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What to do about the Samsung Galaxy S7 that started running slow after Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Samsung Galaxy S7 owners have been anticipating for the roll out of the Android 7.0 Nougat update and while the company has been prompt in making it available for its users, problems greeted those who downloaded it first. In the second roll out, problems still occur and one of the most commonly reported issues is related to the phone’s performance. According to some of our readers, their phones started to run very slow shortly after an update while others said theirs started lagging and freezing.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy S7 that starting to run very slow after the installation of the Android Nougat update. We’ll try to consider every possible cause and rule out each of them until we can pinpoint what the culprit really is. After which, we’ll try to formulate a solution that might fix the problem to make it run faster again. So, if you own an S7 that has recently been updated to Nougat and are currently having a similar issue, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Troubleshooting your Galaxy S7 that started running slow after Nougat update

Problem: Hello guys. I am hoping you can help me with my problem because it seems that my Galaxy S7 is now having a difficult time doing things I want it to do. In other words, it’s very slow now and it takes forever to open apps. For instance, when I try to call someone, I just open the phone app and then dial the number. That’s how it worked before but now, I tap on the icon, wait for a couple of minutes, dial a number, wait for the call to connect. I’m not really sure if it was the update that caused this but it seems the problem started after the Nougat update. Can you guys tell me what to do about it please?

Troubleshooting: The good news is your phone still powers up and runs so for now, you can rest assured that the hardware components are fine and that the problem might have something to do with the firmware or some of the apps. So, we will try to rule out one possibility after another until we can tell what the problem really is and why your phone is running very slow after an update. To begin our troubleshooting, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Reboot your phone in Safe mode to know if it still runs slow

The first thing we need to find out is whether the problem is caused by a third-party app or not that’s why you need to boot your phone up in Safe mode as all third-party elements are temporarily disabled in this environment. Assuming the device runs normally or fast in this mode, then it’s clear that one or some of the apps you installed in causing the problem, although, it doesn’t necessarily mean the culprit is the one you installed. There are times when some apps secretly install other apps that run in the background but take up more resources. But whatever the case may be, booting in safe mode is necessary. So, here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Assuming your phone runs normally while in safe mode, then it’s clear that the problem is caused by one or some of the apps you installed. To address this, you have to find the apps that are causing the problem, try to update, reset and even uninstall them.

How to update apps on your Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
  4. Choose one of the following options:
    • Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
    • Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

Just in case the phone is still running slow while in safe mode, then you need to do this since you said the problem started after an update. Regardless whether it was a minor or a major update, the fact that this issue started after that is evident the problem might have been caused by some corrupt caches. So try to follow the steps below to reboot your phone in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition to delete all system caches and that they will be replaced:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Don’t worry, this procedure is actually safe for your phone as well as for you data and its very effective in dealing with issues that may have occurred after an update. If this doesn’t work however, then you have to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Backup your files and data and reset your phone

It’s now time to reset your device since you haven’t fixed the problem with the first two steps. But before you actually reset your phone, make sure you backup your files and data since they will be deleted during the process. Also, if possible, disable the Factory Reset Protection or anti-theft feature so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset.

How to disable Factory Reset Protection on Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Accounts.
  5. Tap Google.
  6. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
  7. Tap Menu.
  8. Tap Remove account.
  9. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Samsung Galaxy S7

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You can also reset your device from the settings menu…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and restore.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
  8. Tap Reset.
  9. Tap Factory data reset.
  10. Tap Reset device.
  11. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  12. Tap Continue.
  13. Tap Delete all.

If none of these procedures work, then you should bring the phone to the shop so the tech can fix it for you because as far as basic troubleshooting is concerned, you’ve already done that to no avail.

Connect with us

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 that’s not responding or keeps lagging after the Android 7 Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide & Potential Solutions]

  • Read and understand why a high-end device like the #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) becomes unresponsive after the Android 7 #Nougat update. Also, learn how to troubleshoot your device and know the procedures you can use when this problem happens to you.
  • Know what to do if your phone keeps shortly after updating its firmware. Read on to know if this has something to do with your apps or the new firmware itself.

There are a lot of factors we need to consider to know why your Samsung Galaxy S7 suddenly froze and became unresponsive. However, in this post, we will tackle this problem while looking into the possibility that the recent Android 7 Nougat update is the culprit. We have received several emails from our readers complaining about the same thing and news about Samsung stopping the update after it was shortly rolled out suggest that there might be something wrong with the firmware itself.

If you are one of the owners of the Galaxy S7 and are currently experiencing similar issue, continue reading below to learn more about the problem and how to troubleshoot your device. There are problems that can easily be fixed with basic troubleshooting and there are those that need to be done by the technician. Your job, as the owner, is to see if you can still do something about it or not anymore. For minor issues, doing some troubleshooting may save you from spending hours waiting for the tech to finish “fixing” your device.

However, before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your device, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of problems reported by our readers before. Find ones that are similar with yours and use the solutions and troubleshooting guides we suggested. If they don’t work for you, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy S7 that won’t respond anymore after the Nougat update

As I said earlier, Samsung halted the roll out of the Nougat update for its S7 and S7 Edge devices for some reason. While there owners who have successfully updated their devices without experiencing a single issue, some of our readers contacted us shortly after updating their devices and this is one of the most common complaints. While it might be a real issue with the firmware, it’s worth it to perform some troubleshooting. With that being said, here’s what I suggest you do in a bid to fix it:

Step 1: Try to see if this is just a system crash issue

Well, of course, the first thing I want you to do is try to reboot your phone the usual way. It might or might not reboot but just try it.

If the phone refused to reboot or won’t respond no matter what you do, then try to press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power keys together for 15 seconds. Assuming it’s just a system crash and that there’s enough battery to power up the hardware, the phone should reboot normally. If it didn’t, then try the next step.

Step 2: Verify if your third-party apps have something to do with it

Since your phone just got updated, there’s always a possibility that some of the apps are no longer compatible, in which case, they may crash and affect the phone’s overall performance. When it happens, the system itself may also crash. So, it’s time that you tried booting up your phone in safe mode to find out if it’s still capable of doing so when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Press and hold the Power button.
  2. When Samsung Galaxy Logo appears on the screen, release the Power button and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue to hold the Volume Down key until the device finishes its rebooting.
  4. Now, if “Safe Mode” appears on the bottom left corner of the screen then, you can release the Volume Down key.

The moment the phone booted up in this mode, the problem has already been solved but then again, you have to find the apps that are causing the problem and get rid of them or just update them.

Step 3: Try booting up your device into the Recovery Mode and wipe the cache partition

If your phone failed to boot up in safe mode, then we might be facing a firmware issue. The next thing you have to do is find out if it’s still capable of booting up in recovery mode because if so, then you can simply try wiping the cache partition to delete all system caches that may have been corrupted during or after the firmware update. This is how you delete the system cache:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If you’ve successfully wiped off the cache partition but the phone still becomes unresponsive after some time, then the next step might help.

Step 4: Try to do the Master Reset to bring the phone back to its factory default settings

We know the phone has just updated its firmware and then this problem started. It actually points to the firmware being the problem but we don’t know the extent of the issue. Therefore, it is imperative you reset the device to bring it back to factory defaults or a configuration that might work. Don’t worry because the new firmware will remain in your phone. I’m not sure if you can still backup your files and data but if you can, then please do.

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem still occurs even after the reset, then it’s time you brought it back to the store and the tech take care of it. The problem will surely be resolved by flashing the previous firmware but if you do it yourself, the warranty may become void so let the authorized technician handle it.

How to troubleshoot your Galaxy S7 that keeps lagging after the Nougat update

Between these two problems, this one is not as serious as the first one, although we really cannot be sure because the firmware itself is seems problematic that prompted Samsung to halt the roll out. It might be just an app problem, however, to be sure, we have to troubleshoot the device and this is what I suggest you do:

  1. Take note of the apps you were using when your phone started to lag – if the lags occur when you were using specific apps, then it’s just an app-related issue. Backup your data with those apps and then clear their cache and data. That should reset them but if the problem still occurs after that, try to see if there are updates available for those apps and download them.
  2. Try booting your phone in safe mode and observe if the lags still occur – this will disable all third-party apps so you can closely observe if the phone is still lagging while in this state. Assuming the phone works well while in safe mode, then it confirms that the problem is caused by third-party apps. You simply have to find and uninstall them to solve this problem, otherwise, it might be a firmware problem.
  3. Boot up in Recovery Mode and delete the system cache – this rules out the possibility that the lagging is caused by some corrupt caches. These files will be replaced once the phone booted up after the procedure. Follow the steps above.
  4. Backup your data and reset your phone – if all else fails, you have to reset your device to make sure it’s not just because of some corrupt data that may have been caused by the recent update. Follow the steps above to reset your device but make sure you backup all your files and data as they’ll be deleted.

CONNECT WITH US

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

Samsung Galaxy S7 started to keep freezing after the Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

  • Read and understand why a high-end smartphone like the #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) started to freeze after the recent Android #Nougat update and learn how to troubleshoot your device when it happens to you.

One of the most common performance issues you may encounter if you own a smartphone is the freezing. There have been more reports of high-end phones freezing and lagging than any other problems and the fact is that we also receive more complaints regarding this issue.

So, this post is dedicated to the freezing problem many Samsung Galaxy S7 owners may have encountered. The term “freeze” may seem like a minor problem but there have been cases wherein the device started to freeze then the problem progressed to a more serious one–won’t turn on.

The thing is that if the phone started to freeze from time to time, it’s already a sign that something is going on in the background and affects the overall performance of the device. As soon as you experience this problem, it’s better you immediately do something to discover what the problem is all about before the phone suffers from a more serious issue.

Read on to know more about the freezing issue with the Galaxy S7 and understand why it happens to such a powerful device. I will also walk you through in troubleshooting your phone in a bid to fix the problem.

In case you’re looking for a solution to a different problem, visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems with this device. Those problems are based on complaints we received from our readers so there’s a high possibility we’ve already addressed similar issues. Just try to find issues that are the same with yours and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us. Just make sure you provide us with the information we need and we’ll help you find a solution.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that keeps freezing after Nougat

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know what the cause of the freezes is, why it occurs and what needs to be done to get rid of it. However, there’s no guarantee that we can fix the problem by ourselves especially if the issue is due to a serious firmware and hardware problems. But as the owner, you should take some time troubleshooting your device as more often than not, these kinds of problems are temporary and can easily be fixed.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, here’s one problem sent by one of our readers that best describes the issue…

Problem: Hi guys! I own a Galaxy S7 unit and there seems to be a problem with it now that it has been updated to Android Nougat a few days back. It’s now freezing randomly and I noticed that the freezes become more frequent than usual. The phone freezes for several seconds and I cannot use it when the problem occurs. For an expensive and powerful phone like this, freezes shouldn’t occur, right? Well, it shouldn’t because I’ve been using this phone for almost a year now and it didn’t have this problem until recently. Do you know how to fix this?

Troubleshooting: Actually, you can immediately tell if the freezing is due to an app or the firmware. If it occurs while you’re opening or using an app, it’s most likely linked to that app but if it occurs out of the blue or if you’re using pre-installed apps, then it might be a firmware problem. However, we won’t know for sure what the problem is if we don’t troubleshoot let alone fix it. Therefore, I suggest you try to follow the steps below to troubleshoot this problem:

Step 1:  Force reboot your phone when it freezes

I understand that you can still regain access to your phone once it freezes but I also know that a few seconds would seem like hours especially when you’re doing something important and your device freezes for some reason. So, if you can’t wait for your device to become responsive again after it froze, I suggest you do the forced reboot procedure.

Press and hold the Volume Down and the Power keys together for 15 seconds and assuming your phone still has enough battery to power up everything in it, it should reboot normally. The Forced Reboot procedure is more than just the normal reboot. Aside from making your phone respond again, it refreshes the phone’s memory as it does the simulated battery disconnect or the battery pull procedure, which was popular with phones that have removable batteries. The effectiveness of this method depends on how serious the problem is. So, after doing this and the phone is still freezing up, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in safe mode

Rebooting in safe mode alone doesn’t fix the problem but it sure will give you an idea if it’s caused by one or some of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store or ones you sideloaded as all third-party apps will be temporarily disabled. So, while the device is in safe mode, observe closely to know if it still freezes or not. In case the freezing occurs when you’re using a specific app, try to open that app and if the phone still freezes, then we might be facing a firmware issue. This is how you restart your phone in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. When Samsung Galaxy S7 logo appears, release the Power key and immediately hold the volume down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down key until it finishes its rebooting.
  4. When “Safe mode” appears on the screen immediately release the Volume Down key.

