How to fix Galaxy S9 Plus Insert SIM card error issue

Hello Android fans! Welcome to another troubleshooting article for the Galaxy S9 (#GalaxyS9). As usual, the cases mentioned in this article are taken from some reports that we receive. If you can’t find any similarity to your own problem here, be sure to check out our previously posted articles for the S9.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page. When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy S9 Plus Bluetooth issue: in-car Bluetooth keeps disconnecting

I just recently bought the S9 Plus (on Friday) and it will only stay connected to my car stereo via bluetooth for 5 minutes. if I am lucky maybe 10 minutes, and sometimes as little as 1 minute before it disconnects. I have gone out and check for updates on my stereo (which is only 6 months old) and there are none, so at this point I am assuming it is a phone issue. At first I thought maybe it was just a Pandora issue, but even playing music through Google Play it still wont stay connected for long. Once it disconnects it takes up to 2 minutes before it will re-connect again. The phone does stay connected to my GearFit2 all day just fine. Any suggestions?

I have tried powering down my phone and rebooting but that doesn’t seem to help.

Solution: We don’t think this is a phone issue at all. In many similar cases, incompatibility between the two devices is to blame. As far as Bluetooth troubleshooting is concerned, there’s very little that you can do as an end user. First, you want to delete all pairings between the devices and reconnect them. If that won’t help, you can then try to factory reset both of them to return their respective software environment to defaults. If the problem remains after that, then you can assume that incompatibility issue is to blame.

We are here to assist Android users so we can only give you the steps on how to factory reset your Galaxy S9 Plus. If you don’t know how to factory reset your in-vehicle Bluetooth system, consult its documentation.

For reference, here are the steps on how to factory reset your S9 Plus:

Create a backup of your 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 S9 reboots randomly when screen is locked

My phone shuts off whenever i stop using it. I was watching netflix for about 30 min and once i locked it and tried to unlock it it was off. so i turned it back on and i went on Instagram for a while and once i locked it it did it again. But if i lock it and immediately unlock it it wont turn off but i went a whole hour using it then once i locked it it turned itself off.

Solution: It’s hard to say for sure what may have happened or what’s causing the problem without knowing the history of the device. Because there are many things that can cause a problem like this, you need to do a series of troubleshooting steps to narrow down the real cause.

Battery recalibration

Android may sometimes lose track of accurate battery reading. This usually occurs if a phone has been running for a long time. The phone may drop all of a sudden if Android detects incorrect battery levels. To avoid this kind of problem, you want to recalibrate the battery and Android. Here’s how to do that:

Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
Restart the device.
Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
Repeat steps 1-5.

Corrupted system cache

Android uses a special set of cache called system cache in order to load apps quickly. Sometimes, the system cache may get corrupted after an update or after doing some software modifications. To see if you have a system cache issue, follow the steps below:

Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
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 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.

Third party app

One of the possible reasons for this issue is apps. Try booting the phone to safe mode and see if that will make a difference. While on safe mode, all third party apps, those that you added on top of the ones that came with the operating system, will be blocked. If the phone works normally on safe mode, you can bet one of the apps is to blame.

To reboot the phone 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.
Observe the phone while it’s on safe mode for at least 48 hours.

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 S9 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Factory reset

Should the suggestions above won’t work at all, you want to consider wiping the phone thru factory reset. This is the most that you can do to determine whether or not the problem is software-related.

To factory reset your S9:

Create 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 #3: How to fix Galaxy S9 Plus Insert SIM card error issue

After a recent update on my S9 Plus, when I go to use mobile data I now get a message that comes onto the screen — insert SIM card, insert SIM card to access network services. If I go to phone someone, the message Not registered on network comes up.

Solution: The first troubleshooting step that you want to do is to see if this is a SIM card issue. Try to insert the SIM card in question to another compatible device and see if it works. If the SIM is active and works properly in a second device, it’s possible that there’s an issue with your S9 Plus. on the other hand. If the SIM card is inactive or won’t work in a second device, you want to contact your network operator for more assistance.

If you think that the problem lies on your S9 Plus and not on the SIM card (or account), the first troubleshooting step that you can try is to do a forced reboot. Here’s how:

Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Should forced reboot won’t help, the next step is to clear network settings. Here’s how:

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.

Finally, you want to do a factory reset if the above troubleshooting steps won’t work. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.