Samsung Galaxy S2 Problems, Errors and How To Fix Them [Part 9]
This is the 9th part in our series of troubleshooting articles concerning the Samsung Galaxy S2. Although the device is already showing signs of age it’s still quite popular and in fact many people are still using it. Just like any other electronic device this model also has its fair share of issues which most of the time can be easily fixed but there are some cases when it’s already a hardware issue then it must be sent to a service center.
For reference purposes listed below are the previous 8 parts regarding this device. You can check on them and see if any of the solutions presented works in your case.
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8]
If you need help for a specific issue regarding the Galaxy S2 or any other Android smartphone for that matter feel free to send us an email regarding your concern at [email protected]. Try to include as much detail as possible such as the Android version your device is using and the error message displayed on screen just to name a few. You can also reach us through our Facebook and Google+ page.
Galaxy S2 Messaging Problem
Problem: Hi there I recently gave my mum my old samsung galaxy s2. I did not seem to have problems but she is having a problem sending and recieving picture messages. She tried to send a picture and it just keeping coming up that it is still sending and she could not look at pictures sent to her. How can we fix this .. thanks
Solution: Picture messages are sent using a carrier mobile connection. First make sure that your device has mobile data connectivity with your carrier and that mobile data is turned on. You can do this by simply opening up a webpage with your S2. If you have verified that you have mobile data connectivity the next step to do is to check on your MMS settings and see if it is correct.
- Press Applications
- Press Settings
- Press Wireless and network
- Press Mobile networks
- Press Access Point Names
Under access point names you should see your MMS settings. Verify if these settings are the same as the one used by your carrier.
For T-Mobile the settings are
- APN is set to T-Mobile GPRS, “fast.t-mobile.com”
- MMSC https://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
- MCC is 310
- MNC is 260
- APN Type is default,supl,mms
- APN protocol is IPv6
- APN roaming protocol is IPv4
For AT&T the settings are
- Name: ATT WAP
- APN: wap.cingular
- APN Type: default+MMS
- Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
- port: 80
- MMSC: http :/ /mmsc .cingular .com (remove extra spaces, forums will not let me post a link)
- MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
- MMS Port: 80
- MMC: 310
- MNC: 410
If you still can’t send picture messages then try to run your device on safe mode to check if a third party application is preventing you from doing so.
- Power off the device.
- Press and hold the Power/Lock key for one or two seconds to turn on the device.
- When the Samsung logo displays, press and hold the Volume down key until the lock screen displays.
- When the Lock screen is displayed, Safe mode is displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen. Try sending a picture message
- To exit Safe mode, restart your device.
Galaxy S2 I9100 Camera Crashed
Problem: Hello… Desperately need your help. My camera crashed. Can’t use any apps that has camera function. I tried deleting camera data and restart the phone but didn’t solve the problem. I also tried to download again the camera apps but receive error msg (error retrieving info from server). My camera data is now zero 🙁 . Please help!! Thanks a lot
Solution: For his concern try to take out the battery first from your device then place it back after 30 seconds. If you are still having the same issue then try to isolate the SD card first as sometimes a corrupt SD card may cause this. Turn off your device, take out the SD card, turn it on again. If that didn’t work then it’s time to do a hard reset on your S2. Make sure to backup all important data first as this procedure will erase everything and restore your device to its initial factory condition.
- Turn the phone off
- With the phone still off, hold down the Power, Volume Up and Menu buttons at the same time for about 10 seconds. Release them when you see the green android logo. This’ll get you into the unlock/reset menu.
- Scroll down and select ‘Wipe Data/Factory Reset’. You can use the volume buttons to scroll up/down and the power button to confirm selections.
- Select ‘Yes – Delete All User Data’.
- Select ‘Reboot System Now’. The phone then reboots to factory settings
Galaxy S2 Won’t Charge
Problem: hello, i need help to figure out what wrong with this phone, i was out on a night out but my phone was fine not a thing got droped on it and it wasent drop it was fine went home and chrged it, nd went to bed when i woke up it was still on charge but wasent working it wont charge, i assumed it was my charger but it charges my other phone and i even used a diffrent charger still wont charge so i baught a new battery its the right one and i but it in on my computer and it still wont charge! it dosent make sence it was fine then it just stop working ! what should i do?
