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Solutions to delays in sending Galaxy S7 SMS or text messages, other issues

S7 MMS

Looking for #GalaxyS7 solutions? This post may help you. Below are some of the issues we’ve receive from our Galaxy S7 users for the past several days. We hope that the solutions we provide here can help our Android community.

  1. Galaxy S7 default Messages app randomly converts texts into MMS
  2. How to lock the Galaxy S7 screen everytime the device is locked? | Gmail and Hotmail emails all go to one inbox in Galaxy S7
  3. How to unmute a previously blocked contact in Galaxy S7
  4. Solutions to delays in sending Galaxy S7 SMS or text messages

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 default Messages app randomly converts texts into MMS

Ref: Default Messages app

At random times, my text messages are turned into MMS messages with a picture attachment. The instances of this is random. The pictures are random from my album. It doesn’t matter if I am sending to a group or an individual. However, the receiver doesn’t seem to receive the picture, just the text message, so far as I can tell. When it first happened, I was also receiving random pictures from 2 individuals in my group message where it was first noticed but the pictures were from my previously received messages from them to me and/or picture I have sent to them. One person has the iphone SE and the other has Samsung S7, same exact phone as mine.

I have cleared cache from Messages and any other messaging app I have installed and also wiped cache partition. It acted normally for couple of days but resumed random picture attachment…

Yesterday, my phone was not responsive/slow to respond from AOD screen and resumed normal operations when I wiped the cache partition couple of times. I haven’t performed a factory reset yet. I have tried to search forums for someone else maybe having the same problem, but I couldn’t find any…Please help! — MJ

Solution: Hi MJ. This is our first time to hear such a problem ourselves so it may be an isolated case. It’s good to hear that you’ve initiated wiping the cache partition as that appears to fix the issue temporarily. This means that either there’s a firmware glitch that develop after some time, leading to the issue, or that a third party app is causing a conflict with the operating system.

The first thing that we’d want you to do in this case is to boot your phone in safe mode for as long as necessary so you can observe the phone. While in safe mode, no third party apps will run so if the issue won’t occur, that suggests that you’ve installed a problematic app along the way. To restart your S7 in safe mode, follow these steps:

  • Press and hold the Power key.
  • As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  • Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
  • You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Try to leave the phone in safe mode state for at least a day so you have enough time to replicate the problem.

Another good thing to do is to uninstall third party apps you’re not using. Not only do they clutter your device’s memory but one of them is probably the reason for the issue.

If nothing appears to change while in safe mode and after uninstalling apps, consider doing a factory reset as the last resort. Doing so will address a potential problem that may be caused by a bad firmware. Restoring all software settings to default usually fixes a lot of ills.

Problem #2: How to lock the Galaxy S7 screen everytime the device is locked? | Gmail and Hotmail emails all go to one inbox in Galaxy S7

Screen lock password. Is there any way i can change this option to ask for my password everytime i lock my phone? Currently, right now, my phone will only ask for my password if i lock my phone for over 1 minute. But if i lock my phone for only 20-30sec and need to use it again, it doesn’t ask for my password and you can just access my phone right away. is there any way i can change this for more security reason? i want my phone to ask for my password everytime i lock the phone whether if its only for 20 sec or for over 1 minute.

How do i separate my Gmail emails from my Hotmail emails? Currently on my phone, i have set up both my gmail and hotmail account on here but my gmail account email always show the emails from my Hotmail account. how do i stop this? i want the Gmail account to only show emails from that account and the hotmail to only show emails from the hotmail account. i would get a notification for my gmail account that i have 4 new mails, when i click on it, it’s message from my hotmail account instead. how do i stop this? Thanks. — Kevin

Solution: Hi Kevin. We’ve decide to fuse your two issues into one in this post so we can address them together.

The answer to your first question is yes, there’s a way to do what you want. In order to force the phone to ask for your screen password right after locking the screen, go under Settings>Lock screen and security>Secure lock settings. Once you’re in this section, be sure to select “Immediately”. Alternatively, you can also enable the “Lock instantly with power key” option under Secure Lock options section to manually lock the screen using the power button.

Are you using the default email app? If no, then we try to look for options under settings of that email client to un-combine your email inboxes. The options may vary from client to client so try to find to find a way to do that.

If you’re using the stock or default email app, you’ll notice that each account is usually separated from another, though there’s still a “Combined inbox” that stores all incoming emails from multiple accounts like the ones in the image below

. We don’t think you’re using the default email app though so kindly provide us more information about the issue so we can assist you further. We need to know what exact email client/app you’re using.

As a workaround, you can also use separate app for each email account as Gmail and Hotmail have their own independent app.

Problem #3: How to unmute a previously blocked contact in Galaxy S7

In the stock text messaging app, I blocked a specific contact. The next day, I unblocked them. While their messages do go to my inbox,  I don’t receive any notifications for their texts. No sound, no icon in the top of the screen or the drop down menu. All other texts from others come through fine. I’ve checked. The contact isn’t blocked. The contact is set to have sound for all calls and texts. In the messaging app there is a “mute” symbol next to their name on the message screen.

I receive phone calls from this contact normally. I’m at a loss. I’ve tried blocking, restart, unblocking, restart. I’ve tried soft reset. Nothing has worked. — Dorothy

Solution: Hi Dorothy. There’s a simple solution to this problem. Simply follow the steps below:

  • Open the Messages app.
  • Tap on the conversation thread of the muted contact.
  • Tap on the phone number on the top left.
  • Tap enable notifications.

Problem #4: Solutions to delays in sending Galaxy S7 SMS or text messages

I have the Galaxy S7. The phone itself is maybe a few months old. I had to buy a new one because the other one lagged any time that I used it. So the phone is new. I just recently, like within the past week, noticed that I am not receiving SOME texts and sometimes people don’t ever receive the texts I send them. I’ll be texting someone and then they will send a text asking why I didn’t respond or answer their question and I’ll have no clue what they’re talking about. And I’ll be waiting hours for a reply from someone when it turns out they never got my text even though my side says that it sent. OR they will receive it hours later. For example, I sent my mother a text at 9pm one night and asked her what she was doing in the morning, and she didn’t receive it until early morning. It didn’t happen SO much at first, but now it’s happening very frequently. I’ve even tried to clear up storage space in general and delete old texts.. To sum this all up, I’m not receiving random texts and mine are not showing up on others phones sometimes, either. Thank you in advance. — Pamela

Solution: Hi Pamela. Text messaging issues like what you’re experiencing are mostly due to a transmission  error on the side of your carrier but we still recommend that you try to troubleshoot your phone first to eliminate possible issues with it.

Wipe the cache partition

The first thing that you want is to ensure that the phone’s system cache is refreshed. Simply follow the steps below on how to clear the cache partition:

  • Turn off the phone.
  • Once the phone has completely shut down, press and hold Volume, Home, and Power buttons at the same time.
  • Wait until the Samsung logo appears before releasing the Power button.
  • Once the Android logo shows up, release the two other buttons.
  • Wait for the Recovery menu to appear (may take up to a minute).
  • Go to wipe cache partition option using the Volume buttons, then press Power button to confirm.
  • Wait for the device to wipe the cache partition
  • Once the cache has been deleted, Reboot system now option will then be highlighted.
  • Press Power button again to confirm the reboot.

Wiping the cache partition forces the phone to delete the system cache and replace it with a new one over the course of time as you use the device. Sometimes, a corrupted or outdated cache can lead to app problems so it’s always good practice to keep it clean and fresh. You will have to observe the phone again for some time to see if wiping the cache partition has any positive effect.

Uninstall apps or boot the phone in safe mode

If the issue remains, the next thing you want to do is uninstall apps you’re not using. While this may not really be an accurate fix, it minimizes the chance of apps causing conflicts with the operating system which may be causing the messaging app to act up. If you don’t want to uninstall apps, simply boot your phone in safe mode for several days to observe how SMS works.

Restore settings to default via factory reset

As a final troubleshooting step that you can do on your end, consider wiping the phone by doing a factory reset. This will ensure that firmware bugs that may have developed overtime is addressed. Keep in mind that if the issue caused by an app, the problem may occur again after a factory reset. We recommend that you observe the phone for at least a day after a factory reset without installing anything. The messages app is pre-installed so you should be able to continue sending and receiving text messages even without the rest of your third party apps. Here are the steps on how to perform a factory reset:

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

Important: Performing a factory reset will erase everything on the phone’s internal storage device. Make sure that you create a copy of your personal data like photos, videos, contacts, etc., before you do it.

Contact your wireless carrier

If SMS continues to be erratic after a factory reset and without any apps, that’s an indicator that the problem is network related. Although we’ve become accustomed to thinking that SMS technology is reliable, it’s always not the case. The operators or carriers still operate SMS in best-effort support only, meaning they don’t guarantee that all text messages are transmitted properly every time. There may be some outages in your area that you’re not aware of, or the network may have some server problems affecting SMS service. Contacting your wireless carrier is a logical final step towards resolution in this case.

 

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 S6 text messages are showing in Outlook email inbox, other app issues

S6 outlook

Hello TheDroidGuy community! Welcome to another post about #GalaxyS6 app problems and solutions. We want to share today six app problems coming from some S6 users.

  1. Galaxy Samsung S6 native messaging app
  2. SwiftKey app issue in Galaxy S6
  3. LinkedIn app in Galaxy S6 creates duplicate contacts
  4. Galaxy S6 text messages are showing in Outlook email inbox
  5. Galaxy S6 freezes and Touchwiz app not working properly
  6. Kid Mode app on Galaxy S6 not working after Marshmallow 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.

