Hello everyone! Welcome to another post that covers some of the #GalaxyS6 issues reported by our community. Don’t forget to visit other related articles by following this link.
- How to recover photos if Galaxy S6 is stuck in boot loop
- Active Sync feature not working when Galaxy S6 is on Wi-Fi
- Verizon Galaxy S6 unable to receive calls from certain numbers
- What to do with water-damaged Galaxy S6
- How to make Galaxy S6 secured from malware
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, or you can install our free app from Google Play Store.
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 recover photos if Galaxy S6 is stuck in boot loop
Hi, sorry if this has been answered already but I’ve limited access to internet. My wife s Samsung S6 has got stuck in a boot loop. Just the Samsung logo screen, then reboots.
We think it was part way through an update when she grabbed the phone to go out. We are on holiday hence limited web. Unfortunately the phone has on it holiday photos not yet backed up. We have tried clearing the cache partition. No improvement. We can’t get it to safe mode.
Is there any way to get the data (photos) off prior to a full reset?
I’ve seen the menu option for the ADB and do have a laptop with me. I’m comfortable with Command line if that’s what’s needed. (Dos, Linux etc)
The phone is not rooted and had a Three branded Rom if that’s important.
Please can you help get our anniversary photos back?
Most greatful for any help. — Kris
Solution: Hi Kris. Boot loop can be a product of a variety of things. At its most basic level, what happens during a boot loop is that the boot sequence is interrupted by incomplete command or corrupted system set of files. Boot loops happen when a user tries to modify core operating system files like in rooting or romming, or if installation of critical system files fails for some reason. We don’t know the full history of the device in question so we can only speculate as far as the cause of the problem is concerned.
Now, when it comes to solutions, there’s little to nothing that a user can do. The most effective solutions available for you includes wiping the cache partition, doing a factory reset, and installing custom/stock ROM. The first one is harmless while the last two means deleting or reformatting the device in a way.
To give you a frank answer, there’s no way recover your photos back unless the phone reboots normally to normal mode after wiping the cache partition. We don’t know how you come up with using ADB as a solution but it’s not recommended for average users as it requires advanced coding knowledge and tricky to do at best. On top of that, the chance of success is very low. We’ve tried doing it to at least 3 Samsung S devices before and we couldn’t make it to work. Using ADB as a solution is a very device specific procedure and critical steps can vary from one phone to another, even if they are of the same model. If you are intent on doing it yourself though, try to research online for reputable guides.
Problem #2: Active Sync feature not working when Galaxy S6 is on Wi-Fi
Hi. Ever since I upgraded the firmware, I can no longer active sync with my Office365 Microsoft Exchange server over Wi-Fi. As soon as I disable Wi-Fi and go onto mobile data (4G) only, then everything works fine. There is also nothing wrong with my Wi-Fi as I can conduct all other internet related activity (eg browse the web, download apps etc).
I have seen on the Internet that I am not the only person who has this problem so it is not specific to my phone. I know the problem will be solved if I factory reset my phone and in doing so go back to an earlier software version but this is hugely inconvenient.
I don’t believe that this can be fixed by a settings change on the phone or on my Wi-Fi (which works fine). I think the only answer is a firmware patch upgrade from Samsung. If this is not available, I know I will have to live with this problem until Samsung releases a firmware upgrade (I am on the latest one now).
If you can suggest something that will help, I would greatly appreciate this. Thank you.
Kind regards. — Dennis
Solution: Hi Dennis. This issue keeps happening year in and year out in a wide variety of smartphones. It’s been observed in both iOS and Android platforms so it’s definitely not platform- or device-specific. The thing is, there is no blanket solution for the problem as well. If you have the time to go over other forums that cover this issue, you will easily realize that a solution for one user may not work on another. This tells us that though the symptom may appear identical — smartphone unable to use Active sync while in Wi-Fi connection — the cause for each one may not be the same.
In that sense, we find it effective if you do your own research for a solution that will work in your case. You can start by checking the forums in this Google search page result.
Problem #3: Verizon Galaxy S6 unable to receive calls from certain numbers
I hope you can help! My daughter’s phone is from Verizon and it is making us all nuts.
The rest of us have iPhones and when we try to call her, we often get this message that it can’t complete the call and to call Verizon. They say they don’t know why.
