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#J5

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 (2018) is blank and not responding issue

One of the common problems for any smartphone is a blank screen or not responding screen issue. In this post, we walk you through the troubleshooting steps that you can do. If you’re looking for solutions for this issue, follow our troubleshooting steps below.

Before we proceed, we want to remind you that if you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page. When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem: How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 (2018) is blank and not responding issue

Hey. My daughters Samsung J5 2018 screen has gone completely blank. I’ve followed the instructions given by yourselves but it’s staying the same. It’s vibrating and made a noise but that’s about it. Is there anything else I could try?

Solution: In order to fix this problem, you must do a number of troubleshooting steps to know where the problem lies. Since the phone vibrates, that means it’s not a No Power issue. You may be able to fix this problem on your end. Here’s what you need to do:

Forced reboot. If you haven’t tried restarting the phone yet, you should ensure that you simulate the effects of a “battery pull.” There had been many cases wherein Android has simply encountered an error when booting up. Sometimes, the entire boot up sequence gets interrupted but can go away after a system reboot. Try to do the following to see if you can fix the issue:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Charge the device. It’s possible that the battery may need topping up at this time. Make sure to allow it to charge for at least 30-60 minutes before you try to power it back on. Also, make sure to use the USB cable and adapter that came with the phone and not just any other accessory.

Calibrate Android and battery (optional). If your phone charges up fine but the problem returns after a short time, consider calibrating the battery. Here’s how:

  1. Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
  2. Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
  3. After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
  4. Restart the device.
  5. Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
  6. Repeat steps 1-5.

You can skip this troubleshooting step if your J5 (2018) fails to charge or does not appear to power back on.

Try restarting to Safe Mode. Safe Mode in Android is a different software environment that only allows third party apps to run. This is one of Samsung’s diagnostic tools in trying to figure out if a problem is due to a bad third party app. In your case, it can also be a way to see if regular Android mode is buggy causing it to fail to boot up. To boot to safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off. If you can’t turn it off normally, let the battery drain first. Once the phone is off, charge it for at least an hour. Don’t attempt to power it on while charging is not done.
  2. Then, press and hold the Power key.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key. This should be a good sign. Continue with the rest of the steps below.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

If your phone boots up to Safe Mode fine, this means that there’s either a problem with the software or with a third party app. To know if it’s a software issue, continue with hard reset or factory reset via Recovery Mode.

To identify if it’s an app issue:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your S9 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Boot to Recovery Mode. Like Safe Mode, Recovery Mode is another alternative software environment initially meant for use by Samsung engineering team only. As it became available to the general public, it has been routinely used to address a range of software problems. In Recovery Mode, Android need not run so it’s a useful tool to know if there’s any OS-level problem that prevents the system from booting up. Here’s how to boot your phone to Recovery Mode:

  1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).

If you can successfully boot your phone to Recovery and the screen works as it should, then the most likely cause of the problem is software-related. From there, proceed to these:

  1. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  2. Press Power button to select.
  3. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  4. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  5. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  6. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Get professional help. There’s only so much that you can do as an end user. Should nothing help and none of the suggestions above work, contact Samsung and let them check the hardware.

 

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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.

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How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J5 that keeps freezing and lagging [Troubleshooting Guide]

Some of our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy J5 are currently experiencing various performance-related problems such as freezing and lagging. While these issues are often a sign of a minor problem, we’ve seen cases wherein the phone started to lag and then froze before it stopped responding. So, there’s still a possibility that the freezes and lags are due to looming firmware issues.

In this post, I will tackle two similar issues. The first is about the Galaxy J5 that keeps freezing for some reason. I drafted a step-by-step troubleshooting guide below so if you own this phone and are currently experiencing the same issue, you should read the first problem.

The second one is about the J5 that lags or became so slow that it takes a very long time to do light tasks like opening apps or any other basic functions. We have to rule out each possibility until we can pinpoint what the problem is and do what we can to fix it.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that keeps freezing

Problem: I am a little bit concerned about my phone because from time to time it freezes to the point that I would have to wait a few minutes before I can use it again. My phone is a Galaxy J5 and I’m not sure if it got updated recently but I think there was an update. Anyways, it just started to freeze without apparent reason and it’s very annoying considering it already happened a few times that it froze while I was in the middle of a call and suddenly the person on the other line could not hear my voice but I could hear him. There was also a time when the phone froze while I was texting so it took me almost 5 minutes to send a two-word reply. Can you guys please suggest things I could do to make my phone work perfectly again? Thank you.

Troubleshooting: When the phone stops responding, there are always three possibilities; it might be due to an app, a firmware issue or a hardware problem. Freezing alone won’t tell us what the problem really is because we’re actually just experiencing one of the symptoms. In the case of one of our readers here, we may be able to attribute this problem to an update but then, of course, we can’t be sure of that. This is the reason why we need to troubleshoot to know what the real problem is all about. That said, here’s what I suggest you do:

Step 1: Soft reset your phone everytime it freezes

Maybe it’s just a glitch in the system or the hardware that causes your phone to freeze, so in this step, I want you to observe your phone closely and don’t do anything yet. When it freezes, remove the back cover and then pull the battery out. While the battery isn’t connected, press and hold the Power key for a minute to refresh your phone’s memory and to drain stored electricity in some of the components. After which, place the battery back in and then put back the cover. Turn the phone back on and then continue using it to see if it still freezes and if so, then you have to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Restart your Galaxy J5 in Safe mode and continue using it

We will now try to isolate the problem so that we would know if it’s caused by third-party apps or pre-installed ones. Starting your phone up in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party apps. So, if one or some of them is causing the problem, then the freezes won’t occur in safe mode. This is how you start your device in this mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

If the freezes continue while the phone is in this mode, then move on to the next step.

On the other hand, if they stopped, it confirms our suspicion that the cause of the problem is one or some of the third-party apps. We have to find the culprit and then uninstall it. Well, we might have to uninstall more than one app and reboot your phone to normal mode and back to safe mode countless times to check if the problem was indeed fixed but if that’s what it takes to get this issue sorted, then it’s worth it. This is how you uninstall an app from your J5:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 3: Wipe cache partition to replace system cache with new one

Android creates temporary files to make apps and other services run smoother the next time you use them. These files are called caches. When corrupted, they may pose a real problem when it comes to the phone’s performance and freezing, lagging, frequent crashes and reboots are just some of the things that you may encounter. We need to rule out the possibility that this problem is caused by some of the corrupt caches and this is what you have to do:

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

After this, continue observing your phone to know if it still freezes and if so, you have no other choice but to reset it.

