Apps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S5

This is the 12th part of our troubleshooting series. This is a testament of the growing number of readers seeking our help in resolving their issues.

If you have concerns regarding your Samsung Galaxy S5, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at [email protected] and we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.

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Deleting/adding email account on Samsung Galaxy S5, Apps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S5

Problem: Hi, I don’t know if you can help but my Samsung Galaxy S5 has gone nuts! I have lost emails out of my inbox using the standard mail app factory installed on phone linked to my Hotmail account. I can’t get inbox messages or anything and if i scroll through they are not there ( i did a test sending from another email address on another device!) yet when I search for them they are there. Odd I know. Also some of my apps especially e-Bay will keep coming up with message “unfortunately e-Bay has stopped”. Every time I try to send feedback it does this. I’ve tried deleting the app and reinstalling but same results. This also happens with met office app and Facebook. Don’t know how to fix it and any help would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your help (if you get this message!) Thanks. — Laura

Troubleshooting: Hi Laura. You’ve raised two issues here so we will deal with them one at a time. Regarding your email issue, it’s possible that you may have selected a different sync setup when configuring your Hotmail account. We suggest that you try to reconfigure your Hotmail account by following the tutorials below. The first that you need to do is to delete the email account from your device to make sure that we start fresh. This is to minimize mistakes in setting up your email correctly. Don’t worry, Microsoft keeps a copy of your emails, calendars, contacts, etc on its servers so doing this will not delete your personal data.

Deleting an email account on Samsung Galaxy S5

• Go to Home
• Tap Apps
• Tap Email
• Touch Menu key
• Touch Settings
• Touch Manage accounts
• Tap the Menu button
• Tap Delete account
• Select by tapping the account you want to delete
• Tap Done
• Tap OK

After deleting your email account, it’s time to set it up again.

Adding an email account on Samsung Galaxy S5

• Go to Home
• Tap Apps
• Tap Email
• Touch the +  icon
• Add your email address. Make sure you are typing it accurately in this field
• Tap Password and enter your password
• Tap on Manual Setup and select PoP3
• Enter PoP3 server as pop3.live.com
• Select SSL or SSL/TLS for security type
• Add PoP3 port number as 995
• Then enter the SMTP server as smtp.live.com
• Select STARTTLS or TLS for security type
• Add SMTP port number as 587
• Touch Next
• Tap Next
• Tap Your name
• Enter the name you want to appear on a recipient’s phone every time they receive your email
• Tap Done

Your email account should already be added. Give your phone a few minutes to download your messages. We believe that this should take care of the problem but if you continue to experience it, do let us know so we can further assist you.

On your second issue regarding some apps crashing or not working normally, we suggest that you consider doing a factory reset on your phone. Because we are dealing with multiple apps having the same symptoms here, we believe that resetting your device to its original software condition can restore many of the apps to their former working state. We have posted a tutorial on how to reset a Samsung Galaxy S5 to factory default here.

You may want to do this step first prior to dealing with your email problem.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 as a Wi-Fi hotspot

Problem: I got my Samsung Galaxy S5 to be able to use it as a hotspot and get rid of my slower DSL provider. Now someone told me that it is not good to use it like that. They said it will burn out the phone faster. They said I need to buy a “My Wi-Fi” instead. Is this true or are they just trying to sell me something else? Thanks for your help. — Faye

Troubleshooting: Hi Faye. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a powerful and robust phone and is designed to function as a mobile hotspot. However, making it as a substitute router for wireless connection at home or Wi-Fi can effectively drain your phone’s battery faster. A battery on your phone can only last after a few hundred charges in its entire lifespan before you need to replace it, so making your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot in the long run can definitely shorten its longevity.

It has also been observed that an S5 gets hot faster when used as a hotspot for a couple of hours at a stretch. Heat is one of the most common causes of hardware failures of any electronic device. While there is no agreed timeframe on the ideal usage of an S5 as a hotspot, we here at DroidGuy recommends that you keep it at a minimum. If possible, only use your phone as a substitute hotspot for emergencies or when you think you need faster internet connection.

You may want to check our post regarding an S5’s normal CPU temperature, a topic related to overheating as well.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 showing “Unfortunately settings has stopped” error

Problem: I bought lately an S5 and everything went smooth. But just a week now, I got more and more pop ups  saying “Unfortunately settings has stopped”. It’s getting annoying. Can you help me? — Yo

Troubleshooting: Hello Yo. This error is usually an indicator your phone’s cache may have been corrupted. We suggest that you delete the cache partition as the first solution step and see how it works. Deleting the cache partition can also spare you from losing your settings, customizations, and personal data that results from doing a factory reset, which is usually the most effective troubleshooting step for any software-related issue on an S5.