Assuming the problem gets fixed in this mode, it’s time you tried finding the app that’s causing the problem and clear its cache and data first.

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap suspected app.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

If clearing the cache and data won’t fix the problem, then you have to uninstall them one by one until the problem gets fixed. To uninstall an app, follow the same procedure but hit Uninstall.

Step 3: Delete the system caches so they can be replaced with new ones

System caches get corrupted most of the time especially during firmware updates and when this happens, performance-related issues may occur and that might be the reason why a high-end phone such as your Galaxy S7 is freezing from time to time. We need to rule this possibility out to see if the problem gets fixed.

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

You don’t have to backup your files and data when you do this as you’re only deleting the caches and not the data. Once the phone has booted up successfully, try to observe if the phone still freezes and if so, then you have no other choice but to do the next step.

Step 4: Perform Master Reset on your Galaxy S7 to bring it back to its default settings

Firmware issues, as long as they’re not that complex, can easily be fixed by a reset that’s why when all else fails, you have to reset your phone to see if the problem can still be remedied by it. However, make sure you backup all your personal files, pictures, videos, etc. so that they won’t be deleted during the reset. Once you’re ready, follow these steps to reset your device…

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide helps.

CONNECT WITH US

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 that reboots on its own after Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Issues that have something to do with powering up might be a sign for a more serious problem with the hardware but when a phone as powerful as the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge starts to reboot on its own after a major firmware update like the Android Nougat, the issue might have something to do with the firmware itself. But it could be the other way around depending on how the phone behaves that’s why we really can’t be certain what’s happening with your phone. We need to troubleshoot your device to know what the problem is.

We will walk you through in troubleshooting your device. We just have to consider every possibility and rule out each of them until we arrive at a point where it would be easier to pinpoint the problem. Once we know what the issue is all about, we can easily find a solution or a method we need to try to fix the problem. If you own this phone and are currently being bugged by similar problem, then continue reading as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that keeps restarting

It is imperative that you try to troubleshoot your phone that has a potential firmware problem as soon as possible before the issue becomes serious and that’s the purpose of this post. Now, before we go to the steps, here’s one of the messages from our readers that best describes this issue…

Problem: My Galaxy S7 keeps restarting on its own. I will have it on and while I’m using it, it will restart. I can’t have it on for more than 2 minutes without it restarting. I tried all of the reboot options. I don’t want to factory reset it because none of my files are backed up and it won’t stay on long enough at one time for me to back them up. I did notice that this started happening when I installed the Nougat update. I didn’t want to update it because every time I update it something goes wrong. But my phone basically forced me to update it. This has been going on for about 3 days now. What do I do?

Solution: As you stated that the issue started after the upgrade, then probably it is a software related problem. It could be the old data and files had not been completely removed from your phone during the update process that created a conflict in the system. This time, all you need to do is to rule out the issue by doing the software troubleshooting procedures on your phone. These are the procedures that you should do:

Step 1: Forced Reboot your phone

Since you cannot remove the battery of the device, this procedure is a simulated battery disconnect which is the equivalent of the battery-pull procedure. The purpose of this method is to refresh your device’s memory and to eliminate any system glitches if possible.

To do this, just press and hold the Power and Volume Down keys together for 10 seconds and wait until it reboots. After the procedure, observe the device if it still reboots. If so, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Boot your Galaxy S7 on Safe mode

Although this android environment won’t fix the problem, it is imperative that you should follow this procedure so that we can verify if a culprit that caused the device to reboot without apparent reason is one or some of the apps your installed. In this state, only the built-in apps will run in the system and if your phone is not restarting anymore, then there’s an app that you need to find and uninstall  to resolve the problem.

This is how you reboot your phone in safe mode…

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Assuming the phone has successfully booted up in this mode, then find the apps that cause the problem and deal with them one by one. The first thing you should do is clear their caches and data, then try to update them if possible and lastly, uninstall them if the issue persists.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to update apps on Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
  4. Choose one of the following options:
    • Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
    • Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

How to uninstall applications from Galaxy S7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 3: Clear the System Cache Partition

This procedure will delete all old files stored in the cache directory that the device had been using before the new version of firmware has been installed on your phone. Don’t you worry, wiping the cache partition won’t delete any of your apps or contacts, instead, it will remove all leftover files that might caused the issue on your phone. Here’s how:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Step 4: Bring the phone back to its factory default settings

After the wiping the cache partition continue to use your phone and observe closely and try to connect it again to your home Wifi. If the device still unable to connect, then it might be a serious firmware issue and you don’t have a choice but to reset your phone to resolve the problem. But before performing the reset procedure, we recommend that you should create a backup in all your files like: music, photos and contacts because all of it will be deleted. This is how to do the master reset:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

By the way, in case you don’t know your Google ID and its password, you better disable the Factory Reset Protection prior to the reset so you won’t be locked out of your phone after that:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Accounts.
  5. Tap Google.
  6. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
  7. Tap Menu.
  8. Tap Remove account.
  9. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

I hope this guide helps.

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Sprint Galaxy S7 can’t “view all” MMS after installing Nougat update, other issues

Hello Android fans! Welcome to another article that answers some #GalaxyS7 issues. As customary, these issues are taken from reports submitted by some members of TheDroidguy community. We hope that this post will serve its purpose of helping those experiencing problems mentioned here.

Below are the particular topics we cover for you:

  1. Galaxy S7 edge overheating, rebooting on its own, and showing snowy screen
  2. Galaxy S7 randomly shuts down, stuck in recovery mode
  3. Galaxy S7 Messages app can’t “view all” long SMS after installing Android Nougat
  4. Galaxy S7 camera app keeps crashing
  5. Galaxy S7 edge won’t connect to the internet via home wifi
  6. Galaxy S7 Facebook cannot be uninstalled
  7. Sprint Galaxy S7 can’t “view all” MMS after installing Nougat update
  8. Galaxy S7 formats an SD card but reads it as corrupted afterwards

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 S7 edge overheating, rebooting on its own, and showing snowy screen

Hi there. I have what seems to be a battery/power issue. My Galaxy S7 edge has started freezing. Sometimes there’s a buzzing sound, sometimes there’s a rainbow or snowy static screen. Then it turns off. Once off, sometimes it overheats. Once off, it cannot be charged or switched back on until the battery is allowed to fully discharge (i.e. left overnight). I can usually then charge it and reboot, but the same thing happens. I’ve tried rebooting in safe mode, but it makes no difference. Do you have any suggestions on how I may be able to repair this fault? Kind regards. — Joe

Solution: Hi Joe. The symptoms you mention here are consistent with signs of a hardware malfunction. If the phone was dropped or exposed to elements (heat, cold, moisture) before, stop wasting your time looking for a software fix. Hardware problems cannot be solved by doing software tweaks. You need to send the phone in so the hardware can be examined.

If the phone was never dropped or exposed to liquid or heat, try doing a factory reset and observe it for 24 hours. This should be enough to let you see if there’s a difference. If the cause of the problem is software in nature (which is very unlikely), factory reset should solve it. Be sure not to install any app or update during this time. If nothing happens after a factory reset, contact Samsung so the phone can be repaired or replaced.

To factory/master reset your S7 edge, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 randomly shuts down, stuck in recovery mode

My S7 all of a sudden started cutting off and on while i was browsing my Gallery today. Then it came back on, and started up normally. I went to the home screen and then a box popped up that said Android app has stopped then cut off completely. By this point I’m on my desktop looking for solutions to this problem, because i GOTTA have my phone. Anyways that’s how i found this website.

So, i followed the steps to fix my phone…but no luck…with any of them. Oh and none of the other problems i read on this site mentioned their phone getting hotter than normal…but not saying anything about the temperature at all. The only screen i can get it to go to is a black screen with Recovery booting….in blue. Please, please help me….i gotta get this fixed!!! —  Ilovecupcakes0329

Solution: Hi Ilovecupcakes0329. If you’ve already tried all the applicable software troubleshooting steps for this issue, then that only means one thing — you have a hardware problem at hand. There are a number of possible hardware malfunctions that can result to random reboot issue. Among the most common of these issues include:

  • a bad battery
  • a malfunctioning power IC
  • a defective charging port

All of these issues can have similar symptoms and there’s no way to know for sure which of them is the true cause. A technician must physically check the hardware and do some diagnosis tic tests to pinpoint the problem.

If your phone becomes uncomfortably warm to touch before it shuts down, that means that it’s overheating, most probably due to a bad component. Because there’s no direct way to identify what hardware part is failing, you need to have the device checked by a professional.

If you tried to modify the software by rooting or flashing prior to encountering the problem, try to revert all software to stock or official versions.

Keep in mind that physical damage can result to hardware failures. We don’t know the full history of your device so we can’t say for certain if the hardware was physically damaged or not. You’re supposed to give us possible or relevant information that may have led to this problem. If the issue happened all of a sudden and there was no prior incidents that may have caused physical damage, have the phone repaired or replaced.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 Messages app can’t “view all” long SMS after installing Android Nougat

Hi. This has now happened several times since the Nougat update that my phone received at the beginning of the month. If someone sends me a long message or I send a long text message through the standard Samsung Messages App, it won’t show the entire message, but it will have a “view all” button to expand it at the bottom. Most of the time it works; however, I have received several messages in the last month since the update that I cannot open or “View All.” It just goes to a blank page. Very frustrating to only see a part of the message. Any help would be much appreciated! I have screenshots as examples, if needed. I’m on Sprint. Thanks!        — Jessica

Solution: Hi Jessica. The first thing that you want to do is to clear the cache partition. This will ensure that the system cache used by the phone is up-to-date. Sometimes, app and system updates can corrupt the system cache resulting to all sorts of problems so deleting the old one is an effective way to rectify things. Here are the steps on how to clear the cache partition:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Once you’ve cleared the cache partition, you then need to install all pending app and system updates. Check Google Play Store and make sure that all your apps are updated. If you install apps outside of the Play Store, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your apps receiving updates from their developers. You also want to make sure that you only install compatible apps. Although majority of apps in the Play Store are compatible with Samsung Galaxy S phones, there’s also a chance that one of them is not. Updating to the most recent Android version may have put one of your apps out of sync or incompatible, leading to the problem you have. Needless to say, you must ensure that you only install updated or compatible apps. If you’re not sure whether or not an app is compatible, check their Play Store page or contact the developer.

Another good thing to try is to wipe the cache and data of the Samsung Messages app. Here’s how:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
  3. Once in there, click on an application.
  4. 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.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

Finally, if all else fails, don’t hesitate to reset all software settings to their defaults. This is done by factory resetting the phone. Be sure to create a backup of your files prior to doing it.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  5. Touch Continue.
  6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 camera app keeps crashing

After the Nougat update which I applied less than a week ago, the phone crashes every time I take a photo or a video. I get a warning dialog “An unknown error occurred” after taking a photo, I tap the OK button but then the whole phone crashes. I’ve tried clearing the cache by booting it into maintenance mode and also tried taking a photo in Safe Mode which gives the same behavior. I’ve installed AVG AntVirus Free and run a scan which has come back clear. My husband also has a Samsung Edge S7 and also has the Nougat update installed but his camera works fine. — Rachel

Solution: Hi Rachel. Try to reset the settings of the camera app to see if it will make a difference. The said app may have become corrupted for some reason. You can also try to wipe it’s cache and data. If the issue remains, kindly refer to our suggestions for Jessica above.

Problem #5: Galaxy S7 edge won’t connect to the internet via home wifi

Hello. I have a problem with wifi on my Galaxy S7 edge. i am not yet sure if it’s the phone that has an issue or my router. If i connect my Samsung to my home wifi, it shows “connected, no internet.” When i log in to the residential getaway configuration i can see the phone is connected but there is no internet. all my other devices in the house connect to the internet except the s7 edge. When i share my internet using my Macbook pro as a hotspot, my S7 edge connects well. when i go to any other wifi network, my neighbour’s, at work, my friends-couple of my friends…i connect with no problem. i have forgotten and remembered the network countless times to no avail. I have reset the phone to no avail. I have reset the wireless router settings to no avail. i have even used my wifi open, without password- nothing. tried changing the channels-nothing. my router is a numericable model number is cbv383z2. If anyone can shed some light ill really appreciate it. thank you. — Samuel

Solution: Hi Samuel. If you are the administrator of your wifi network, or if you can access its graphical user interface (GUI), make sure that there’s no block or filtering system (IP filtering or MAC filtering) that’s preventing your phone from connecting  to the internet. If you have no idea how to check this on your router’s GUI, contact your internet service provider (if they provided the router to you), or the router manufacturer itself. If possible, try to factory reset your router to see a difference.

