Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Problems and How To Fix Them [Part 8]

This is the 8th part of our Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Problems and Solutions series. If you have problems with your phone, browse  this post to find issues related to your concerns and if you can’t find one, check out the first seven publications of this nature. Links are provided below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Problems, Questions, Solutions, Fixes [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3][Part 4][Part 5][Part 6][Part 7]

If your problems aren’t mentioned in our posts, don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected]. You can also post on our Facebook wall or PM us and I guarantee I would respond as soon as I can. For owners who prefer to use Google+, we also have a Google+ page you could follow. We dedicated a page on our site to guide you how to get support, please head to our Troubleshooting Page for instructions.

#1. Wifi and Bluetooth switches grayed out

Problem

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SGH-T889. I started having wifi and bluetooth issue like 6 months after I got it. The wifi and bluetooth buttons are grey and do not turn on. Every couple weeks they will work for a few days and go back out again. I am so frustrated I can’t use wifi any where and I finally but a car with bluetooth and I can’t use it. I have attached a few pic of what happens. Hope u can help, Brittany.

Solution

It is apparently a software glitch and it happens randomly. To solve this problem, remove the battery off the phone while it is still on. Leave it without the battery for a minute and while waiting for the time press and hold the power button so as to drain electricity from capacitors. Place the battery back and turn the phone on and check if the buttons are now active.

In case they’re still grayed out, launch your phone’s dialer and dial *#0011# and then hit the Menu key. If the WiFi Power Save Mode is On, turn it off and vice versa. This is just to make some kind of “activity” on the WiFi. Now, go back to settings and check if the button is still grayed out.

If the second procedure won’t solve the problem, then try booting to the Recovery Mode and wipe the cache partition. This is a broad spectrum troubleshooting but don’t worry, you won’t lose any of your data. If this doesn’t solve the problem, backup your data and perform factory reset.

#2. Touchwiz crashes on Note 2

Problem

Hi, I have a Galaxy Note 2. Unlocked. No matter what I try I can’t get the touch wiz to move my apps. It keeps saying it has stopped working. I read what you wrote. But my phone doesn’t have any of options you listed. It was working fine then just stopped. In my settings I can’t find anything to clear cache or anything else. Can you please tell me what I need to do to get working again? Thank you, Michele.

Solution

Okay, try to follow these steps:

1. From the Home screen, tap the Menu key (the one on the left side of the Home button).
2. Once a window pops up, choose Settings.
3. You will be brought to another screen. Look at the upper portion of the screen, you can see four tabs: Connections, My Device, Accounts and More. Tap More.
4. Now tap Application Manager.
5. On the next screen, swipe to the left to display contents of the All section.
6. Scroll down and find Touchwiz and tap on it.
7. Now, find the Clear Cache button.
8. After that, tap the Clear Data button (please note that you will lose all your custom Home screens when you do this). Tap OK.

That’s it! Both the cache and data of Touchwiz have been cleared and hopefully it will solve the problem for you.

#3. Authentication error on Note 2

Problem

Hi I keep getting authentication error occurred when trying to connect to wifi have tried other devices on same wifi and the connect ok I’m on note 2 with version 4.3. Thanks. — Alan

Solution

Basically, when you read the error message that says “authentication error” the first thing that would come to mind is the SSID and the password. You’re on the right track when you think of them but what if you know by heart your password and SSID? We will start from entering  your correct password when trying to connect. If that doesn’t work, “Forget” all networks your phone have cached or connected to and then reboot it.

After the phone finished restarting, let the phone scan for the network and attempt to connect. Of course, you have to enter your credentials correctly.

If the problem still persists and you have other devices that connect to the same network, turn them off first or simply disconnect them and let your phone connect to the network again. It isn’t so common but there are times when other devices could interfere with frequency. A friend of mine has a Microsoft Surface that when connected to his Wifi network, his Galaxy S4 would return the authentication error message.

You know, there are a lot of ways to troubleshoot Wifi issues but try the ones I mentioned first. If they don’t work, email us back and make this post as a reference so you won’t have to explain yourself again.