Step 4: Backup important files and Master Reset your phone

After doing the first three steps and the problem still happens, you don’t have much of a choice but to reset your phone. However, you will lose all your files and data that’s why you need to make a backup so you can restore them after the reset. After backing up your files and data, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) or the anti-theft feature so you won’t be locked out of your device. This is how you do it:

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

After this, follow the steps below to reset your phone…

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

After the reset, don’t install anything yet but continue observing your phone to know if it still freezes and if so, then have a technician check it for you.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J5 that keeps lagging

Problem: Hi guys, I just have a question for you. What are you going to do if your phone starts lagging to the point that it becomes so annoying it takes forever to do things you used to do for a couple of seconds? My device is a Galaxy J5 and I think it was last week when I noticed that first instance that it lagged. I didn’t do anything that might harm the phone so I’m asking for your help because maybe you can help me fix it. Thank you for taking time reading this.

Troubleshooting: A phone that keeps on lagging maybe a sign that it’s running out of storage space, this will be the first thing we have to check. Then, we’ll have to rule out possibilities that it’s an app that causes the problem or a firmware issue. Go through the steps below to know what to do…

Step 1: View remaining storage space on your Galaxy J5

Any smartphone would slow down and lag if it’s running out of storage space because it has to force close other services before running new ones. Remember, apps and services may create temporary files while running so if there’s not enough space left, they couldn’t generate those files, thus, affecting their performance as well as the performance of your phone in general. Here’s how you view storage space on your device:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Storage.
  4. View the Available space value.

If the available space is below 300 MB, then you need to clear out some files to free up some space.

  • Delete unnecessary text messages (SMS) and picture messages (MMS)
  • Transfer pictures and media to a computer to remove them from the phone memory
  • Clear the browser cache, cookies, or history
  • Clear Facebook app cache
  • Manage applications
  • Delete the call logs

After doing this and the problem still occurs, it’s time to verify if it’s the third-party apps that’s causing the problem.

Step 2: Restart your device in Safe mode to disable third-party apps

It’s necessary to rule out the possibility that third-party apps play a significant role in the lagging of your phone, so do this procedure and continue using your phone with all third-party elements disabled. If the problem still continues, then they’re cleared, otherwise, you need to find the culprit and uninstall it. This is how you start your phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Step 3: Perform the Factory Reset on your Galaxy J5

Assuming the phone still lags even in safe mode, it’s clear that it’s an issue with the firmware so you have to just backup your files and data and then do the Factory reset. This will bring the phone back to its factory default settings but takes along your files with it; they will be deleted and could no longer be restored so make sure you make a backup. After which, follow these steps to reset your phone:

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

I hope this helps.

Connect with us

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

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J5 that keeps restarting [Troubleshooting Guide]

Random and frequent restarts are often a sign of a serious firmware issue and we’ve actually received a lot of messages from our readers who are seeking assistance because of this problem. We’ve seen a lot of issues like this since we started providing support to our readers in 2012. There were cases wherein it’s due to a failing hardware that the phone keeps restarting and there were also situations where third-party apps were the ones responsible for it.

So, in this article, we will try to tackle this problem again but this time, the subject of our troubleshooting would be the Samsung Galaxy J5, an entry-level device with really impressive specs for its category. We will try to look into possibilities and rule out each of them to be able to pinpoint where the problem lies. After which, we may be able to find a solution that could fix it for good and prevent it from happening again in the future. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that keeps restarting

We need to troubleshoot your phone as soon as possible so we would know if we can still bring your phone back to life or if we need a technician to take a look at it. But before we go to the steps, here’s one of the messages from our reader that best describes how this problem happens…

Problem: Hi guys. My name’s Paul from South Carolina. I have a Galaxy J5 I bought in March and since day 1 I never encountered issues with it until recently when it started to reboot itself every now and then. Well, the reboots may occur 3 or more times a day and it’s very annoying as it shuts down without a warning and it does this no matter what you do. There were already instances wherein my text messages weren’t sent because it rebooted as soon as I hit the Send button. I’ve already tried rebooting it a hundred times but it’s still restarting without any reason at all. I hope you could provide me any help. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: We will try to troubleshoot this device based on how it’s described in the problem cited above. Now, here’s what you need to do…

Step 1: Use your phone while it’s charging

The purpose of this procedure is for us to know if  your phone would still reboot even if it already has a stable power source. A failing battery may also result to this kind of problem wherein the phone can stay powered on only for a few minutes or hours and when the battery glitches, that’s when it reboots. So, plug the charger in and connect your phone, then continue using it to know if it still reboots.

If the problem doesn’t occur when the phone is plugged in, then it’s confirmed the battery is the problem. You need to buy a new one and replace the old one. I’m sure you can do that on your own since Galaxy J5 has a removable battery.

However, if the problem still occurs even if the phone is plugged in, then we have to proceed with our troubleshooting.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Safe mode and continue your observation

It is imperative that we know if this problem is caused by a third-party app or not because if so, then it would be a lot easier to fix it. At this point, you should try to reboot your phone in safe mode and continue using it while it’s in this state. All third-party apps  will be temporarily disabled so if the problem is caused by one of them, the reboot issue may not occur. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

If the phone no longer restart on its own while in this mode, then our suspicion that one of the apps you installed causes the problem is confirmed. Move on to the next step if this is the case, otherwise, jump to step 4.

Step 3: Find third-party apps that cause the problem

After confirming that third-party elements have a hand in causing this problem, then it’s time to hunt them down, clear their caches and data and then uninstall them if the problem still remains. You should begin your search from apps you installed before the problem started. I understand it would be difficult to pinpoint which app it is that’s why you have to troubleshoot one app at a time. If you have an app in mind, then you should reset it first, reboot your phone normally to confirm if the problem is fixed and if not, then you have to proceed with uninstallation.

This procedure alone may take so much time as you have to wait for the phone to reboot by itself to know if the problem got fixed or not. But here’s how you clear the cache and data of an app as well as how to uninstall one.

How to clear app cache and data on your Galaxy J5

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

How to uninstall an app from your Galaxy J5

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 4: Reboot your phone in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

Do this step if the problem still happens even if the phone is in safe mode. It’s because the issue might already be in the firmware. But instead of jumping straight to the reset, this is an important step that you should do.

What it does is delete all system caches created by the firmware and then replaces them when the phone reboots. It’s as effective as the reset when it comes to firmware issues but of course, there’s no guarantee the problem will be fixed.

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

Rebuilding the system caches will take a little more time so wait for your phone to become active and then continue using it like before to know if the problem still occurs.

Step 5: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

If all the previous procedures failed to fix the problem, then at this point you should already consider the reset. The problem might be a minor one that only reset can fix so make sure you make a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted and can no longer be restored. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset. Once you’ve done everything that needs to be done, reset your phone.

How to disable FRP on Galaxy J5

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

How to reset your Galaxy J5

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

Alternatively, you can also reset your phone via the Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

Connect with us

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

How to fix a Galaxy J5 mobile data that keeps disconnecting [troubleshooting guide]

Hello and welcome to our #GalaxyJ5 troubleshooting article. Today’s post focuses on three connection issues that commonly occurs on this device. If your J5 has connectivity issues, we suggest that you check our solutions below, even if the circumstances in your case are different.