Solution: There could be different causes for this issue from a bad charging port to a defective battery or charger itself. Here’s what you need to do first.
- Turn the phone of
- Remove the battery
- Wait 10 seconds
- Plug in the charger
- Insert the battery
- Turn on the phone
This procedure works most of the time.
Try checking the charging port of your S2 and see if there is any accumulation of dirt. This may affect the charging process. If you find any dirt then turn off your device, take out the battery, and then clean the charging port with cotton and alcohol.
If you are still experiencing the same problem then the device has to be checked at an authorized service center.
Galaxy S2 Cannot Set Ringtones & Notification Sounds
Problem: Hello, I cannot set ringtones & notification sounds on my S2. If I enter a contact settings , I see that there is a sound file defined , the file I chose , but when a call comes in, the call has the default phone’s ringtone I’m unable to set ringtone for incoming mail , (it stuck on “quiet” ) I’m unable to set ringtone for incoming SMS ( in this case , I use GO sms app and it has its own internal settings where it works, but not the Android settings ). Please Help , Urgent !
Solution: It looks like there could be an app that is interfering with the ringtone and notification sounds of your device. Try to boot in safe mode and check if everything works fine. If it does then you might want to uninstall any third party app that you recently installed.
To get to safe mode
- Power off the device.
- Press and hold the Power/Lock key for one or two seconds to turn on the device.
- When the Samsung logo displays, press and hold the Volume down key until the lock screen displays.
- When the Lock screen is displayed, Safe mode is displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen.
If the problem doesn’t go away then you might want to try a hard reset on your device. Before doing this procedure it’s important to backup all of your data first as this will get erased.
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold both Volume Up and Volume Down keys at the same time.
- Press the Power key only until the phone vibrates once, then release only the Power key.
- Continue to hold the Volume up and Volume Down keys until the Android System Recovery screen appears.
- Press the Volume Down key to highlight wipe data / factory reset.
- Press the Power key to select.
- Press the Volume Down key to highlight Yes – Delete all user data.
- Press the Power key to select.
- Press the Power key to reboot.
Galaxy S2 Data Connection Lost
Problem: This morning I realized that I had no data connection in my SGS2. No E, no 3G, no H, no H+. Unable to connect to the internet. WiFi works seamlessly. Immediately I thought that I had no data available in my prepaid card. I checked with my provider and there were connections till 20:00 aprox, when I got home and hooked to the wifi. Nothing in the mornig. Data available in my account. I have tried the SIM in a different phone and works perfectly. I can make and receive phone calls, as send and receive SMS messages. I tried using a different SIM that just got topped up, stil no data.. I can make and receive phone calls, as send and receive SMS messages.
Solution: It looks like the issue is on the phone side as you already have already isolated the SIM (which works on a different device). Have you checked on the Internet settings on your device and see if they are correct? Usually when the settings are changed you won’t be able to connect to the Internet. If the settings are all correct then you might want to try doing a hard reset on your device (instructions are above this post) before sending this unit to an authorized repair center.
Galaxy S2 turns Off When Disconnecting Charger
Problem: hi my samsung galaxy s2 i9100 turn off when i disconnect charger howerver it is 97% charged it boots to recovery without turning off, i can restore or install roms without the charger connected but when i boot to android it turn off, i needs to be charger connected to boot to android any help?!
Solution: Basically the problem occurs when you try to boot to Android. When booting to recovery it stays on. Are you still using the stock Rom for your device? If not then try to install the original ROM of this device. There’s a big chance that there’s something wrong with your current ROM, probably compatibility issues.