#4. Galaxy Note 2 stuck in Safe Mode

Problem

Hi! I am trying to disable my note 2 from safe mode.  I turned it off and it wont get off safe mode. What else can I do?

Solution

If you have third-party cases or accessories, remove them first and then turn the phone off and on to see if it boots normally. If it doesn’t, open the back panel and remove the battery while the phone is on. Leave it off for a minute, then press and hold the power button for at least 30 seconds. Place the battery back and attempt to boot normally. If the problem still persists, boot to the Recovery mode and wipe the cache partition and if all else fails, backup your data while in Safe Mode and perform factory reset.

#5. Note 2 can’t find new updates

Problem

I am a newbie here so be gentle.  I have a note 2 through ATT..  Every time I try to update the OS I get an error or it says it’s up to date check back in 2 days. My wife has the same phone bought at the same time and it updated to 4.3 just fine! With kit kat coming out at the end of the month will my phone update? I’ve tried Kies.. didn’t work. It doesn’t even recognize my phone!!! Store Rep suggested I do a hard reset but, I’ve read that doesn’t work so I’m not going to do it.. suggestions?

Answer

Well, KIES can be stubborn sometimes and believe me, you’re not the only one experiencing this problem. First off, uninstall Kies from your computer, download the updated version from Samsung website and install it. I’ve already encountered Kies-related problems and many of them occurred after the Kies update. After the installation, connect your phone and it should be detected this time. Otherwise, check your USB cable because it could be the problem.

As to your phone’s firmware, I was actually anticipating you’d include the software version and the baseband. When the phone said your firmware is up-to-date, I hope you’re seeing these information:

•     Software (Android) version: 4.3
•     Baseband version: I317UCUBMK6
•     Kernel version: 3.0.31-2048209
•     Build number: JSS15J.I317UCUBMK6

These are the pre-requisites so you can update your phone to an upcoming Android 4.4 KitKat update. If the phone shows the previous version, pull the 4.3 update using kies and install it.

#6. Note 2 screen rotation issue

Problem

Screen rotation works fine, but only for 2 to 3 days when I then have to pull battery and reinsert to get it to work again. I have heard of a few other people having same issue. Please help if you can. Thank you.

Solution

Try booting to safe mode and test the phone to see if the screen rotates normally. If it does, there’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem. You need to find it and uninstall it. If, however, the problem persists even in safe mode, backup all your data and perform factory reset.

#7. Note 2 screen covered in blue

Problem

Hi there, I found your website and thought maybe you could help. My phone fell onto the floor and when I picked it up it seemed to be fine.  After a while when I checked it next I noticed what looked to be a little dark blue circle on the bottom left hand corner of the phone.  Over the next few hours the colouring on the phone started to become slightly distorted taking on a bluish tinge while the blue dot in the lower corner started to get bigger and bigger.  Basically my whole screen now is covered in blue and I can barely see the outlines of my background picture or apps on my phone. Any ideas on how to fix it? Thanks a lot!

Solution

Seriously, you need to have the phone checked by an authorized technician. After the diagnosis, you will be advised if it needed screen replacement or not, but I think it does. Based on your statement, the bluish dot was small at first but then it gotten bigger covering the entire screen. So, basically, the phone still works but you can’t see clearly what’s on the screen because of the bluish blot. There’s nothing much you can do about it because it’s a hardware issue. You may end up buying the display panel and the digitizer.

#8. Music tracks stutter on Galaxy Note 2

Problem

Good Day , after I update my galaxy note 2 To jelly bean 4.3 there’s problem appear when i playing music for 15 min there is Stuttering problems in songs I tried a lot of music players like (MixZing, Cloudskipper, Winamp) and problem still appear and I did :

1. Reset Factory …the problem still appears
2. with kies update firmware & installation…the problem still appears
3. I copied all my songs to Internal Storage…the problem still appears
4. I cleared cache & data of players….the problem still appears
5. I remove memory card from phone…the problem still appears
6. I copied all my songs to SD Card 32GB Class 10….the problem still appears

I need help to this problem I want to fix this bad problem, thanks.