 

Problem #1: Galaxy Samsung S6 native messaging app

Hi there. I recently got the Galaxy S6 and am new to the texting app Samsung uses. Under all of my texts is the time the text was sent or received, which is nice, but it also displays what kind of message it was. “text message” or “multimedia message” appears as well as the time. I was wondering if there was a way to hide or remove the kind of message from appearing under each text message. I am not finding a simple solution and am wondering if this is something I cannot control or if I will need to download a different messaging app if I would like to do this. Thank you in advance. I’m sorry if this message is a little long, just wanted to be thorough I suppose. Haha. — Victor

Solution: Hi Victor. The native Samsung texting app is designed to display the kind of message you are receiving. The app is coded this way and unfortunately, there’s no way to redesign it.

Problem #2: SwiftKey app issue in Galaxy S6

I installed the SwiftKey app on all my previous Android phones. When I put my phone into ultra power-saving mode everything goes grayscale and the keyboard goes to the  basic Samsung keyboard. (which is expected) But when I bring my phone back off of ultra power saving mode it does not go back to what I had set my default keyboard to be, which is SwiftKey. Every time and take my phone out of ultra power saving mode I have to go back into language and input settings to  change my keyboard default back to SwiftKey. I’ve tried deactivating all the other keyboards that are on there, and that doesn’t make a difference. Any ideas? — Jackie

Solution: Hi Jackie. Looks like the issue is on operating system being unable to automatically switch back to default settings. To fix that, try these three potential solutions:

Delete SwiftKey’s cache and data

Although it’s highly likely that the issue is with the operating system, we don’t think wiping the app’s cache and data won’t hurt. These are the steps:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Proceed to Applications.
  • Select Manage Applications.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Look for Swiftkey app and tap it.
  • From there, you will see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

Wipe the cache partition

Another type of cache you need deleting is the phone system cache. An outdated or corrupted system cache can lead to issues. It’s also a recommended maintenance procedure that must be done regularly. Deleting the existing cache may fix your problem. Here’s how:

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

Perform a factory reset

This procedure is the last resort. If the first two won’t change anything, doing a factory reset is your last chance. Make sure to create a backup of your personal data before proceeding.

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

Problem #3: LinkedIn app in Galaxy S6 creates duplicate contacts

LinkedIn duplicated my contacts to hundreds per person and crashed my contact. I have disabled the automatic syncing and try to delete the duplicated contacts manually (which was up to thousands!) and the contacts keep crashing halfway.

I decided to uninstall LinkedIn app and stop all syncing.

Now I can’t even access my contact because everytime I tried to go in, it will be updating contacts for the longest time and then crashed.

My storage becomes 87% filled when it was just 59% a few days ago and I did not install any other apps. Please help!! Thank you. — Lina

Solution: Hi Lina. There must be an unknown bug that triggers the Contacts app to sync and crash eventually. Deleting this app’s cache and data (steps provided above) should help you fix this issue. Keep in mind that tapping the Clear Data button will virtually uninstall Contacts app, wiping all your contacts in the process. Make sure that you have a master copy of all your contacts saved somewhere else before doing this procedure.

Problem #4: Galaxy S6 text messages are showing in Outlook email inbox

My Samsung Edge is new, so I am still trying to get things set up. I have two problems:

1) I want to share a contact, but following your tutorial, I open Contacts, select the one I want to share, go to More, and where I would expect “Share contact”, all I get is the choice between “Delete” and “Mark as default” (in between, there is even an empty line). What do I need to do to get that option back?

2) More tricky: I have 3 mail accounts that I want to get displayed on the phone, one my company’s MS Outlook, which I have working now, and the other two are Hotmail accounts. I have set each of them up and they have all at one point been working, but I can’t get all 3 (or even 2) to work at the same time so that I can switch between the mail accounts.

3) Is there a way to stop getting the texts I receive on the phone to show up in my company mail?

Your help would be greatly appreciated! — Jessy

Solution: Hi Jessy. To answer the number one question, you must first tap on the contact before tapping on more so that the Share namecard option will show up. Once you do that, there will be a list of sharing methods available for you like the following:

  • Add to OneNote: Save the information to your OneNote account.
  • Android Beam: Send the information using NFC and Android Beam.
  • Bluetooth to send the information via Bluetooth. See Bluetooth for information on pairing and sending via Bluetooth.
  • Contacts: Share files up to 1 GB using Contacts.
  • Drive to save the information to your Google Drive account.
  • Email to send the information as an email attachment. See Compose and Send Email.
  • Gmail to send the information as a Gmail attachment. See Create and Send a Gmail Message.
  • Messages to send the information in a text message. See Send a Multimedia Message (MMS).
  • OneDrive: Save the information to your OneDrive account.
  • Quick connect: Send the information to a nearby device.
  • Wi-Fi Direct to send the information to another device via Wi-Fi Direct. See Wi-Fi Direct.

If these options won’t show up, you are either using a different Contacts app, or there’s a firmware bug causing it. Make sure you wipe the Contact app’s cache and data and/or do a factory reset (steps provided above). Don’t forget to backup your contacts first before doing any of these.

We don’t get what you mean by the second concern. If not all accounts are syncing properly, make sure both account and master sync are enabled. The account sync option should be found under the email account settings menu. To turn on your phone’s master sync, just follow these steps:

  • Go to the Home screen.
  • Pull down the notification bar.
  • Tap on Edit at the top of the screen.
  • Look for Sync and tap it.

Finally, in order to prevent your text messages from showing in your email’s inbox, you have to go deep inside your Outlook’s settings. Just follow these steps:

  • Open your email app.
  • Tap the Settings button from the menu (by pressing the soft button in the bottom left part).
  • Select Account Settings.
  • Select your company email account.
  • Scroll down to the bottom and look for More Settings.
  • Scroll down and tap Sync text message option. Make sure that you leave the box unchecked.

Problem #5: Galaxy S6 freezes and Touchwiz app not working properly

I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 from Sprint. I only use it on Wi-Fi and it has given me no issues till 2 days ago. My Touchwiz  app has been acting up. I haven’t installed anything new recently. Not only has Touchwiz been giving me issues, my phone now constantly freezes up. I have uninstalled many apps as well as did a factory reset. And I’m still having the same issue. Prior to doing a factory reset i installed a different Touchwiz home app, still had same issue. Please help me as i do not know what else to do. A friend said try a hard reset but he wasn’t sure if that would fix anything. And i don’t want to waste time on something that might give me the same result.  — Matthew
Solution: Hi Matthew. Have you tried narrowing down the possible causes by doing a factory reset and observing the phone for a day without all your third party apps? If you haven’t, we suggest that you do it. It’s possible that the launcher app (Touchwiz) you are using right now is to blame. Doing a factory reset will obviously not fix the problem if you simply re-install the cause of the problem. Doing another round of factory reset and observing the phone for some time should tell if there’s a difference.

Problem #6: Kid Mode app on Galaxy S6 not working after Marshmallow update

Updated my S6 to Marshmallow  and now Kid mode is not working. I’ve deleted the icon for the old version of Zoodles my kids love and now the new icon shows up under apps. However,  if i click on it it brings me to the Play Store page with the options to open or update. Won’t open and after downloading update, i get the error code 505. Won’t install. I’ve tried to install a flash player after adding Firefox. Wiped cache partition. A bunch of things and no luck. I really want the old version and tried downloading from a couple sites and it refuses to install. Please help! Two very unhappy kids. Thanks! — Nadine

Solution: Hi Nadine. The Play Store error 505 is usually indicative of a compatibility issue. Either the app is not yet optimized to work with Android Marshmallow, or the current firmware on your phone is not official. We recommend that you contact the developer of the app to ask them for more information about this issue. You can do so by checking their contact information in their app’s installation page in Google Play Store website.

 

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. 

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.

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 S5 unable to install Snapchat, other app issues

Snapchat

Here’s another post of #GalaxyS5 app-related problems for you today. For those who are new to our site, don’t forget to visit other similar posts we published in the past.

In the meantime, these are the 7 particular topics we’re dealing in this article:

  1. Galaxy S5 unable to install Snapchat
  2. Multiple Galaxy S5 apps missing after installation
  3. Galaxy S5 apps keep freezing
  4. Galaxy S5 contacts deleted after an update
  5. How to get OTA update for AT&T Galaxy S5
  6. How to update AT&T Galaxy S5 to Lollipop
  7. Galaxy S5 date and time keeps changing

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.

 

Problem #1: Galaxy S5 unable to install Snapchat

When I click on the SnapChat app it takes me to an Internet page and says this message:  “Supported Android Devices. Snapchat supports Android 4.1 and up. For the best experience, please update your Android device to the latest firmware and download the latest version of Snapchat?.

Please note: Some Snapchatters on Samsung Galaxy devices running 5.0 Lollipop are experiencing issues on the latest version of Snapchat ?. If you are experiencing a similar issue please try updating your device and then logging into Snapchat.”

I have no updates showing on my phone and I have uninstalled it and downloaded it again and I still can’t get in the app. — Cerys

Solution: Hi Cerys. We’ve encountered this same exact issues in other Android forums so we know that this is not isolated to your device. The problem is actually coming from the app itself. We’ve been raising questions to Snapchat developer team about this but we never heard from them. Basically, the app is not compatible with some Android operating system versions like the one running on your device. This is a Samsung or Google issue but rather a problem that must be fixed by Snapchat team. We don’t recommend that you contact them as they don’t seem to care enough about this error at this time. We do hope that they can release a patch to eventually take care of the problem soon.

