Released almost three years ago, it can be expected that many #GalaxyS5 users will now find that their beloved device is starting to show signs of ageing. Though not all cases in this material attributes ageing as the primary cause of problems, it may still be a factor in some of them, especially in battery- or power-related issues.

Below are the specific topics we cover for you today:

Galaxy S5 became slow and kept freezing after installing an update
Galaxy S5 keeps rebooting on its own
Galaxy S5 won’t open Google, Youtube, other apps, after installing an update
Galaxy S5 won’t charge
Galaxy S5 wifi keeps disconnecting and scanning for available networks
Solutions for Galaxy S5 internet connection slow issue | Facebook, Youtube, other apps in Galaxy S5 loads slowly due to slow internet connection

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: Galaxy S5 became slow and kept freezing after installing an update

I bought the S5 brand new. Traded the S3 for it, both great devices. I loved the camera on the S5 and ended up taking hundreds of vacation pictures I was very attached to. I’m not very computer savvy so I wasn’t sure how to move pictures from phone to Mac iOSX so my memory nearly maxed out. Now, for about 2 years my phone couldn’t update because of lack of space required. Phone ran smooth as peanut butter. Finally had a friend show me how to move my photos to my Mac. Phone has free space!! I received an update notification. Accepted, and installed update. This was about three months ago. Now my phone is so glitchy and slow I’m glad there’s an Otter Box on it or it would be broken. I have to take the battery out on average of twice a day because I can’t manually turn it off when it freezes. I love my phone and I stand by Samsung products loyally and wholeheartedly. I love everything Samsung. But, this phone is driving me crazy, and I refuse to buy a new one.

Anyway I would be much appreciative if one of you highly experienced recipients of my email could help me and my beloved S5 get through this saddening situation. Thank you. — Christopher

Solution: Hi Christopher. There are a number of a tricks that you can do if your phone appears to get problems after an update. Below are some of them.

Wipe the cache partition. This should be the first thing that you want to do. The cache partition keeps the system cache, which is basically a set of temporary files needed by the system to load apps quickly. Sometimes, a corrupted system cache can lead to erratic app behavior so you want to refresh it regularly. This process can be done safely without losing user data like photos, videos, contacts etc., so feel free to do it once every few months, or if you think apps are not working properly. Here’s how to do it:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, 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 cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Install all app and system updates. Most of the time, Android users want to install the latest system updates to enjoy the newest Android has to offer, but never think of updating apps too. While many users will continue to enjoy their devices mostly afterwards, some may not be so lucky. The general rule is, always make sure that:

all apps are updated, and
all apps are compatible with the operating system version.

While the first one can be done easily, the second one requires some effort as you need to do some level of research. Basically, in order to achieve the second item, you want to do some digging like checking other users’ reviews, going to some Android forums, and even contacting developers. Keep in mind that not all apps are created equal. Some apps may be good, receiving regular updates to fix known bugs and to improve user experience overall. Others don’t receive updates at all, making them buggy or incompatible with newer Android operating system versions. Some apps are even malicious and can cause harm to a device or compromise data security. In other words, aside from updating apps, you also want to ensure that you don’t install incompatible or malicious ones. If you are the type who loves to install apps without checking its source (developer), you better change. To minimize problems with apps, stick to official ones only. Avoid installing apps from unknown developers. If you have a lot of apps now, consider removing those you don’t need.

Observe the phone in safe mode. Another good way to determine if one of the installed apps is causing some problems is by booting the phone to safe mode. Third party apps are the ones you install after setting up the phone for the first time. They also include apps not built by Samsung, Google, or your carrier. As mentioned above, not every app is built the same and there are a few important factors that can impact the performance of an app. To see if one of your apps is to blame, you can restart the phone to safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so if your phone works normally, that’s a confirmation of our hunch. To boot in safe mode, follow these steps:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key.
When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Remember, safe mode won’t identify which of the apps is problematic. If the phone appears to be working without problems while safe mode is enabled, you must do further isolation to pinpoint the culprit. You can do that by uninstalling third party apps one by one, and making sure to observe how the phone works after each uninstall.

