Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Problems, Errors, Glitches and Solutions [Part 51]

ByChad Buenaflor

Welcome to the 51st part in our troubleshooting series dedicated to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. While we all know that this isn’t the latest Note device as the Note 4 has already been released, things are about to get exciting with the expected Android Lollipop update. Owners of this phone should expect the update to arrive early this year. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the issues related to this specific device sent to us by our readers.

note 3

If you own a Galaxy Note 3 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to email us at [email protected]. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do send us an email try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment of the issue can be made and the correct solution can be given.

You may also check the previous posts in this series at this link.

Aside from sending us an email you may also reach us at our Facebook and Google+ social media accounts.

Note 3 No Sound On Pandora App

Problem: Any possible solutions for not being able to hear the sound on my downloaded Pandora app through my Beats earphones? I am able to receive the music through the earbuds on my Nexus tablet with no problem.

Solution: Does this sound issue also occur when you use other apps such as your music app or when you play a YouTube video? If it does then you should first check the sound settings of your phone and ensure that it is not set to the minimum level.

If the issue is only isolated to the Pandora app itself then try checking the volume controls of the app itself. If everything seems to be fine then try to clear the cache of the Pandora app.

  • From the home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  • Tap Settings.
  • On the More tab, tap Application manager.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Scroll to and tap the Pandora application.
  • Tap Clear cache.
  • The application cache is now cleared.

If the issue still persists then try uninstalling the app and installing it again.

Note 3 S Pen Not Working

Problem: Hi DroidGuy! I’m using my Samsung Note 3 duos for 4 months already. I use my phone for drawing digitally and writing down notes. I use the built in software for my notes (S Note) and Galaxy Sketch for sketching. My problem is the S Pen. It doesn’t write on some part of the screen. I don’t know what to do. Help? Thank you so much!

Solution: Is there a specific area on the screen where the S Pen fails to work? Try testing your phone by pressing *#0*# on the keypad. Do the TSP Hovering test first and see if it works normally for both finger and S Pen input. Next, do the WACOM test and SPEN Hovering test. If your S PEN can be detected then this might just be a software related issue. The quickest way to resolve this is to perform a factory reset. Make sure to backup your data first.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  • Press Power button to select.
  • Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
  • Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  • Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

If the factory reset fails to resolve the issue then try using another S PEN. If the issue still persists while using another S Pen then this may already be a hardware related issue. You will have to bring your phone to an authorized service center for checking.


Note 3 Won’t Turn On

Problem: I looked at a lot off your forms and tried most of what you suggested but none helped. So my problem started about 3 days ago! I would lock my phone screen and then when I go to unlock it and it would stay off I would try to turn it on 3 to 4 times and wait about 5 to 10 min before trying again and still nothing and then I would take out the batter for about 10 min and then return it back in and try and the phone would switch on but now and the reason why I’m emailing you is because it will not at all turn on. I plug it in no red light take out the battery no light I have tested the batter and it’s fully charged I opened the phone and everything was still plugged in and looked fine not even dust I can’t find problem. Please I can’t pay for a new phone or costly repairs. If you need any more info just send me an email thank you so much for the help.

Solution: The first thing you should do is to try using another battery on your phone. In most cases a faulty battery may cause this kind of problem. Before installing then new battery take out the SD card first (if your phone has one). While your phone has no battery, press and hold the Power button for at least 3 minutes to clear out the RAM.

If the issue still persists then try accessing the Android Recovery menu and wipe the cache partition of the phone.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
  • With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.

If the phone is unable to go to the Android recovery menu then you should try connecting it to a computer running on the latest version of Kies (you can download this software from the Samsung website). Try to perform an emergency firmware recovery. Just make sure to have a backup of your phone data before performing the actual recovery.


Note 3 Gallery Content Gone

Problem: Hi there. My gallery containing all videos, camera pics, images, everything, was cleared out overnight. I have no sd card inserted and would please know how to recover this.

Solution: If you have activated Google Photos for your phone then you will be able to access your videos and photos. Just open your Google Photos account from any browser.

If Google Photos has not been activated then you should connect your phone to a computer running on the latest Kies software. Using Kies, try searching your phone gallery and see if the photos and videos can be detected. If Kies can’t detect any photos or videos then they may have been deleted.


