Several factors can trigger signal problems to occur in mobile devices. Among the common culprits include but not limited to network errors, bad updates, invalid settings, data corruption, and rogue applications. Hardware issues like damaged network components on the phone as well as the use of bad SIM card are also among the underlying causes. The transpiring symptoms vary depending on the root cause. Sometimes, they can be complicated but most of the time, they’re just minor.
Hardware-related signal issues are usually resolved through service or hardware repair while those associated with the software are remedied by some workarounds. The highlighted solutions in this post are used to deal with a relevant issue on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone that keeps losing signal for some reasons. Feel free to refer to these walkthroughs whenever needed.
Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.
How to troubleshoot Galaxy Note 9 that keeps losing signal?
Before you troubleshoot software problems on your phone, make sure that you’re using your device in a place within your network coverage. It’s normal to get intermittent signal if your far away from your network towers as well as when using your phone in a place with many signal barriers. If necessary, try to move to a different location with no signal barriers and within your network’s coverage area. If you’re still experiencing signal drops even when you’re already close or within your network towers, then clear out software errors with the following workarounds.
First solution: Reboot/soft reset your Galaxy Note 9.
If it just happened that your phone keeps losing signal without making any changes on the settings, then it could be just a random network error that’s easily rectified by a soft reset or device restart. That said, try to restart or soft reset your Galaxy Note 9 with these steps:
- Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until the menu options appear.
- Tap on Restart.
- Wait for the device to turn off and on again.
A soft reset also dumps errant cache or corrupted data from the internal memory including those that may have inflicted trouble on the phone’s network functions. No need to create backups as this won’t affect any saved data on the phone storage.
Second solution: Enable safe mode and diagnose apps.
Errant applications either third-party or pre-installed can also be the main triggers. To determine whether or not the problem is inflicted by some third-party applications, try to boot your Galaxy Note 9 in safe mode and diagnose apps. Only the pre-installed apps are able to run in this mode as third-party apps and services are bypassed. This will make it easier to isolate the problem. To boot your phone in safe mode, simply follow these steps:
- Press and hold down the Power button for a few seconds while your phone is turned.
- When you see the menu options, release the button then hold and tap Power off until Restart in safe mode appears.
- Select OK to confirm and trigger the phone to enter safe mode.
- You will know when your device is in safe mode if you see the Safe Mode label at the bottom left corner of the screen.
Observe your phone’s signal while it’s running in safe mode. If it doesn’t experience signal drops or has stable signal while in safe mode, then you will need to determine which from your downloaded apps is the trigger. Try to think which app you’ve downloaded before the phone started to lose signal. That app must be deleted. Otherwise, you may have to uninstall individual apps starting from your most recent download until you obliterate the root-cause. Don’t forget to check your phone’s signal status after deleting an app so you will know when to stop uninstalling apps. You can just reinstall all safe apps on your device once you clear out the issue.
Third solution: Install the latest system update for your phone.
New software updates also offer system enhancements and fix patches to eliminate existing problems inflicted by random bugs and malware-inflicted network errors. To manually check for available updates, your phone must be connected to the Internet, preferably through Wi-Fi. If you’re connected, then check for any available software updates to download and install via over-the-air (OTA). Here’s how:
- Tap Settings.
- Select Software update.
- Tap the option to Download updates manually.
- Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to instigate update file downloading and installation process.
After updating your phone system to the latest version, do a soft reset or turn your phone off for a few seconds and then turn it back on. Doing so will ensure that all new system changes are properly applied and likewise prevents apps from acting up.
Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your Galaxy Note 9.
Invalid network settings or misconfigured network options can also affect the signal status of the phone. This is usually the case if the problem started after modifying some settings or installing new updates on your device. Some updates are programmed to override current settings, which may possibly result to some conflicts or errors. To clear this out, follow these steps to reset all settings on your phone and then restore the default or original values:
- Tap Settings from the Main app screen.
- Scroll to General Management.
- Tap Reset.
- Select Reset settings from the given options.
- Read the warning prompt and then tap Reset Settings again to continue.
- To confirm action, tap Reset Settings again.
This reset won’t affect saved data on the phone’s internal memory, thus won’t result to data loss. After the reset, reboot your phone to refresh the system and then manually configure network options and enable necessary features accordingly.
Fifth solution: Remove and reinstall your SIM card.
Signal issues and network-related errors can also be inflicted by minor issues with the SIM card system. And oftentimes, such problems are cleared by simply removing and reinstalling the SIM card on the phone. It wouldn’t hurt if you’d try it too. Here’s how it’s done:
- Turn off the phone.
- With your phone turned off, gently insert the SIM tray ejector tool into the provided hole to eject the SIM card tray.
- When the tray pops out, pull it out slowly.
- Then remove the SIM card and check for any signs of possible damage like scratches or liquid traces. If there’s none, then place it back into the card slot in the same position before you took it out. The gold contacts must be facing downwards to have contact with the card slot circuit.
- Push the tray back into the slot when the SIM card is secured in place.
- Lock the tray then turn your phone back on.
See if that fixes signal dropping problem on your phone. If the problem continues, then your phone likely needs service. You can take it to a service center for hardware checkup and/or repair, if needed.
Other options
Seek more help from your network service provider or carrier if your Galaxy Note 9 still keeps losing signal after exhausting all prior solutions. This could be a more complex network problem that requires more advanced solutions. Otherwise, you may have to deal with hardware problems on the phone. Intermittent signal can likewise be due to a damaged network component like the physical antenna or SIM card in use. If you suspect that the problem is attributed to a faulty SIM card, then you can ask for new SIM card replacement from your carrier instead.
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