Suggestion

I understand it’s frustrating to hear your favorite songs stutter while being played. You have done a lot of things on your  phone to rectify the problem but you haven’t done a thing to know if the problem is with your music tracks.

Copy your music files to your computer and play it from there to see if they still stutter. If they do, the tracks have problems themselves. If they don’t, then try playing videos to know if they too would stutter. If they do, the problem is with your phone’s speaker or hardware. Have it checked.

#9. Can’t update to new version

Problem

Hi. I have had my note 2 for about 2 years this is a replacement because I broke then screen of my other. It doesn’t seem to work as well as my first. But what really has me irritated is that I cant update it I’m still running 4.1.2! I’m on wifi and I search for updates all the time. It never shows an update! And the att people say they cant help to just wait until it shows up…. PLEASE HELP! — Ashley

Solution

If you’re going to wait for the next update roll out, you still can’t update your phone because one of the pre-requisites of the Android 4.4 KitKat is that you phone should be running 4.3 Jelly Bean at the time of update. If you cannot pull down the update over the air, then make use of Samsung’s KIES application, which can be downloaded and installed to your computer. Once installed, you just have to connect your phone to your computer and start searching for updates.

#10. Turn off predictive text on Note 2

Question

Hi. My name is Christian. I updated my Note 2 the other day. The 1st and most annoying problem I am having is AUTO CORRECT when I text. I don’t know how to turn it off. I checked settings,but don’t know exactly where to look and disable it. Please help.

Answer

Sure thing. Just go to Settings > Language & Keyboard > Touch input > Text Input > Prediction > Select Off.

#11. Note 2 screen turns on / off randomly

Problem

Hello I have a problem that I cannot find the answer for on the Internet.  I recently updated my phone to jelly bean 4.3 and ever since then when my phone is not in use locked on my coffee table every minute or so the lock screen flashes up and closes down again after 30 seconds or so. My phone supplier has no idea about the problem. All of my proximity sensors are turned off. And I can’t seem to find the problem. It is wasting between 50 to 75% of my battery throughout the day? If you could help I would greatly appreciate it. Many thanks. — James

Solution

An app or a service is waking your phone up randomly. To confirm this, please boot your phone to Safe Mode and observe if the screen still turns on and off by itself from time to time. If it doesn’t, then it’s a third-party app that’s causing it. You have to find and uninstall / disable it.

If, however, the problem still persists, then one of the pre-installed apps causes the problem or perhaps there’s an issue with one of the core services. To address this, you have to perform factory reset. Make sure you make a backup of your important data before doing so.

Now, there is this one thing you can try before you actually perform a master reset. Download and install Wakelock Detector, it will scan your phone for whatever app or service that’s keeping it awake. This has already been proven effective by XDA developers.

#12. Note 2 battery drains faster than before

Problem

Hello, my phone is note 2 and I really like it. Last night I started charging it but for maybe 11 hours later it isn’t charged. I have had it for 7months.I charge it with my original charger and my battery is original too. I don’t charge it in my computer so I do not know what is the problem. My battery is draining quickly but not very quickly. I will be glad if you can help me. Thank you and have a nice day.

Solution

You should narrow down what causes the problem. Most of the times, third-party apps are the culprit so set your focus on them first. Please note, knowing what the culprit is will take days unless you will make a backup of all your data and perform factory reset.

You can try booting to safe mode when the battery is almost drained. While in safe mode, enable the Airplane Mode to turn off all communications. Now charge your phone, it should take just a few hours to complete since no third-party apps are running and all wireless communications are turned off. If it charges normally, then you know that it could be an app that’s causing it; find and uninstall it. Additionally, make it a point to turn off wireless communications when not in use.

If, however, the problem still persists, check your microSD card to see if it’s still working. If it doesn’t, there is a possibility it’s draining the battery because the phone will keep on scanning it. If you are also in a place where there is poor service coverage, that could also impact the battery life of the phone. If mobile data is not in use, disable it to  avoid this problem. Again, a Factory reset may be the quickest way to determine the problem.