How to fix Galaxy S8 with poor wifi issue after installing Android Oreo

Hello and welcome to another #GalaxyS8 troubleshooting material. This post is a continuation of our effort to help S8 users who are having troubles after installing Android Oreo. We know it’s been a while since Oreo was released for the S8 but only now do a significant number of S8 devices are having problems. If you happen to have issues after upgrading your operating system version, this article should help.

Problem #1: Galaxy S8 poor wifi issue after installing Android Oreo

Usually I don’t install the updates due to the issues I have encountered with Samsung phones.. however, I have a new S8 and delayed the Oreo update as much as possible until by mistake I clicked update 2 days ago. Since then, my wifi connection has been so poor it’s unreal. Everything else in my room is working fine … laptop, t.v. but suddenly it’s like my phone has died. — Duaa.ali786

Solution: Hi Duaa.ali786. Android updates can sometimes have mixed effects but we still recommend that you install them. Sure, there had been clear instances of post-update issues that affected quite a lot of devices in a negative way but generally, Android updates are mostly fine. Android is a complicated software environment and there are millions of possible points of failure. In majority of cases, Google and other Android publishers like Samsung or carriers do a good job of minimizing bugs but some may go unnoticed. We updated our Galaxy S8 to Oreo months ago and we haven’t encountered any wifi issue at all. We do know that there are many users who have similar experience to yours so we can’t totally ignore the issue. While we don’t think it’s basically Android coding issue, it’s possible that there’s a unique variable in devices affected that causes wifi to act erratically. To fix your problem, follow our suggestions below.

Clear the cache partition

Whether you have issues or not, it’s highly recommended that you clear your Android device’s cache partition regularly. Android stores an important cache called system cache in the cache partition. Sometimes, the system cache gets corrupted, resulting to all sorts of issues. In many cases though, system cache corruption often occurs after an update so needless to say, you want to check if you have a cache issue.

To clear the system cache:

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.

Forget wifi credentials

Because your issue focuses on your S8’s wifi function, the next best thing that you want to do is disconnect from all wifi networks and see if manually reconnecting to each of them (or to the one you’re having an issue with) will help. This is often an effective fix for many wifi problems so be sure not to skip it. To forget a wifi network:

On any screen, pull down the status bar.
Press and hold wifi.
Press and hold a wifi network you’re connected to.
Select Forget network.

Once you’ve forgotten a network, restart your S8 and see what happens.

Observe on safe mode

Sometimes, a buggy or incompatible app may interfere with Android. This often happens when you update Android but leave apps in their current versions. Remember, Android update does not necessarily mean apps are updated as well. There are also instances when apps simply are not designed to work the newest Android version. This often true for apps who no longer receives timely updates from their developers. To minimize the chance of encountering app issues, you should see to it that all of them are up-to-date, especially right after upgrading Android.

To check if your wifi issue is due to one of your apps, you can boot your S8 to safe mode. In this mode, no third party apps will run. So, if the problem won’t happen, you can bet one of your apps is to blame. To boot 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 your S7 run in this mode for several hours and check for the problem.

Safe mode blocks third party apps and services. If your device boots up fine on Safe Mode but the problem returns on normal mode, you know that one of your apps is behind the trouble. To know which app is causing a problem, 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 S7 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

Reset network settings

Whether you have wifi or mobile data issue, it’s good if you also clear your device’s network settings. Doing so will eliminate the possibility of a bug due to the current network setup. Here’s how it’s done:

Open Settings app.
Tap General management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Reset network settings.
Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
Restart your S8 and check for the problem.

Factory reset

If your problem is still happening after doing all the suggestions above, you should not hesitate to do a factory reset to clear the software of possible bugs. Factory reset will, of course, delete all your data such as photos, videos, documents, etc. so be sure to back them up ahead of time. Once you’re ready, follow the steps below to factory reset your device:

Make a backup of your personal data.
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 #2: Galaxy S8 can’t connect to the internet, voice calling not working properly after an update

I have a Samsung S8 that is only 5 months old. Since the May 2018 update my phone keeps telling me it cant connect to the internet even though I have two bars and my phone calls are not connecting properly. The other person can not hear me clearly. Also noticed that my battery is draining faster since the update. I was not having these problems before the last update. Thank you for any help. — Elisabeth Doyle

Solution: Hi Elisabeth. To begin with, having only two signal bars is hardly ideal especially when it comes to browsing and voice calling. For a Galaxy S8, having 2 signal bars means it’s may not be able to establish reliable and constant communication with your carrier’s towers. To see if two of your issues (no or intermittent internet connection and poor voice calling performance) is network-related and not phone-related, try using your S8 in an area where you have good cellular reception (four signal bars). If these two issues go away, then the problem is being caused by your phone not having reliable connection to the tower. If these same issues reappear regardless whether you are in an area with excellent signal or not, that can be a phone problem. There may be a software bug causing them, or there’s a hardware malfunction behind the trouble. Below are the troubleshooting steps that you can try to fix the issues.

Cache partition wipe

As mentioned above, a corrupted system cache may lead to issues. Make sure to clear the system cache first and see what happens. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.

Reseat the SIM card

If you are in a GSM network, or if you rely on LTE SIM card to get your CDMA phone to connect to 4G (CDMA networks don’t need SIM card for account verification like GSM network do), make sure that the SIM card fits snugly. Turn off your S8 and remove the SIM card properly. Afterwards, turn your phone on before you put the SIM card back in. This procedure should force your phone to reconfigure its cellular network settings. If this won’t fix the problem, proceed to the next solutions.

Boot to safe mode

Refer to our explanation about safe mode above.

Reset network settings.

Refer to our explanation above.

Wipe your phone via factory reset

Factory reset has a good chance of fixing all issues you have. Unless the problem is something else other than an operating system bug, wiping your phone this way should help.

Contact your carrier

If the problem stays through factory reset though, you should report your troubles to your carrier, especially if you received an over-the-air update. An OTA update means that your phone received an Android upgrade via your carrier, not directly from Samsung or Google. There may be a coding error in the update causing some aspects of the system to malfunction. We’re not in the position to figure out what exactly is going on so hopefully, by reporting the issue, you’ll be creating a new ticket that will call your carrier’s attention to the problem. If other users are experiencing the issue, or if it’s network-wide, there may already be ticket created for it. Reporting a trouble will not right away result to a fix but you’re definitely going in the right direction with it.