Hi Guys! Due to many requests for troubleshooting instructions on how to fix connectivity issues for S4s, we decided to come up with this new series. Join us today as some of our fellow Android users share their connection issues with us. Hopefully, our solutions for Samsung Galaxy S4 Wi-Fi or mobile data connectivity problems in this edition can effectively address all of them here.

It must be remembered though that causes of connectivity problems in a Samsung Galaxy S4 may either have a firmware or hardware side. To set proper expectations, we don’t provide hardware replacement and DIY (do-it-yourself) tips and solutions other than recommend for a repair or replacement.

For software-caused problems, booting the phone in Safe Mode, deleting the cache partition, and doing a factory reset are indispensable. Here are the steps on how to do them if you are yet to try any of them.

Booting the phone in Safe mode

• Press and hold the Power button.
• Once the Samsung Galaxy S4 logo appears on the screen (assuming the phone responds to Power key press), release the Power button.
• As soon as you release the Power button, press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Continue holding the Volume Down key until the phone has completed the reboot process.
• If you can read ‘Safe Mode‘ at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down key. Otherwise, repeat the process until you can boot the phone to Safe Mode.

Deleting Galaxy S4 cache partition

• Turn the phone off completely.
• Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
• Release the Power button when the phone vibrates but continue holding on to the Volume Up and Home buttons.
• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release both the Home and Volume Up buttons.
• Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
• Press the Power button to select the option.
• The phone will automatically restart once cache data are wiped out.

Performing a Factory reset

• Turn the phone off completely.
• Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
• Release the Power button when the phone vibrates but continue holding on to the Volume Up and Home buttons.
• When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release both the Home and Volume Up buttons.
• Using the Volume Down key, highlight wipe data / factory reset.
• Press the Power button to select it.
• Using the Volume Down button again, highlight delete all user data.
• Press the Power key to select it.
• Once the reset is complete, choose Reboot system now.
• Press the Power button to restart the phone.

For a brief explanation for each of these solutions, please visit this page.

Should you have any other connectivity concerns not discussed here, please send us an email via the email link provided below.

Problem #1: Samsung Galaxy S4 unable to connect to Facebook account due to “Login failed. Try again later.” error

Hi there. I have been trying to connect my Galaxy S4 to my “sync apps with Facebook” account, but every time I connect and log in, it comes up with an error “Login failed. Try again later.” and it has been doing this for months. Any suggestions on how I could fix it? Would be a great help. Many thanks. — Brandon

Solution: Hi Brandon. This may be more of a sync issue rather than a connection-related one so try to make sure that you are able to log-in to your Facebook account in both browser and app, and that Master Sync is enabled under the notification bar. Just in case this is an app-related problem, kindly re-install all apps involved and see what happens. Let us know if these solutions will work or not.

Problem #2: Optus Samsung Galaxy S4 keeps on dropping network connection and won’t update Android

Hi. I bought an unlocked Samsung S4 online. Had it for less than a week and it won’t stay connected to my Optus network. It will register and then automatically cuts out within seconds, minutes or hours randomly.

I have tried the hard reset and tried all sorts of things now it’s just getting annoying as it’s brand new.

It’s not my SIM card as that works perfect in the cheap phone I’ve been using because my S4 was stolen and I’ve been waiting for this one to arrive and whilst trying to figure this one out and works when it registers network.

I have also tried updating as it’s currently on 4.4.2 and it says it’s updated to the latest, which I know there is another update as my old S4 (the one stolen) was on 4.4.4. Other than this issue, the phone works fine as far as i know.  Please help!!!  Thank you. — Renèe

Solution: Hi Renèe. As much as we would like to help you, the best thing that you can do is still to work the issue out with Optus. Because it’s a brand new phone, we are assuming that it’s free from any hardware ills so there’s little to nothing that you can do as a user. The problem must be coming from Optus network or your account with them. If you suspect that the replacement phone may be defective, please try inserting a different SIM card to it (if possible) and see how it works.

Intermittent mobile network problems are most likely caused by three things:

• Poor coverage in your area
• Hardware malfunction
• Software-related glitch.

Kindly perform a factory reset on your phone to eliminate possible software issue and see how it goes. This may also prompt your network  to push the latest available update for your phone.