Factory reset the device. Finally, the last thing that you want to do is factory reset. As its name suggests, this process resets all software settings back to their working factory state. It also deletes user data such photos, videos, customizations, contacts, and more so make sure that you back everything up before performing it. For reference, below are the steps on how to do it:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, 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 several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
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 restart the device.

Problem #2: Galaxy S5 keeps rebooting on its own

Hi. I bought a Samsung S5 SM-G900F from a car boot sale and it was already turned on with a EE pay-as-you-go SIM card and working okay. When i took the mobile home the battery ran out. I plugged in the charger but noticed the battery symbol came on with the lightning symbol in the middle with no % showing. Then it would loop to the “Samsung S5 screen” but would never get to the animated Samsung logo and just keep looping and vibrating every time it looped. This looped several times for about 30 minutes then finally the mobile fired up and worked okay again. I noticed that once the S5 was on, it was okay but when I restarted it or powered it off and on again it would start to loop again but not always; it’s random as I could reboot 5 times and it would be okay. Then on the 6th attempt it could loop for 10 minutes or an hour or sometimes it would never boot and i would leave the battery out overnight. In the morning, sometimes it would boot first time, sometimes after a while. Unfortunately, I don’t know the history of the S5 but there doesn’t appear to be any water damage. The stickers are still white.

I’ve tried at least 5 different stock ROMs and it’s still the same. It boots into the download screen every time without fail but doesn’t always boot into the ‘recovery mode’. It starts to boot but sticks on the blue text ‘Recovery booting.’ The recovery mode fails the same time the bootloop starts so its linked. The Knox is still 0. I’ve tried a different battery and charger and it’s still the same. Do you think it’s a hardware fault?? Do i need to select some advanced options in Odin like Nand erase or rebuild the partition??? I’m lost with it. Any advice would be great. — Nad

Solution: Hi Nad. As any good technician would advise you in this case, you must first try all software troubleshooting such as factory reset or flashing of stock ROM. If you can’t factory reset the device via Recovery mode, you can try doing it via Settings. If nothing positive comes out of it, you can assume hardware is to blame.

Leave all default options in Odin, stay away from Advanced settings, and never enable or disable anything you don’t know about. Some options are meant to be used with specialized software or with combination with other options. Nand erase option is the equivalent of reformatting the memory (storage) of the device also known as eMMC. We haven’t tried this option ourselves so we don’t know what happens to a device reformatted this way. It may or may not result to problems so if you think it’s worth the risk, you can go ahead with it.

Rebuild partition means repairing the current partition of the eMMC with the help of Partition Information Table (.pit). Flashing software usually includes .pit file to automatically rebuild the eMMC partition so you don’t need to manually do it.

Problem #3: Galaxy S5 won’t open Google, Youtube, other apps, after installing an update

Hi. I have some issues with my Galaxy S5. The issues started after I failed updating my phone. I would constantly receive an update message but because my phone’s storage was full, I could not update. Finally I deleted some data and created some capacity and then updated my phone. Now I cannot open Google and any other internet search engine including YouTube through Wi-fi connection. They all work fine with the phone’s data. However, before updating I could open and use Google after restarting my phone. Now even after restarting they don’t work. Can you please help what is going on with my phone? Thank you. — Mehdi

Solution: Hi Mehdi. The suggestions for Christopher above may help you here so make sure to do all of them. You also want to make sure that you have at least 1GB of primary storage left. Some apps will not load at all if you don’t have enough device memory left. To save space, configure your phone’s camera app to automatically save photos and videos to the SD card and not in the phone’s primary storage. The same should be done to documents and other stuff you download. To be safe, make it a habit to create a backup of your files to other devices like a cloud storage or to another device in case your SD card gets corrupted. Remember, SD cards can fail anytime so to save you from heartache, make it a habit to back up regularly.

Problem #4: Galaxy S5 won’t charge

Hello, my Samsung Galaxy S5 won’t charge. When I plug the charger in with the phone turned on, it doesn’t register that its plugged in at all. When I plug it in with the phone turned off, it will do what it always does when you first plug it in with it turned off, there`s a very short vibration, then it lights up and shows the picture of a battery with a lightning bolt inside. But then it just goes black, and a few seconds later it will do that again, and it just continues to do that for as long as its plugged in. I think it does slowly charge it. I`ll leave it like that for a couple hours and the battery percentage with be like 5% more than it was.