Problem #2: Multiple Galaxy S5 apps missing after installation

I have been using a third party app called Allvoi (VOIP app). For sometime it hangs while registering. So I decided to uninstall and then install it again. I tried doing the same. Now in Google Play Store, the app is shown as installed. But it does not appear anywhere (not in application manager also). I noticed same thing is happening with Talking Tom Cat, Yahoo Weather, CNN and WordWeb also. These apps are show as installed, but do not appear anywhere. It will be great help if you can let me know how to resolve the issue. — ParthaBorah

Solution: Hi ParthaBorah. If there are more than 2 apps showing the same problematic behavior in your phone, the issue might be coming from a corrupted system cache or firmware. To fix that, you must first wipe the cache partition and do a follow up with factory reset if nothing changes. For reference, here are the steps on how to do them:

How to wipe the cache partition of a Galaxy S5

  • Turn the phone off.
  • Press and hold the following buttons together: Power, Volume Up and Home.
  • Release the buttons once the Android system recovery menu appears.
  • Use the Volume buttons to navigate to Wipe Cache Partition option.
  • Press the Power button to confirm selection.
  • Select Reboot System Now option after deleting the cache. Wait for the phone to reboot.

How to perform a factory reset on a Galaxy S5

  • Power down the Galaxy S5.
  • Press and hold the Volume up button, the Home button, and the Power button together until you see the Android on screen.
  • Use Volume down to highlight the wipe data/factory reset option and press the Power button to select it.
  • Use Volume down again to highlight Yes – delete all user data and press Power to select it.
  • Use the Power button to select Reboot system now.
  • When the S5 restarts it should be completely wiped and ready to set up again.

Problem #3: Galaxy S5 apps keep freezing

For several months now, my lock screen has been freezing when I try to unlock my phone. The screen comes on, but the phone doesn’t recognize that I’m trying to unlock it. I originally had the fingerprint scanner but it kept freezing,  so I switched to the pattern unlock (seems worse, honestly). It tends to happen at least a couple times a day and is really frustrating. I wiped the phone cache as well as the cache partition but it didn’t help. I tried switching to the Google Now Launcher (especially because I kept getting those stupid “touch wiz home has stopped working”)  error messages.  I was also having issues with the keyboard freezing, but  that seems to have mostly resolved since I switched to SwiftKey, but is sometimes still laggy when I first start typing. I have disabled almost all of the bloatware and don’t have any sketchy apps downloaded on my phone….I have more than enough extra memory and a high quality SD card. I switched to a larger capacity SD card to see if it would help, but it didn’t . — Sarah

Solution: Hi Sarah. Slow performance issues can caused by corrupted cache or operating system. Since you have tried to delete the cache partition, we suggest you try to do a factory reset to see a difference.

Keep in mind that poorly coded third party apps can also affect how other apps work. Once you have factory reset the phone, leave it at that state for at least 24 hours (without installing third party apps) so you can further narrow down the potential causes. You also want to remove the SD card to see if that’s causing the lag as well.

Problem #4: Galaxy S5 contacts deleted after an update

I upgraded to the new update as prompted to do so and my contact list has gone. I have taken out the battery and restarted the phone, held the home screen and volume and power button ‘wiping the cache’ whilst rebooting and nothing and have also tried ‘clearing cache’ and ‘clear data’ in my contacts storage but still nothing. Please help as I have NO contacts. I don’t want to restart factory settings as I will loose everything on my phone, is there no other way? Or can I not reinstall the old update? — Cheryl

Solution: Hi Cheryl. If that update was provided by your wireless carrier, there’s no way you can downgrade the firmware unless you’re willing to root the phone prior to installing a custom ROM. Also, recovery of your contacts is out of the question unless you have them duplicated somewhere. Doing a factory reset will not bring the contacts back and will not accomplish anything other than probably clear out some minor bugs in the system.

What you can do from now on is to ensure that all your important files like photos, videos, contacts, etc are backed up in another device to prevent losing them again. Flash drives like the one in your phone or SD card are still not 100% reliable and they can become corrupted anytime. Don’t take the risk of losing your files by not duplicating them. We seldom hear an issue like yours but they do happen so moving forward, make sure that all your digital valuables are kept safe.

Problem #5: How to get OTA update for AT&T Galaxy S5

I’m writing to share with you an additional, little-known solution I found today to the Galaxy S5 not upgrading to Lollipop. I’ve seen a lot of droid users asking about this issue  & wanted to share the solution that worked for me.

I had been trying to upgrade since the release came out in October 2015, and every time I would receive an error message that either I did not have enough space or just simply ‘unable to install’. I went through numerous troubleshooting tips like clearing the cache, moving things to the SD card. None of it worked. I went to the AT&T Support Center just before Christmas and walked out after waiting in line over an hour. Every time I called support, no one was any help and some of them weren’t even aware of the issue!

Well today I decided to try again. Called AT&T and by a great stroke of luck the support guy knew exactly what I was talking about. In fact, he had the same issue with his S5 and immediately told me what to do:

It’s the sim card. If your sim card’s last digit is an 8, then it won’t let your phone update to lollipop. I didn’t ask him for specific details as to why, but he highly suggested I replace the sim card and try again. I immediately went to AT&T, got the sim card replaced, and viola! Perfect.

Just wanted to share this tid bit. Thanks! — Angela

Solution: Hi Angela. Thank you for sharing this tip. Carriers use limited server bandwidth or capacity when rolling out updates for their customers so they usually do them in batches. Scheduling schemes when updates are released vary by carriers as well and it’s good to know that a simple tip from your carrier’s technical group helped you. This scheme may change though at a later date so that other users (another batch) can avail of the updates. So we don’t see this as a permanent way to update an AT&T device because obviously not everyone can simply replace their SIM cards to something that ends with a digit “8”. We welcome this tip though. Thank you very much. We’re glad to have found an effective workaround to share to Android community. For AT&T users who can’t wait for their turn to update their device, do this.

Problem #6: How to update AT&T Galaxy S5 to Lollipop

I’m having a problem with my AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5. My operating system is quite old, and I wish to update it to 5.0 Lollipop. However, I live in Canada and use Speakout as my carrier. My phone on the other hand, is an AT&T Galaxy S5. From what I gathered on the Internet, AT&T won’t let you update unless you are on their network or at least in the US. Every time I go to the check for software update setting, it says “no update found” and “wait for 24 hours”. How can I bypass this issue? I would prefer not flashing the device, but I will if I have to. — Daniel

Solution: Hi Daniel. Your Galaxy S5 runs an Android version that can only update itself when it detects an AT&T SIM card. Of course, you also need to be connected to their network to do that so getting an over-the-air update in Canada is impossible. Your only way to get Lollipop on that device is by manually flashing it.

Problem #7: Galaxy S5 date and time keeps changing

Every time I boot this phone (which I got new under two months ago), the settings change from the date and time and time zone being provided by network to not being so. Shortly after every restart, a message pops up that brings this to my attention (though I don’t recall the exact wording of that message). I know how to change those settings back easily enough, but it also doesn’t seem like I should have to. I guess I have to admit this isn’t the biggest deal in the world…but it is annoying. Ideas? — Sonny

Solution: Hi Sonny. We’ve encountered an issue like this in other phone models before and there seems to be no pattern that we recognized as to what might be its true cause. As a workaround, try to avoid enabling “Automatic date and time” and “Automatic time zone” and manually setting date and time instead. You can also try to wipe the cache partition and do a factory reset to see if there’s a cache or firmware bug behind this annoying issue.

 

 

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. 

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.

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.

Tethering not working on Verizon Galaxy S5 when connected to another network, other issues

There are still millions of #GalaxyS5 in the wild so we’re expecting to keep receiving requests for assistance for this device. This post is one of the many articles about this device that our blog has churned out. If you can find a solution for your S5 issue here, make sure to visit the Galaxy S5 troubleshooting page.

s5

Below are the specific topics we cover in this material today:

  1. Galaxy S5 losing contacts | Galaxy S5 not sorting contacts properly
  2. Solutions to Galaxy S5 slow performance issue
  3. Tethering not working on Verizon Galaxy S5 when connected to another network
  4. Galaxy S5 Bluetooth stops working properly after Marshmallow update
  5. Galaxy S5 screen not working and remains black
  6. Refurbished Galaxy S5 stuck in T-Mobile logo screen

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page, or you can install our free app from Google Play Store.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem #1: Galaxy S5 losing contacts | Galaxy S5 not sorting contacts properly

Sir. My Samsung Galaxy S5 is randomly losing phone numbers. I don’t know how many that I have lost but I have discovered at least 10 numbers that are just missing. I can scroll thru my call log and as I reach a number it will have the contact person’s name and right in front of my eyes the name will change to “unavailable” and leave only the number.  Another quirk is, I list all of my doctors name as Dr whoever and they always show up in the directory under “D”  because I have my settings to list “first names first.”  Three of the numbers that are missing are Doctors numbers and although I still have some doctors numbers under “D” in the directory, when I add a lost Doctor’s number such as Dr Manuli or Dr Morgan, it goes under the directory listing of “M” and my settings all are still set to go with “first names first.” I am baffled as to why these issues are happening.  Thanks. — Reggie

Solution: Hi Reggie. Phone numbers and other related details are normally stored in the Contacts app so make sure that you wipe the cache and data of this app first. To do that, follow these steps:

  • Go to Settings apps and tap it.
  • Tap on Applications.
  • Tap on Application Manager and click on All section
  • Find the Contacts app and tap it.
  • You should see multiple buttons like Force Stop, Uninstall updates, Clear cache and Clear Data.
  • Tap Clear Cache.
  • Tap Clear Data.

Keep in mind that tapping on Clear Data button is the virtual equivalent of removing and re-installing the app. Make sure that you create a backup of your locally saved contacts before doing this procedure.

You can do the same exact steps if you’re using a third party app that handles your contacts.