If you are 100% certain that it’s not the router (after doing a factory reset), troubleshoot your phone as well by doing a factory reset on it.

Problem #6: Galaxy S7 Facebook cannot be uninstalled

I was prompted by Facebook that someone may be posting as me on my Facebook page and I was to reset my password. I did all that but then when I went back on Facebook through the app, all my info was gone. My name was still on the page but that was it. If I go into Facebook through the Internet, everything is there which is a big relief…I thought I had lost all my photos & Info.

I tried to uninstall the Facebook App and reinstall but on the Samsung S7 it looks like you can only disable. Tried a couple of times but my page still turns up blank. Can you help me put the Facebook App back on my phone so I can view my photos and timeline through the App??? Thanks. — Pam

Solution: Hi Pam. Some carriers may bundle social networking apps like Facebook together with their own services so this may be the reason why you can only “disable” it. Usually, Facebook app is manually added by a user. If you did not install the Facebook app before, it’s possible that it came pre-installed. Pre-installed apps cannot be uninstalled but it should have the option to allow you to wipe its cache and data. We suggest that you try wiping the cache and data first and proceed from there.

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
  3. Once in there, click on an application.
  4. 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.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

If, for some reason, clearing the cache and data option is not available you must do a factory reset to refresh it. Refer to the steps above on how to factory reset your phone.

Problem #7: Sprint Galaxy S7 can’t “view all” MMS after installing Nougat update

When I received a large text message, my phone converts it to one message (MMS) and gives me the option to “view all” underneath it. However, when I select view all, it just takes me to message details and does not actually show me the whole message. This issue only began when my phone updated recently. I have tried adjusting my message settings so that it won’t “block” a long message together, but this did not fix the problem. My data settings are already adjusted to allow downloading on mobile data. On Sprint. — Mary

Solution: Hi Mary. Kindly check our suggestions for Jessica above. If your issue won’t go away after doing all software troubleshooting, contact Sprint technical support. This may be a coding issue with the firmware update they released, which means that only their software developer can fix it. There may not be an immediate solution available at this time but letting Sprint know of the problem should be the best that you can do at this time.

As a temporary remedy, try to use a third party messaging app if the bug on the stock messaging app goes unfixed for some time.

Problem #8: Galaxy S7 formats an SD card but reads it as corrupted afterwards

I bought a NEW Samsung Galaxy S7 and have inserted a 256GB Micro SD card into the phone. The phone gives the option to format the card and shows it as “READY TO USE.” When I check the SD card in the DEVICE MAINTENANCE under STORAGE and the 3 dots up in the right hand corner of the screen, it shows the SD CARD as CORRUPTED. How can I get the phone to recognize the SD card? I have taken it out, turned phone off and restarted it several times and yet card is still same. Shows after formatting it is ok yet corrupted and not being able to be used. — Jmce_56

Solution: Hi Jmce_56. This can either be due to bad SD card or a phone glitch. Take out the SD card from the phone and try to format it on your computer instead. After that, re-insert it to your S7 and see how it works. If the same thing happens, try to use another SD card. If the second SD card continues to be detected as corrupted, it must be a phone problem. Do a factory reset, then reformat the SD card one more time.

 

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Samsung Galaxy S7 no longer charges normally after Android Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

  • Read and understand why a high-end device like the Samsung Galaxy S7 running Android Nougat can no longer charge normally after the firmware update. Also learn how to troubleshoot your phone when your device is experiencing charging-related issues.

The normal operation is that when you plug in the charger, which is plugged into the wall outlet, the phone will immediately detect electricity flowing through its circuits and the charging process begins. While it may seem like this process only involves the charger and the battery, there’s another thing that’s needed to make it possible–the firmware. It allows electricity to flow through the circuits through the power IC and it’s the one responsible in making sure the phone doesn’t overcharge.

There are times when the firmware encounters issues especially during updates, they may cause the phone not to charge properly especially if the processes necessary in making sure the device charges properly crash. At least, it’s one of the possibilities and there are a bunch of other possibilities out there. But in this post, I will try to go after the firmware first before trying to rule out other possibilities since the problem started shortly after an update.

Now, before we jump into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, try to visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues sent by our readers. All the solutions we suggested were based on problems we’ve received so there’s a high probability that they’re same problems with yours. So, try to find issues that are similar with what you currently have and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Galaxy S7 no longer charges shortly after Android Nougat is installed

Problem: I don’t understand why this problem happened but shortly after the Nougat update got installed, my Galaxy S7 failed to charge. Normally it would display the charging icon whenever I plug it in but it’s not doing that now. In other words, it just wouldn’t charge nor respond whenever I charge it. I know it’s not normal but I don’t know what the problem is let alone how to fix it that’s why I’m asking for your help. Do you guys know how to fix this?

Troubleshooting: I understand how frustrating this problem could be especially if you’re already running out of battery. Some users wait until the battery is down to just 5% before charging their devices and when it doesn’t charge, that’s when things get really messy especially when you’re expecting an important call from someone or gaming with your favorite game. A phone should always charge when plugged in and having a device that doesn’t even react when plugged in is really something to worry about. So, when this thing happens to you, here’s what you should do…

Step 1: If the phone is frozen, force reboot it. More often, a phone that’s about to run out of battery may freeze for some reason. When this happens and when the battery runs out, it may freeze leaving an impression that it won’t charge as it doesn’t respond when plugged in. So, this step is the first thing you have to do before you proceed with your troubleshooting. There have already been a lot of our readers who contacted us just to say thank you that a method as simple as this have helped them.

To force reboot your device, press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key together for 15 seconds and then try to charge it again to see if it’s successful. If the device still won’t charge, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Check the charger and cable to know if it has some issues

The easiest way to know if the problem is with the charger is to use a different one and see if the phone charges, however, in case you don’t have a spare charger, you should check the port for debris, lint, corrosion and even bent pins. In case you find debris or lint, you can easily fish it out using a pair of tweezers or a blast of compressed air will blow them out of the port. As for the corrosion, use a Q tip with alcohol to clean out the pins and if you can find a bent or misaligned pin or two, you may use a pair of tweezers to straighten them out.

However, if you cannot find any of these things and if you have a computer or a laptop, I suggest you connect your phone to it just to know if it responds. While computers don’t don’t give out the same amount of current, the voltage should be about 5 volts and should be enough to make the phone respond when you plug it in. So, as long as your device doesn’t have issues with its circuits and assuming the problem is with the charger, then it should recognize being connected to a computer and the latter may also detect a device has been connected via the USB port. But if neither your phone nor computer recognizes being connected to each other, it means no connection is established and it could mean that it’s a cable problem.

Therefore, at this point in your troubleshooting, if you have other USB cables you could use, I suggest you do so just to know if you can remedy the problem by using a different cable. If that’s not possible, then you should physically check it for same things you were looking for when you checked your charger’s port. Moreover, you should also do the same to your phone’s charging port and if you can’t find anything in the ports and if the cable looks fine, then move on to the next step.

Step 3: If ever possible, use a wireless charger

No, I’m not letting you go around the problem without dealing with it. I’m suggesting you use a wireless charger, if possible, just to know if the phone is still capable of charging it’s battery. At this stage, it’s imperative that you know that your device is still capable of allowing electricity flow through its circuits and the battery of holding a charge. If it does respond to the wireless charger, then it’s about time you bought a new charger to replace your old one.

On the other hand, if the phone still won’t respond when you place it over the wireless charging pad, then there’s really something wrong with your device but we still have to rule out the possibility that the new firmware is causing the problem. The only complication is when your device doesn’t have enough power and won’t turn on.

Step 4: If possible, attempt to boot your phone in safe mode

Assuming your device still has enough power, say for instance around 15% battery, you can still try to troubleshoot the firmware and this must be the first thing you should do. This will rule out the possibility that one or some of your apps is causing the problem and in this case, you have to uninstall suspected apps one-by-one to pinpoint which one is the culprit. This is how you boot your phone in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. When Samsung Galaxy S7 logo appears, release the Power key and immediately hold the volume down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down key until it finishes its rebooting.
  4. When “Safe mode” appears on the screen immediately release the Volume Down key.

If the phone boots up in this mode successfully, try charging it to know if it responds and if so, try to uninstall suspected apps, otherwise, proceed to the next step.

Step 5: Since it’s a firmware issue, try wiping the cache partition / reset

The system cache can easily get corrupted especially during firmware updates and when this happens, a lot of things could happen and while we don’t know for sure if it’s really the cache that has issues, when it comes to firmware problems, it’s the rule of thumb to go after them first before going after the data. That being said, try wiping the cache partition:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Once the phone successfully reboots, try charging the device again and if the problem still persists, it’s best you just proceed with master reset, however, you will lose all your files and data so it’s your call if you want to continue even without a guarantee the problem will be fixed.

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem still persists after these procedures or if you can’t continue with the wiping of the cache partition or reset due to insufficiency with battery, then bringing your phone back to the store is your last resort.

Galaxy S7 cannot reach 100% when charging after Nougat update

Problem: I just noticed that my phone can not reach 100% when charging, it only replenishes its battery around 92% or so but it never did reach 100% ever since I downloaded that update a few days back. Have you guys encountered this problem before and do you know how to fix it? I need your help on this, my phone is a Galaxy S7 which is almost a year old since I bought it in April last year. I just want it to work like it was before especially to fully charge its battery because 8% deficit seems very alarming. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Something must be draining the battery of your phone really fast while charging. We don’t know, at this point, what the cause of the problem is so we have to continue observing your device. I suggest your restart your phone in safe mode and try charging to see if it charges to 100%. If it still can’t reach 100% even in safe mode, then it might be a problem with the firmware or the hardware. However, if it reaches 100%, then find the app that might have something to do with power saving or something that “optimizes” the battery. I suggest you try clearing their cache and data and if that won’t work, then uninstall them.

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap suspected app.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

I know for a fact this is easier said than done, so if you don’t know which app is causing the problem, it’s better to just backup your data and then do the factory reset.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  5. Touch Continue.
  6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

I would also suggest you turn your phone off and try charging it to 100% percent, if the problem still persists, then it must be a problem with the hardware but try to do the master reset before deciding in bringing it to the store for checkup and/or repair.

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.  

Galaxy S7 charges very slowly after updating it to Nougat

Problem: One of the things I like this phone is its capability to fully charge its battery for more than just an hour. However, this past few days, it’s taking over 4 hours to fully charge its battery and I don’t understand why it just started to act like this. My phone is a Galaxy S7 which I purchased brand new and it’s only just a few months old so it’s really disappointing to know it’s not charging properly anymore. What should I do?

Troubleshooting: The Galaxy S7 has a fast charging feature so when it starts to charge very slow, you should immediately verify if it’s really a “slow” charging issue or “normal” charging because you may have been used to the fast charging feature. But here are a couple of things you may try to get answers to your questions…

Boot up in safe mode and charge the phone – this is to know if the phone is capable of replenishing its battery when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled. If so, then the problem is caused by one or some of your downloaded apps. Find that app and uninstall it to fix the problem. It is also possible that there are a lot of apps running in the background. The charger may be pushing electricity into the battery at the same pace but some apps are draining it quicker. In this case, however, you can enjoy fast charging when in this mode.

Turn your phone off and charge it – to be able to enjoy the fast charging feature, your phone must meet all the requirements; it must use the original charger with adaptive fast charging feature, the screen should not be lit while charging, the device should not heat up during charge, etc. To make sure all these requirements are met, it’s better that you simply turn your phone off while charging. If the phone charges fast while turned off, then one of the requirements wasn’t met, however, I suggest you also backup your files and data and then reset your device.

If the problem persists, then bring your phone to the shop and have it fixed.

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Note 5 sound notifications and ringtones not working properly after Nougat update, other issues

Hello #GalaxyNote5 fans! Welcome to our first Note 5 post for the week. This article addresses 9 more Note 5 issues sent our way since the past week. Be sure to check our other Note 5 posts in the coming days.

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.