Before we proceed, we want to remind you that if you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page. When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem #1: How to fix a Galaxy J5 mobile data that keeps disconnecting

I have a Galaxy J5. My issue is that Internet (or data) goes off and on. It’s not because of my location because it does this everywhere. An example is that this morning I was able to download an app but after an hour or 2 it stopped again. Whenever it goes off it doesn’t come back on for a while (as in, it’s off more than it’s on). When I am connected to WiFi, there are no problems. When I am just relying on my data, it won’t work. — Casey F.

Solution: Hi Casey. If you’re positive that the issue occurs even when your phone has excellent signal reception (full signal bars), these are the troubleshooting steps that you can do to resolve the issue:

Force restart your J5

The first basic troubleshooting step that you want to do in this case is to ensure that you refresh the system by restarting it. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Clear network settings

It’s possible that this problem is caused by incorrect network setting or configuration only so the next troubleshooting that you want to do is to reset all network settings. This affects both the wifi and mobile data connections so be sure that you know how to connect your J5 back to the wifi networks before you proceed. If you are using a VPN connection, this troubleshooting step will also erase your VPN information so again, you want to ensure that you know how to set it up before doing it.

To reset the network settings on your J5:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
  6. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

Reseat SIM card

Some Android users were able to find success in fixing network issues in the past by removing their SIM card. While that may sound pointless, there’s actually an explanation for it. When you remove then insert a SIM card to a device, you’re actually forcing it to reconfigure the cellular settings. In some cases, this is reason enough to fix a network bug. We don’t know if this will work in your case but there’s no harm in trying it. Basically, what you want to do is to remove the SIM card from your phone and re-insert it while the phone is ON. Once inserted, your J5 should check the current cellular settings in the background and change them if necessary.

Replace SIM card

Should re-inserting the SIM card won’t help, the next good thing to do is replace it with a new one. Although SIM cards seldom go bad under normal use, there’s still a small chance that yours may be defective. Most carriers will allow you replace the SIM card for free but if yours won’t getting a new one will not be that much anyway so go ahead with it.

Observe in safe mode

We don’t know much about your particular device’s history so there’s no way for us to say with this certainty but sometimes, bad apps do cause problems with a system. To check if you downloaded one such app, you need to run your J5 to safe mode and observe it. If cellular data connection works fine in this mode, you can assume that one of your apps is causing the problem.

Here are the steps on how to boot your phone to safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
  3. When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.
  7. Let your phone run and try to replicate the problem. If voice calling works properly, you have a bad app issue at hand.

If you think that there’s an app issue, you can try to identify it by following these steps:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your J5 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Restore all software settings to their defaults

Factory reset is your ultimate method of knowing whether or not the root of the issue is on the software side. As the name suggests, factory reset will return all software setup to their defaults. Make sure to check for the problem right after you factory reset the device to see any difference. Be sure not to install anything before you observe the phone.

To factory reset your J5:

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

What to do if factory reset fails?

Ideally, you should no longer reach this point in your troubleshooting unless nothing happens after a factory reset. If the mobile data continues to drop randomly even after you wiped the phone, there are two possible reasons for that. One is the possibility that your phone has hardware problem, and the other is there’s a network issue going on.

Both of these issues are beyond any average user’s ability to fix so you either have to call Samsung or let your network operator know of the problem. If your phone was provided by your carrier, we suggest that you contact them for support instead of going directly to Samsung. Some carriers have their own replacement program so you’re better off using that.

Problem #2: Galaxy J5 keeps disconnecting from Chromecast

My Samsung J5 keeps losing connection to Chromecast. I have connection when I restart the router. Sometimes just for a few minutes. It does not help restarting the phone only or the Chromecast only. Sometimes my Wi-Fi symbol has a little exclamation mark next to it on the right side, but my internet connection works fine all the time, regardless is the symbol is there or not. (I may have resolved this just now by forgetting and adding the Wi-Fi, but it didn’t help). I just had new internet and router installed when this issue started. Before this, I have used the same Chromecast for a year without any problems. My girlfriend’s Huawei works fine and she connects without any issues. — Troels Bovbjerg

Solution: Hi Troels. An issue like this is very complicated so there may be very little that we can do about it. The issue may lie on the router, on the Chromecast device, on your J5, or in the network in general. Based in our own experience with our Chromecast device, it may reboot by itself if it loses sync with the router or with any device casting to it. The loss of sync can be a mystery on its own as it can be a product of a lot factors. As far as Android troubleshooting is concerned, the most that can be done is a factory reset. If that won’t make any difference, then go ahead and troubleshoot your Chromecast or router.

Problem #3: Galaxy J5 won’t connect to wifi after a factory reset, J5 FRP issue

Hi! I recently bought a Samsung J5 off a guy on shpock. He told me he had done a factory reset and to call him if i had any problems. When the phone loads up, it asks you to connect to a wifi. I’ve tried connecting to the wifi but i keep getting an error message along the lines of “unable to sign in to wifi ap. An unauthorised factory reset has been performed on this device. The sign in screen cannot be accessed”. I’ve been scouring the internet to try and find a solution as the guy i brought it off isn’t answering to any of my calls or messages. You can bypass the wifi options page, which it asks for the google account that was previously synced to the device. Obviously, i don’t know the google account or password linked so cannot access the phone at all. I dont know what else to do, at £200 i really hope i haven’t been ripped off. Thanks in advance. — Owen Owen

Solution: Hi Owen. There’s no sugarcoating this but we think you really had been ripped off. Unless the original owner unlocks the phone (enters his/her Google account and password), your device is basically useless. Starting with Android Lollipop, all Samsung phones had been protected by FRP or Factory Reset Protection. FRP blocks any attempt to set the device up after a factory reset by asking for the previously associated Google account credentials. If you can’t provide the username and password, there’s no way you’ll be able to set the phone up again.

The best thing that you can do is to exert all effort to find the guy who sold you the phone and let him or her to unlock it.

 

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.

How to fix Galaxy J5 texting issue: won’t send SMS

This troubleshooting article will answer four issues regarding the #GalaxyJ5. These issues are examples of common connectivity troubles experienced by a lot of people. If you have problems sending or receiving texts, or connecting to the internet with your J5, this article might help.

Before we proceed, we want to remind you that if you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page. When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy J5 texting issue: won’t send SMS

This is a new phone and I cannot send SMS messages to anyone with either the Messages app provided by Samsung or any other app downloaded from the Play store. I could do this when I first tried (I sent a couple of hello messages which were received) but now I get a “sending failed” message and a red exclamation in the Messages app. My sim can send texts in the same location when used in another device (an iPad). I went through the checks on your pages including clearing the data and the cache. and none of them sorted the problem. I have tried powering on and off the phone, trying flight mode on off and various other tips from the internet. I can receive SMS messages from some senders but not all.  I successfully transferred all my contacts to this new phone from iCloud (my last phone was an iphone). I can send and receive emails, make and receive calls, send and receive WhatsApp so I am a bit puzzled by this annoying fault.

Solution: There are a number of possible reasons for this issue. Let’s discuss each of them and the ways to address them individually.