I know it’s not the charger because the charger I try to charge it with works on other phones. I`ve tried using other chargers with the same outcome. I know it’s not the battery because I have a friend with the same phone and he trades batteries with me and charges them in his phone. I`ve tried cleaning out the charging port with a tooth brush. And I tried some stuff I saw on your troubleshooting page. I tried charging it with it in safe mode, and I did the soft reset.

I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but it started a shortly after I had a software update. If you have any idea how I can fix it that would be awesome! Thank you. — Chelsea

Solution: Hi Chelsea. In most cases, charging issues are caused by bad hardware like a defective battery, damaged charging port, or some unknown hardware malfunction. If you think that software is to blame though, any of the software solutions we mention above, including flashing, should help. Otherwise, consider the problem as hardware in nature and consider repair or replacement accordingly.

Problem #5: Galaxy S5 wifi keeps disconnecting and scanning for available networks

Hi. I’m hoping you can help me, I have attached screenshots to show you the settings of my wi-fi issues. My home network is Masterchief. As you can see, it is connected but my phone literally scans every 1 or 2 seconds. I have disabled every setting I can find, including in advanced. It is killing my battery! Same thing happens when connected at work. My phone ends up dying although I barely used it. What else can I do?

If it matters, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 with the regrettable Lollipop and its useless update. Additionally, I thought this update was supposed to resolve the alarm option issue? I still am unable to put my phone on silent and allow priority interruptions. The only way that option displays is beginning with vibrate mode but I don’t always want my phone on vibrate and can’t risk forgetting to turn vibrate on just to hear my alarm. I couldn’t wait to get the S5 but since the Lollipop update, have nothing but regrets! My carrier is Verizon. I hope this is all the info you need, please help? — Melissa

Solution: Hi Melissa. All update-related issues have the same generic set of troubleshooting so make sure that you follow our suggestions for Christopher above.

For your wifi issue, the cause can also be hardware in nature so if all the software solutions above won’t work, your phone’s wifi function may be interrupted by a bad antenna or a malfunctioning network chip. Whatever it is, we can only speculate as there’s no direct way to test the hardware. Let a professional check the hardware if you can’t resolve the problem by doing software solutions.

Problem #6: Solutions for Galaxy S5 internet connection slow issue | Facebook, Youtube, other apps in Galaxy S5 loads slowly due to slow internet connection

Facebook is way off on my phone. The pictures come in slowly, and if I choose to comment, I get a white page with a turning circle on it for over a minute. I also get gray boxes and no pictures after the first few on the feed. Everything moves VERY slowly.

As for the losing connection, it happens all the time. I never can finish my turn on Trivia Crack because I lose connection. It says, “There is a problem with your internet connection.” Then the screen freezes. It happens on Facebook too. I also have difficulty watching videos. They won’t work many of the times. I have spoken several times with both Cox Cable and AT&T, and nobody seems to know what connection I’m talking about. We have WiFi, and that connection looks strong.

When I saw your email address, I was so happy! I am soooo frustrated. I cleared Google out, and updated my phone. There are no open windows that I know about. I clear them constantly. My phone is a Galaxy S5, and I’ve had it for a year. If you need any more info, just let me know. Thank you way in advance. For the moment. — Judi

Solution: Hi Judi. We don’t know what exactly you mean by your wifi being strong but it appears the problem is pretty much due to slow internet connection speed. Facebook usually displays the loading icon (turning circle) if download speed is too slow. The “There is a problem with your internet connection” error is also another indicator that your device is connected to a either a slow mobile data or wifi network. To check your connection speed, install an app like Speedtest from Google Play Store. You should have at least 1Mbps in order to enjoy decent browsing experience. If you’re getting slower than that, don’t expect much. Work with your carrier (if your mobile data connection is slow) or your internet service provider (if your wifi speed is slow) to fix the issue.

If your mobile data or wifi does provide faster download speed, consider doing some basic software troubleshooting like the ones we provide above.

You can also clear the cache and data of apps you’re having problems with. Here’s how it’s done:

Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
Once in there, click on an application.
You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

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Solutions for Galaxy S5 internet connection slow issue, freezing after installing an update, other issues