Problem #2: Solutions to Galaxy S5 slow performance issue

Hi there! I was hoping you could help me with my Galaxy S5. I’ve had it for a little over a year, but I got it pre-owned from MobileComm, a phone store. It is an unlocked AT&T phone, but I’m using T-Mobile for service. It’s got 16GB internal and 16GB external storage. I still have a couple Gigabytes open on the internal, and 10 on the external. I’ve moved most of my apps to the SD card.

So here’s the problem. It lags out on almost all input. At least 2 seconds before it registers any touch. It also freezes and is slow on small apps, like Twitter and even FB Messenger. I can’t even use Snapchat. It’s about 20 times slower than my sister’s iPhone 6.

But games are usually okay. Like Clash of clans or a car racing game.

I reset the cache once a week, but it doesn’t seem to help. It’s gotten so slow I’ve been looking for a new phone (OnePlus 3).

What are your thoughts? Thanks! — Peter

Solution: Hi Peter. Slow performance issue on a smartphone can be due to software or hardware issues so your first task is to narrow down the cause. In Android troubleshooting, a simple rule is thumb is followed — if software solutions have been exhausted, you can assume that hardware is to blame. That said, you must focus all troubleshooting to checking for software issues.

Boot the phone to safe mode

Since you’ve been regularly cleaning the system cache, the next logical step is to see if an app is to blame. This can be done by booting your phone in safe mode. Here’s how:

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

Keep in mind that safe mode can’t tell you what particular app is being problematic. It merely shows you if one of the third party apps on the device is causing the issue. If the issue won’t occur while safe mode is enabled, you definitely need to uninstall apps until the issue is gone.

Reformat the SD card

If the issue remains even when you boot your S5 in safe mode, the next step is to reformat your SD card. A poorly optimized storage device is one of the common reasons for most slow performance issues. Since you mention that most of your apps are moved to the SD card, making sure that this storage device is working fine is paramount. Make sure to reformat the SD card via the S5 and not other devices.

Install updates

We’re assuming that you’re running official software only and that your phone is not rooted. If it’s the opposite, that is, this device is rooted and runs custom ROM, you must make sure that everything is updated. For unmodified phones, updates can be downloaded via software update notifications from your carrier as well as from Google Play Store.

Wipe the phone clean via Factory reset

Finally, if nothing appears to improve the situation, you must do a factory reset so you can eliminate existing bugs as well restore all software settings back to their known, working default state. This is also the last thing that you can do on your end. If nothing changes after you factory reset the device (and without the apps), then you can assume that the reason for the lag or slow performance is hardware in nature. You must find a way to have the phone replaced.

To factory reset your phone via hardware buttons (recovery mode), follow these steps:

  • Power down the Galaxy S5.
  • Press and hold the Volume up button, the Home button, and the Power button together until you see the Android on screen.
  • Use Volume down to highlight the wipe data/factory reset option and press the Power button to select it.
  • Use Volume down again to highlight Yes – delete all user data and press Power to select it.
  • Use the Power button to select Reboot system now.
  • When the S5 restarts it should be completely wiped and ready to set up again.

Problem #3: Tethering not working on Verizon Galaxy S5 when connected to another network

My name is Ramshad, and I own a Samsung Galaxy S5. The thing is the S5 is a Verizon CDMA 4G phone. I bought it from a friend of a friend. When I got the phone, it was in such a way that I was able to use SIM cards from other network providers in it. I don’t know how or when he did that. I use a different SIM card from a network provider on the phone, which is not from Verizon. Now, I’ll come to my question. I can’t turn on any of the tethering. Neither the USB nor the Bluetooth nor the wifi Hotspot turns on. When I turn on the the USB/Bluetooth tethering, it says “Either MDN OR ICCID is invalid.” Is there some way to make the tethering work? And I asked one of my friends, who works at a mobile phone service center, to root this phone as he did to the old Samsung S4 I had. But he said he won’t do it because there’s an 80% chance that the phone might die. The phone runs on Android 5.0. You guys think that the risk is that high? Hope I’ll get answers. Thank you. — Ramshad

Solution: Hi Ramshad. Tethering or sharing of internet connection bandwidth (usually via mobile data connection) to other devices is a value added service for most carriers.  This means that your account with your carrier must permit this service in the first place. If your current carrier does not offer this service, or if it’s not included in your subscription, tethering will not work. There’s also a chance that the device operating system itself, which still runs a Verizon firmware, may not allow it.

We are not sure if there’s a third party app that can circumvent carrier-imposed restriction for mobile data connection sharing. If there is, you may also have to root the phone before you can install it. Rooting the phone has its risks but we don’t think it will brick the phone for good. However, flashing a non-official firmware may permanently transform your phone into an expensive paperweight. If your main concern is to enable tethering, we don’t think software modification is worth the risk. Before you proceed with this procedure though, make sure that you contact your carrier (where you get the SIM card from) to confirm with them if tethering is allowed on your account.

Problem #4: Galaxy S5 Bluetooth stops working properly after Marshmallow update

First off I have tried all of the online troubleshooting solutions but none seemed to fix my Bluetooth issue on my Samsung S5. Here it is. So I upgraded to Marshmallow a few months  back. I’ve  noticed a lot of changes with my phone. Some I have grown to look over but my main issue is my bluetooth keeping switching on and off and it won’t allow me to turn it off or on. To top it off, I went to application manager to see if I can do it there but my bluetooth isn’t in application manager. It’s not there, which is strange. Needless to say my bluetooth isn’t working, cant connect because it won’t say on or off. So now I keep having the bluetooth sign flashing on and off and I can’t seems to fix it.

Also, I keep getting the message flash on the bottom of my screen “unable to download at this time.” I try all of the cached clearing and stuff and it’s still there.

Please please help me. Thanks! Looking forward for your response. (I hope this was clear enough. please feel free to respond asking me anything that can be of aid in fixing these issues.) — Sherifa

Solution: Hi Sherifa. There are four potential solutions that you can do if you encounter issues after a major Android update:

  1. wipe the cache partition
  2. factory reset.
  3. install app updates.
  4. uninstall incompatible apps

If wiping the cache partition did not help fix the problem, make sure that you follow it up with a factory reset. Once you’ve factory reset the device, observe it for a few hours so you can check how bluetooth function works. Make sure that you don’t install anything during this period. If bluetooth works fine with the clean version of Marshmallow (by the way, we are expecting that this is an official Marshmallow version, not a manually flashed one), then the problem may had been caused by a bad app or an unknown operating system glitch.

The third solution in the list says to install app updates and we mean exactly that. The goal is to ensure that ALL apps you install are compatible with Android Marshmallow. Keep in mind that incompatible apps can lead to conflicts that can manifest in all sorts of problems.

Should the bluetooth problem returns after installing your apps, do a trial-and-error identification by removing apps one by one and observing the phone.

Problem #5: Galaxy S5 screen not working and remains black

Okay, so I was on the default News/Media app on my Galaxy S5 when the app completely crashed on me. I could not do anything at all. I could not use homepage, reload, go back, etc, nothing. So I hit the power button. I didn’t hold it, I only just pressed it so the screen would go off, but phone would still be on.

That was probably a mistake as now I can’t even get back on my phone. It is just a black screen. the notification light still works, the two light buttons at the bottom still work, but there is no screen whatsoever. The phone is still on.

I’ve tried everything, I’ve plugged it into my charger again, I’ve taken both my sim card and my battery out, I’ve tried different start ups. Nothing really works, was wondering if you could potentially help. Cheers. — Ben

Solution: Hi Ben. If unplugging the battery and leaving it disconnected for at least 30 seconds did not power the phone back on, the most likely issue is a bad screen. Try to check if you can boot the phone in alternate modes. If you can do that, then the screen is not malfunctioning. However, if the issue remains even after you tried all hardware button combinations, you need to have the screen checked.

Here are the steps on how to boot your phone to other modes:

Boot in Recovery mode:

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

Boot in Download Mode:

  • Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  • Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  • When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
  • Wait until the Download screen appears.
  • 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.
  • Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

Boot in safe mode:

  • Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  • Press and hold the Power button.
  • Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  • Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  • Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Problem #6: Refurbished Galaxy S5 stuck in T-Mobile logo screen

I recently bought a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5 from Woot. I’ve only had it a few days. It has not been dropped or near water. Two days ago, I added several apps to the phone, but did not experience any problems with the phone yesterday. This morning, I got a message saying “Unfortunately, Unified Daemon…” something something (basically it’s not working). So I tried to do a Google search to look up how to fix that error. I kept getting more messages about my contacts not working and a couple other things not working.  So I decided to just reboot the phone and see if that worked. The phone turned off. When I turned it back on, however, I started to get the T-Mobile jingle, but it stopped mid-jingle, and then seemed to attempt to load up. It did this for 10 minutes, but wouldn’t go to the start screen.  I tried pushing the power button, not releasing it, so it would turn off again, but it wouldn’t.  I eventually had to take the battery out.  It did the same thing when it started up. I tried taking my memory card out and start up again. It did the same thing. Let me know if you can help. Thanks. — Cj

Solution: Hi Cj. It appears that your phone no longer boots up normally. This is a scenario that happens almost always if something goes wrong after modifying the software. We suggest that you try to go to recovery mode and wipe cache partition or do a factory reset. If that won’t work, you can also try to manually flash a stock firmware via Odin. But if this device is covered by a replacement warranty, we say the best thing that you can do right now is bring it back to the store.