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.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: How to hide content of incoming SMS in Galaxy Note 5 lock screen

On the home screen, all incoming text messages are shown. I’d like to stop this. I’ve looked on the internet for a solution however what is shown doesn’t apply to my phone. Perhaps due to the updates since. I’ve searched in settings from the main screen in text messages as well as in settings, apps and notifications. I am able to turn off text notifications and it stops the messages from showing on the home screen however, my phone will not buzz for any incoming text. Thank you. I don’t know how to tell what version I have. Sorry. — Lanaparks88

Solution: Hi Lanaparks88. If you want to receive sound notifications for incoming SMS but prefer not to show the messages in the lock screen, here are the things that you need to do:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Make sure that the messaging app you’re using is allowed to receive notifications. Simply set the slider to the right to allow notifications.
  4. Tap ADVANCED (at the top right corner).
  5. Tap the messaging app you’re using.
  6. In On lock screen section, make sure that Hide content option is selected.

Problem 2: Galaxy Note 5 keeps losing cellular signal

I have just got a brand new Note 5. I inserted a 3G SIM card and it had signal. Then after 5 minutes the internet signal just disappeared. And i cannot ring or do anything. Tried Lyca as well as Vodafone SIM cards and having same issue. It works for 5 minutes then data signal goes, comes back briefly and then disappears totally. Tried resetting but same issue comes up. Once a SIM card has been inserted when reset it won’t work at all then unless a different network SIM card is inserted. — Ffiorik

Solution: Hi Ffiorik. There are two types of network technology phones are using nowadays — CDMA and GSM. Phones of both varieties can have a SIM card slot although there’s a big difference. CDMA phones have a SIM card slot to allow them to use 4G LTE while GSM phones use the SIM card slot to do almost all its cellular network functions. If you have a CDMA Note 5 but your carrier is using GSM technology, an incompatibility issue can occur. The issue can happen for the reverse — if you have a GSM phone and your network is CDMA. Make sure that you know what device you’re using by checking the documentation that came with it. Take note of the model number, do some online research whether it’s CDMA or GSM device, then contact your carrier for direct assistance on how to set it up.

If your carrier can’t help you either, have the phone replaced.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 alarm clock not working, videos won’t play after an update

My alarm clock doesn’t work, and videos won’t play (Facebook and Youtube). It’s never 1 or the other, always both same time. The clock shows the notification but no sound. The videos just show error.

This started after nougat update. If i restart the phone, it all works but will soon stop working again. I tried the new clock widget, no difference. I called Samsung’s smart tutor, and all he did was turn off all the apps. I had to give permissions to all again, and the clock and videos stopped working again. —  Michael

Solution: Hi Michael. A third party app may be causing this problem so your first task is to observe how videos and alarm clock work while your phone runs in safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps so it’s a good way to check if our suspicion is correct. Here are the steps on how to restart your S7 to safe mode:

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
  6. Observe the phone for a few hours and try to replicate the problem. If the issue won’t occur, that’s proof that a third party app is causing the problem. To fix it, you must uninstall apps until the issue is gone.

Wipe the cache partition

If the problem continues even in safe mode, your next move would be to refresh the system cache. Here’s how that’s done:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Revert all software settings back to their defaults with factory reset

If both solutions above won’t work, consider wiping the phone to make it clean slate again. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
  2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  3. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  5. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  6. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  8. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  9. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  10. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Problem 4: Galaxy Note 5 screen becomes unresponsive when SIM card is inserted

I have a Galaxy Note 5 which works wonderfully in every single way except for when there is a SIM card in it. The touchscreen becomes unresponsive except for in certain spots when a SIM card is in it. I have replaced the SIM card 3 times and it might work for a day or two but it always goes back to being unresponsive after a while. I have reset it to factory settings, used samsung smart switch to initialize, updated the OS to nougat (this problem existed before i updated to nougat), and a multitude of other software resets. Do you think this is a weird hardware malfunction (phone is not under warranty). — Generalmike99

Solution: Hi Generalmike99. We haven’t heard of any hardware issue similar or close to what you’re experiencing but we know for a fact that it’s not a software issue either so this may be an isolate case. If you need to use a SIM card all the time, we suggest that you contact Samsung so they can take a look at the problem. This may lead to a replacement so make sure to back up your files and wipe your phone clean before sending it to them.

Problem 5: Galaxy Note 5 screen is unresponsive, can’t create back up

Recently, my Note 5’s screen became unresponsive. It appears normal, but it will not read my finger. It appears to be a glitch, as it has randomly started working perfectly for short periods of time, but reverts backs to being unresponsive. It was time for my upgrade anyway, and was told by my carrier that I would not need the old phone’s screen to work to use “Smart Switch” to transfer files. Wrong. You have to “allow” transfer of files on the old phone. How can I get around this? The new phone is a Galaxy S8 plus. The old phone doesn’t have an accessible SD card, and I did not store my phone to Google so cannot recover files that way. — Maggie

Solution: Hi Maggie. You’re right. You need to give permission to Smart Switch app to access your phone’s data by tapping on the “okay” button on a prompt. If you can’t do that, there’s no way you’ll be able to back your files up. Unfortunately, this is also true even when you use other back up software; you still need to give express permission to let another software access your files. If your files are worth a couple of hundred dollars, you can have the screen assembly replaced first. This is the only solution for this issue.

Problem 6: Galaxy Note 5 screen stays black, won’t respond

On Friday night, I watched a movie on my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 using an streaming app called Kodi with an add-on called Exodus. Afterwards, I was looking at different streaming providers and, sometimes you have to get an “authorization/permission/whatever” from an external website. They are something like https://xxx.xx/pair, can’t remember the actual website.

Anyway, a pop-up came up that said something like “my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 model had been infected with some virus and if I didn’t click on the box provided, my browser would be locked in 24 hours”. Well, I figured it was some scam, so I didn’t click on it, closed that tab, and all the others in my Chrome history. Well, the phone was fine over the weekend and into the early morning today. About mid-morning, I was going to make a call and my phone is basically fried. I know it’s on. The “recent” and “back” lights show, but do nothing. I can hear it change volume, receive a call or message, but can’t do a thing to get the phone to respond. It’s like my screen is unusable. I can barely see a discolored Samsung Galaxy Note 5 when I reboot it, but then everything just goes away. Coincidence or virus? Do you have a clue? — Pat

Solution: Hi Pat. We can’t really say for sure whether your phone has been attacked by malware. It has most likely just stopped responding so the first thing that you want to try is soft reset. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Press and hold the Power (located on the right edge) and Volume down buttons (located on the left edge) for 12 seconds.
  2. Use the Volume down button to scroll to the Power Down option.
  3. Press the Home key to select. The device should now power down completely

If the problem persists, or if the screen remains black, try booting to Recovery mode so you can try either a cache partition wipe or factory reset. Here’s how:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

If the phone is still frozen and won’t respond to a hardware button combination, have it repaired or replaced.

Problem 7: Water damaged Galaxy Note 5 keeps rebooting on its own

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and my dog recently peed on it and I read your article about the guy who dropped it on wet pavement but for his it constantly showed and on mine it would switch back and forth between charging and the battery with a yellow triangle with an exclamation point. I sent mine to my cousin who works with phones and he said he cleaned the battery connecters but my phone is still switching from charging to the sign please help. — Kat.nash05

Solution: Hi Kat.nash05. Well, there’s really nothing much that we can say about this issue. Liquid, water, or moisture don’t work with electronics. If you’re lucky, a good technician may still be able to save the phone by replacing some components. Otherwise, you really are looking at an expensive paperweight at this time. Still, we recommend that you let a professional check the hardware.

Problem 8: Verizon Galaxy Note 5 shows error when dialing a code

Hello. I’m Yinka from Nigeria. I recently bought an unlocked Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5. I’ve not noticed any other issues but my main problem is that when I try to dial a code (*737#), it’s a code for my Nigerian network. It keeps showing “*73 call forwarding will be deactivated.” when I click turn off it will just attempt to dial *73 and nothing ever happens. How do I deactivate all these * [star] codes that came with my unlocked Verizon? — Drjonade

Solution: Hi Drjonade. Your Note 5 may be network unlocked, meaning some of its software has been modified to allow it to use non-Verizon network, but its main software and pre-installed apps are still technically that of Verizon. Because each network has their own way to communicate with their own system, we think that Verizon’s programming is not compatible with your carrier’s system. That may be the reason why you keep getting that message when dialing a certain code.

As a possible workaround, consider using a different Phone app. There are many free apps in the Play Store that can allow you to call so try using one of them to see if that will circumvent the restriction set by Verizon’s phone app.

If that won’t fix the problem, we’re afraid there’s nothing more that you can do.

Problem 9: Galaxy Note 5 sound notifications and ringtones not working properly after Nougat update

Since the Nougat update, all sound is intermittent. No ringtones, no notification sounds, no alarms, no sound of any kind. Rebooting the phone will restore the sound temporarily. I usually have to reboot several times a day.  I have called Verizon tech support twice and visited a local store with no help.  This same problem has been reported by several others. No fix has been found to date. Factory reset does not work. — Bettywright234

Solution: Hi Bettywright234. If you’ve already tried factory reset, then the problem is either caused by a bad third party app, or by poor, inefficient firmware coding.

To see if it’s a third party app, wipe the phone clean one more time with factory reset and observe how notifications and ringtones work when there are no third party apps installed. If the problem stays after a factory reset and there are no apps installed, that’s proof that it’s an operating system issue. You must report the problem to the firmware developer — Verizon.

 

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How to recover files if your Galaxy S7 won’t turn back on, other issues

Hello and welcome to our new #GalaxyS7 article. Our post for today discusses 8 more S7-related issues and solutions. Don’t forget to let us know of your issue if you can’t find anything helpful in this post.

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.

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.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: VR headset mouse cursor not working properly

I recently bought a VR headset and remote, but when i try to use the remote the mouse cursor drifts to the bottom right of my screen. I’ve went through all the settings and didn’t see anything for a mouse. I’ve done a reset on my phone and tried restarting it neither worked. Please tell me how i can fix this mouse drift issue i am unable to figure it out and i didn’t see anything about it on the forums. — Josh

Solution: Hi Josh. We don’t know what VR device and remote you have so we can’t give any specific instruction on what you need to do. We suggest that you try checking the manual of said devices, or contact their makers.

Problem 2: Unable to install Samsung Secure Folder app on Galaxy S7 edge

I recently updated my Samsung S7 edge G935W8 to Nougat 7.0 I purchased this phone from Best Buy April 2015 with Rogers carrier originally but paid the carrier to have it unlocked and now use it with Bell carrier. After doing the newest update, I went to download the secure folder app out of the Galaxy app store. But when I went through the set up wizard for the secure folder it popped up a message saying ” Secure folder cannot be set up as unauthorized software was installed on this device.” I had no idea what this message meant so I spoke to a few friends and Googled it to learn this often indicates my device was rooted. I did not root this phone (didn’t even know how or why it would be rooted) so I looked up how to see if your device is in fact rooted which showed me a few websites and apps. Each one I tried confirmed to me my device was NOT rooted. So are these apps/websites wrong? Can I get my phone into a mode to have it realize it isn’t rooted? I’ve tried factory resetting it both through smart switch and through recovery mode but they didn’t work. — Steve

Solution: Hi Steve. In a lot of cases, yes, the message you are receiving usually indicates that a phone may be rooted or running non-official software. In some cases, it can also be an indicator that Samsung does not detect the software as official even though it is. This usually happens if a carrier modifies the software, making it lose the original configuration that Samsung system recognizes. If the issue continues after a factory reset and without any apps or updates installed, there’s really nothing much that you can do, unless you want to revert the firmware version the one it came with originally.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 keeps freezing, screen becomes unresponsive, reboots randomly

Hi, my S7 stays with unresponsive screen, freezes, lags and reboots without apparent reason. Sometimes, I can force the reboot with the [power + volume down], but the most of the times it stays unresponsive until the battery is empty (sometimes with the LED indicator turned on or blinking in green and blue). Then I have to charge and use it until it freezes again. I already did the master reset. It works for a week then it started to freeze again. I appreciate your help. Thank You. — Iván

Solution: Hi Iván. If your phone works fine after a factory reset, the main cause of your problems may be one of the apps you installed afterwards, or a hardware issue that can develop over time. One such hardware issue is a malfunctioning flash or memory. If it’s not an app problem, you should consider phone replacement as repair won’t fix it.

