How to fix Galaxy S8 overheating issue: internet is on, using navigation apps and Google Duo

We’ve received some interesting issues for the #GalaxyS8 lately so here they are. If you have some trouble with your own S8 lately, we suggest that you go ahead and check the cases mentioned below. We hope you’ll find our solutions helpful.

Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy S8 gets overheated when internet is on or when using navigation apps and Google Duo

I have had the phone for 1.5 years and I noticed in the past couple months the phone gets really hot on certain apps such as navigation and Google duo. Also, whenever I am connected to either wifi or mobile data, it shows that I have signal and connected but my internet in apps like spotify, Twitter , and chrome lost connection periodically. I could have a full signal, start scrolling through my feed on Twitter and have the first few post load up, but after that it takes awhile to load up anything afterwards. Any advice?

Solution: Issues like the ones you have are often very hard to diagnose as there’s usually no other indications for their causes. Common reasons for them can be one of the following items:

corrupted system cache
bad or incompatible third party app
modem or networking bug
operating system bug
Hardware malfunction

Clear the cache partition

Clearing your S8’s cache partition is a good way to kick off troubleshooting in this situation. There are all sorts of performance issues and bugs that can occur if the system cache is problematic. To ensure that the cache is okay, you want to wipe the cache partition. This is actually a maintenance tip that you can do once every few months, or after a major Android update. If you haven’t tried it yet, here’s how it’s done:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby 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 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 to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
Press the Power key 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.

Check for bad third party apps

To see if all the issues are being caused by a bad app, you want to observe the phone on safe mode. In this mode, no third party app will be allowed to run. You want to make sure that you observe the phone in this mode for at least 24 hours to see any difference. Below are the steps to restart your S8 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.
Let the phone run safe mode for a full day and observe it.

Safe Mode is a tool, not a solution. It’s a way for you to know if there’s a third party app causing trouble with Android OS. if the issues are absent on safe mode but returns after restarting the phone back to normal mode, that means you have an app issue. 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 S8 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Install firmware or OS updates

Sometimes, Android functions or apps may not work properly due to inefficient coding. The same can sometimes be true if modem firmware has coding issues. Since there’s no way for an average user to know whether or not there’s a coding issue for the OS or modem firmware, all you can do is to ensure that you install whatever updates that come your way. By default, your S8 should download and install system updates but if you changed this setting before, be sure to go under Settings > Software update to check.4

Keep apps updated

Apps may sometimes also play a role for some networking issues. Make it a point to regularly check for updates to minimize the chance of having problems from one of your apps. This applies to both first party and third party apps. Samsung apps can usually be updated by going within an app’s settings menu so be sure to also do that after updating third party apps via the Play Store.

If you get apps outside the Play Store, it’s your responsibility to keep them updated. Talk to the developer if you don’t know how to update them.

Factory reset

You may have to ultimately need to wipe the phone return all software settings back to their defaults. If nothing has worked so far at this point, make sure to factory reset your S8. afterwards, as in safe mode, make sure to observe the phone for 24 hours. Be sure not to install any app during observation.

To factory reset:

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.

Get a replacement

If all the device troubleshooting above won’t help at all, the reason is most probably beyond your ability to fix. Even Samsung won’t be able give you a repair option for this one. At this point, you can contact so they can replace the phone. It sure won’t be a free replacement but if these issues annoy you everyday, you should consider this last option.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 not receiving notifications for text messages

In a nutshell: My text notifications disappear if I check one, even if I have others that are unread. More specifically: If I have more than one conversation going at a time and say, I walk away from my phone for a bit. Then a text notification sound brings me back. I open the text for which I heard the sound, read it and reply. I hit back or home and it goes back to my home page and I go about my business. If someone else texted me in that time and I missed it, my home page “messages” icon no longer has a push notification on it so I don’t know I have any texts. I often don’t see them for hours later unless I am constantly checking the conversations list in Messages. Which I hate doing, #1, and, #2, hitting the back button from inside a specific message usually takes me back to my homescreen NOT to the conversations list so I have to go back into it all the effing time. This just started about 3 or 4 months ago and it is KILLLINNNNNG MEEEE. Plus I’m in 3 weddings right now. I can’t keep missing messages. Please help!

Solution: Message notifications will no longer show up in the status bar if the messaging app is currently open and the screen is unlocked. This has been how Samsung notifications acted for a long time. If you want to receive new notifications in the status bar, you have to make sure that app is not being in use or replaced by a new one. If you are currently using the text messaging app while new messages comes in, badges will instead be shown within the list of messages in the app. This is not a bug.

If no notifications come in even when the app is not currently being used, like when you’ve already switched to the Home screen before the new message comes in, try wiping the data of BadgeProvider app. This is an app responsible for app notifications and may be the one causing the problem. Here’s what you need to do:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
Select Show system apps.
Find BadgeProvider and tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear Data button.
Restart your S8 and check for the problem.

Problem #3: Galaxy S8 Plus won’t ring for incoming calls, won’t send SMS, can’t add custom notification sounds

I have 3 issues with my samsung galaxy s8 plus:

1: sometimes I’ll get a call but my phone won’t ring or notify me in any way that I am receiving a call. It will just end up going to voicemail.

2: sometimes when I send a text it will not send. It will just sit there for a long time saying “sending” but never send the message. This will happen in the middle of text conversations even if I have full service and whether or not I’m connected to wi-fi.

3: I used to be able to assign every contact their own text tone. I can no longer do that.

Solution: The first two issues are most likely network-related. To check if that’s the case, we suggest that you try two things — network settings reset and factory reset. If both won’t work, you should talk to your network operator for further troubleshooting support.

For reference, here are the steps on how to reset your S8’s network settings:

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

For factory reset steps, refer to the ones we provide for Problem #1.

FOr your third issue, the problem lies in Samsung Messages. The most recent Android iteration — Oreo — removed the support for third party or custom tones. If you want to assign a custom or non-default text message notification for your contacts, you should consider using another text messaging app like Google’s Android Messages app.