How to fix Galaxy S9 Plus music stops or pauses streaming bug [troubleshooting guide]

Since last year, we noticed that some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus users were having trouble with their music streaming apps. Just like in a #GalaxyS9Plus case mentioned below, all of them were reporting that, for some reason, their phone stops playing music on their own after some time. Some had even tried to factory reset their phones without getting any resolution at all. In this troubleshooting episode, we bring you the possible solutions to this issue. There’s no official word from Samsung about this and, apparently, even they, don’t have an idea how to fix the bug as well. Since this has also started happening on S9 devices, we hope it’s not an Android coding issue because if that’s the case, it’s going to be a significant problem for a lot of people.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy S9 Plus music stops streaming bug

HELP! Very Frustrated. I have the new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. Awesome phone but having a major problem. When I play music (any App..Tune-In Radio, Google Music, Spotify, Pandora, I-Heart Radio) after 20 or 30 minutes the App will stop playing and you have to click on play again. Also if the App is in full screen, the screen will not sleep. Now I’ve spent hours in the T-Mobile store and with Samsung Support with no luck. We tried resets, uninstalling Apps and trying one at a time, checking battery functions…everything. I’ve tried it on WiFi, Network, home, car, work… They finally replaced the phone as a defect and yesterday it all worked until the new update and then back to same problem. I tried another Factory reset this morning with no luck. I’ve tried different Launchers. I’ve tried loading one App at a time. Nothing stops this problem. If you search in the Forums there are several references to this problem with the S8, but so far I can’t find anything about S9 AND any questions about the S8 music Apps have no solutions. Do you know anything about this.? The T-Mobile store said I was the only person with this problem. Thanks HOW do I find out the response? — LD Glover

Solution: Hi LD Glover. We can’t seem to replicate your issue in our own Galaxy S9 Plus so this bug may only be happening for certain firmware builds, or for certain S9 batches, which means it can be a hardware issue. We would like to think that the cause may have something to do with your phone’s power saving setup. Since you’ve already tried the basic possible solutions for this issue, we recommend that you do the following suggestions:

Turn off any power saving settings

We don’t think this is a technical problem at all. Rather, we believe it has something to do with your device’s power saving settings. Make sure your S9 is not set to stop apps automatically when you’re not actively using them by going under Settings > Battery > Power saving mode. Make sure that Power Saving Mode is set of OFF. Or, you can configure your S9 to only start Power Saving Mode only when it’s battery power is low instead of immediately.

Turn off Restrict Background Data

While still on the Power Saving Mode menu, toggling Restrict Background Data to off may also help. If Restrict Background Data is set to ON, the music app may not be permitted to connect to the internet by this feature resulting to the issue you’re having.

Set Keep wifi on during sleep to ON

Some users fixed networking issues and some app issues before by making sure that their phone remains connected to wifi even while sleeping. By default, Keep wifi on during sleep is set to always or on but if you changed it before, try turning it back on then see what happens.

Here’s how you can do that:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Select wifi.
  3. Tap More at the upper right.
  4. Turn on keep Wi-Fi always ON during sleep.

Check Optimize battery usage for your music app

Android Nougat and Oreo are designed to save battery power whenever possible and both have more sophisticated methods of achieving that. In order to save battery power though, apps, including the ones that you usually use like music streaming ones may be put to sleep automatically or sometime. To see if your music apps are controlled by this battery optimization feature, go to Settings > Battery. Once you’ve in the battery menu, hit Details under app power saving mode and select the music app. Then, make sure to select DISABLED to allow it to run and be exempt from Android battery optimization feature.

Wait for a patch

If the solutions above won’t help at all, this might be a coding issue. Make sure to report it again to Samsung so they can create a ticket for this bug. Then, just like when Android bugs occur, you just have to wait until it’s fixed.

Problem #2: Galaxy S9 can’t add contacts with more than 14 characters

Hi. Thanks for the offer of help! I have  a Galaxy S9 so I can not remove the battery for a soft reset. My problem is that when trying to add names to contacts I am only allowed 14 characters to be entered and I can not fully add all names as many are longer than 14 characters.  I had no problems with my previous S5 and so when my old phone transferred it’s info to the new one, all long names were added in full. So it does have the ability to add longer names but just won’t let me do it manually. Hope there is an easy fix. Thanks. —  Zoe Zoemichaelagreen

Solution: Hi Zoe. What app are you using to save your contacts? We’re positive that the default Samsung Contacts app on Galaxy S9 will allow you to save names longer than 14 characters. If you’re not using Samsung Contacts, we suggest that you migrate your contact names to it so you’ll no longer find a solution for the issue you’re in right. Frankly, we have no idea what’s causing it too. It may be a limitation on the app you’re using, or there may be a setting in that app that prevents you from adding longer contact names. This issue boils down to the app in question so in order not to complicate things, stick to the stock contacts app. It’s stable and has been a reliable one for years now so we don’t think you’ll have any issues with it. If you don’t want to use it for whatever reason, then consider checking with the developer of that app to see if there’s something that they do to help.

Problem #3: How to show Galaxy S9 Calendar events on lock screen

Good morning, Droid Guy! I hope you can help me with my calendar settings in my phone.  I’m struggling after having reset my phone back to factory settings. While setting up my calendar, I must have set it to hide calendar information when popping up to my main screen.  So, when an event occurs, a gray screen pops up and I have to click on, ‘show hidden content.’ Whereas, before, I could just see the event. I’m hoping to not have to reset my phone again in order to resolve this issue. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much! — Kristina Kristinalhouston

Solution: Hi Kristina. If by main screen you mean the lock screen (the screen that shows after you locked the screen, or after the phone locked the screen by itself), then here’s what you need to do:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Tap Advanced on the upper right.
  4. Select your calendar app.
  5. Make sure that Allow notifications is enabled.
  6. Tap On lock screen.
  7. Select Show content.

Now, every time you have a new incoming calendar event and your screen is locked, you should now see the content of that event even when you don’t unlock the screen.


TheDroidGuy Mailbag

🛠️If you have questions, check our Help section for details on how to submit your questions.💡


Posts You Might Like

Leave a Comment