Deactivate iMessage

If you are using the same SIM card from your old iPhone, it’s possible that some of your incoming messages are being sent as iMessage. Because iMessage is a proprietary messaging system for Apple devices only, your text messages may not be fully using your carrier’s texting service. Make sure that you deactivate iMessage by following the steps from official Apple page.

Incorrect Message Center Number

One of the common reasons why a device fails to send a text message is an incorrect Message Center Number. To check if you have the correct MCN in your device, follow these steps:

  1. Open Samsung Messages app.
  2. Tap More settings icon at the upper right.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Tap More settings.
  5. Tap Text Message.
  6. Tap Message center.
  7. Enter the correct Message Center number. If you don’t know what your carrier’s MCN is, call your network operator and get it straight from them.

Reset Network Settings

In some cases, incorrect network configuration can cause texting issues. Be sure to clear your phone’s network settings if changing the MCN won’t make a difference.

To reset your Galaxy J5 network settings:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap General Management > Reset settings.
  3. Tap Reset Network Settings.
  4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
  5. Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

Factory reset

If the issue is not yet resolved at this point, make sure that you wipe the phone with factory reset. Doing so will return all software settings to their defaults. If the reason for the problem is software in nature, factory reset will most likely help.

To factory reset your J5:

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

Get help from your network operator

Should the issue return after wiping the phone (factory reset), you should contact your carrier for help. At this point, there’s nothing more that you can do on your device that will help. It should your carrier’s responsibility to help you troubleshoot the issue. If there’s no fault on their system, they should still be able to tell you where the problem may lie.

Problem #2: How to fix Galaxy J5 that does not make a sound (audio not working)

I have Samsung Galaxy J5. 5 months back, suddenly all sounds including audio, video, incoming, outgoing calls, notifications, ringtone got muted on my mobile. The mobile never got any accidents or issues before that. I tried to restart mobile, and even set it to factory reset as well. But nothing worked. I left the mobile for a month and just turned it on. There was a software update which had come. i updated the software version and the mobile started working perfectly. Exactly the same issue has now happened again 3 days back. I have checked there is no software update available. i tried all troubleshooting like restarting phone, going into safe mode, clearing cache but nothing worked. Can you advise what can be the issue?

Solution: The issue comes and goes so the cause is most likely software-related. It can be an app preventing your phone’s audio from working properly, or an operating system bug. To double check that it’s not a hardware problem at all, you can try to load the device’s service menu and see if the speaker works with these steps:

  1. Open your dialer or Phone app.
  2. Dial “*#0*#” (without the quotes). If nothing happens, your carrier must have disabled access to service menu.
  3. Tap Receiver. If you hear a long beep, that’s good.
  4. Tap Speaker. If your phone makes a sound, then that also means the speaker is fine.

If both tests return positive result, that’s a confirmation that hardware is fine. The problem may be coming from one of your apps or an operating system bug. In this case,we would suggest that you do another round of factory reset and use process of elimination to identify which of your apps may be to blame. You can do that by installing apps individually after a factory reset and observing how sound works every time.

If your phone won’t make any sound at all, even in service menu, that’s an indication of a hardware issue. Contact Samsung for repair or replacement.

Problem #3: Unlocked Verizon Galaxy J5 keeps losing signal on Total Wireless network

I have a Samsung Galaxy J5 that I originally purchased through Verizon.  After paying off the device, I switched to Total Wireless and am having a problem receiving text, MMS, phone calls.  When I turn my phone on I can’t receive anything until I make a call out. That seems to make the phone ‘connect’ and its good for the rest of the day.  I’ve called Total Wireless several times and they can’t figure it out. When I go to the settings > Access Point Names it says Verizon Internet and TRACFONE.VZWENTP.  when I go into that, nothing is set. No Name, no Proxy, No Port, etc, etc. I suspect this may be at least part of the problem but when I try to Edit that or Add a new Access Point, I can’t do it.  Help!

Solution: Most Samsung Galaxy devices are carrier-branded. This means that not every model has the same firmware version; each carrier develops its own firmware for their own Samsung device. In your case, the phone is originally built for Verizon so its firmware is a Verizon version. Switching to Total Wireless does not change the firmware so a Verizon Android firmware still runs in the phone even though it’s now using Total Wireless network. This is where the problem can come in. Incompatibility issues may arise due to this fact. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to determined whether or not the issue is fixable on your end or not. The most that you can do are the troubleshooting steps we provide above (for Problem #1). If nothing works and the problem remains even after a factory reset, you’re out of luck. There must be a coding issue that causes the phone to temporarily lose network connection.

Problem #4: How to fix Galaxy J5 wifi issue: won’t connect to public wifi networks

I have a Samsung Galaxy J5 which works fine, except very often having problem to connect to free Hotspots like McDonald, Loews, BestBuy etc. . It will show connected, but requires sign in. So I scroll down the top line and press the message for signing in. It will start the Internet Explorer, Chrome in my case, but will not giving the sign in page to accept the terms,  which leads relatively soon to losing the connection. Scan will find again the Hotspot, but the problem repeats with the same results. I often try to log on to i.e. www.McDonalds.com, hoping that the login page would pop up, but it does not help either. Also often when I just about to give up, the login page pups up and then it works. Could this to be a problem with the Hotspot’s server or is it my J5?

Solution: If this problem happens every time you log in to any public wifi network, then the cause is most probably just in your phone. We suggest that you try these troubleshooting step to try to fix it:

  • Clear Chrome data
  • Reset network settings
  • Factory reset

To clear Chrome app’s data, follow these steps:

 

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap your app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear Data button.
  8. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

For resetting network settings and factory reset, refer to the steps above.

 

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.

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.

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 that frequently / randomly shuts down [Troubleshooting Guide]

Power and performance related issues seem to have bugged many of Samsung Galaxy J5 owners recently and it’s not clear whether it’s because of some updates or it might be due to some issues with apps. Among the common complaints we received is the random or frequent shutting of the phone, which is very frustrating and annoying especially if it occurs while you’re doing something important.

In this post, I will tackle this issue with the J5 as the subject of the troubleshooting in order to help our readers who contacted us and asked for our help. However, there are issues that we cannot fix online such as hardware problems that may have been caused by liquid and/or physical damage. As the owner, you should know if your device suffered any of those damages because if so, you need a technician that can do further tests or check the integrity of the hardware components. But if you are sure the problem just started without apparent reason, then you better try troubleshooting it.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that shuts down randomly

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know what the problem is all about, why it occurs, what triggers the shutdowns and what needs to be done to fix it. Now, here’s one of the messages we received that best describes this issue…

“Hello. I don’t know if you have already encountered the problem wherein the phone shuts down on its own even if it’s placed on the table without any intervention from its owner. Mine is doing that it’s worrisome because I just bought it a couple of months ago and took care of it ever since. I mean, it’s the only phone I have, I just bought it and I used it for my job. I don’t want to buy another phone because this one’s new, I hope you understand my point. About the problem, well, I really don’t understand why it has to shut down without being told to do so. It’s Galaxy J5 and I bought it brand new so I’m really worried and frustrated at the same time. Can you help me please?”

