How to fix Galaxy Note5 texting issue: Note5 sends MMS on its own

Welcome to our latest #GalaxyNote5 troubleshooting article. Today’s post will answer some common questions sent to us by some members of our community. The central issue we address today is concerning a weird texting problem about a Note5 sending MMS on its own. We also cover three other issues so feel free to browse through all of them.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy Note5 screen issue: showing vertical lines on the side

Hello. i have a Galaxy Note 5. it started when the screen started to show some scrambling and lines from one side. this effect was reduced when i disabled the auto light dimming option. but yet still when i hit the home button the display used to delay or i had to hit the power button again to light up the display which took a second to show gradually from down upwards.

i also noticed a green line at the left side of the screen all the way from top to bottom. then suddenly the phone would not power on and a fainting or flashing slowly blue led all the time. i tried resetting the phone by using the vol down and power buttons but failed. i took it to samsung repair shop and they said it is the LCD screen and replacing it would cost more than the phone is worth. please help if there is a solution.

Solution: The most likely reason for the problem is hardware degradation so doing any software tweak will be useless. Still, we recommend that you try a factory reset and see what happens. We’re not expecting it to fix whatever physical issue there is but it should, in the least, help you confirm if the problem is fixable on your end or not. For a situation like this, we would like to agree with Samsung — that it’s an LCD issue. Like any other hardware component, the screen assembly, which LCD is a core part, can degrade overtime. This degradation can hasten up if the phone is regularly exposed to hazards like accidental drops, extreme temperature, or water/liquid exposure.

If a factory reset won’t change anything at all, you can opt to replace the screen assembly yourself. While not as expensive as Samsung repair, do-it-yourself (DIY) repairs are often unguaranteed and can lead to more problems. It’s also not free obviously since you still have to invest in the needed components and tools but the total price can be less. There are many good videos in YouTube that can walk you through the steps in replacing the screen assembly.

Problem #2: How to fix Galaxy Note5 texting issue: Note5 sends MMS on its own

The issues are numerous, but the most pertinent problem right now is that the phone continues to send random picture texts at weird hours. I seriously look like a stalker! When it first happened it was suggested that I did this in my sleep, but even in my waking hours I couldn’t send that many pics to 2 people within seconds. Then it was thought that it was just re-sending pics that previously had issues sending. Again this was not the case. Now it will do it even when I am in the midst of a conversation with someone. Can you please help me to stop looking like a crazy person! I got the phone 2 months ago from Walmart.

Solution: There may be a bug in your messaging app that causes this. To fix the problem, follow our suggestions below:

Check text messaging settings for scheduled messages

Depending on your messaging app, you may have set a certain schedule to allow it to send messages. This is not available in Samsung Messages app but other apps may enable it. Try playing around with the settings of your messaging app to see if this is true.

Clear messaging app data

This solution will delete all your text messages. If you don’t want to lose them, be sure to back them up ahead of time. You can use Smart Switch or your Samsung account to store them. Once you’ve backed your messages app, do the steps below to clear the text messaging app data:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
Select Show system apps.
Find and tap the text messaging app in question.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear Data button.
Restart your Note5 and check for the problem.

Use another app

If your phone continues to send messages on its own and without your knowledge, a good workaround would be to try to use another app. Hardly ideal but this can be the only effective option for you. We still have to figure out what messaging app you’re using so we can’t tell for sure whether or not it’s a known issue. There are many free text messaging apps in Google Play Store. Try using some of them to see if there’s a difference. We suggest that you stick with official text messaging apps like Google’s Android Messages.

Check for third party app

Some apps can take over text messaging functions and set up scheduled text messages as well. To see if that’s the case, restart your Note5 to safe mode and observe. Here’s how:

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.
Let your device run in safe mode for at least 48 hours uninterrupted (do not restart it).

If the problem won’t happen in safe mode, that means a third party app must be messing around with the system, or is the reason for the trouble. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

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 Note5 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Restore to factory settings

If the problem remains, even when your phone has been set to safe mode, that means there’s something deeper that causes the issue. It can be an operating system bug, or even malware. Wipe the phone with factory reset to fix it.

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
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).
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 Note5 apps in SD card are missing; SD card not readable

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note5. I have recently purchased an SD card and had been using it in my phone successfully for 10 days. A couple of days ago I was using the phone as usual, and I noticed that some of my apps had gone. The phone still had the title of the apps (and still does) but claims it is not there now. I then check in my files and scroll to sd card where it now claims “not inserted”. I have taken the sd card out and put it back to no joy. I do not wish to format it as it may lose all of my apps I had previously. Please can you help with this.

Solution: The SD card may have become corrupted or unreadable. This happens all the time without warning. SD cards can become bad for a variety of reasons. We are in no position to know where the fault lies. Since there’s no way to know what exactly happened to it, the only potential solution that you can do now is to reformat it.

Problem #4: How to recover data from corrupted SD card in Galaxy Note5

Hello. I have a Galaxy Note5 and have had a Samsung 32GB EVO MicroSD card in it since late 2015. I have had no issues with this card or reading it on my Note5 or PC. I recently realized that all of my photos were no longer appearing in Gallery. I have tried the suggestions from a few articles on your site to no avail. Is there ANY way to retrieve the data from this card at this point? the phone simply does not show anything to do with an SD card being inserted. And my PC will not access through the USB cord/phone or directly from a sd card reader. Thank you!

Solution: If you have another mobile device like another phone or tablet, try to see if it can read the SD card. If the card is still not detected, your files are good as gone.