 

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 S6 cannot receive SMS and MMS from newly added contacts, other issues

The Galaxy S6, released over a year ago, is one of Samsung’s most successful flagship phones. This means that millions of users around the world are still using it at this time. If you are one of these users who’s having trouble, there’s a chance that we may be able to help you with this article. If you did send us your request for assistance but are yet to see your issue published in this blog, don’t forget to continue watching for more posts in the near future.

s6

Below are the specific issues we discuss today:

  1. Galaxy S6 screen stops working due to water damage
  2. Galaxy S6 screen not working and phone won’t turn on after falling
  3. Galaxy S6 cannot receive SMS and MMS from newly added contacts
  4. Galaxy S6 multi window is stuck | Galaxy S6 back button light is not working due to water damage
  5. Galaxy S6 music app stops playing when screen is locked
  6. Galaxy S6 slow browsing issue when using Wi-Fi

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 S6 screen stops working due to water damage

i was making a call on my Samsung S6 and suddenly the screen started flickering madly until such a time as the screen went dead. i could hear messages coming in and phone calls coming in but i could not see anything on the screen as it was looking like as if it were completely off. i handed my phone in under warranty as it is only 2 months old and they sent it away. when it came back they said it had water damage even though i haven’t had it near water and been very careful and that they could do nothing with it and the warranty wouldn’t cover water damage. I’m extremely frustrated by this because it has not been near water and surely not corroded within 2 months. I’d love to know is there anything i can do with this if anything? — Sean

Solution: Hi Sean. If the attending service center confirmed that the device is water damaged (probably after checking the Liquid Damage Indicator located under the SIM card tray slot) and they won’t fix the device, then it’s up to you to it repaired. Our blog does not provide hardware troubleshooting and guides in replacing hardware components. Bring the phone to a third party shop and see if they can replace the screen assembly. Depending on the damage, screen replacement may or may not fix the issue entirely.

Problem #2: Galaxy S6 screen not working and phone won’t turn on after falling

My wife’s Galaxy S6 felt on the floor and the screen immediately becomes black, even though it rings, receive messages and LEDs keep blinks. We tried to plug at our PC to backup our archives, but the phone was locked and we had no success doing that. So while we were trying other way to do that we ended up putting it at “download mode”. At some point its battery completely dry out and after that the phone don’t turn on anymore and is not charging via TA/USB port too (yet, we intend to try wirelessly charge it but we do not have this type of charger)! So how could we restore our archives in this situation!? Any ideas? Is it possible that crash cause a broken screen and a power issue? Thanks. — Conrado

Solution: Hi Conrado. Dropping any electronic device may or may not result to significant hardware damage. If you’re lucky and no signs of abnormal behavior is observed immediately (or later) after a drop, then that device will probably survive without any problems. However, if you encounter severe issues right afterwards, then the device is obviously suffering from hardware malfunction. While hardware manufacturers like Samsung take into consideration the fact that their devices will most probably take some tumbles during their lifetime, the current crop of smartphones are not 100% resistant to ill-effects of a bad drop. If your wife’s phone no longer show a working screen or doesn’t even turn on, then the device is most probably toast at this time.

So how could we restore our archives in this situation!? This depends on whether the memory is still intact and working, and of course if you can make the phone power on in the first place. The only way to access your files is to make sure that the phone works, that means it still powers on and you can still access the software that will provide access to the memory. If you will be able to power on the phone but the screen remains unresponsive, you may still be unable to move your files because you still need to enable transfer mode. In a word, turning on the phone may not be enough if your primary end is to create a copy of your files stored in the device; you have to make sure that the screen is also working.

That said, try to call Samsung or your carrier to see if they can fix the device for a fee. You will definitely have to pay for whatever repair is needed since carriers and hardware makers will automatically void the warranty in this case. If you can’t access Samsung service center or your carrier, bring the device to a good service center.

Problem #3: Galaxy S6 cannot receive SMS and MMS from newly added contacts

I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S6 through T-Mobile, and I’ve been having an issue with the SMS. When I bought the phone, I had my contacts and information transferred to the new phone through Samsung Smart Switch, and everything worked fine. However, when I tried to add new contacts to my phone, I began encountering issues. Any new contact that I have added after receiving the phone, I am unable to send or receive SMS or MMS messages from. My third party SMS application simply crashes when I try, and the default Samsung SMS app sends whatever I tried to send into a seemingly random previous group conversation. The phone is running on android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. I attempted to start the phone in safe mode, and encountered the same issue, implying it is a problem with the operating system and not with any third-party application. — Kaylee

Solution: Hi Kaylee. The first thing you want to do here is to wipe the cache and data of contacts and SMS apps. Sometimes, imported files from a another application can corrupt the cache and data of contacts app which may result to the issue you’re having. Clearing the cache and data of the contacts and SMS app can fix the issue. Here’s how to delete an app’s cache and data:

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

Also, make sure that you wipe the phone’s cache partition afterwards just in case this cache is also corrupted. This procedure is recommended whether or not your phone has issues so it’s safe to do. Here’s how to do it:

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

Problem #4: Galaxy S6 multi window is stuck | Galaxy S6 back button light is not working due to water damage

Hi. My name is Katie. I am reaching out because I have a Samsung S6 and it has a little water damage. It was not submerged into but got a little wet from being on a boat. The phone turns on but the multi window was stuck. It was constantly running in the background. The back button light up too but does not work. I did a factory reset (holding power, volume up and home screen). I was able to reset it but when I turn the phone on the multi window and back button no longer lights up. I can’t afford to do another claim because I’ve already done one. 5 days into having my replacement it gets wet. I am not sure if anything can be done to fix my phone. Any suggestions will help. Thank you. — Katie

Solution: Hi Katie. You can’t resolve a hardware issue with software solutions. Doing things like factory reset will not fix whatever component has been damaged by water. Bring the phone to a repair shop and have it cleaned and dried. If you’re lucky, the hardware may be able to survive long enough for you to save and eventually replace this phone.

Problem #5: Galaxy S6 music app stops playing when screen is locked

Hi. I’ve updated the music app and since then there is a problem that keeps getting worse. At first the problem was that if I locked my screen the music would stop automatically. When I would unlock the screen it won’t show that the music app is running, it would be as if i had closed and stopped it. The only way to have the music playing and the screen locked was to start by keeping the music app working in the background and keeping the screen unlocked. After a few days the problem became worse. Even when I succeeded in having the screen locked and the music playing the music would stop automatically after each song and again when I unlocked the screen it didn’t appear as if the music app was running at all. I had to reopen the app in order to start playing the music again. I would very much appreciate your answer. Thank you. — Ayala

Solution: Hi Ayala. First of all, if this issue started right after updating whatever music app you’re using, then it’s logical for you to uninstall the update. To do that, follow these steps:

  • Go to Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  • Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
  • Once in there, look for the Music app and tap it.
  • Look for uninstall update button and tap it.
  • Restart the phone.
  • Check if the issue remains.

Now, if the problem stays after uninstalling the app update, do a factory reset and run the music app without installing other apps. If the issue won’t occur, that’s a sign that a third party app may be interfering with the music app’s functions. Do a trial-and-error method of identifying the bad app by installing apps individually then observing how the music app behaves. This will take time but it’s the only way to isolate the cause. To factory reset your device, follow these steps:

  • Create a backup of your important files.
  • Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
  • When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
  • Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
  • Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  • 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.
  • After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

Now, if the issue remains even after restoring the software settings to default, contact the developer of the said app for resolution.

Problem #6: Galaxy S6 slow browsing issue when using Wi-Fi

I use my Samsung Galaxy S6 EXCLUSIVELY on Wi-Fi to web browse and while my phone is unlocked (not locked to any network provider (it does contain a SIM card which is a pay as you go SIM card, but I haven’t yet put any credit on it)) my problem is that it either won’t display some web pages I go to or does so painfully slowly. Turning my phone off and on again solves the problem, until the next time that is! I know this is a problem with my Galaxy S6 because it DOESN’T happen on my Google Nexus 7 or Samsung Galaxy S2! This problem exists on all browsers on my S6 (Chrome, Opera, Firefox) and even after I did a HARD RESET! I have updated my browsers to the latest versions via Play Store. I did get a Samsung specific PHONE software update a few months ago but to NO avail! — Toptrumps61

Solution: Hi Toptrumps61. Because the slow browsing issue happens on all browsers, this may be a function of your phone’s Wi-Fi functionality. This can be due to a bad Wi-Fi chip or a software glitch. If you’re already tried to factory reset the device before contacting us, then there’s a chance that the phone is unable to load web pages normally due to malfunctioning Wi-Fi system on your phone. Most of the time, this issue can be resolved by installing an Android update, assuming you did not modify your phone’s official software in any way (if you did, you’re on your own). Since you’ve also already installed an update, we think something’s wrong with your phone’s Wi-Fi. Contact Samsung for potential repair or replacement.

 

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.

Solutions for minor issues on the new Galaxy S7 series

Galaxy S7

It’s been more than a week since the #Samsung #GalaxyS7 series was officially released but we are not expecting to receive issues from Android community this soon. Apparently some S7 users are already having some problems with the new flagship phone albeit minor ones. Below are some of the topics we cover in this post today:

  1. Galaxy S7 Edge POP3 email setup not deleting email from server
  2. Galaxy S7 Edge keyboard lag issue when using SnapChat
  3. Black screen issue after Galaxy S7 was dropped
  4. Question on how to edit Galaxy S7 contacts
  5. Facebook contacts won’t sync to Galaxy S7 phonebook
  6. Galaxy S7 stops receiving text message from some contacts

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 POP3 email setup not deleting email from server

I Recently switched over from the Galaxy S6 Edge, to the new Galaxy S7 Edge. On my S6 the below setup worked as i wanted it to, but the S7 is not doing the same.