Troubleshooting: The course of our troubleshooting would be to rule out the possibilities until we can pinpoint what the problem is and formulate a solution to fix it. Here’s what we suggest you do:

Step 1: Make sure your phone doesn’t have liquid / physical damage

First off, if your device got soaked in water or was dropped, then there is always a possibility that the problem is caused by either liquid or physical damage. Take the back cover off and find a rectangle sticker. If it’s white, then the phone is free from any liquid damage, otherwise, it’s confirmed the device came in contact with any liquid that may have found its way into it. In this case, you need help from a technician.

As to the physical damage, it’s pretty obvious; if the phone has some scratches or dents on the outside, then the cause of the problem is most likely physical. However, I still want you to check if the battery is loose or not because if it is, the random shutdowns may be caused by it.

If the battery snaps right into its holder though, try to check it physically for some lumps or leaks. If it has one of those, then the reason your phone is shutting down randomly is due to its faulty battery that might fail from time to time. Of course, buying a new battery would be the best solution for this.

But assuming your phone neither suffered from liquid nor physical damage, continue your troubleshooting.

Step 2: Find out if third-party apps have something to do with it

We’ve seen cases wherein the phone shuts down to a third-party app that keeps crashing and creating conflicts in the system. So, it’s possible this problem is due to one or some apps you downloaded or installed. To rule out this possibility, we need to start your phone in diagnostic state wherein all third-party elements will be temporarily disabled to find out if the problem still occurs. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

  1. Press the Power key to display power options on the screen.
  2. Touch and hold “Power off” option until “Restart to safe mode” prompt appears, then release.
  3. Tap Restart.
  4. The restart process may take up to 45 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon restart, Safe mode appears in the lower-left of the unlock/home screen.

If the problem still occurs even if the phone is already in safe mode, then it might already be a firmware issue. Otherwise, you just have to find the apps that cause the problem and uninstall them one by one until the phone won’t shut down on its own anymore. Here’s how you uninstall apps from your J5:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the application in question.
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

I know it’s easier said than done but begin your search for the culprit from your recently installed apps.

Step 3: Wipe cache partition so system caches will be replaced

Firmware updates are often the cause of corrupt and obsolete system caches but these things may also occur from time to time and when they do, performance issues are among the first to emerge. We really don’t know if this is the case with your phone but it’s a possibility that needs to be ruled out before we proceed. Follow the steps below to wipe the cache partition of your phone:

  1. Turn off your Galaxy J5.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.
  10. It will take a little longer for the phone to reboot after this procedure but wait until it reaches the home screen before using it.

If the random shutdowns continue, move on to the next step.

Step 4: Reset your phone so it will be brought back to factory default settings

We need to rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by some corrupt system files and/or data. It’s also possible that some settings are incorrect and cause conflicts in the system. So, we have to reset your phone to see if it makes a difference. But before that, make sure you create a backup of things you don’t want to lose like your contacts, pictures, videos, etc. After which, disable the anti-theft feature and proceed with the reset.

How to disable anti-theft

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

How to Master Reset Galaxy J5

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

If the problem still shows up after this, then try to see if there’s an available update for your phone and if there is, download it. Or, you may directly go to a tech and have the phone checked.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 with black screen of death issue [Troubleshooting Guide]

More often, the black screen of death (BSoD) is characterized by a blank display that’s unresponsive to touch. But aside from that, you can see that there is a blinking or pulsing light above the screen and more often it’s blue, which is a sign that you might have some unread messages or notifications.

We have received quite  a lot of reports from our readers who own Samsung Galaxy J5 units who said that their devices has these symptoms. There were also those who reported their device only have black screen but without the blinking light. It might be the same case as with BSoD but we do suggest that we troubleshoot your phone as using our troubleshooting guide for Galaxy J5 that won’t turn on.

In this post, I will walk our readers through troubleshooting their devices with the black screen of death issue. We will consider every possibility and rule them one by one until we get to the point wherein it would be a lot easier to determine what the problem really is. This way, we can try to formulate a solution that not only fixes the problem but also prevents it from happening again in the future.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J5 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J5 with black screen of death

Problem: Hi. I just found your website while trying to find a solution to the problem I have with my Galaxy J5. I hope you will help me with my problem because I’m already so worried about this phone as it won’t turn on. I mean the screen is black and the phone won’t turn on when I press the power key. But there’s blue light that keeps blinking as if I have messages I haven’t read. Is my phone still powered on? Why is it that it won’t respond? Help me please. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: You know what, we can only do so much about a phone that won’t respond so there are a few steps in this troubleshooting guide and we’re hoping that one of them could fix this issue. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Remove the battery from your phone

I understand you can see there’s blinking blue light at the top of the screen and the phone might actually still be powered up but the operating system isn’t responding. If you’ve used old computers, it’s basically the same as when the computer hangs and you’re stuck on a screen because it doesn’t respond anymore. What we usually do is unplug the power cord and then plug it back in and turn the computer on.

Since we’re dealing with a phone here, we only have to remove the battery to cut it off from its power source and then we’ll try to start your phone up again. But there’s a little more steps…

  1. Remove the back cover of your phone.
  2. Pull the battery out.
  3. Press and hold the Power key for a minute to drain stored electricity in some components.
  4. Place the battery back in and secure it with the  back cover.
  5. Turn the phone on.

If your phone actually turned on after this, then problem solved. Otherwise, try the next step.

Step 2: Charge your phone for 5 minutes

Let’s just rule out the possibility that the phone won’t turn on due to drained battery. So, connect it to its charger that’s plugged into the wall outlet that works. Leave it charging for 5 minutes regardless whether it responds immediately when you connect it or not. Be mindful, however, of its temperature. If you notice the phone heats up while charging, remove the charger immediately and at this point, don’t continue your troubleshooting. Instead, bring the phone to the shop and let the tech handle the problem for you. It seems like it’s a hardware-related problem.

However, if the phone doesn’t heat up, leave it charging for a few minutes and then attempt to turn it on. If still no, the next step might help.

Step 3: Attempt to start your phone up in Safe mode

This step is used to rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by one or some of the third-party apps you installed. You have to boot your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party elements so that you can isolate the problem immediately.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

If you’ve successfully brought your phone up to start in safe mode, then problem solved. At least you can now rest assured the problem isn’t with the hardware. Usually we suggest finding the apps that are causing the problem but that would take forever to finish especially if you already have hundreds of apps in your phone. So, I suggest you just backup your files and data and then reset your phone to fix this problem.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

Step 4: Attempt to start your phone up in Recovery mode

You only have to do this procedure if your phone didn’t boot up in safe mode. When it comes to firmware issues, your phone has a fail-safe that will allow users to actually still do some general troubleshooting procedures. That fail-safe is the Recovery Mode and even if your phone has a serious firmware problem for as long as the the firmware wasn’t tampered or modified, there’s still a chance  you can boot it up in this mode. And if successful, you can try wiping the cache partition and doing the reset.