To delete the cache partition, follow these steps:

• Turn off the S5
• Press and hold Volume Up, Home and Power buttons almost simultaneously
• Wait until the phone vibrates before releasing Power button
• Continue holding both Volume Up and Home
• After the Android System Recovery screen is shown, you can release all the hardware buttons
• Navigate to Wipe Cache Partition using the Volume Down button
• Press Power to select the option
• Once the cache partition has been wiped, press the Power key to select Reboot System Now

As mentioned, we reserve resetting your phone to factory defaults as the last step. If wiping the cache partition won’t do anything, follow this link on how to do a factory reset.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 stopped working after switching runtime from Dalvik to ART

Problem: Hello Harold. I have an S5 running KitKat 4.4 on VZW. I read your article on how to optimize my phone. I was in the process of changing my runtime from Dalvik to ART. I accessed developer options and clicked on dalvik to change the runtime. I got a message saying the phone had to reboot to take effect so I clicked “OK” and the phone boots up past the Samsung screen and it freezes on a screen that says: “Android is upgrading… Optimizing app 1 of 1.”

The phone will stay on this screen until the battery goes dead. I’ve already restarted the phone in recovery mode and cleaned the partition and rebooted it and its still freezing on the above screen. Please help me fix my phone. Thanks in advance. — Dave D.

Troubleshooting: Hi Dave. Have you tried performing a Safe Mode? If you can still do this, there’s a big chance that we can still resolve the issue without resorting to factory reset, which, by the look of things, the only way to fix this. Booting your phone in Safe Mode forces the device to run only the essential and trusted apps from Samsung and Google. This is also a great way to isolate if the problem is being caused by a malware or a rogue app. If you haven’t tried rebooting the phone in Safe Mode, just follow this post.

Once you’re in Safe Mode, you can safely uninstall apps that may have caused this problem. We can’t see any connection between changing the runtime from Dalvik to ART and your phone suddenly stopped working normally as this is normally routine. Changing the runtime from one to another is not supposed to cause any intentional problems although it’s a known fact that switching to ART can cause some popular apps like WhatsApp and Titanium Backup to crash or freeze. We don’t have an exact list of apps deemed not compatible with ART runtime as of the moment but if you did install some apps prior to the switch, we suggest that you remove it from your device while in Safe Mode.

In case the issue remains, you may have to do a factory reset as there simply is no way to hack into your device.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Unlock Effect option not working

Problem: Hey! So, I’ve been looking for some help with my Samsung Galaxy S5. I want to be able to change my unlock effect for my lock screen on my phone. Right now, my screen lock is set to “Swipe” like it normally is. Until about a week ago, I’ve always had my unlock effect set to “Watercolor,” but something weird happened… I was going through my settings and I decided to register my fingerprints to my phone. When I was done doing that it gave me the option to change my screen lock to “Fingerprint” so I did. I soon decided that that was way too much of a hassle, entering my fingerprint every time I want to unlock my phone, and I reverted my screen lock back to “Swipe.” But, when I went to set my unlock effect to “Watercolor” again, I was unable to do so! I cannot select the “Unlock Effect” option in my phone, which is under the “Lock Screen” option under the “Quick Settings.” It is there, but it is a faded gray color rather than the normal white if the other settings options. I want to change my unlock effect back to Watercolor, but it won’t let me do anything! Please help me out…Hope you can do something about this. Thanks so much. — Kevin

Troubleshooting: Hi Kevin. You have an interesting case here. We know, based on experience, that Unlock Effect option should be enabled if the Screen Lock section shows Swipe underneath it. We also know that a live or moving wallpaper can disable Unlock Effect on an S5. I think this is what’s causing the problem here. If you happen to change your wallpaper from a still to a live one, try changing back to the former or use a default or stock wallpaper that came with the phone.

To change your S5’s wallpaper, follow these steps:

• Access Home screen settings menu by either tapping and holding or pinching your fingers together on a blank area in the Home screen of your Galaxy S5
• Touch Wallpapers in the lower left hand corner of the screen
• Pick a wallpaper you’d like to change
• You can choose from one of the wallpapers provided by Samsung or tap on More images to the far left. We suggest that you choose the one readily made available by Samsung for the sake of troubleshooting.
• Tap on your chosen Wallpaper and then select Set Wallpaper at the top

If this solution will not help and you think that changing your unlock effect to what you want deserves it, you may want to perform a factory reset.

