How to fix weak LTE connection on Galaxy S10 | troubleshooting 4G connection issues

Some Galaxy S10 users have been complaining that their device appear to be having 4G LTE issues. This post provides solutions if you are experiencing weak LTE connection on your Galaxy S10. Find out what you can do below.

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How to fix weak LTE connection on Galaxy S10 | troubleshooting 4G connection issues

Wondering how to troubleshoot weak LTE connection on your Galaxy S10? This guide should help you with that.

Weak LTE connection fix #1: Verify signal strength is good

If you have weak LTE connection on your Galaxy S10, the first thing that you want to check is the signal strength. Ideally, you want to always have full signal bars to maintain excellent network services. If the signal bars on top keeps dropping to 1 or 2 bars, that can be an indicator that you’re in a poorly covered area. If this happens when you’re inside a building, try moving to a more open area and see if there’s a difference. Cellular signals are affected by a lot of factors and some of the common ones are interference due to thick walls, nearby metal or glass structures, or by other wireless devices.

Having weak LTE or 4G connection does not necessarily mean that you have a bad phone. If the problem goes away when you are in a different location, there’s likely no issue with your phone at all. If the problem won’t go away though, you can continue with the reset of the troubleshooting steps below.

Also, you want to verify at this point if the problem is slow internet connection. Try to run a speed test and see if the connection speed is way slower that you expect. We assume that you had better LTE connection speed in the same area before in order to see a difference. If the connection speed is indeed slower than expected, continue with the troubleshooting below.

Weak LTE connection fix #2: Perform soft reset

Just like its previous predecessors, the new Galaxy S10 tends to be unable to fully switch back to 4G LTE network when on slower network modes such as 2G or 3G. Although Samsung has not released official explanation why this is, the phenomenon has been observed in many Samsung Galaxy phones before. Apparently, the phone can’t automatically detect and use 4G LTE in some cases. This doesn’t mean there’s a network issue since most of the time, the issue goes away on its own, or when the phone is restarted. This is clearly a coding or hardware issue that Samsung has not figured out how to fix. What you can do in this situation though is to simply restart the phone and you should be good.

Weak LTE connection fix #3: Reseat SIM

Temporarily removing a SIM card sometimes help in fixing network troubles. If you haven’t tried this simple step yet, be sure to do so if the connection signal won’t improve after restarting the device. In order to prevent corrupting some data, be sure to turn off the phone before you remove and re-insert your SIM card.

Weak LTE connection fix #4: Switch to slower network mode

It may sometimes take a user to manually change to 4G LTE in order to fix this problem. If you haven’t tried this yet, follow these steps to manually force the device to use 4G LTE:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Connections.
  3. Tap Mobile networks.
  4. Tap Network mode.
  5. Depending on your options, you should select the one that indicates 4G or similar to this: LTE/3G/2G (auto-connect).
  6. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Weak LTE connection fix #5: Reset network settings

In some other cases, bad network configuration may lead to network problems like weak LTE connection. To ensure that your S10’s network settings are correct, try to reset it now. Here’s how:

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

Weak LTE connection fix #6: Clear cache partition

At times, an Android device can encounter all sorts of bugs due to a bad system cache, which is located in the cache partition. This cache is important as the system uses it to load apps quickly. Sometimes, this cache may get corrupted or outdated and if this occurs, troubles may appear. In most cases, the effect will be slow performance issues but in some, a device may be forced to reboot randomly as well. In order to ensure that your phone has good system cache, you can wipe the cache partition where it’s kept. If you haven’t tried it yet, clearing the cache partition on your device must be done at this point. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Weak LTE connection fix #7: Install updates

Updates not only bring cosmetic changes but also fixes for known bugs. From time to time, new network bugs are discovered so carriers will have to release fixes for them. These solutions are sometimes bundled with system updates. In case the cause of the problem is known by your network operator and they’ve already created a fix for them, make sure to install updates. There are usually two types of updates that you can install: app updates and Android or system updates. In some instances, a third type of update may be released by carriers in order to address a unique bug that shows in their system. Whatever update there will be, make sure to install them to fix troubles or to prevent new bugs from developing. Carrier updates released in the same way that Android updates conducted so all you have to do is to allow the installation once it shows up in the status bar.

Weak LTE connection fix #8: Restart to safe mode

If your Galaxy S10 still has weak LTE connection at this point, your next move is to see whether a bad third party app is to blame. This can sometimes happen if a new app is poorly coded and negatively impacts the Operating System or other apps. If you are not sure whether or not an app is to blame, you can restart the device to safe mode and check. In this mode, all third party apps will be blocked, allowing only pre-installed ones to run. So, if 4G LTE works normally on safe mode but not when you switch back to regular mode, that means an app is to blame. To boot the device to safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If the issue won’t appear on safe mode, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. 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.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your S10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Weak LTE connection fix #9: Factory reset

When it comes to fixing network problems, factory reset is usually not necessary. However, if the problem continues at this point, you should consider doing it to see if there’s a software bug behind the trouble. Below are the two ways to factory reset your S10:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy S10. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. 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.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
  5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

Weak LTE connection fix #10: Get help from your network operator

Factory reset is supposed to restore all default settings of the software. If that won’t fix the weak LTE connection problem, then the cause is probably beyond the device. There may be an issue on the network side so be sure to contact your carrier. It’s now their responsibility to help you find out the reason why LTE connection is bad.

 


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