How to start Galaxy J5 in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

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

How to start Galaxy J5 in Recovery mode and do the master reset

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

I hope this fixes the problem because if not, then seek more help from a technician.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 black screen of death [Troubleshooting Guide]

The black screen of death (BSoD) not only occurs to high-end device but also to entry-level and mid-range phones like the Samsung Galaxy J5. In fact, we have received quite a lot of complaints from our readers who have encountered this problem. That’s the reason why we have to address such issue from time to time to help out those who are in need of our help.

 

Since we started providing support in 2012, we’ve already seen devices that just froze on their own without apparent reason and more often than not, they became unresponsive that they won’t even respond when plugged in to charge. In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy J5 that has the so-called “black screen of death.” So, if you own this phone and are currently experiencing a problem that may have the same symptoms, then read on as this post may be able to help you.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that has a black screen and not responding


It is imperative that you take time to troubleshoot your phone to know if the issue can be fixed with you not asking any help from a technician. There’s nothing wrong with having your device checked by some professionals, we just want you to go through the hassle of explaining what the problem with your phone is not to mention the time you may spend waiting for your phone getting fixed without the guarantee that the problem is solved. That said, if you want to troubleshoot your device, then here’s what you should do…

Step 1: Perform the soft reset procedure by pulling the battery out

The Galaxy J5 has a user-removable battery so a soft reset is very easy to do; just remove the back cover and pull the battery out. In doing so, you are actually refreshing the phone’s memory by draining electricity stored in some of its components. But the trick here is to press and hold the Power key for a minute; this is what we call a soft reset as the memory will be refreshed without having any of your files and data deleted. Obviously, this procedure is safe so try to do this and see if the phone boots up just fine.

Assuming the problem remains, i.e. the phone still has a black screen and won’t respond, then move on to the next step as it might have something to do with the battery.

Step 2: Try charging your phone to see if it responds

I would assume at this point in our troubleshooting that you properly placed the battery back, i.e. its connectors touch those of the phone’s, because if you’re not sure, then double-check.

In this step, you just have to plug the charger (the original one with the original USB cable) to a wall outlet that works, then connect the cable to your phone. Two things are supposed to happen now; the charging icon should show on the screen and the LED indicator at the top of the screen should be lit up. If these charging signs show, then your phone is charging fine; leave it plugged in for ten minutes. After such time, attempt to turn the phone on but if it still won’t respond, move on to the next step.

On the other hand, if the phone doesn’t show the charging signs, then it means your device isn’t charging and the reason why it’s not responding is may be because there’s not enough battery left to power up its components and load its hardware. In this case, you should read our guide on how to troubleshoot the J5 that’s not charging.

Step 3: Physically check the Power key to see if it’s stuck or damaged

Assuming that the phone is charging normally but won’t respond when the Power key is pressed, then we should look into the possibility that the Power button might be stuck or damaged. When you press it, it should snap properly and you can actually feel it pushing your finger back. Such is the sign that it’s not stuck, however, checking if it’s damaged or not is the tech’s job, although you can also check it on your own but with risk of voiding your warranty.

Just try to press it many times to see if it works just like before and if it does, then move on to the next step, otherwise, you should let the tech handle the problem for you.

Step 4: Attempt to boot the phone in Safe mode

At this point, we must assume that the phone is charging fine and that the Power key is neither stuck nor damaged yet the phone refuses to turn on and still has the black screen of death. The next thing that you should do is try to see if the device can boot up successfully in safe mode because if it does, then it’s obvious that the cause of the problem is a third-party app or some of them may have crashed and caused the system to fail. You have to find those apps and uninstall them one by one starting from ones you installed when the problem first occurred. Here’s how you uninstall an app from the J5:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the application in question.
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If you’ve already installed a lot of apps on your phone and it’s difficult to find the culprit, then it would be easier and a lot quicker to just backup your files and data while you’re in safe mode and then do the reset.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

You may then restore your files and data after this.

On the other hand, if the phone cannot boot up in safe mode, then move on to the next step.

Step 5: Attempt to boot your phone in recovery mode

This is the last resort. If the phone cannot reach the Android system recovery screen, then you should have a tech fix the problem for you. However, if it has successfully booted up in this mode, then there are a couple of things you can do to try and fix the problem; first, you can try wiping the cache partition, which deletes and replaces all system caches and second, you can do the Master reset, which reformats both the cache and data partitions. Here are the steps on how to boot in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition:

  1. Turn off your Galaxy J5.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.
  10. It will take a little longer for the phone to reboot after this procedure but wait until it reaches the home screen before using it.

And here are the steps on  how to do the master reset:

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

Again, if the phone cannot boot in recovery mode, let the tech handle the problem for you.

Connect with us

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

What to do when your Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) shows “An error has occurred while updating the device software” [Troubleshooting Guide]

There is an error that only shows when you’re trying to update the firmware of your phone and it says, “An error has occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency recovery function in the Smart Switch PC software.” This error may show up the moment you update your phone or it may occur halfway through. The point is that it’s difficult to determine the reason why your phone cannot continue updating its firmware but this problem can easily be fixed.

In this post, we will tackle this problem with the Samsung Galaxy J5 being the subject of our troubleshooting. We will try to look into every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can fix the problem. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered this problem so we already know a thing or two that would work and allow your phone to continue updating. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently bugged by the same issue, then continue reading below as this article may help you.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J5 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J5 that shows an error while updating the firmware

Problem: Hi guys. I am hoping you can help me with my problem. I have a Galaxy J5 phone and just recently there was a notification saying that there is an update available. So I downloaded it, followed on-screen instructions carefully but halfway through the update process, an error showed up saying that an error occurred while trying to update the software. Now, it’s stuck on that screen and won’t start properly. Can this still be fixed? Thanks.

Troubleshooting: There are three potential solutions to this problem and those are the things I want to show you in this post. When this problem occurs, it’s clear that your phone is experiencing some kind of firmware-related issue since it only shows up when you try to update your phone and it doesn’t show all the time. Now, here are the things you can do about it…

Solution 1: Use Smart Switch to restore your phone’s firmware

For this method, you will need a computer to run Smart Switch. What it does is actually restore your phone’s firmware if there’s no available update but if there is, the program will automatically update the phone. Here’s the step-by-step guide to help you how to restore your phone’s firmware using Smart Switch:

  1. If you haven’t installed Smart Switch yet, get it from here.
  2. After downloading the file, install it to your computer.
  3. After the installation, open the program.
  4. Now connect your phone to your computer using the original USB cable.
  5. Click MORE on the upper-right portion of the Smart Switch interface and choose  ‘Emergency software recovery and initialization.’
  6. On the next screen, click ‘Device initialization’ tab.
  7. Now, you will need to enter your phone’s model number and then hit Search.
  8. You will now be prompted to enter the serial number which can also be found in the box.
  9. After you’ve entered the serial number, hit OK.
  10. You will be prompted again about the initialization process, so hit OK to confirm.
  11. Let Smart Switch do its job and all you gotta do is wait until the initialization is finished and don’t unplug the cable from your phone.
  12. You will be prompted when the initialization is finished. Your phone will be restarted by the Smart Switch and you can actually see the progress bar moving on your phone’s display.
  13. Unplug the cable the moment the screen turns black or when the logo is displayed and allow the phone to boot up successfully until it reaches the setup screen and that’s pretty much it.