To see if it’s an app problem, you can either boot the phone to safe mode, or do another round of factory reset and see to it that only good apps are re-installed. Booting to safe mode prevents third party apps and services from running so if the issues won’t occur, you can bet there’s a bad app causing it. To start your S7 to safe mode, follow these steps:

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Problem 4: Galaxy S7 phone calls keep dropping, battery drains fast, fingerprint reader not working after Nougat update

I updated my phone last night. it is a unlocked USA version. The software update is listed as G935UUEU4BQE2/G935U0YM4BQE2/G935UUEU4BQE2. It says text messages are not being sent but they are being received by people. I’m dropping a lot of phone calls, my fingerprint reader is not working at all, and my battery is draining quickly. I cleared the system cache but I am holding off on doing a full system. Is there any known version issues I am running an Android Nougat 7.0 not 7.1. I’m using Straight Talk wireless on Verizon towers. — Steve

Solution: Hi Steve. With millions of people using Galaxy devices running all sorts of Android versions, it’s not surprising to receive all kinds of issues following updates. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of possible points of failure in an Android system so anything can happen. Your issues are some of the common problems, even when updates are not installed so you should address them by doing software troubleshooting and solutions. We suggest that you try a factory reset and see what happens from there. Make sure to hold off installation of your apps until you have observed how SMS and other functions are working. This will allow you to check whether the issue remains or not. If the problems won’t occur, that’s an indication that either (A) a problematic app is responsible, or (B) the firmware version you installed is poorly coded. To fix a possible app issue, you can simply uninstall the offending app by doing trial-and-error. For the second possibility (poorly coded firmware), there’s not much that you can do about it. If you received updates by air (over-the-air update or OTA), you should let your carrier know so they can do something about it.

Below are the steps on how to factory reset your Galaxy S7:

  1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
  2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  3. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  5. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  6. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  8. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  9. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  10. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Problem 5: Galaxy S7 won’t go past carrier logo screen

Hello. My name is Steve and i recently bought an unlocked Samsung S7 whilst travelling in New York (on the 10th June 2017). I have been assured that the phone will work with other networks but i have entered another different SIM and the phone cannot go past the Metro PCS screen. Basically it seems that the phone just cycles around. I tried removing the SIM and the Micro SD card as well but no luck. I have tried using the Smart Switch software but since the phone does not get to start up properly, the software does not even communicate with the phone. Can you help with some advise on what i could do? I have left the United States already and back in my country, Solomon Islands. — Steve

Solution: Hi Steve. A working smartphone will work normally, that is, load the operating system properly, with or without a SIM card or SD card. We can’t see your logic why you chose to tell us that the phone won’t load at all (can’t go past the Metro PCS screen) with a different SIM card. Did the phone work while you were still in the US? You should have told us if it did, or if you tried doing so after purchasing the device.

We assume that your S7 is not brand new when you bought it (otherwise this issue won’t happen) but if it is, you should have it replaced right away. If phone replacement is out of the question, try to see if you can fix it by doing a cache partition wipe and master  via Recovery mode. Here are the steps on how to boot to Recovery mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

If wiping the cache partition or master reset won’t fix your problem, you can also try to flash the bootloader and/or firmware. Be aware though that flashing is a risky procedure and can potentially brick your phone. Make sure to do more research on how to do it on your particular phone model before doing it.

For demonstration purposes, here are the sample steps on how to flash a bootloader. The exact steps may vary on your phone. Again, you should research beyond our website how to the exact steps on your phone to prevent problems.

  1. Look for the correct firmware for your phone model and download it. Make sure that you select the right one. It should be the same exact firmware that ran previously on your device. We assume that you list down the firmware version somewhere. If you did not take note of it before, there’s a chance that you may pick the wrong one. As you may know now, using an incorrect firmware can cause complications so good luck with that.
  2. Let’s now say that you have identified the correct firmware. You then want to download it to your computer. The firmware file should have a bunch of files in it like AP_, BL_, CSC_, etc.
  3. Look for the file that starts with a label BL; this should be the corresponding bootloader file for this firmware. Once you’ve identified the bootloader file, copy it to your computer’s desktop or to any other folder that you can easily access.
  4. Proceed with the rest of the flashing procedure using the Odin program.
  5. In Odin, click on the BL tab and make sure to use the bootloader file you’ve identified earlier.
  6. Now, make sure that the “Device Added” status and its “ID:COM box” has turned blue before hitting the START button. This will initiate the flashing of your phone’s bootloader.
  7. Restart the phone once the procedure is finished.

Problem 6: Galaxy S7 edge becomes unresponsive, overheats when charging

Hi there .. I got an Ss7 edge. The last few days, my phone start to freeze. The screen became blank and all buttons not responsive. I try all button combination like power + volume down, power + home + volume up or down and nothing is happen. It keeps black. But i feel my phone getting warmer. It will cool after the battery drain i guess (knowing by plug in charging and starts from zero again). When it freeze, all button not working, charging also not working.. please help me. This is really annoying.. i mean wait the battery to drain for a whole day and after charge who knows when it will freeze again ( mostly once a day ). This happen a month after i replace the screen. I don’t remember is there any update but the first time it happen is when i connected to wifi. Thats all… waiting for you suggestion Should i flash it back down to before update or …. well i don’t know anymore.. Thank you. — Primandayosepriadi

Solution: Hi Primandayosepriadi. Android troubleshooting is simple and your issue is not an exception to one particular rule — if no software solution can help, bad hardware must be to blame. That said, we suggest that you try factory reset and yes, if you did flash a non-official firmware to it, flash it back down to an older Android version. If those won’t work, have the phone repaired or replaced.

Problem 7: Galaxy S7 edge won’t charge, won’t turn on

I just read your article “How to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge that doesn’t charge via wired or wireless, heats up when charging [Troubleshooting Guide].” I had hope until I got to step 4. I can’t do anything from step 4 on as my battery is DEAD! However, I believe it to be a firmware issue as the battery had gone dead was remained in that condition for 4 days before I had the time to deal with it. But with a dead battery I cannot reboot, get into Recovery Mode or Safe Mode and it won’t charge by the Samsung Rapid Charger or the Samsung Wireless charger. I am desperate as I have so much on the phone (a lot saved but too much unsaved to lose). How can I get some energy into it? Just enough to get into Recovery Mode?? Thank you. — Rick

Solution: Hi Rick. If your phone does not show any indications of life (LED light lit, vibration during restart, sound or vibration when there incoming notifications), then the only thing that you can do is send it in. Sometimes, the phone can appear dead or not charging due to bad charging port so if you have a wireless charger, try wireless charging for at least 30 minutes. If the phone remains dead, have it repaired or replaced.

As far as data recovery is concerned, you can only do that if you can make your phone boot to normal or safe mode. If the phone is totally dead, you won’t be able to access its memory and transfer contents from it. There’s no software “magic” that you can do to fix bad hardware. It’s possible that the problem is isolated to the battery only so having it replaced by a technician first may solve the issue easily. If the problem is more serious and involves the motherboard, you can kiss those data goodbye.

To prevent losing irreplaceable data (photos, videos, documents, etc.) in the future, always make it a habit of creating a backup. We don’t know how many times we’ve emphasized this in almost all our articles but there’s a reason why this wisdom persists for decades now and that’s because digital storage devices and electronics are unreliable. If you won’t back your files up regularly, you only have yourself to blame.

Problem 8: How to recover files if your Galaxy S7 won’t turn back on

My phone got stuck while rebooting and was showing blue screen. I tried everything on your website and nothing worked then took the phone to the Samsung office. They performed something on it and now all i can see is the black screen with Galaxy S7 edge logo (same logo as you see when you restart the phone). From here I’m unable to start my phone or take it to the safe mode by pressing the keys as per your website. I want to recover my data from my phone before factory reset if required. Need your assistance. If you could help would be genius. — Talat1426

Solution: Hi Talat1426. As mentioned above, you can only access an S7’s memory or storage device if you can boot it to safe mode or normal mode. There’s no other way to moves files from and to the storage device in your phone’s current status. Even Samsung can’t do anything about it.

If you want to fix the issue though, consider doing a factory reset. That would, of course, wipe everything up but you may have a good working phone again.

Also, we don’t know what Samsung did to your phone but if they did try to flash it before, that is, installed a new copy of software, your files must already be gone by now so there’s no point holding off factory reset.

Some users were able to fix a similar issue by booting their phones to alternate modes. For reference, here are the steps on how to do that and the possible follow up troubleshooting that you can do for each:

Boot in Recovery mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Boot in Download Mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
  4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
  5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
  6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

Boot in safe mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the Samsung Galaxy logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
  6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

 

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Samsung Galaxy S7 keeps showing “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error after Nougat [Troubleshooting Guide]

Samsung Galaxy S7 Gmail has stopped

Your #Samsung Galaxy #S7 comes with a built-in email client called “Email” but there’s another client that also comes pre-installed and this one’s a mandatory app from Google–Gmail. Both offers almost the same thing only that the latter only caters Gmail accounts while the former can be used for other emails accounts such as company or custom emails and other free and paid email services like Yahoo, Live, etc.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Gmail has stopped

In this post, I will tackle the error message “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped,” which obviously talks about the Gmail app that crashed for some unknown reason. And the thing is, it seems like the app started to crash shortly after Nougat is installed. This, of course, leaves us thinking that maybe there’s a problem with the app itself or it could be an issue with the new firmware. There’s only one way to find out what the real score is and that’s troubleshooting.

Continue reading this post as it may be able to help you fix the problem. If you have this phone and are currently experiencing similar problem, then go through each step to know if one of them can fix it. Remember, while you may also get the same error, it doesn’t mean it’s the same case; it might have been triggered by a different app, some caches may have been corrupted or there could be one system file that got deleted and caused this problem.

But before anything else, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, then try to visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions or troubleshooting guides we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need more help, fill up our Android issues questionnaire to contact us.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 having “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error

In troubleshooting app-related issues, it is imperative you know which app is crashing and which are the triggers. But remember, just because the app is mentioned in the error doesn’t meant it’s the one that has a problem. We’ve seen countless cases wherein other apps caused other apps to crash that’s troubleshooting is necessary but we before we actually jump into it, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this issue…

Problem: Good morning guys. My smartphone is the S7 and it’s been just a couple of months since my nephew gave it to me. I got it second hand but in pristine condition as my nephew said it has been taken care of and I knew he was telling the truth as there are no scratches on the outside and it actually looks like brand new. The problem is that whenever there are emails that come in an error would pop up and it says that “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” and so as a result, I can’t view or read my emails. The same thing happens when I try to open the Gmail app itself. I don’t really know why this is happening with my phone, I just want to continue using my phone without any problem. Can you help?

Troubleshooting: Now that you know how this error pops up, it’s time we jump into our troubleshooting and while we know our procedures are safe, unexpected things may still happen while you’re troubleshooting so please proceed at your own risk.

Step 1: Reboot your phone in Safe mode to know if third-party apps caused the problem

As what I’ve said earlier, third-party apps may cause built-in ones to crash and we need to rule this possibility out first before we jump into other possibilities and we can do so by booting your phone up in safe mode. In doing this, you are actually disabling all third-party apps temporarily, so if the problem was due to a third-party app, then it shouldn’t show up when the phone is in this mode. This is how you start your Galaxy S7 in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button.
  2. When Samsung Galaxy Logo appears on the screen, release the Power button and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue to hold the Volume Down key until the device finishes its rebooting.
  4. Now, if “Safe Mode” appears on the bottom left corner of the screen then, you can release the Volume Down key.

While in this mode, try to trigger the error by opening the Gmail app and if the error still shows up, then move on to the next step. However, if the error disappeared, then our suspicion that one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem is confirmed. So, it’s time we went after those apps and once found, reset them by clearing their caches and data or simply uninstall them.

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap suspected app.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

To uninstall an app, follow the same steps but hit Uninstall.

Step 2: Reset the Gmail app

You do this if the error still occurs in Safe mode or if it still shows up after clearing the caches and data of suspected apps that trigger the problem. This time, you are actually resetting the Gmail app itself but don’t worry about anything as your email messages will remain in your Gmail inbox. In fact, you can access them through webmail.

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap Gmail.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

As long as you didn’t remove your Google account, you won’t have to setup your account when you open the app after you’ve reset it. If the error still occurs after this, then it might be a firmware issue.