Galaxy S2 Does Not turn On
Problem: hi, i need help i was charging my galaxy s2 while playing a game and when my phone turned off. I thought its going to turn back on but it didnt it could never go past the samsung logo and it was always doing the same so i freaked out i pulled the battery off and put it back on but it kept doing the same thing. Now its turned off completley and it shows no sings of life whenever i want to charge it just over heats and it does not show the battery icon. I was running 4.1.2 jelly bean. I tried to go on recovery mode but no succses. Please help
Solution: Try taking out the battery for 10 minutes before placing it back into your phone. Check if you can turn on your device. If it still does not turn on try to get another battery that has a charge on it and place it in your device as this could just be a battery issue.
Galaxy S2 Vibrate Issues
Problem: Hi, my alarm went off and it vibrated. I heard a plastic part vibrating also. The sharp loud noise was disgusting. I shut off my alarm thikning it was my SGP case. Later today I played around trying to find out if the silicone had a hole or something where the plastic frame was touching the SGS2 phone itself. Nope. I took the whole case off. Each time it vibrates it sounds weird. I took the cover off. I took the SIM card out on another occasion too. It sounds like something on the upper left. If I push my finger down on the panel, it stops. Just a little weight seems to calm it down. Not sure if its the vibrating motor itself because it is vibrating properly. Sounds like something is loose inside though.
Solution: It looks like what we have here is a hardware problem. The vibrator motor might have already loosened itself from its original spot. When it vibrates then it will move around causing this noise. To fix this you can either bring your device to an authorized service center to have the vibration motor secured in its original place. Alternatively, if you are the tinkering type you can open up your device and secure the vibration motor on its spot with a double sided tape.
Galaxy S2 Stuck On Samsung Logo
Problem: Hi guys! My Samsung Galaxy S II is stuck on the samsung logo when i try to turn it on. The galaxy is not rooted and has the stock 4.1.2 android version on it. When i go into recovery mode a dead android with red triangle is shown. The problem occured when i stoped playing angry birds go. When i wanted to uninstall the game the phone froze, and reseted itself after a few seconds. Oh and in the notification bar there was a strange logo (system memory almost full or something like that). So is there a way to get my phone back to life, without losing my data ( pictures, videos and recorded audio files)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Solution: First try taking out the battery first, leaving it out for at least 30 seconds, then place it back into the device. Check and see if it boots normally. If not then try to enter recovery mode.
- Turn off the device making sure it is completely off.
- Press and hold both Volume Up and Volume Down keys at the same time.
- Press the Power key only until the phone vibrates once, then release only the Power key.
- Continue to hold the Volume up and Volume Down keys until the Android System Recovery screen appears.
If you can enter recovery mode normally then turn of the device again and try to boot normally. Most of the time your device will now be working normally.
Galaxy S2 Wi-Fi Stuck
Problem: So my phone has been perfect since I got it about a year ago, but all of a sudden today it will not let me on wifi. The wifi icon is just a dim green, and says that wifi is in fact “turning on” but never really does. Any advice would be very much appreciate.
Solution: First try running your device in safe mode to see if a this party application is causing this problem. Once in safe mode activate your Wi-Fi and if you can connect normally then you will need to manually uninstall any of your recently installed apps.
I’m assuming that your device is running on stock ROM. If it is and the problem still occurs even in stock mode then you might want to try to so a hard reset on your device. Doing so will erase all data so better make a backup first.
If that didn’t work then this could already be a hardware issue in which case you will have to bring your device to an authorized service center for checking.
Hi, my phone keeps vibrating and it’s not coming o I’ve tyres putting it on a charger and taking the battery out at this point I dint know what to do to fix it t
I have a samsung galaxy s2 and one day it just restarted while i was on instagram went it turned back on all apps disapeared howcan i fux that?
Sir,I have a Samsung Android Mobile Phone S2-5282 is consuming more power as the phone is always discharging.Also is slowered.i.e.its screen takes much time to open screen.What should I do ?
I need help! Whenever I try and do a voice search, it keeps saying ‘server error’! How can I fix that?
So my phone has a new battery & when i put the new one in it doesn’t turn on. . It just keeps vibrating.. What do i do??
Hi, my friend has recently been using this phone and the battery life next to nothing when suddenly it replenished to full without being charged. Since this has happened, she is unable to send messages or view any that people have sent her, I was wondering if this is connected somehow and how to fix it?