Your phone should now be running the new firmware but downside is that all your files and data that are stored in your phone’s internal storage should have been deleted and there’s no way around this. However, if the error showed up before or shortly after the download started, then the next method might help you fix the problem without compromising your files.

Solution 2: Delete the system caches

You may still be able to boot your phone in Recovery mode even if this kind of error shows up shortly after you started the update process. In which case, the problem might be due to some corrupt caches and if you can get rid of those files, then your phone may start normally and you can try to update its firmware again.

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

If the problem is due to some corrupt caches, then your phone should be able to boot up normally now that you’ve already wiped the cache partition. If there’s an available updated, you just have to try to download it again to see if it goes through this time.

Solution 3: Master reset your phone via Recovery mode

You should do this if the second solution didn’t work or if you don’t have a computer you could use to update your phone. I understand you already tried updating your phone but got stuck on the error and you can no longer use the phone to backup your data and files. So, at this point, you really don’t have much of a choice but to reset your phone.

For failed updates, files that were downloaded will be deleted together with your personal files and data. After the reset, you can then try to download the update again and there’s always a higher probability the update will become successful after the reset. So follow these steps to reset your phone:

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

After the reset, don’t install anything on your phone yet, instead, try to update it to the new version of Android so that you don’t have to backup your data and files.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 that’s stuck in bootloop [Troubleshooting Guide]

We’ve been receiving complaints from our readers recently about their Samsung Galaxy J5 that reportedly entered the boot loop and can’t get out of it. Boot loops are actually firmware issues but there have been cases wherein third-party apps and services caused the device not to boot up successfully. There have also been situations wherein a technical problem caused the phone to keep restarting.

So, in this post, I will tackle this issues once again with the Galaxy J5 being the subject of our troubleshooting. We will look into possible causes and rule out each one of them until we can pinpoint what the problem is all about. If you own this device and are currently having issues booting up, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that’s stuck in bootloop

We always want to help our readers especially those who are reaching out to us for assistance. While we don’t suggest procedures that can potentially damage the phone, things might happen while you’re troubleshooting so please proceed with caution and at your own risk. Now, before we jump to our troubleshooting steps, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this problem…

Problem: I own the Galaxy J5 and it has a problem booting up. It cannot continue turning on to the home screen like it used to but it keeps restarting. It turns on, shows the logo, show a black screen, vibrate and then turns on again. The cycle never ends until the battery is drained. I don’t know what to do about it so if you could help me, that would be great. I’m thinking of going to a shop but I’ll give it a shot with you guys. The problem, by the way, started about two days ago. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Based on our experience, getting stuck in bootloop is a minor problem and can easily be fixed by basic troubleshooting procedures unless you tried to modify the firmware, which is a different story. But assuming you didn’t attempt to root or modify the operating system, then here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: Verify the Power key is not stuck

As what our reader said in his message, the phone turns on, shows the logo, then the black screen and followed by  a vibration. It’s sign that the phone tries to boot up but turns off just before it reaches the home screen. With this behavior, we can say that the problem might be with the power key. It might be stuck for some reason and that might be the cause why the phone is in boot loop. In which case, your device won’t respond when you press and hold the Power key.

To try to fix this, press and release the power key for several times until the loop is broken and your phone finally boots up successfully. If, however, the Power key doesn’t snap when you press it and it doesn’t appear to be stuck, then it might be damaged. You will need a technician to fix it for you if this the case.

Step 2: Charge your phone to see if the phone still restarts

Just plug it in to see if it still reboots even with a stable power source. If the problem is fixed, then the battery might be the problem. In this case, remove the battery and physically inspect it for lumps and leaks. If you see something unusual, discard the battery and buy a new one or you may consult a technician about it. However, if everything looks perfectly normal, place the battery back in and make sure it’s fit in properly and secured by the back cover. Move on to the next step…

Step 3: Attempt to boot your phone in safe mode

We know that the phone isn’t booting up successfully in normal mode so we need to try to boot it in safe mode to see if it can. As I said earlier, it’s possible that one or some of the apps is causing the problem so we have to isolate it to know if it’s a third-party or a built-in one.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Step 4: Uninstall suspected apps

Assuming your J5 successfully booted up in safe mode, it means that third-party apps have something to do with it. You need to find those apps and then clear their caches and data. If that won’t work then you have to uninstall them one by one until the phone can successfully boot up in normal mode.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy J5

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

How to uninstall an app from your Galaxy J5

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If finding the culprits and uninstalling them seems a lot of work, then you can try backing up your file and data while in safe mode and then just reset your phone:

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

If the phone failed to boot in safe mode, then you have no other choice but to move on to the next step.

Step 5: Attempt to boot in recovery mode

Booting in recovery mode should be the last thing you have to do before you send the phone in for repair in necessary. If successful, you can do a couple of things that might just fix the problem. The first one is to wipe the cache partition which replaces all system caches and the second procedure is a reset, which brings your phone back to its original configuration. Here’s how you boot your phone in recovery mode and wipe cache partition:

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

And this is how you boot your phone in recovery mode and do the master reset…

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

I hope this helps.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 that keeps showing “Camera failed” warning [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Warning: Camera failed” with your Samsung Galaxy J5 is referring to the camera that may have failed to initialize when  you opened the app. The other variation of this problem is the “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error. The latter often refers to the Camera app that crashed for some reason while the former might have something to do with the hardware–the camera sensor itself.

You see, when you open the camera app, all other services needed to make everything work well will initialize together with the sensor. When you tap the capture button on the screen, everything should work perfectly and in sync to have the best result. All of this happens within a second but when something won’t work the way it should, that’s when an error message may occur and it should be either of the two I mentioned above.

In this article, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Samsung Galaxy J5 with the “Camera failed” error. We have to consider every possible factor that may have contributed to the development of this problem. We also have to rule out each possibility until we can positively point out what the issue really is so that we can formulate a solution that might fix the problem for good.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J5 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

Problem 1: Galaxy J5 popping up “Camera failed” error when camera is opened

“My phone is a Galaxy J5. I used to take pictures everyday using this phone but I can no longer do that because every time I try to open the camera, the warning message “Camera failed” always greets me. All I can do is hit OK and the message goes away only to pop up again when I try to open the camera. I don’t know how it happened but it just happened. I need your help to fix my phone. Thank you and more power to your blog!”