I run a POP3 email account in Outlook while I am in the office. The POP3 is set to delete the email from the server once it is downloaded. When I am on the move, I use my S7 to check and download copies of the email from the server using POP3 and set to NEVER delete from the server. When I start Outlook again and it clears the server, the S7 doesn’t automatically clear my inbox during the next Sync. On my S6 it, in fact did do it, and i want my S7 to do the same. I want to have my S7 to automatically clear the inbox during the sync, when i have cleared the server using Outlook. I do not wish for copies of the email to be left on the phone, as cleaning the inbox manually is a bit of an irritation.

Other forums I read that people like to have copies on both platforms, but i am one of the few for it to be NOT so. Please assist? Thanks. — Willem

Solution: Hi Willem. Our email app support for all Galaxy series phones only covers initial set up and the like. We are yet to encounter a similar issue on other S7 devices so we cannot say for sure if this is isolated to your phone or not. The issue can be due to an email app or firmware bug.

Consider wiping the cache and data of the email app first to see if that will make any difference. It’s not unheard of that new app or devices may come in unrefined shape so this may be a coding issue that developers missed. Since this problem involves a specific app doing this procedure first is highly recommended. After you’ve deleted the cache and data, configure your email again. For reference, simply follow the steps below.

How to delete the cache and data on your Galaxy S7/S7 Edge

  • Go to phone Settings.
  • Tap Device tab.
  • Look for Applications and tap it.
  • Once you’re inside Applications menu, look for Applications Manager and tap it.
  • Inside Applications Manager, tap All apps.
  • Look for the email app you’re using and tap it.
  • From there, you should see  a page that list app-specific information and options. Tap Storage.
  • Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

Keep in mind that you can actually skip the Clear Cache button and simply do Clear Data to right away delete all information about the app including the cache. Tapping the Clear Data button is the virtual equivalent of uninstalling an app and doing so means you are clearing your emails, login credentials, settings, profiles, etc.

How to wipe the cache partition of Galaxy S7/S7 Edge

If deleting the email app’s cache and data won’t help, the next thing to do is to wipe the cache partition. This type of cache, also known as system cache, is one of the caches used by the device’s operating system to load apps properly and efficiently. It works differently than an app cache but it can also mess the basic functions of some apps if it’s corrupted or outdated. To clear it, just follow the steps below.

  • Turn off the phone.
  • Once the phone has completely shut down, press and hold Volume, Home, and Power buttons at the same time.
  • Wait until the Samsung logo appears before releasing the Power button.
  • Once the Android logo shows up, release the two other buttons.
  • Wait for the Recovery menu to appear (may take up to a minute).
  • Go to wipe cache partition option using the Volume buttons, then press Power button to confirm.
  • Wait for the device to wipe the cache partition
  • Once the cache has been deleted, Reboot system now option will then be highlighted.
  • Press Power button again to confirm the reboot.

If both of these procedures won’t make any difference, we recommend that you contact Samsung and/or Google so they can take a look at the problem. The email app (assuming you’re using the stock one) is developed by Samsung while Android comes from Google. Letting them know about the problem may prompt them to release a software patch in the near future.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 Edge keyboard lag issue when using SnapChat

Hi Thedroidguy. I was looking for keyboard lag problems I am having while searching for usernames in SnapChat. I then came across this site and saw that I was able to send an email. Which is great since I have not found anything online yet due to the problem I am having.

I first had a Note 4, and for some reason Swiftkey is lagging while I type in the username section. I would type 4 letters and it would take around a minute to complete this. I have now switched to the newest Galaxy S7 Edge. At first, with the normal Samsung keyboard there was no issue in SnapChat. I then reinstalled SwiftKey as it is the standard one I use. Lagging started up again, same as on the Note 4.

I then again uninstalled Swiftkey to try the Samsung keyboard again but the problem is still there. I have no clue what the problem is since I just got the phone yesterday. It has to be a Snapchat problem as the keyboard perfectly everywhere else and it even used to work last year on my Note 4 and then all of a sudden it stared lagging. I would really appreciate it if you were able to look into this as I am stuck on this now. Thanks a lot in advance for your answers. Best regards. — Roderick

Solution: Hi Roderick. With the recent release of both Android Marshmallow and the Galaxy S7 series, it is understandable that products from reputable developers may show some glitches. Because the apps don’t work as intended, we recommend that you follow our instructions for Willem above. Wiping the cache partition and caches of the apps involved may or may not fix the problem.

You can also try to restore the phone settings back to default by doing a factory reset. Simply follow these steps below:

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

Important: Performing a factory reset will erase everything on the phone’s internal storage device. Make sure that you create a copy of your personal data like photos, videos, contacts, etc., before you do it.

Problem #3: Black screen issue after Galaxy S7 was dropped

I just received my Galaxy S7 1 week ago. My luck, I dropped it flat on its back on the concrete which shattered the glass back non-removable cover. There was no other damage, not even a nick on sides. The phone didn’t turn off and still worked fine after that for a whole day.

Then all of a sudden the screen went black. Everything else worked. I read online to press Home, Power, and Volume Down all together for 10 seconds. Viola…a blue screen came on asking if I wanted to install a different OS (I’m assuming that meant operating system). I clicked no and restart. The phone powered up and has been working fine since (half a day).

Do you think the drop had something to do with the screen going black? Or is it just coincidence.  If it’s nothing to do with the drop. I don’t believe AT&T will replace a defective phone because they will say I dropped it.

Please help. Do you also know if I can get the back cover replaced? It looks horrible or I guess just get a cover.

Thank you. — Bernice

Solution: Hi Bernice. There’s no way for us to tell you with certainty if the black screen incident was due to a hardware fault after the drop or not. Like water- or liquid-damage, dropping any electronic device may or may not lead to hardware trouble. If the symptom (black screen) will happen regularly in the near future though, you can assume that there must be a hardware problem. The display assembly is sensitive and may fail after a bad fall. If you will experience the black screen issue again, make sure to have the phone checked for possible repair.

Unfortunately, your wireless carrier will definitely not honor the warranty anymore at this time so you will end up investing more bucks to repair and part replacement.

Problem #4: Question on how to edit Galaxy S7 contacts

Hi, I live in Canada and my carrier is Fido.

In contacts, in a particular contact with “Edit” enabled…when you scroll down to the bottom there is a history of the texting you’ve done with that particular contact. I’m not sure but email might also be there. Why the heck did they do this and how do I get rid of it?

Also, when I want to share for example a page from the internet or a news item for example and I click “share”…the most recent contacts that I’ve communicated with are there with their pictures and the ability to share with them. 

Well, I don’t want those contacts there…Imagine if someone was seeing someone else…texting them privately so to speak and then one morning you and your spouse are looking at your phone and they want to send something to someone and suddenly this other person’s contact face and info comes up…Not good. Please help because I can’t find anywhere to get help for this.

Thanks. — Carol

Solution: Hi Carol. Your concern is valid but there’s nothing that we can do about it as that’s how the Contacts app was designed by Samsung. Please reach out to them so they can improve or modify their product. Please visit Samsung Canada’s website for more assistance regarding the matter.

Problem #5: Facebook contacts won’t sync to Galaxy S7 phonebook

Facebook contacts not syncing to phonebook. As noted on the Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge Facebook contacts also won’t sync on the latest version of Facebook to your phonebook.

I have read that backdating to version 27 of the Facebook app and setting it up to do so on this version works, then all you have to do is update to the latest version of Facebook – however on the S7 devices Facebook cannot be uninstalled – only disabled and will not let me back date via an APK. (Upon installing an APK I get ‘App Not Installed’ despite disabling Facebook and uninstalling all updates via the app manager). Is there a way around this? Can I backdate now that Facebook is simply un-removable? Thanks for taking the time to read this, as the device is so new I think I may be one of the first to come across the issue!

All the best. — Kieran

Solution: Hi Kieran. Facebook has removed the sync ability from their product year so this is not something that you can fix on your end. Please visit this Facebook community page for more information.

If you really need to sync your Facebook contacts to your phonebook, we suggest that you use a third party app called Sync.ME from the Play Store.

Problem #6: Galaxy S7 stops receiving text message from some contacts

I got my Galaxy S7 one week ago, set it up, and everything was working fine. I had previously been using an LG Optimus Elite on a different carrier and different SIM card.

Yesterday (6 days after getting the phone), my texting suddenly stopped working correctly, and I was unable to receive texts from certain people. All of the texts I send go through fine, but out of the 20 people I asked to send me a message, only 4 or 5 of them were able to get their message through. The people I asked owned Androids, iPhones, or Windows phones, but no matter what I did, I was not able to receive texts from these people.

I noticed this first when I was texting in my group chat, and one person responded to a question that someone else asked, but I didn’t see. Of the four other people in that chat, I was only able to see one person’s texts.– Joe

Solution: Hi Joe. A texting issue like this tends to be caused by carriers involved rather than by a user’s device. Your first task is to let your own carrier know of the problem so they can check if the issue is on their end. You also have to ask your friends to check their own carrier for the same reason.

On your level, you also want to makes sure that the texting app you’re using (assuming that you are not using the stock Messages app) is not the cause of the issue. Try to boot your Galaxy S7 to safe mode and use the stock messaging app while sending and receiving text message. Keep the phone in safe mode during the observation period to know the difference. While safe mode is enabled, all third party apps are prevented from running so if any of them is the reason for the trouble, you should know it. Follow the steps below.

How to boot a Galaxy S7 in safe mode

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

If nothing changes, you can also do the rest of the software troubleshooting we mention in this post (wiping app cache and data, deleting cache partition, and factory reset).

 

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.

