How to fix Galaxy S9 that keeps dropping calls [troubleshooting guide]

Welcome to today’s troubleshooting article for #GalaxyS9 device. This post will outline the solutions that you can try if your S9 keeps on dropping calls for no apparent reason. We hope you’ll find it helpful.

Today’s problem: Galaxy S9 voice calls keeps dropping

Hey. I hope you are well & hope you can help. I have a brand new Samsung S9 which I got on the Friday 9th March launch date. Since getting the phone I have experienced issues when on calls. The line drops in and out intermittently so I can’t hear the person & they can’t hear me. In addition the phone has taken to completely dropping and subsequently disconnecting the calls. This is naturally very frustrating for a brand new phone. Please please tell me it’s a software issue rather than a hardware one with the phone! I’ve tried clearly the cache as per your advice on this page this evening and i’m yet to see if this makes a difference. Any other ideas to fix it? Many thanks in advance. — Lara Harris

Solution: Hi Lara. There are many reasons why your Galaxy S9 may be dropping calls but we can group them into two — network-related issues and phone-side problems.

On the network side, there are at least 4 common situations that can lead to your issue. These are the following:

  • inefficient tower switching
  • no signal or poor cellular reception
  • signal interference
  • outages or unplanned maintenance

On the other hand, the issue can also be caused by problems emanating from the phone itself. These factors includes these items:

  • a bad Phone app
  • poorly coded third party app
  • minor software glitch
  • damaged antenna
  • unknown hardware malfunction

How to fix a Galaxy S9 that keeps dropping calls

Fixing dropped calls issue is not a straightforward task as there’s a lot of possible reasons for it. What you want to actually do in this situation is to follow a logical troubleshooting ladder in order to narrow down the causes as you go along. As you go over the list of things that you can do, you are also, in turn, trying to apply the solution (if the issue is user-fixable, of course). Below are the troubleshooting steps and solutions that you can do.

Solution #1: Restart your S9

This is a standard troubleshooting step and possible solution in this case. Restarting your device refreshes the software as well as the system in general. Some bugs are fixed by doing this simple and easy solution so be sure not to skip it. To restart your S9, just press and hold the Power button, then select Restart from the menu.

Solution #2: Toggle Airplane Mode

Airplane Mode is a feature that allows seamless way to disable all network functions of your Galaxy S9 device. Some users were able to successfully fix network problems by turning Airplane Mode on and off so this next step may help in fixing the bug on your phone too. To do it, just pull the notification menu from the tap of the screen down, then tap the Airplane Mode.

Solution #3: Install carrier updates

From time to time, carriers may release updates in order to effect network configuration changes, push new features, or fix known network bugs. If your S9 was working fine during calls before, then there may be some network bugs that has to be ironed out by your carrier. Be sure to set your device to receive new updates under Settings > Software update. If not, try to manually check for any new update that you may have missed by tapping on Download updates manually under Settings > Software update. If nothing pops up after tapping the Download updates manually option, there’s probably no available updates at this time.

Solution #4: Install Android updates

In some cases, network issues may be caused by outdated operating system version. To minimize problems, you want your S9 to run up-to-date Android version. Aside from installing carrier updates, Google (the Android publisher) and Samsung may also release their own updates. Just like in the previous solution, the only way to get these updates is by going under Settings. Be sure to allow your S9 to automatically download updates in order not to miss any Android or OEM updates.

Solution #5: Clear Phone app data

The default app that manages voice calling on an S9 is the Phone app so if you’re using it, be sure to deal with it directly by clearing its data. Doing so will delete your call logs so if you want to preserve them, be sure to back your phone using Samsung cloud service, or Smart Switch. Once you’ve done any of that, you then want to clear the Phone app’s data by doing the steps below:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap More settings (three-dot icon) at the upper right.
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Look for the Phone app and tap it.
  6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  7. Tap CLEAR DATA.
  8. Check how your S9 works during calls.

.Solution #6: Reseat SIM card

Removing, then re-inserting the SIM card sometimes work in fixing network problems. This process forces a device to reconfigure all cellular settings like the APN, Message Center Number, and other cellular configurations. If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to do so. Just make sure to turn the phone off before removing and reinserting the card.

Solution #7: Reset network settings

A more direct way to dealing with network issues is by clearing a device’s network settings. Resetting network settings will clear wifi, mobile data, and bluetooth settings so you’ll have to reconfigure them up again later. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
  6. Restart your S9 and check how it works during calls.

Solution #8: Manually select network modes

Sometimes, network issues are fixed by forcing the phone to use another network temporarily. If restart and toggling of Airplane Mode won’t work, be sure to do this troubleshooting step. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Connections.
  3. Tap Mobile networks.
  4. Tap Network operators.
  5. Tap Search networks.
  6. Wait for your S9 to search for networks.
  7. Once it’s done searching,, select another network to connect to. For example, if you’re on T-Mobile, pick AT&T or any other network.
  8. Your phone will be forced to return with an error because it won’t be able to register successfully.
  9. Afterwards, select your own network again and see if your S9 will now be able to re-register.

Solution #9: Run safe mode

If you’re not careful what app you install, there’s a chance that one of them can cause conflict with the operating system. To check if an app is causing a problem, you want to run your S9 to safe mode. In this mode, no third party app will run so if calls work as expected and won’t drop at all, you know that an app is causing the trouble.

To restart your S9 to safe mode, follow these steps:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
  3. When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.
  7. While in Safe mode, you can now uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

Solution #10: Factory reset

At this point, your S9 should have already been back to its normal but if the issue remains, you have no other choice but to do one last thing — factory reset. Doing it will help you tell if the problem is due to a software glitch or not. We know for a fact that an S9 factory state software won’t lead to dropped calls issue. By returning Android settings back to their known working state, you are effectively eliminating any possible software errors.

To factory reset your S9:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts > Backup and restore.
  3. Tap the following sliders to desired setting: Back up my data, Automatic restore.
  4. Tap the Back key (bottom right) until you reach the main Settings menu.
  5. Tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
  6. Scroll to the bottom of the screen, then tap RESET > DELETE ALL.
  7. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
  8. If prompted to verify your Samsung account, enter the password, then tap CONFIRM.
  9. Wait for the device to finish the reset sequence.

Remember, factory reset will wipe your personal data. Be sure to back them before doing a factory reset.

Solution #11: Contact your carrier

Finally, if all our suggestions above won’t help at all, you should let your carrier know about the problem. There may be some network-specific errors or causes behind the problem.


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