Note 3 Wi-Fi Calling Not Working

Problem: Hi, I bought note 3 with T-Mobile. The wifi calling was working fine till two days before. The phone is running kit Kat android 4.4.2. To my knowledge I have not done any updates recently. From yesterday I’m not able to make wifi calls. My voice is received distorted in other end when I’m the one who called. If I receive any calls in wifi they can hear me clearly. When I make calls in 4G also there is no issues. It happens only in wifi calling and only when I’m the person who called. Weird issue so I can’t search on the Web. I tried restarting my phone and wifi router and modem. Nothing helped. Any help is much appreciated. Please let me know if you need any more details. Also let me know if I have walk down to T-Mobile store to resolve this issue. Thanks.

Solution: The first thing that needs to be done is to isolate the cause of the problem. In this case it could either be the router or the phone that is causing this issue. Try connecting to a different Wi-Fi router and make a call. If the issue does not occur then it’s most likely a router related issue.

However, if the issue remains then follow the troubleshooting steps listed below.

To check if certain apps are causing this issue you should start your phone in safe mode then make a call. If the issue disappears then it is most likely caused by a third party app. Find out what that app is and uninstall it.

  • With the device powered off, press and hold the Power button (located on the right edge) until the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 logo appears then release.
  • With the logo on the screen, press and hold the Volume down button until Safe mode appears in the lower left of the screen then release.
  • This may take up to 45 seconds.

If the issue persists then the next step is to check if corrupt temporary data is causing this issue. To do this you should wipe the cache partition of your phone. Your personal data will not be deleted in this process.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
  • With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.

If at this point the problem still persists then a factory reset is highly recommended. Make sure to back up your data first.


Note 3 Display Won’t Turn Off When Charging

Problem: Hi, i am using the samsung note 3. Im not sure if this is a problem but when i charge my phone, the screen wont seems to turn off, it just stays on. Only when im not charging my phone the screen auto off but when im charging it wont. Is this a problem or settings problem? Ive been going through every possible settings for weeks now and i dont know what to do. Thanks!

Solution: You need to go to the Developer options setting of your phone. If you don’t see this setting then go to the About Phone setting and tap on the Build Number 7 times. Now go to Settings – Developer options then uncheck the Stay awake option.


Note 3 W-Fi/Video Issues

Problem: I have 2 issues in dealing with my note 3. first, i can’t access my wifi at home from my phone. i can use it with my laptop and smart TV but not my phone. and second, the videos i record with my phone at the highest resolution fail to play on my laptop. whenever I transfer files from my phone to my laptop i can view my photos but my videos play choppy. other times  the video freezes but the audio keeps playing. any help would be greatly appreciated.  thank you.

Solution: For the first issue regarding the Wi-Fi connection you should first forget your home Wi-Fi network by tapping and pressing on the connection on your phone then hitting forget network. Scan for the network again then connect to it. You may need to enter the password to access your network.

If the video files play normally without any issues on your phone then the problem may be with your laptop. Try to check if it has the latest video drivers installed. You may also want to try playing the transferred video files using VLC as this is one of the best video players that is able to play a wide range of video file formats.


Note 3 Yahoo Email Inbox Not Loading

Problem: Hello Droid guy, I have a problem with my email. I am using yahoo email and my note just stopped loading my inbox email. I can still send email and view all of my other folders like spam mail deleted mail but will not load my inbox email. I have checked all of the sync settings and they are all on phone email etc. I have deleted acct reinstalled did a soft reset but nothing seems to work. Any insight you can give will be very appreciated.

Solution: Try clearing the cache of the email app you are using. The issue may be caused by a corrupt temporary data of the app itself.

  • From the home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  • Tap Settings.
  • On the More tab, tap Application manager.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Scroll to and tap the email application.
  • Tap Clear cache.
  • The application cache is now cleared.

You should also try checking your inbox while using a different Internet connection. The connection you are using now may have an issue which is causing your inbox not to load.


Note 3 Touchwiz Home Stopped Working

Problem: Hello! Last night my Note 3 updated automatically.  This morning I have an error message stating “Touchwiz home has stopped working”.  I can’t get past this error message by pressing “OK” as prompted and therefore cannot use my phone.  Please help!

Solution: You should first try clearing the cache of the Touchwiz home app.

  • From the home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  • Tap Settings.
  • On the More tab, tap Application manager.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Scroll to and tap the Touchwiz home application.
  • Tap Clear cache.
  • The application cache is now cleared.