Problem #3: Galaxy S4 Wi-Fi not working and missing 4G option

Dear Sir. In my Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505, Wi-Fi is not turning on after updating my phone and also missing 4G option in network mode. Otherwise 3G is not working when i choose WCDMA and WCDMA/GSM auto connect. Losing all network in WCDMA only. So, please reply to me faster. Thanks. — Anonymous

Solution: If these issues started appearing after updating your phone to Android Lollipop, you may want to check our previous article Why Android Lollipop Causes Problems.

Firmware update are not supposed to break hardware components like your phone’s Wi-Fi or date radios. If you can’t make them to work after following all suggested potential solutions in the link, consider getting a replacement device.

Problem #4: Galaxy S4 no longer automatically detects 4G network after updating to Lollipop

Hi. I wonder if anyone has reported this issue to you before. I recently got a push for Lollipop (Android 5) to my Samsung S4 (Verizon). I  get a 4G signal just fine, but what happens is that when I go into work, where an alternate carrier is provided (and where I don’t get a signal for Verizon) and when I get out of work, the phone is unable to locate the 4G network (it never recovers from me going into my work building, basically). The only way for me to resolve this issue seems to be to restart, which is a pain.  

This did not used to happen with the previous Android version. So it seems that Lollipop is not able to re-connect (a guess on my part) once entering a place that doesn’t have 4G network and then returning to an environment that does.

Any clues or things I could try to further troubleshoot? Any help appreciated. — Belinda

Solution: Hi Belinda. First, please follow the suggested troubleshooting solutions from Why Android Lollipop Causes Problems article. Provided that there’s no hardware issue on the device, these solutions should effectively resolve the problem.

Problem #5: Galaxy S4 does not automatically reconnect to a network after being out of coverage area for some time

This is a problem that just recently cropped up.  My office has very poor signal.  Often I can’t get a signal at all.  Normally when I walk out to a better location the signal returns. Recently when I leave work I get no connection at all. No calling and no data. Even after half an hour.  I have to reboot and then everything is fine. It only seems to happen when I’m at work and never anywhere else. — Frank

Solution: Hi Frank. Your issue may be similar to Belinda’s above. In theory, your S4 is supposed to automatically switch to whatever detected available network mode but sometimes this does not happen due to a software glitch. Try clearing the phone’s cache partition first and observe the device for a day. If that won’t help, performing a factory reset might.

Problem #6: Galaxy S4 does not detect LTE network mode

Dear. I have Samsung Galaxy S4 special edition with leather back and it also supports LTE. I bought this today. I do hard reset this phone after resetting my once show 4G with signals until I connect to Wi-Fi. When I connect to Wi-Fi then it get disabled automatically. When I turned Wi-Fi off and check LTE it only shows E.

Please help me. Thanks. — Muhammad

Solution: Hi Muhammad. Have you previously used a 4G capable SIM on this phone before? If not, try to use a different 4G SIM card first and observe it. We want to make sure that the source of the problem is not network-related before doing any firmware or app troubleshooting. Assuming that your network or SIM card works just fine, the next best thing to do is to make sure that you have selected the right network mode. Here’s how:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap Connections tab.
• Tap More networks.
• Tap Mobile networks.
• Tap Network mode.
• Select LTE/GSM/WCDMA.

Problem #7: Galaxy S4 automatically connects to other Wi-Fi networks

Hello. Recently my S4 turns Wi-Fi off and on automatically and connects to other routers and signals. I have it set to connect automatically to my own home Wi-Fi signal, but it constantly searches and connects to other signals, even though they are weaker. Thank you. Respectfully. — Jim

Solution: Hi Jim. Have you considered checking the phone’s Wi-Fi smart network switch? When enabled, this feature is supposed to automatically switch to network data connection if Wi-Fi is unstable is weak or unstable. However, there had been a few reports from some users before that their device would automatically connect to another Wi-Fi network for some reason when this feature is enabled. Try to disable this advanced feature and observe your phone for a few hours. You can do so by following these steps:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap Wi-Fi.
• Tap the Menu icon.
• Tap Advanced.
• Tap Smart network switch.

If that won’t fix the issue, boot the phone in Safe Mode and observe it for a few hours. Third party apps may be forcing Wi-Fi feature to connect to other networks. If the problem persists even when in Safe Mode, perform a factory reset to eliminate possible firmware glitch in the system.

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 contact us by email at [email protected] 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 the problem, 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.

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