Let us know if these will not work so we can help you further.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 getting worse after factory reset

Problem: Hi. Recently, I had to reboot my Samsung Galaxy S5 back to factory standards. Now that it is back to standards it is acting worse. There are functions that are no longer accessible like the option to edit photos, the quick contacts that are listed in the messenger screen. And the way the settings come up are no longer easily accessible. How do I bring them back? Thank you for your time. — Gladys

Troubleshooting: Hello Gladys. When you say “factory standards” are you referring to a process of wiping everything from the phone to restore it to its original state, also known as factory reset? If you are, then I think you really have a problem with your S5 right now. Performing a factory reset is usually the last solution that we recommend as it demands more time and effort, especially in trying to save a copy of personal files before the final step is made. We’re sorry to say this but we think that your phone has to be replaced or checked by a Samsung-certified technician. It is impossible to isolate what the real cause of the problem right now but there’s a big chance that this is due to hardware issue. Almost all our tips and troubleshooting steps here are intended to resolve software-related troubles only so we might be of little to no help to you at this point.

We suggest that you call your carrier or Samsung and demand for a replacement unit instead so you can get back to using your phone.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 slow performance issue

Problem: My Galaxy S5 is 11 months old. For as long as I can remember, it occasionally hangs up interfacing with the Internet. This occurs both in a browser and in apps and in data or WiFi mode, with great signal strength and connects to many different networks. Restarting the phone cures the problem. Over time this has gone from an occasional occurrence to almost daily.

Any idea what might be causing it or how to fix?  For now I am just waiting to see if 5.0 fixes the problem. — Wonderbear49

Troubleshooting: Hi Wonderbear49. Persistent freezing on a powerful phone like an S5 is a sure sign of an on-going software or hardware problem. With a lot of processes happening all at the same time when your device is running, we need to narrow down the possible causes so that we can work out an effective solution. The way we usually troubleshoot mobile problems is by checking the software aspect because we don’t really have a fix if it all boils down to hardware.

Since you mentioned that the device slows down in terms of performance regardless of the type of connection and apps you are using, it is best to begin our troubleshooting by performing a Safe Mode. This will help us trace if the problem is the result of a problematic app or not. Please follow this short tutorial on how to perform Safe Mode. Once you are in Safe Mode, try to uninstall apps you suspect may be causing this problem. Try to remove apps one by one, starting from the most recently installed. If you can remember installing an app prior to experiencing this problem, you can start removing it first. Remember, some apps, especially those that came with the phone when you unboxed it, may not give you an option to uninstall them.

The challenge this step present to you though is that you have to observe your phone for probably a day before uninstalling another one so you can detect whether or not it’s effective. In other words, this may take you a long time to zero in on the erring app. If you have no such time, you can skip directly to resetting the phone to its factory defaults. This possible solution only works if the source of the issue comes from a software malfunction though. In case the problem remains after restoring the device to its factory settings, it’s a good time to consider getting a replacement for it.

As mentioned earlier, we can’t offer any more tips and solutions if we think the hardware is failing. Try to call your carrier or Samsung and secure a replacement phone instead.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 freezes when on Lock screen

Problem: Hi. I was hoping you can help me. My Samsung S5 isn’t working properly. Every time I stop using my phone and it goes on to the lock screen, I can’t return the screen on. The screen just stays blank and nothing happens. To get it working again I have to remove the battery then restart the phone. once I have done this, my phone works fine until it goes on the lock screen again. ( hope this makes sense). Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks. — Aimee

Troubleshooting: Hi Aimee. We’re sorry to hear about this rare problem on your S5 but it looks like the most effective solution that you can do right now is by resetting your phone to its factory settings. We mentioned the tutorial on how to reset an S5 back to its factory defaults above so kindly click the link. To be honest, this is the first time that we heard about this issue and we cannot really find a connection to its possible cause. By doing a factory reset, we hope that it will restore the phone back to its working state. Another great solution that you can try is performing a Safe Mode on your device and observe how it behaves. While in Safe Mode, your phone will be forced to run only the official apps from Samsung and Google. If this is an issue caused by a rogue or problematic app, having the phone in Safe Mode can help you greatly. A tutorial on how to do a Safe Mode is also discussed above so kindly try this solution step.

Don’t forget to create a back up of your personal data first. If you want to save some time doing this, you can also try using a third party app name Helium Backup, available for free download in Google Play Store.

We are confident that restoring the factory settings can help you in this regard but should it fail, please let us know so we can help you further.

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