If the issue persists then you should clear your phone cache from recovery.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
  • With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.


Note 3 No Network Found

Problem: Hi, I have had my samsung galaxy note 3 for bout a year now and all of a sudden when I’m at home I have signal bars on my phone but when I text it says ‘no network found for mobile network’ any ideas how to fix this problem? Many thanks

Solution: Since this issue happened all of a sudden the first thing you should do is to contact your network provider and ask if there are any network related issues in your area. If the network is normal then proceed with the troubleshooting steps below.

Take out the SIM card of your phone then reinsert it. This not only allows you to check if the SIM card has been misaligned but it also refreshes your phone connection to the network.

If you have access to another SIM try inserting it in your phone. If the issue disappears then the problem may be caused by a faulty SIM. Ask for a replacement.

If the issue persists one last troubleshooting step that you can do is to perform a factory reset. Just make sure to back up your phone data before proceeding.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  • Press Power button to select.
  • Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
  • Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  • Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.


Note 3 “Unfortunately, com.sec.android.provider.badge has stopped” Error

Problem: I was going to turn my phone off last night (actually restart it) when I noticed it was downloading or updating apps so I let it update the apps. Soon after it seemed to have downloaded the apps all the apps on my phone quit working (basically the phone has quit working) no phone calls, no text messages, and definitely no apps work. When I try to do anything with the phone I keep getting this message Unfortunately, com.sec.android.provider.badge has stopped, the OK. You can press ok then the message appears again on the screen after a few seconds. My cellular provider is AT&T. Need help, next step a visit to the AT&T store. Thanks!

Solution: Wiping your phone cache partition from recovery resolves issues like this.

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
  • When ‘GALAXY Note 3’ appears on the screen, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
  • With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.


Note 3 Does Not Turn On After Update

Problem: Hi, I just performed what I thought was a system update on my phone, however; I do not think that was a system update.  I had my phone charging all night long.  I woke up began using the phone to and then turned my WIFI on, after a short time of using the phone, I saw the notification to update.  I accepted the notification to update, the phone began rebooting itself as I walked away to get ready for my day.  I looked over after a short time and notice the little Green android guy on the screen from a distance. I went to pick my phone up and head out the door and noticed my phone no longer turns on.  The battery was at least charged to ~97% I have taken the battery out of the phone, I have tried soft-reset, I have tried re-setting the phone with all three buttons and nothing seems to make the phone budge at all. Have you seen this before?  I am hoping it is not a virus. The worst part of this is … I am stuck using my work provided cell phone … an iPhone. Thank you and I look forward to your help.

Solution: You should try to perform an emergency firmware recovery to resolve this issue. You will need a computer with the latest Kies software installed. You can download this software from the Samsung website.

  • Connect your phone using a USB cord to your computer with the Kies software running.
  • Click Tools > Emergency firmware recovery
  • Select your device from the list. Your device will be in the list only if it requires a recovery. (Take note of the Recovery code is used when restoring your device from another computer. )
  • Switch your device to recovery mode using the steps displayed in Kies.
  • Click Start upgrade.


Note 3 Text Messaging Issue

Problem: I got my Note 3 in December and soon realized that some people are not receiving my text messages, nor am I receiving some messages sent to me.  I talked with Samsung and thought the issue had been fixed, but it has not.  I reviewed you sight for answers to this issue and may have missed it, but I wondered if you could direct me as to how to fix this problem.  It seems most of the issues are with people who have Iphones, but not all of them.

Solution: You should first verify if this is a network related issue. Try to contact your network provider and ask if there are any issues in your particular area. You should also check if this is SIM card related issue by inserting another SIM in your phone. If the issue does not occur then your SIM may have a problem. Get a replacement SIM.

On the phone side you should clear the cache of your messaging app. It may be storing corrupt temporary data that nay be causing this problem.

  • From the home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  • Tap Settings.
  • On the More tab, tap Application manager.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Scroll to and tap the Messages application.
  • Tap Clear cache.
  • The application cache is now cleared.

One last course of action you can do is to perform a factory reset. This eliminates the possibility of an app or the phone software causing this issue. You should however backup your phone data first before performing this procedure as this will be deleted in the process.

TouchWiz Home Issues For Other Devices

Galaxy Note 2 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy Note 3 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy Note 4 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy Note 5 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy S3 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy S4 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy S5 Touchwiz Home
Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge / S6 Edge+ Touchwiz Home

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