Step 3: Try to delete the system caches so they’ll be replaced with new ones

It’s possible that the system caches got corrupted for some reason and the system still continues to them especially that this problem occurred after an update. So, at this point in our troubleshooting, it’s just logical to try to delete the system caches. While it’s clear you’re deleting them, it actually doesn’t seem like it because the moment the phone boots up, those files will be replaced with new ones that are completely compatible with the new system. This is how you do it:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

After this procedure, try to trigger the error and if it still shows up, then the next step will surely fix it.

Step 4: Reset your Galaxy S7 to bring it back to default settings

We’ve received hundreds of problems from our readers that turned out to be the results of misconfiguration, although there were also cases wherein the problems were caused by firmware issues but regardless what the cause was, it’s now time to reset the device. The thing is, all your personal files and data will be deleted when you do this so make sure you create a backup and after that, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

I hope this helps.

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Galaxy S7 battery drain issue after installing AT&T Nougat update, other issues

Welcome to another article about Samsung’s #GalaxyS7 and #GalaxyS7edge devices. As usual, we will be answering some of the issues sent our way for the past few days. We hope that the solutions in this post will help not only those mentioned here but others with similar problems as well.

Below are the specific topics we’re covering today:

  1. Galaxy S7 can’t upload photos and videos in one conversation thread
  2. Galaxy S7 network service not working properly in some locations
  3. Galaxy S7 screen remains black but continues to ring or vibrate when rebooted
  4. Galaxy S7 battery drain issue after installing AT&T Nougat update | How to change icons while in Maximum Power Saving Mode
  5. Galaxy S7 edge Verizon Messaging app not showing envelop icon notifications when receiving messages
  6. Galaxy S7 screen is damaged after it was dropped accidentally
  7. Galaxy S7 audio not working
  8. Galaxy S7 edge unable to receive messaging using stock messaging app | Galaxy S7 edge not showing log of sent and received messages for certain contact
  9. Galaxy S7 stock calendar app not syncing with Facebook calendar
  10. Galaxy S7 won’t read mp3 files after an update, SD card corrupted after an update

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 S7 can’t upload photos and videos in one conversation thread

Good Afternoon. Recently, may have been just after the firmware update received, there is one specific conversation thread that will no longer upload all of the previous message photos and videos. Conversation thread was started back in January 2016 until now, photos will only upload as of December 20th, 2016. Anything before this dates shows as continuously trying to load. I haven’t changed anything in the phone, SD card is the same since I purchased. I can’t understand why only this one contact will not load all previous photos and videos. I look forward to any insight and or enlightenment on my situation. Thank you. —  Douglas

Solution: Hi Douglas. There may be a bug causing this problem. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of potential points of failure in a complicated software environment as Android so it’s hard to determine what specific coding issue is behind it.

Wipe the cache partition

To troubleshoot your problem, we recommend that the first thing you want to try is to wipe the cache partition. This may help in this case as this process will force the phone to create a new system cache. Installation of app and system updates can sometimes cause problems due to a corrupted system cache. Deleting the old one and replacing it may be the fix. Wiping the cache partition won’t erase your messages or any of your user files such as photos, videos, documents, etc. so it can be done safely. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Delete the conversation thread

Should wiping the cache partition won’t fix the problem, you have no other option but to delete the conversation thread and see if it will help. There may be a bug associated with the said thread and creating a new one may clear it. Before you delete it, consider creating a backup of your messages to a computer or another device using Samsung Smart Switch app. This app can create a copy of your messages so you can restore them back to your S7 if you’ll be able to eliminate the bug.

Wipe the cache and data of messaging app

If deleting the conversation thread won’t work, the next step is to make sure that you deal with the messaging app you’re using. It’s possible that the bug is being caused by the app itself so you must restore it to its default settings. Be sure to back up your messages via Smart Switch before you do the steps below:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
  3. Once in there, click on an application.
  4. 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.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 network service not working properly in some locations

For several weeks now I have been dealing and service connections. My feeling is that my phones wireless signal is damaged but I’ll illustrate. There are times that I have great service and shitty service all in the same minute and in only particular locations that I go to. Anywhere else I have perfect reception and I haven’t worries. Any help you can give me?? I have had my SIM card changed, I have completed a factory reset, had my networks reset. And I am going to give my phone back to my local technician to send off to Samsung but I would desperately need some answers please. — Gareth

Solution: Hi Gareth. A network service problem that occurs only in one location is more of an indication of poor service or signal reception than a phone issue. If this issue is due to software or hardware error in your phone, it should happen regardless  where you are located.

Telling us that you network service issues without giving any specific details is not very helpful in identifying the problem. You must work with your carrier in solving this problem rather than with third party support teams like us. There’s nothing that we can do given how little information you provide here. We also don’t have the right tools to conduct some tests to see if there are any on-going service interruptions in the area you’re having problems in. This problem is the territory of your carrier so contact their technical support department for answers.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 screen remains black but continues to ring or vibrate when rebooted

I have a blinking green light, and a black screen that will not turn on. Lower buttons light up, and phone rings/vibrates still. I have tried the reboot methods and after holding the volume and power buttons, after 10 seconds or so the phone will vibrate for a second, but not turn on.

Also the right side of the screen will light up for a second, with white lines, only the right 1/8th of the screen will do this though. Any ideas what this could be? Thanks. — Nathan

Solution: Hi Nathan. Was the phone accidentally dropped before noticing this problem? This problem is often caused by unnecessary shock on the screen assembly after a drop. In some cases, exposure to water or heat can also damage the screen which can manifest in a situation you’re describing here. If the phone suffered any physical damage at all, stop looking for software solutions. Obviously, you won’t be able to fix a hardware problem with any software “magic” trick. Just contact Samsung  so they can check the screen and do the necessary repair. If there’s no nearby Samsung service center you can run to, you have no other choice but to let an independent service center do the repair for you. Letting a third party repair your device will automatically void the Samsung warranty and Samsung may refuse to fix your S7 later if they’ll discover that someone has opened the device first. Only send your phone to a third party service center if you have absolutely no way of sending it to Samsung.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 battery drain issue after installing AT&T Nougat update | How to change icons while in Maximum Power Saving Mode

My Galaxy S7 has never really had good battery life, but at least it lasted through out the day. In the last month, AT&T has pushed out the Android 7.0 and then an update and at 100 % charged, the phone tells me I have less than 9 hours of use.

My question is tri-fold. I have over 140 apps on my phone, they are all set to not run in the back ground. I have had them since I had my S3. Occasionally, adding a few new ones, could they be affecting the S7 7.0 performance?

Secondly, I have taken to setting my phone to maximum power saving mode and would like to switch out one of the eight icons allowed to a different one. How do I do that?

Lastly, what else can I do to correct this power drain as my S3 and S5 worked fine with these apps installed? I have already done a factory reset after the update and nothing changed. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer. — Faye

Solution: Hi Faye. There are a number of factors that can negatively impact battery performance in your Galaxy S7, with the most significant ones include the following:

  • the number of apps installed,
  • the number of apps and services running in the foreground and background,
  • display settings
  • connectivity functions remaining on most of the time

One of the most important considerations in extending battery life in a daily basis and battery performance in the long run is to limit the number of installed apps  to the minimum as much as possible. We know this doesn’t bid well for modern users but sadly, current smartphone battery technology hasn’t really improved much for the past 10 years so while the devices become faster and more powerful, the power source (Lithium-based battery) has significantly lagged behind. However, Samsung and other smartphone makers market their devices as amazingly fast and feature packed, there’s no doubt that the main weakness remains that battery. We don’t know how much longer you expect your S7’s battery to last but based in our experience with our own S7 (with bare minimum of less than 50 apps installed), 10 hours is the longest time in a day that we can use it before topping it off again. To answer your questions, continue reading.

Question #1. Like all Android versions, Nougat may or may not perform up to par due to a number of reasons. The vanilla operating system version released by Google is pretty decent and works satisfactorily with most flagship phones we’re used so far. Keep in mind though that the Android Nougat version is no longer the original Google  version but most probably a slightly modified one from your carrier. Poor or inefficient coding may be introduced in the firmware version running in your phone after installing updates or apps so the answer to your first is, it depends. In general though, Android Nougat is stable enough that it even works better than Marshmallow (based in our own experience). This may not be true in your case. Just bear in mind that the more apps you install, the higher the chance of possible points of failure there are. That said, it’s possible that apps may be hampering the performance of the operating system.

Question #2: While in Maximum Power Saving Mode, you will only be able to edit the four lower icons. The first four icons on top can’t be changed at all. To change the  second group of icons at the bottom, do the following steps:

  1. Run the phone in Maximum Power Saving Mode.
  2. Tap the options icon at the upper right hand side of the screen (the three-dot icon).
  3. Tap “Edit.”
  4. Tap the minus sign for each icon you want removed or changed.
  5. Tap the “+” sign inside the box where you want to add the new shortcut or icon.
  6. That’s it!

Question #3: Fast power drain issue can only be remedied and there’s no permanent fix for it in general. You must use your phone smartly, keeping in mind that whether you use it or not, its battery is draining power. Lithium-ion batteries like the one in your S7 gradually loses capacity to hold a charge the moment it left the factory. The rate of this capacity loss quickens the more you charge and discharge (use) the phone day in and day out, meaning you’ll eventually be charging it more often. The more apps you install, the more power the system needs to maintain them. There’s also the chance that some of the apps you have may not be coded properly, draining more battery power that they’re supposed to. If you can’t live the apps you’ve installed right now, then you simply have to focus in other aspects in minimizing battery consumption such as lowering screen brightness or turning off unnecessary network functions such as wifi and bluetooth whenver possible. If you’re looking for a permanent fix for a battery drain issue, we’re afraid there’s nothing available for you, unless of course there’s a particular case that causes it like a bad app or malware.

Problem #5: Galaxy S7 edge Verizon Messaging app not showing envelop icon notifications when receiving messages

I have a Galaxy S7 Edge which I updated last week. I use the Verizon Messaging App. Before the update I would receive an envelope on my lock screen that would indicate how many text messages had come through. Since the update the envelope no longer appears. I still receive the LED letting me know I have a new message, sounds still work etc., but I depend on the envelope. Under settings I no longer see where I can mark this app to allow messages on lock screen. I have tried a soft reset and everything else I can think of. How do I keep my envelopes back?        — Gingermeyers4

Solution: Hi Gingermeyers4. We’re assuming that you installed Android Nougat or one of its follow-up patches. If nothing changes when you set up Notifications under the Settings app (Settings>Notifications), you want do our suggestions for Douglas above. If the solutions we suggest for him will not work, the new update may have changed the behavior or the app or the operating system for this particular feature. This is a coding change and there’s nothing that we can do about that. Consider letting Verizon know of the issue so they can help you.

Problem #6: Galaxy S7 screen is damaged after it was dropped accidentally

Hi there! Dropped my phone last night. On the locked screen, where the date, time and battery life is displayed, there’s a constant green and white big bar that’s dropping down from the top non stop. It moves at a pretty quick rate (I counted over 60 repeats in less than a minute). Clicking the home button on the device brings a black screen. Using the side button to get to the unlock screen causes RAPID flashing and the entire display is completely out of order. I can see that there are duplicates of everything, as it’s constantly scrolling down. For instance, I have the weather on the front screen, and I can see where it normally is; top left. When I unlock, I can see the weather down where the first row of applications would be. It seems holding it a certain way will completely stop all of the flickering, scrolling and odd colors, but it’s hit or miss. I’m wondering if replacing the screen is needed, if it’s a lose wiring, OR if there’s a problem with the back light. It almost seems as if the phone still thinks I’m touching the screen and trying to predict where I’m going to swipe/click. But it’s completely erratic. — Heather

Solution: Hi Heather. The only way to know what causes the screen to behave erratically is open the phone and check the screen assembly. We are certain though that you have a damaged hardware but if you’re lucky and the shock from the drop did not damaged other components, a screen replacement may restore all normal workings of the device. Kindly contact Samsung and let them handle the screen replacement for you.