Slow email sync process for Galaxy S6, other app issues

S6 email

We’ve compile today some of the #Samsung #GalaxyS6 app issues shared to us by our community. Some of the questions don’t necessarily require a solution but we provide explanations nevertheless to guide other Android users.

These are the specific topics discussed in this article:

  1. Galaxy S6 contacts linking with others automatically
  2. Galaxy S6 music tracks are not being displayed in car stereo
  3. Galaxy S6 not syncing emails automatically
  4. Facebook contacts not being displayed on Galaxy S6
  5. Slow email sync process for Galaxy S6
  6. Comparison between Galaxy S5 and S6 photo shots

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.

 

Problem #1: Galaxy S6 contacts linking with others automatically

Over the past week some of my contacts are automatically linking. They are not related and I did not link them. When they are linked, only one of the names is visible so I can be calling or texting the wrong person, i.e. Brenda is embedded in Patt’s contact. Brenda has been removed from my contact list and Patt’s has her phone number and Brenda’s listed as though it belongs to Patt. If I choose the number that belongs to Brenda, it shows as Patt on my phone when calling or texting.

If I search for Brenda, the contact is not found. However, when I try to add Brenda again, I am told that she is already a contact.

Very frustrating because I don’t know who or when it will happen again. I went through my contacts and made sure none were linked and I had two random ones linked yesterday.

Any help you can give would be appreciated. Thanks. — Joyce

Solution: Hi Joyce. Have you tried deleting the cache of the Contacts app? If no, please do so. Afterwards, make sure that you also clear the phone’s cache partition. Here are the steps to do these things:

How to clear an app’s cache

  • Go to Settings.
  • Proceed to Applications.
  • Select Manage Applications.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Choose the name of the app that has been going rogue.
  • From there, you will see the Clear Cache button.

How to wipe the cache partition

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

These procedures are meant to address outdated or corrupted cache problem on either the Contacts app or the phone. If nothing happens, make sure to do a factory reset, then add the contacts again.

Problem #2: Galaxy S6 music tracks are not being displayed in car stereo

When I had my old phone (Galaxy S4) my phone could connect to my car stereo (Honda Civic) and all track list and artist details would be displayed. Following an update this was no longer the case, with the car still being able to connect and play music but no song information was displayed. I had hoped that with the purchase of my new phone (Galaxy S6) that the track list information would reappear but this is not the case. I have used the stock music played, have not downloaded any apps to do with music. I have even removed all my music and re-added it in case there was a formatting error with file names but the problem remains. — Katie

Solution: Hi Katie. The problem may be related to the Bluetooth systems running on your phone and on your car infotainment system. We’ve seen a lot of cases like yours happening and the most likely culprit is an outdated Bluetooth infotainment in vehicles. Try to call your car manufacturer or dealer and see if there’s a way for you to update the Bluetooth system in your car.

For more explanation about this topic, please refer to this post.

Problem #3: Galaxy S6 not syncing emails automatically

Dears, I have been sending you my issue for the last 10 days but without any response. Please consider responding ASAP. Below is the message sent again.

1- Email does not sync automatically. I have to manually refresh inbox for newly received messages. When sync email check box is selected, a text display saying “master sync has been disabled” (weird). When unchecked the text displayed “sync disabled” (normal).

2- Contacts is behaving irrationally. when adding a new contact, for example “Dr Sami” it should be and used to be stored under letter D. For the last 3 months it does not act this way, instead the contact saved under letter S. I am ending up now with a handful of names sorted incorrectly.

Another issue is getting duplicated contacts (2,3, or 4 accounts for the same contact). I have no idea why it behaves this way. Is it because of accessing such a contact from other apps like Whatsapp and Viber?? Some of those duplicated accounts are refusing to get deleted even.!!!

Best regards. — Walid

Solution: Hi Walid. Due to a huge volume of readers sending us their requests for assistance everyday, we can no longer post replies as fast as before. It can sometimes take days or even weeks to gather all your questions and organize them into a post. We hope that this reply still reaches you fine and is still relevant at this time.

Anyway, for your first concern, you have to make sure that your phone’s master sync feature is enabled to receive real-time emails. To do that, just follow these steps:

  • Go to the home screen.
  • Pull down the notification bar.
  • Tap on Edit at the upper right hand side.
  • Look for Sync and tap it.

For the second concern, make sure that you only select a single contact source if you don’t want to have duplicates. You can do this by opening the Contacts app, going to the menu/settings, tapping on Contacts to display.

You may also find more helpful information from this previous post.

There’s nothing that we can do regarding how your Contacts app sorts the list. As far as we know, sorting is by alphabetical order based on the first character of the contact. An update may have changed this so the best thing that you can do is to either modify the contacts list for your convenience or let the existing sorting be.

Problem #4: Facebook contacts not being displayed on Galaxy S6

I can’t sync Facebook to my contacts (for the picture). I cleared the data and the cache like your article said to do. It then said to delete Facebook and reinstall. I cannot delete Facebook. i can only delete updates from the Play Store. I had the pictures on my Note 3. Why do companies have to keep messing things up? Please help. Thanks. — Mike

Solution: Hi Mike. Android operating system  evolves and not all users agree to some changes. If you want to use the profile pictures of your Facebook contacts, make sure that Facebook as contact to display is selected under Contacts app settings. Just follow the directions provided for Walid above.

Problem #5: Slow email sync process for Galaxy S6

I noticed there is a difference in email sync behavior between my current SGS6 and SGS2. My SGS2 only download what is new in the phone and the mails are categorized by date. I find it so easy to retrieve.

However the S6 would download the new mails AND check again all emails from web inbox which already been downloaded previously. This is very annoying because it slows down the sync and displaying of the content.

The other setback of this sync method is its eats up my mobile data usage.

Is there any way to control the sync method to download only new emails and not checking old emails already been downloaded in each sync? — Ernest

Solution: Hi Ernest. Email syncing is just a replication process that ensures all devices and/or, in your case, email clients, have the same information or copies of emails. When an email arrives at your mail server, it is automatically pushed to the mail user agents (also known as email clients or in your case, smartphone). If you opened your email account in multiple devices or smartphones, the syncing process makes sure that they also download a copy of the email, especially if you configured your devices to use IMAP protocol. Thus, it is normal for the syncing process to ensure that your web inbox also downloads a copy of the emails.

We don’t know how fast you intend the sync process should be but the speed should be determined by your email and internet service providers. The issue does not have nothing to do with your Samsung Galaxy S6 phone.

Problem #6: Comparison between Galaxy S5 and S6 photo shots

I did a comparison photo shot between Galaxy S5 and S6 Edge. I found out that the S6 Edge photo outperform the S5 on the focused part of the photo but the corners are blurry. The S5 photo is stable across the whole photo. Is this because the S6 Edge has OIS which only made the focused area look better but sacrifices the rest?

I took a picture of the newspaper and the S6 Edge photo is much clearer on the focused area but the (non-focused) corner area is blurry. Although the S5 photo is not as clear or bright as the S6 Edge, I can read the news across the photo from corner to corner. — Bruce

Solution: Hi Bruce. The main purpose of Optical Image Stabilization or OIS is to allow smoother capturing of videos and pictures under low-light conditions. Longer exposures are usually needed in these situations, which means that there’s a greater chance of hand shaking when taking photos. Your phone compensates for the shaking with the use of OIS.

Hardware- and software-wise, the Galaxy S6 is superior to the S5. The S6 is equipped with Smart Optical Image Stabilization to allow captures of better pictures. It is an enhancement to an already proven system so we don’t know how it can possibly degrade the overall quality of your photos.

Another thing that makes the S6 rear camera better that that of its predecessor, the S5, is its larger aperture size of f1.9. This allows 34% more light over that of an S5’s camera. In photography, more light almost always equals to more quality photos and videos. On top of that, larger aperture also gives shallower depth of field, resulting to better output during focus shots.

 

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. 

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.

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 S4 Problem with Assigned Ring Tones

galaxy s4

“I am experiencing a problem with the assigned ringtones in my Samsung Galaxy S4. Whenever I assign a ringtone to a specific contact, it suddenly reverts back to its default tone the next day. So, I always end up repeating the whole process of assigning a specific ringtone to a contact again.”

This particular Samsung Galaxy S4 problem seems to be experienced by several users based on some forums dedicated to Android like Android Central and XDA Developers.

According to one contributor, when assigning a ringtone that is a custom audio—meaning something that you have created or downloaded somewhere—make sure that it is saved in your phone memory not on the external SD card.

When assigning a custom ringtone saved on your external memory to a particular contact, there is a tendency for the selected tone to revert back to default once you restart your phone, remove its memory card or clear your cache. So, make sure that the ringtone that you will be selecting will originate from your device’s internal memory only.

Also, make sure that the ringtone that you are assigning to your Galaxy S4 contact is not corrupted in any way to avoid issues from occurring when associating it with a contact.

When all else fails, maybe there are corrupted system files in your device which are hindering it from performing its usual functions. If that’s the case, do a Factory Reset. This will repair all your problematic system files and bring back your phone to its factory settings—like when the first time you pulled it right out of its box. Be warned though that the process will erase all your stored data too so be sure to back everything up prior to this.

Email Us Your Questions About Android Devices

If you have any questions about Android devices, feel free to email them to us at [email protected]. Please remember to put as much detail as you can when reporting an issue so we can help you come up with a more accurate solution to your problem.

Source: Android Central

Samsung Galaxy S3 Problems in Multiview, SD Card and Contacts Lag

galaxy s3 problems

galaxy s3 problems

This article will provide a quick rundown of all the questions that we usually encounter in The Droid Guy Mailbag related to Samsung Galaxy S3 problems. So far, many of these have been published in our earlier articles already. But for the benefit of new readers or those who haven’t read them yet here’s a recap:

1. How do I enable the multi-window feature of my Samsung Galaxy S3?

The article we published during the second half of 2013 about How to Enable Multiview in Samsung Galaxy S3 will definitely help you. This requires a GS3 with Android 4.1.2 or higher.

