator

Should the issue return after wiping the phone (factory reset), you should contact your carrier for help. At this point, there’s nothing more that you can do on your device that will help. It should your carrier’s responsibility to help you troubleshoot the issue. If there’s no fault on their system, they should still be able to tell you where the problem may lie.

Problem #2: How to fix Galaxy J5 that does not make a sound (audio not working)

I have Samsung Galaxy J5. 5 months back, suddenly all sounds including audio, video, incoming, outgoing calls, notifications, ringtone got muted on my mobile. The mobile never got any accidents or issues before that. I tried to restart mobile, and even set it to factory reset as well. But nothing worked. I left the mobile for a month and just turned it on. There was a software update which had come. i updated the software version and the mobile started working perfectly. Exactly the same issue has now happened again 3 days back. I have checked there is no software update available. i tried all troubleshooting like restarting phone, going into safe mode, clearing cache but nothing worked. Can you advise what can be the issue?

Solution: The issue comes and goes so the cause is most likely software-related. It can be an app preventing your phone’s audio from working properly, or an operating system bug. To double check that it’s not a hardware problem at all, you can try to load the device’s service menu and see if the speaker works with these steps:

  1. Open your dialer or Phone app.
  2. Dial “*#0*#” (without the quotes). If nothing happens, your carrier must have disabled access to service menu.
  3. Tap Receiver. If you hear a long beep, that’s good.
  4. Tap Speaker. If your phone makes a sound, then that also means the speaker is fine.

If both tests return positive result, that’s a confirmation that hardware is fine. The problem may be coming from one of your apps or an operating system bug. In this case,we would suggest that you do another round of factory reset and use process of elimination to identify which of your apps may be to blame. You can do that by installing apps individually after a factory reset and observing how sound works every time.

If your phone won’t make any sound at all, even in service menu, that’s an indication of a hardware issue. Contact Samsung for repair or replacement.

Problem #3: Unlocked Verizon Galaxy J5 keeps losing signal on Total Wireless network

I have a Samsung Galaxy J5 that I originally purchased through Verizon.  After paying off the device, I switched to Total Wireless and am having a problem receiving text, MMS, phone calls.  When I turn my phone on I can’t receive anything until I make a call out. That seems to make the phone ‘connect’ and its good for the rest of the day.  I’ve called Total Wireless several times and they can’t figure it out. When I go to the settings > Access Point Names it says Verizon Internet and TRACFONE.VZWENTP.  when I go into that, nothing is set. No Name, no Proxy, No Port, etc, etc. I suspect this may be at least part of the problem but when I try to Edit that or Add a new Access Point, I can’t do it.  Help!

Solution: Most Samsung Galaxy devices are carrier-branded. This means that not every model has the same firmware version; each carrier develops its own firmware for their own Samsung device. In your case, the phone is originally built for Verizon so its firmware is a Verizon version. Switching to Total Wireless does not change the firmware so a Verizon Android firmware still runs in the phone even though it’s now using Total Wireless network. This is where the problem can come in. Incompatibility issues may arise due to this fact. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to determined whether or not the issue is fixable on your end or not. The most that you can do are the troubleshooting steps we provide above (for Problem #1). If nothing works and the problem remains even after a factory reset, you’re out of luck. There must be a coding issue that causes the phone to temporarily lose network connection.

Problem #4: How to fix Galaxy J5 wifi issue: won’t connect to public wifi networks

I have a Samsung Galaxy J5 which works fine, except very often having problem to connect to free Hotspots like McDonald, Loews, BestBuy etc. . It will show connected, but requires sign in. So I scroll down the top line and press the message for signing in. It will start the Internet Explorer, Chrome in my case, but will not giving the sign in page to accept the terms,  which leads relatively soon to losing the connection. Scan will find again the Hotspot, but the problem repeats with the same results. I often try to log on to i.e. www.McDonalds.com, hoping that the login page would pop up, but it does not help either. Also often when I just about to give up, the login page pups up and then it works. Could this to be a problem with the Hotspot’s server or is it my J5?

Solution: If this problem happens every time you log in to any public wifi network, then the cause is most probably just in your phone. We suggest that you try these troubleshooting step to try to fix it:

  • Clear Chrome data
  • Reset network settings
  • Factory reset

To clear Chrome app’s data, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap your app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear Data button.
  8. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

For resetting network settings and factory reset, refer to the steps above.


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