Problem #7: Galaxy S7 audio not working

Sounds is not working on my Samsung GALAXY S7. I’ve tried “Wipe Cache” from the reboot screen, factory reset, testing out sounds in safe mode, and none of these helped. I even took my phone to a Samsung Service center an hour away, only for them to tell me it’s not a hardware issue and it’s software, and then I need to factory reset again and download one app at a time. I’ve uninstalled a lot of apps and tried uninstalling one app at a time to see which is the problem. None of them have worked. I’ve also taken my phone to a Samsung specialist at Bestbuy and they did a hard reset and it didn’t help. Please help :(. — Yeeliau

Solution: Hi Yeeliau. The general rule in troubleshooting any Android problem is to always start with software troubleshooting first. If nothing will change after you’ve exhausted all software solutions, especially after a factory reset, you can assume that it’s a hardware problem. As far as troubleshooting this issue on your end is concerned, you’ve already done all of them at this point. Contact Samsung again and have them repair or replace the phone.

Problem #8: Galaxy S7 edge unable to receive messaging using stock messaging app | Galaxy S7 edge not showing log of sent and received messages for certain contact

Hi there. Using the stock message client, on S7 Edge, I am having an issue with a particular recipient. It doesn’t happen with anyone else. When I type a message to her and click send, the message is sent and received at her end. But it does not save or appear anywhere on my end. There is no history or log or record of any message being sent to her. I also can not receive messages from her. We have checked the obvious, that she has been blocked somehow, but all those settings appear to be normal. Really bizarre and frustrating. As I said – it doesn’t happen with anyone else in my contact list. Appreciate any help! — Rob

Solution: Hi Rob. Your issue may not be identical to Douglas’ above but the solutions are the same. Make sure to back up your messages before attempting to clear the cache and data of the messaging app.

You can also try to narrow down the causes by using a third party app to see if that will work. There are many free messaging apps in Google Play Store that you can use for this purpose. If you can send and receive messages normally for this contact on another app, you may need to reset all software settings to default via factory reset. Here’s how:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Problem #9: Galaxy S7 stock calendar app not syncing with Facebook calendar

Hi. I have an Samsung S7 and I am facing 2 issues. 1) It seems that my Facebook calendar cannot sync with Samsung calendar. When i go to settings/account, under Facebook there are no options. the same for contacts. Also, it seems the notification are not getting pushed to my phone, i have to access the app to see updates. 2) outlook calendar and email doesn’t sync. When i am trying to set up the EAS, i login in but then it doesn’t sync. When i click in the server settings and it tries to connect to the server it says cannot connect to server, so nothing gets synced.

I also have the Outlook app and that works fine but the calendar and info from the outlook app doesn’t sync with the Samsung. I have to access Outlook app to see any of the data. i use 2-step verification thank you in advance for the help. —        Fivos

Solution: Hi Fivos. Samsung Calendar app appears to only support 4 accounts which are:

  • Samsung account
  • Exchange
  • Google
  • Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

We can’t see any option to add or sync Facebook calendar to the stock Calendar app either so it’s limited by design. That means that it’s not built to sync with the account types you’re trying to sync here. Unfortunately, there’s nothing much that you can do about it right now.

Problem #10: Galaxy S7 won’t read mp3 files after an update, SD card corrupted after an update

March 30, 2017 came a new update for my phone so I plugged it in and let it run its course. When it finished I realized that none of the mp3 files on my SD card worked saying “Sorry, this player does not support this type of audio file.” The photos on my SD card were also blank, yet all the files showed they were still there with their respective sizes. I’ve deleted and downloaded the same app, a new app, tried opening the files on another S7, restarted the phone (once with and once without the card inside), moved them to the phone and back, moved them to Google drive and back, and all with the same result. Nothing supports the files and shows blank pictures. I’m confused as to why the update even touched anything on the encrypted SD card, much less why it did what it did. What should I do? — Felix

Solution: Hi Felix. Since you have an encrypted SD card, you have very limited options at this time as the only device that can read it is only your phone. Letting another device access your files is obviously pointless so your only chance of using it normally again is to reformat it. We know this will delete the files you’re keeping in it but there’s really nothing that you can do at this point. We can’t say what happened exactly but the update may have changed some operating system parameters, which may have affected how it reads the card. An unknown software or app glitch may have caused the problem after the update. Whatever it is, there’s no way to find out. To prevent this issue from happening again, always make it a habit to create a back up of important files regularly to another device before installing an update. Updates change core operating system parameters so there’s always a chance that some things may not work as expected afterwards.

 

Engage with us

If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem. 

If you find this post helpful, please help us by spreading the word to your friends. TheDroidGuy has social network presence as well so you may want to interact with our community in our Facebook and Google+ pages.

Galaxy S7 won’t send MMS after installing Android Nougat, other update issues

Hello Android community. We bring you 5 more #GalaxyS7 issues and solutions in this post today. Remember to also visit our main Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page if you can’t find similar issues and solutions in this one.

Below are the specific topics we’re covering for you:

  1. Galaxy S7 won’t send MMS after installing Android Nougat
  2. Unable to factory reset Galaxy S7 edge in China
  3. Galaxy S7 reboots randomly after installing an update
  4. Galaxy S7 can’t “view all” long messages
  5. Galaxy S7 touchscreen becomes unresponsive for hours when using the phone

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 S7 won’t send MMS after installing Android Nougat

Prior to the recent update (Nougat, I believe) my phone worked fine, sent and received pics/texts, and didn’t get hot. After the recent update, my Galaxy S7 Edge could receive but not send/text pictures. It could send and receive texts. It also got extremely hot when running and ran slower. The battery ran out faster and took longer to recharge. The error given when sending the pictures failed “message not sent invalid destination address.” I took it to the Verizon Store, they forced me to use their Messages+ “because that’s what works,” yet it didn’t. Then they ordered a warranty replacement. The replacement still is on the pre-update OS, which I like better, but it still won’t text pics- gives the same error. Other apps seem to work fine. Any recommendations?        — Koidream

Solution: Hi Koidream. If everything was working fine prior to the update, the phone’s APN settings must have been changed for some reason. Installing a system update requires changing core files so a bug may have changed the network settings by mistake. Like in all update-related problems, you want to do the basic software troubleshooting first.

Wipe the cache partition

The first troubleshooting step that you want to do is to clear the cache partition to ensure that the phone’s system cache is fresh. Installation of app and system updates can sometimes corrupt the system cache so you want to ensure that this is not the cause by wiping the cache partition. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Make sure that all apps are updated or compatible

This troubleshooting is part of the general update-related troubleshooting so even if the rest of your apps are working, we still want you to double check all your apps to make sure that they are compatible with the new Android version.

Boot to safe mode

Booting to safe mode is not a solution in itself but a way to determine whether or not  a third party app is causing the trouble. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so if you enable it, only pre-installed apps will work. If you’ll be able to send MMS in this mode, that’s an indication that one of the apps is problematic. To boot your S7 to safe mode, follow these steps:

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Ensure that MMS settings are correct

Before you do this step, make sure that you contact Verizon for the correct APN settings that should be in your phone.

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Mobile networks.
  3. Tap  Access Point Names.
  4. Tap Add.
  5. Edit the phone’s APN settings and ensure that you enter all correct values in applicable fields.

Turn on mobile data

A lot of users often forget this common sense step in troubleshooting MMS problems. Be sure that you have a good working mobile data subscription before sending an MMS.

Do a factory reset

This is an optional troubleshooting step, especially that the issue happens on the second phone as well.  If you haven’t done it before, consider performing it only immediately before calling your carrier again for more support.

  1. Create a backup of your important files.
  2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  3. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  4. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  5. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  6. Touch Continue.
  7. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

Contact your carrier

If all the steps above won’t work, your carrier should help fix it themselves. There may be account-related changes that causes the problem.

Problem #2: Unable to factory reset Galaxy S7 edge in China

Hello Samsung. I bought a Galaxy S7 Edge when I was on vacation in Vietnam, and it has worked well for the past 2 months. I recently selected a factory restart, and this has created a problem as the phone will not connect during the “system setup.” Basically it will say “Checking connection… This can take a while.” I have tried to complete this procedure several times and have waited for several hours.  I believe that the problem may be due to the fact that I live in Mainland China, and their Firewall may be stopping my phone from connecting to any Google related services. Would you be able to help me find a way to somehow use my phone? I would like to thank you in advanced for any help that you may be able to provide. Sincerely. —  Brad

Solution: Hi Brad. Samsung devices running Android Lollipop and above are protected by FRP or Factory Reset Protection which is basically just another security layer that will verify the registered Google account. FRP works by asking a user to enter the correct Google account credentials during a factory reset so you may be right in the fact that your device is trying to contact Google servers during this time. There’s no way to skip this Google account authentication so you must do it if you want to continue using the phone. To fix the issue, you must connect the device to a wifi network that’s not affected by China’s firewall restriction. We don’t know if you can do that but it’s the only way to connect to Google servers.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 reboots randomly after installing an update

Hello I have a Galaxy S7 and since the update to Android Nougat 7.0, my phone restarts randomly, it can stay an entire week without restart and it can also restart 2 days in a row. It’s totally random. I have reset to the factory settings and I have reinstalled only the most important applications (Facebook messenger, Viber, Yahoo mail) but unfortunately about ten days after reset, the problem has reappeared. What could be the cause of this problem? For info, the firmware version installed on my phone is: G930FXXU1DQBO.

Also, I saw on SamMobile that the countries that received the update later, had a new version. Could the problem come from that? Is this a bug in the firmware installed on my Galaxy S7. Thank you in advance for your help. — Aminejaoua91

Solution: Hi Aminejaoua91. There’s no direct way to check if this is a bug in the new firmware running in your phone. The best that you can do is to observe the phone while it’s on safe mode to see if the problem is being caused by third party app. Due to the random nature of the problem, you will have to boot the phone in safe mode as long as possible to see the result. Kindly refer to the steps above on how to boot your S7 to this mode.

If the problem will happen even when the phone is in safe mode, it’s either due to a firmware issue or a hardware error. Either way, make sure to let your carrier know so they can replace the phone.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 can’t “view all” long messages

When I receive long texts, approximate >300 characters, the entire message doesn’t come through. At the bottom, it has the message icon, says ‘View all’ and there’s a > arrow. Clicking the view all gives me a blank screen with a subject. Holding and clicking the view all gives me message options, but nothing to display the entire message. I see delete, forward, share, lock, save attachment, view slideshow. I went to the settings, apps and couldn’t find an option to fix this. Somehow it seems I should be able to download or view the entire message, but I can’t figure it out. Thanks in advance for your help. — Johnd.shannon

Solution: Hi Johnd.shannon. We’ve already received a number of similar reports from some of our readers so we think that this is a firmware bug. Unfortunately, this means that you will have to report the issue to your carrier if the usual dose of software troubleshooting like wiping the cache partition and factory reset won’t resolve the problem.

As a remedy, try to use another messaging app for now and see if that will work. You can check out the many free messaging apps in the Play Store for that.

Problem #5: Galaxy S7 touchscreen becomes unresponsive for hours when using the phone

Hi Thedroidguy. I have an issue with my Samsung S7 mobile phone. Whatever i am doing like texting/SMS, surfing and gaming, the touch screen just suddenly become unresponsive for hours. The phone itself i believe is working fine since i can see messages popping up in my screen, however, the touch screen is the problem. The buttons outside the screen like home and back are working. I tried using all the troubleshooting tips, like rebooting, resetting factory setting, wipe cache partition, but to no avail. I remember this is working fine in Android 6.2 but now since the update of Android 7.0, this issue keeps on happening. Should I downgrade it to Android 6.2? Please help. Thank you very much. Best Regards. —  Edwin

Solution: Hi Edwin. We have not received identical or similar reports from other readers so this is most probably an isolated case. If you’ve already tried all software troubleshooting and nothing helped, we suggest that you contact Samsung or any relevant party (like your carrier or retailer) so the phone can be checked and/or replaced.

We don’t recommend that you downgrade the firmware to the previous version due to security reasons but if you want to do it anyway, do it at your own risk.

 

Engage with us

If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem. 

If you find this post helpful, please help us by spreading the word to your friends. TheDroidGuy has social network presence as well so you may want to interact with our community in our Facebook and Google+ pages.

Samsung Galaxy S6 has some Bluetooth issues after Android Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Samsung Galaxy S6 and its variants just received the Android Nougat update recently and while many have been anticipating for the roll out, a lot of owners got disappointed for they have encountered issues shortly after the update. Among those issues are various Bluetooth related problems that have to be addressed immediately. Of course, only owners that use Bluetooth devices may encounter this problem and even if you don’t usually use BT headsets, it’s better that you examine your phone thoroughly.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy S6 device that’s currently experiencing Bluetooth related problems. So, if you own this device and have recently updated it to Nougat, then you should continue reading as it may be able to help you fix the problem.