We call other people with Androids and don’t get this and no one else we know has that issue with calling her.
This is her second phone as the first quit charging. The first one did this, too.
Worse, this thing is eating data even though it has the limit on it. She has it on wifi, etc. She used 8 GB in a month where it was out of operation for two weeks. This occurred suddenly with the previous one and now for three months with this one. Verizon has looked at the settings twice and said they’re right, and we looked as well.
We are so upset, broke, and worried since we can’t contact her to leave even voicemails most of the time.
Please help!
Thank you so much! — Michelle
Solution: Hi Michelle. Did you consider the possibility that your daughter may have blocked your phone numbers by accident or intentionally? If you’ve already checked this angle, then the next thing that you want to do is get your daughter’s phone so you can do a factory reset on it. This may sound drastic but it’s the only effective solution that we can think of in this case. Now, the important thing about this procedure is to check whether or not there’s something blocking your calls like a third party app she may have installed and forgotten. Because factory reset will restore all settings and software to its initial state, it should tell you if our hunch is right or not. Make sure that you don’t install any app after the factory reset so you can see the difference. To factory reset an S6, kindly follow the steps below:
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6.
- Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
- When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
- Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
- Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
- Press the Volume Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
- After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
After the factory reset, try to call the phone again to see if it will now receive your call. If the issue remains, that’s a sign that you will not be able to fix the issue on your level. Contact Verizon and ask them for direct assistance.
Problem #4: What to do with water-damaged Galaxy S6
On Thursday night I dropped my phone in the toilet. Woops. I placed my phone in a bag of rice and became impatient about 12 hours later and took it out to see how it was going. It was acting glitchy so I turned it off immediately. The following day I kept it in the bag and today (Saturday) I took it out. I did a hard factory reset on the phone and cleared all information. It was charging earlier in the day when I tried but after the factory reset it is not recognizing the charge. BOO! I don’t think this is a repairable issue, but I thought I would ask. Anything else I should try? I have it in the bag of rice again hoping the little Asians will fix it. — Erin
Solution: Hi Erin. The purpose of leaving the phone inside a bag (of little Asians) is to allow moisture inside the device to be adsorbed to rice. It’s usually recommended to leave the device in the bag for several days before attempting to power it back on. And even doing so will not guarantee that a soaked up device will work normally afterwards. Apparently, your device is not working properly anymore. Depending on the amount of water that found its way inside, the motherboard may or may not be a total mess at this time. If you’re lucky and no critical component is damaged, a repair may save it. Otherwise, just suck it up and get a new device.
Problem #5: How to make Galaxy S6 secured from malware
Twice I have received a message on my screen telling me that I have visited too many porn web sites, I have a virus, and I need to install something from Samsung in order to resolve it. I have never visited a porn site on any device that I own, and I doubt I ever will. My phone vibrates when I hit the back arrow to remove the post from my screen and I end up having to hit the home button to get it off my screen. Both times this has happened, I have been accessing Google. I believe it may be some type of spam or malware, but I am not sure how to check and remove it. Hope you can help me with this. Thank you in advance. — Elaine
Solution: Hi Elaine. If you suspect that your device may be infected with a virus or malware, the best thing that you try includes doing a factory reset first (steps provided above), then making sure that you don’t re-install the same set of apps again. Some forms of malware are transmitted by other apps so the old school mentality of preventing infection is more effective than simply installing an antivirus app.
More advanced malware may be able to evade the systems being used by generic antivirus applications so having an antivirus is not a guarantee that your device remains clean.
After you factory reset your S6, make sure that you leave apps you don’t use or anything that you’re not familiar with. If you are concerned with phone security, the lesser the apps you have, the better. In that sense, you’re minimizing the potential source of malware infection from happening. Try to stick to official apps and avoid games from unknown or dubious developers. The same holds true for all types of apps you install. Be sure that you visit the review page of an app before you install it to see if other users have unhealthy concerns about it.
Most types of phone malware today are designed to steal information rather than ruin a user’s phone or experience. These malware can stay hidden for a long time and may not be easily detectable so it’s all the more important that you secure your phone by making sure that you don’t let potential sources of malware from being installed. Your phone security is your responsibility.
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