2. The SD card of my phone is not working. What should I do?

Simply apply the solutions in our article which talks about the Galaxy S4 SD Card Error Fix. If the solutions do not work, Margie (our reader) suggested using the chkdsk utility of Windows. All you have to do is follow the steps here to do it:

  • Insert SD card to computer.
  • Open Start.
  • Go to Run.
  • Type “cmd.exe” (without the quotes) and press the Enter key.
  • After that, type “chkdsk /X /F X” (with quotes omitted). Note that the last X in the line is the drive letter assigned to the disk. So, if the SD card is in the “X:\” drive, use that letter. But if another letter is assigned for the drive where the SD card is located use the appropriate letter.

3. My contacts list takes a few seconds to open up in my GS3. What should I do?

First and most importantly, check if your internal memory is already full. Leave at least 150 MB free space for it as breathing room. If that does not work go to Settings followed by Storage. Tap the Cached Data option and hit OK when a confirmation message shows up.

Send Us Your Questions about Android Devices

For more questions about Android devices, email us at [email protected].

Google Nexus 4 Tips on Assigning Ringtones and Voicemail

LG Nexus 4 Automatically Unlocks

google nexus 4

Some Google Nexus 4 users seem to have trouble finding a way to assign ringtones to specific contacts as well as looking for stored messages in the Voicemail. The reason why they are having trouble navigating their devices is probably due to the fact that they have gotten used to the interface of other devices that they used to have.

So, in this article, we will discuss how to easily assign a ringtone to a specific person in the Contact list and how to check Voicemail messages in the Google Nexus 4.

Assigning a Ringtone to a Google Nexus 4 Contact

To be able to assign a ringtone that will let you determine who is calling you, just follow the steps here:

1. Go to the Home screen.

2. Tap the All Apps icon, which is represented by six dots on a circle.

3. Open People.

4. Select the contact that you prefer.

5. Activate the Settings.

6. Choose Set Ringtone.

7. Lastly, just tap the ringtone that you wish to put.

Changing the Settings of Google Nexus 4 Voicemail

If you are somehow missing out important messages due to the settings of your Voicemail, you can easily change its configuration using the steps below:

1. From the Home screen or under the Apps screen, touch the icon with a Phone symbol.

2. Open Menu.

3. Select Settings.

4. Go to Call Settings.

5. Access Voicemail by tapping it. From there, modify the settings as you see fit.

More Questions

We hope that the tips here will help you effectively utilize your device. For more questions about the Google Nexus 4 or ideas that you wish to share to us about the topic, feel free to email us at [email protected].

Please be reminded that before sending in your questions, try to see first if we have already tackled the problem in our previous articles. You can easily look for the article that provides a discussion about the issue that you are facing through the Search Bar located on top of this page.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Contact Pictures Not Displaying

galaxy s3

Some Samsung Galaxy S3 users told us that the pictures of the people in their Contact list are not showing up in their stock SMS app. The only one that is displayed in their app is the generic icon set in default by the device.

Possible Solutions to the Samsung Galaxy S3 Contact Pictures Not Displaying Problem

Below are the possible solutions that you can apply to this particular Galaxy S3 problem. Take note though that the solutions mentioned here are only applicable for the stock messaging app of the Galaxy S3. It is not guaranteed to work on third-party messaging apps.

1. Check Sync with Facebook

If your Galaxy S3 is synced with your Facebook account, make sure that the names of the entries in your Contact list are the same with how they appear in Facebook.

2. Delete Duplicate Entries

See to it that all of your contacts do not have a duplicate copy. For best results, transfer each contact listed in your SIM card into your Phone memory. Then, delete all SIM card entries.

3. Check For Rouge Apps

Sometimes, there are certain apps that interfere with the normal operations of others. So, check if there are rouge apps running in the background of your phone by entering Safe Mode. From there, observe if the issue occurs. If the problem does not happen in Safe Mode, there are definitely rouge apps in your phone. So, try to recall the apps that you have recently added or the ones that are suspicious in nature and disable or uninstall them. Take note though that at this point, you should have tried already the two solutions shown above.

4. Factory Reset

If the problem persists even in Safe Mode, that’s the time for you to perform a Factory Reset. Be sure to back up your data before doing this though because your phone is sure to lose them.

Email Us

For more questions or insights about this Galaxy S3 problem, email us at [email protected] or hit the comment box below.

Contacts Deleted On Samsung Galaxy Note 2 After Galaxy S2 Was Stolen

galaxy-to-htc1

I have already written about ways to recover deleted contacts on Samsung Galaxy Note 2. The problem that I would like to address in this post, while it’s somewhat related, is a bit interesting. It could happen to anyone who has two Android phones.

Our reader said in his email that his contacts on the Note 2 disappeared after his other phone was stolen. He was asking if it was possible both phones were connected.

Here’s the actual email we received:

“Hi guys,

I had two phones, a Samsung Galaxy S2 and a Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

I bought the S2 first and when I got the Note 2, my wife continued using the S2. All the email accounts and most of the data were maintained.

Now last week the S2 was stolen.  And in a matter of hours all my contacts on the Note 2 disappeared too! Now the contact list shows unknown.

I would like to know how this happened. .. is there connection between the S2 being stolen and Note2 contacts disappearing?

And is there a way for me to recover my contacts again?

Regards

Baldwin”

The Connection

There was probably a connection between our reader’s Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note 2. He said that both of the phones were his so probably, he used the same Google account on both devices. All emails he received on his new phones are also received on the older one. If all syncs were turned on, both devices should have the same contacts.

So, as far as connection between the two devices is concerned, there is a high possibility both were setup with the same Google account.

Disappearing Contacts

Android was deeply integrated into Google Accounts that once setup, the users wouldn’t be asked for his credentials again. Basically, when an Android phone falls into the hand of someone who knows how to manipulate it, the account bound with the phone can easily compromised. In the case of our reader, all his contacts were lost just hours after the Galaxy S2 was allegedly stolen.

It means one thing, the person who now has possession over the device didn’t setup another account on the phone. Rather, he / she just deleted all contacts and continued using the account that was already bound with the phone.

When you create a new contact, you will be prompted where you want to save it. Two of the most common options is either “Phone only” (which means the contact will saved locally) and “Google” (meaning the contact will be integrated into the Google Account setup on the phone). Since our reader said that all his contacts were gone, it could be because they were saved via the Google account; once deleted from the other phone, they will also be delete d on the other.

How To Recover Them

The account has already been compromised but one good thing about the Android phone is that the password is never shown. So, the best advice we could give our reader is to log into the Google Account that was setup on both phones and change the password. This is one way to salvage what’s left of it.

Once the password was changed, try to go to Gmail (https://mail.google.com/) and see if the contacts are still there. If they are, you can easily export them as .csv file to the Galaxy Note 2. However, if they’ve been deleted already, there’s no way to recover them.

Moreover, by changing the password, the lost Galaxy S2 would start prompting the new owner for the credentials and would stop the syncs.

What To Do In Cases Like This

For people who may also have two Android phones with the same Google Account, here’s what you need to do in case the other device got lost:

  1. Change your password immediately. The moment you realized your phone may have been fallen on the wrong hands, secure your account immediately.
  2. Have your SIM locked. Call your carrier and report the incident and request for the blocking of your SIM. This will prevent the new owner from using the phone to make some calls or send messages.
  3. Remote wipe your phone. It is always advised you invest in security apps like Where’s My Droid or Lookout Mobile, which has an option to wipe your phone and your SD card remotely.

Having problems with your phone?

Tell us about them by emailing us at [email protected] Make sure to include as much details as possible so that we could understand the problem well and find the best solutions for you. If you can share a screenshot or two, that would be better.

We may not be able to respond to every email we receive but rest assured we do read them… yes, all of them even if some do look like spams.

Galaxy S3 Problems in Contacts and Bluetooth in Car

galaxy s3 problems

Here are a couple of Galaxy S3 issues that we came across with their respective solutions:

#1 Galaxy S3 Contacts Not Loading After Firmware Update

Some Samsung Galaxy S3 users who updated to the Android 4.1.2 firmware were complaining about their Contacts List freezing or not loading properly.

According to the Phandroid forums, simply clearing out your Contacts Storage or force closing Contacts and Contacts Storage will fix this. If the problem persists, just do a Factory Reset. A Factory Reset is always recommended for people who have updated to a much recent firmware in order to eliminate the old files left behind by the old OS which could cause glitches in some instances.

#2 Galaxy S3 Bluetooth Feature in Car Not Working Well

For Galaxy S3 users who are having problems with their voice commands when pairing their device with the Bluetooth of their cars, you can read the solutions in our previous article covering this subject.

One Galaxy S4 user also told us through Mailbag that her Galaxy S4 voice command is not functioning well when connected through Bluetooth in her 2011 Buick Enclave despite her older devices partnering well with it.

If the unpairing and car radio reset solutions mentioned in the previous article won’t work, this could be related to the Bluetooth version of the car too. It is possible that the much newer Bluetooth version of the Galaxy S4 is no longer supported by the car’s audio deck. So, one way to make it work is by updating the car’s Bluetooth version.

Email to Us Your Questions and Suggestions

I hope that the information provided here somehow helped. For more questions, write to us at [email protected] Just be detailed as much as possible in your questions so we can effectively pinpoint your problem and help you find the right solution for it.

Users who have something to contribute on the subject can also share their views and suggestions via [email protected] or on the comment box below.