For those who are looking for a solution to a totally different issue, visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems since we started supporting this device. Find issues that are the same or similar with yours and use the solutions and/or troubleshooting guides we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Galaxy S6 lags, freezes and reboots while using Bluetooth after update

Problem: Hi. There has been an update that was recently installed on my phone and shortly after that, I got issues while using Bluetooth and I’m positive the problems only occur when I’m using BT devices. There are times when my phone lags, freezes and the worst is that it reboots from time to time. I have a Bluetooth headset that was working perfectly fine prior to the update but now it’s just a mess. The thing is that these issues don’t occur when I’m using the phone with its loudspeaker or wired headset. I hope you guys have some advice for me on how to get rid of these issues. By the way, my phone is a Galaxy S6 and it was the Nougat update that was downloaded recently. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: You are just one of the many S6 owners that encountered issues with their phones shortly after updating them to Nougat. While it’s possible these problems are caused by some corrupt files and data, there’s also a possibility that the problem is due to a firmware issue brought about by the Nougat update. We need to troubleshoot your phone to know what the real score is and whether or not this problem can be fixed without any help from a tech. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Use other Bluetooth devices

I’m not saying your Bluetooth headset is the problem here, I just want to know how the phone behaves when paired and connected to other BT devices. By the way, it might be more of a compatibility issue that a hardware problem and we need to know which is which.

So, assuming the phone works fine with other devices, then we’ve already isolated the issue to the device you’re using and we now know that your phone’s Bluetooth is fine. Otherwise, there’s a chance it has something to do with the version of Bluetooth on your phone. But either way, you must proceed with your troubleshooting.

Step 2: Pair your phone to your Bluetooth device while in safe mode

We need your phone to run on diagnostic state so that there will be no interference from third-party apps while troubleshooting. When all third-party elements are temporarily disabled, pair and connect your headset to your phone while in safe mode to know if it works fine or not. If it does work fine, then some apps may be causing the problem and this makes our job easier as you only have to find the apps that might have something to do with the problem and uninstall them.

This is how you boot your phone in safe mode…

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S6 logo appears, release the Power key, then immediately press and hold the Volume down key.
  4. Hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  5. When ‘Safe mode’ appears in the bottom left, release the Volume down key.
  6. Uninstall apps that cause problems.

And this is how you uninstall apps from your Galaxy S6…

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Under ‘Device,’ tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  6. Tap desired app, then tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall to confirm.

Step 3: Delete all the system caches so they’ll be replaced

Assuming the problem persists while your phone in safe mode, then it’s time to go after the firmware itself. We’ve seen cases wherein core services and functions stopped working after an update and this might due to some corrupt caches. We have to rule this possibility out before we proceed with other methods. That said, here’s how you delete all the corrupt caches from your phone:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume up, Home, and Power keys together.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S 6 logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
  4. When the Android logo displays, release the Volume up and Home keys. ‘Installing system update’ appears for 30 – 60 seconds, followed by the Android system recovery menu.
  5. Press the Volume down key until ‘wipe cache partition’ is highlighted.
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to select.
  9. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Step 4: Factory reset your Galaxy S6

After wiping the cache partition and the problem still occurs, you have no other choice but to reset your phone. But before you actually do it, make sure you backup your files and data as they will be deleted and can no longer be restored.

  1. Back up all data on the internal memory.
  2. If you signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft. You will need your Google username and password.
  3. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  4. Tap Settings.
  5. Under Personal, tap Backup and reset.
  6. If desired, tap the Back up my data slider to ON or OFF.
  7. If desired, tap the Restore slider to ON or OFF.
  8. Tap Factory data reset.
  9. Tap Reset device.
  10. If screen lock is enabled, enter PIN or password.
  11. Tap Continue.
  12. Tap Delete all.

I hope this helps.

Galaxy S6 Bluetooth microphone gets muted during calls

Problem: I updated the software on my Samsung Galaxy S6 to the latest android software updated and more recently the nougat updated. Since I updated the first android updated, the Bluetooth microphone automatically gets muted during calls so I am unable to use Bluetooth on this phone. Please help me fix this issue.

Solution: Based on your description, there is a possibility that the caches and files of the device were corrupted. Although update may fix issues and eliminate bugs that is difficult to remove but sometimes it is also one of the factors the issue will become worse. On the other hand, if there were rogue apps that cause conflicts in the system, that might also the reason  that the problem occurs. In this instance, I will walk you through to the basic troubleshooting procedures to determine what the problem is and what caused it.

Step 1: Restart your phone in Safe mode

The purpose of booting your device in safe mode is to verify if there’s a downloaded or pre-installed app that triggers the issue. But take note, this is just an android environment wherein the third-party apps will be temporarily disabled and only the pre-installed will run in the system. So, while in this mode try to use your bluetooth and make a call and see if the problem still persists. If not, then obviously there’s an app caused it. Find that app and uninstall it to fix the issue. Here are the steps to boot your phone in this mode:

  1. Turn off your Galaxy S6 Edge.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge’ appears, immediately release the Power key and then press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the phone finishes the restart.
  5. When you see Safe Mode on the lower left corner of the screen, release the button

Step 2: Wipe the cache partition of the phone

This method will be performed if the previous procedure won’t do any good on your phone. This time, we have to bring back the cache directory to its default settings to make sure that all caches are fresh and could run perfectly to the new firmware. But don’t you worry this procedure won’t delete the files and data that was stored on your phone. Follow these steps:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

However, after deleting the cache partition and the behaviour of your phone still the same, then you can proceed to the next method for it might be a serious firmware issue.

Step 3: Master Reset the device

Since, all procedures haven’t fix the issue the last thing that you gonna do to your phone is to  do the reset. Through this procedure the firmware of the device will be back to its factory default and the files and data will be all new as well. But before you proceed to this method we recommend you to create a backup to all your important files because once you proceed all of it will be erased. Here’s how to reset your phone:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
  3. When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
  4. Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Press the Vol Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
  7. After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

Connect with us

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. We support every Android device available and we are serious in what we do. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Bluetooth suddenly won’t work after Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

The roll out of the Android Nougat update for the #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) clearly brought excitement to some owners, however, some of our readers contacted us about some issues they’ve encountered shortly after installing the update.

In this post, there are three similar problems I tackled so if you own this device, recently installed Nougat and is now bugged by a Bluetooth problem, I suggest you continue reader below as our troubleshooting guide may be able to help you.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure to drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems with this device since it was released. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions and/or troubleshooting guides we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Bluetooth keeps dropping on Galaxy S7 after Nougat update

Problem: My Galaxy S7 seems to have been messed up by the recent update because shortly after I downloaded it, the Bluetooth won’t work with my devices. The phone connects or pairs with a device but it can’t sustain the connection. So, while in the middle of playing a trace, my headset won’t sound off and I would be notified that the Bluetooth got disconnected. What should I do? Thanks.

Troubleshooting: There are times after a firmware update that some services or functionalities in your phone won’t work for some reason and more often than not, it’s due to some caches or data that got corrupted, although there were also cases wherein third-party apps caused the same problem. So, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your phone safely.

Step 1: Delete the system caches by booting your phone up in Recovery Mode

For this kind of problem, it’s better that we go after the caches immediately as there’s a higher probability that it’s caused by some corrupt caches that the new system is still using. After all, deleting the caches doesn’t have adverse effects on your device but when replaced with new ones, your device may perform better not to mention this problem may be fixed:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

After the reboot, try to pair your phone with your Bluetooth device and see if the problem still occurs and if so, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Reboot your phone up in Safe mode and try again

We will now try to isolate the problem to know if your apps have something to do with it since there are always times when third-party apps may not work properly after a firmware update due to compatibility issues. To do so, reboot your phone up in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. When Samsung Galaxy S7 logo appears, release the Power key and immediately hold the volume down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down key until it finishes its rebooting.
  4. When “Safe mode” appears on the screen immediately release the Volume Down key.

While the phone is in this mode, try to pair your device with your Bluetooth device and if the connection still fails, then it must be a problem with the firmware. However, if the problem is fixed, then there are apps that don’t work properly and for sure, they’re one of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store or ones you sideloaded. In this case, find those apps if there’s more than one and reset or uninstall them one by one until the problem is fixed.

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap suspected apps.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

To uninstall, follow the same steps but hit Uninstall.

Step 3: Perform Master Reset on your Galaxy S7

After doing the first two steps and the problem still occurs, then you have no other option but to reset your device but make sure you backup your data first as they will be deleted and could no longer be restored. After that, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem persists after this, then send your phone in for repair.

Galaxy S7 won’t stay enabled after an update

Problem: Just this month I updated my phone’s firmware and had been working perfectly for a few days but for the past two weeks I noticed that my Bluetooth won’t stay enabled. And when I turned it on again and connect to the same device it ends up not being enabled. I think the update that I did caused the problem. Please help!

Solution: When Samsung Galaxy S7 was released a lot of users complained about some issues that occurred in their devices and among them are bluetooth issues. One of the users said that after the system update the bluetooth could no longer function normally. We can see there are two possibilities to consider–either the device has a hardware problem or a firmware related issue.  To try to fix this issue, here’s what you have to do…

Step 1: Try to clear the cache of the bluetooth app

There are two types of cache your phone have the app and the system cache. Even though both caches has the same function but app’s cache worked alone in the pre-installed and third-party application. So, if app’s caches had been corrupted or outdated that may be the reason that the app crash every time you have to launch it. In this method, all you need to do is to delete those caches to be replaced by newer ones. Here’s how:

  1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and tap Bluetooth.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Tap storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

Step 2: Restart your phone in Safe mode

It’s imperative that you know what the problem with your phone is and if it’s caused by one of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store. Isolating the problem will immediately give you an answer so it’s better that you boot your phone up in safe mode after the clearing of the cache and data of the Bluetooth service failed.

While in safe mode, try to see if the Bluetooth remains enabled all throughout and if not, then it might really be a firmware issue, otherwise, you just have to look for the apps that have possibly caused the problem. I understand it’s not easy to find the culprit but begin your search from your recent installations or apps that also use the Bluetooth. You can find the steps on how to boot up in Safe Mode above.

Step 3: Delete the System cache for it might be corrupted

The purpose of the system caches in the device is to make the system faster in retrieving files and data every time you have to perform some tasks. But sometimes due to outdated and corrupted caches, inconsistencies occur in the device without apparent reason. To fix the issue, all you need to do is to delete all those caches so that your phone can create newer caches. Just follow the steps above on how to boot up in recovery mode and wipe cache partition. After which, try to see if the problem is still occurring and if so, then the next step might help.

Step 4: Perform Master reset on your device

After performing all procedures and the problem is still happening, then a hard reset should be done. In resetting the device you are bringing back the system to its original configuration. This could also mean that all personal information like photos, videos and important files on your phone will be wiped off. So, before performing the procedure make sure to backup all of them. There are actually two ways on how to reset your device, first is through the Settings menu and the second is through the Recovery Mode.

Reset through Settings Menu

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  5. Touch Continue.
  6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

Reset through Recovery Mode

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem still remains after the reset, then have your phone checked by a technician.

Bluetooth not working on Galaxy S7 after an update

Problem: I have a Galaxy S7 for over a year now and for the past few weeks the device works great, then all of a sudden after I installed the update my bluetooth is not working anymore. Now, I can’t listen to my bluetooth speaker and headset. I tried to connect to several bluetooth devices and to my car but the problem still the same. Any idea how to fix this issue?

Solution: The issue that you have now is similar to the problems we tackled above wherein the firmware might have been corrupted after the update or an app might have triggered it. So, the first thing that we want you to do is to delete the caches on your bluetooth app and see if there’s a progress. If none, you can perform the next step by restarting your device in Safe mode to prevent all third-party apps from running, this way you can tell if your third-party apps have something to do with it. If your phone still unable to pair with your other Bluetooth devices, most likely it is a firmware issue. At this point, deleting the system cache might help fix the problem. This procedure will delete all old files stored in the cache directory and will be replaced by new caches so that the firmware could run smoothly and efficiently.

However, if deleting the system caches could not remedy the issue your last resort is to do master reset on your phone. By bringing back the device to its default setting there is a possibility that the problem will be fix but take note that this method will delete all stored files and data on your phone. So, before resetting try to backup everything your important files like: contacts, videos, photos and music.

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