Troubleshooting: Regardless of the model and specifications of your phone, the camera has the most complicated process. Imagine, the app, the firmware and the sensor would have to work in perfect timing to give you the best results when you try to capture pictures or record videos. The error message “Camera failed” is often a hardware-related error but there have been cases wherein it’s triggered by some apps and firmware issues. So, we have to really troubleshoot your phone to be able to know what the real problem is and whether or not it can be fixed. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Reboot your Galaxy J5 in Safe mode and open camera

We have to rule out the possibility that an app is causing the problem first. So, we need to reboot your phone in Safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. These applications are those you downloaded from the Play Store or manually installed. Pre-installed apps work in perfect harmony most of the time so there’s a big chance it’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem…if and only if the problem is indeed caused by an app. So, here’s how you start your phone in safe mode (diagnostic state):

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

While in this state, try to open the camera to know if the warning message would still show up. If so, then skip your troubleshooting to step 3, otherwise, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Find, reset and uninstall apps that have something to do with the problem

Assuming you can take pictures normally while your phone is in diagnostic state, you should take time finding the app that might have something to do with the issue. If you’ve already an app in mind, reset it first and then uninstall it if the problem persists.

Here’s how you reset an app on your Galaxy J5…

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

You may have to boot your phone up in normal mode and try opening camera to know if the problem still remains because if so, then proceed with the uninstallation of the suspected app…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

You may have to uninstall more than one app but always try to go after the apps that have something to do with the Camera and the Gallery.

Step 3: Reset the Camera app itself

Apparently, it’s the camera app that has a problem so after the first two steps and the error remains, then you have to go after the app that has an issue. The best thing to do is reset it so it will be brought back to its default settings…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap Camera in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display built-in apps.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache.
  8. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Step 4: Reboot in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

When the cache that have something to do with the camera is corrupt and the system uses it, issues like this may happen. So after doing the first few procedures above and the error didn’t go away, it’s time to delete all system caches so they will be replaced. You can do so by booting up your phone in Recovery Mode and wiping the cache partition:

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

Once the phone becomes active, open the Camera. If the error still shows up, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Step 5: Backup files and data then reset your phone

This is the last procedure you need to do. After this, you can already tell if the problem has something to do with the firmware or the hardware. So, before anything else, make sure you backup your important files and data as they will be deleted during the reset and can no longer be restored.

After you’ve made a backup of your important files and data, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your phone after the reset. Here’s how…

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

After disabling FRP, follow these steps to reset your phone:

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

Step 6: Bring the phone to the shop and let the tech handle the problem

After the reset and the error message still shows up, then the problem has something to do with a failing hardware or it could be a serious firmware issue that needs operating system to be reinstalled. You need a technician to do it for you so the warranty won’t be voided.

Problem 2: “Camera failed” error shows up when taking pictures

“Hello guys. There is this error message that keeps showing up whenever I take pictures using the camera of my phone. The error says ‘Camera failed’ and it only shows when I hit the capture button. I can still open the camera and view pictures but whenever I hit the capture button, that’s when this error shows up. Has it something to do with the firmware or is it the hardware that has some issues? Please let me know. Thanks.”

Troubleshooting: That’s a good question, actually, and my answer will be a little bit of both; it might have something to do with the firmware and the hardware. As you said, the error only shows up when the capture button is tapped, my theories are that some of the services that camera is using aren’t functioning well or the sensor itself fails by the time you capture a picture. So, based on these theories, here’s what I suggest you do:

Step 1: Clear cache and data of the Camera

Well, it’s the problem with the camera so we have to begin our troubleshooting with the app. We just have to reset it to see if it has something to do with its cache, data and settings. By clearing its cache and data, you’re bringing the app back to its default settings:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap Camera in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display built-in apps.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache.
  8. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

If the error still shows up after doing this, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Take pictures while the phone is in safe mode

This is to find out if one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. Booting in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party elements and services so you can tell immediately if they have something to do with the problem…

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Take some pictures while in this mode and if you can take some without being greeted by the error, then do follow the second step in the first problem; you have to find the apps that are causing the problem and uninstall them.

However, if the error still shows up while in this mode, then you must proceed with the reset.

Step 3: Reset your Galaxy J5

Backup your files, pictures, music, videos and anything you don’t want to lose and after which, reset your phone so it will be brought back to its default settings.

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

I hope this helps.

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J5 that started heating up or overheating after an update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Some of our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy J5 received an update for their phone and a few of them complained about overheating. According to them, their phones started to heat up even to the point that the phone overheats shortly after an update. Is this problem caused by the update or is it just a coincidence that started to show up after the update?

We will try to look into this problem in this post with the Galaxy J5 being the subject of our troubleshooting. Let’s consider every possibility including the chance that the update may have caused the phone to overheat after it was installed. We will rule out every possibility until we can pinpoint what the problem really is and what needs to be done to fix it. So, if you own this phone and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J5 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

How to troubleshoot a Galaxy J5 that’s overheating after an update

We have encountered overheating issues that were caused by apps as well as firmware problems. There were also those that were caused by hardware faults so just by reading the description sent by one of our readers below, we can’t determine what the problem really is or what really caused it.

Problem: Hi. I have a Galaxy J5 that I bought brand new in 2016 and since then it worked without a flaw but recently I received a notification about an update. It was downloaded and installed on my  phone and shortly after that, my phone seemed to have started heating up to the point that it’s not already comfortable holding it in my hands. I know for a fact it’s not its normal performance but I don’t know what to do about it. Please help me. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Now that you know how this problem occurs to other users, here are the things we suggest you do to try to fix the problem…

Step 1: Reboot your phone in Safe mode to know if it overheats in that state

It is imperative you do this procedure as it immediately eliminates the possibility that the problem is caused by one or some of the apps you installed. Assuming there’s an app that’s creating a lot of conflicts in the system, then phone should not overheat while in safe mode because all third-party elements are temporarily disabled in this environment.

Here’s how you restart your J5 in Safe mode…

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Either the phone still heats up or not in this mode so if the problem persists even while in this state, then move on to the next step, otherwise, find the app that’s causing the problem and do appropriate measures to fix the problem. Here are some of the things you can do about it…

Update apps that are installed on your Galaxy J5

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

Clear app cache and data on your Galaxy J5

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

Uninstall apps from your Galaxy J5 that cause the problem

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 2: Turn off your phone and charge it to see if it heats up

It’s a very simple procedure but very important in determining whether the overheating issue only occurs when the phone is powered on or if it also happens even when the device is turned off. Please note that overheating issues may be caused by hardware problems which may include the battery and other components. If your phone still heats up even if it’s turned off, then as early as now, you should bring your phone to a shop or send it in so the tech can fix it for you. However, if the phone only heats up when powered on, then there’s still a chance the problem is only with the firmware.

Step 3: Reboot in Recovery mode and wipe the cache partition

You only have to do this if the phone overheats only when powered on, then try to delete all the system caches so they’ll be replaced. It’s possible some of those files got corrupted for some reason that’s why you need to delete them so that they’ll be replaced. Here’s how you do it:

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

If the phone is still overheating after this procedure, then do the next step.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and reset your Galaxy J5

This is your last resort to rule out the possibility that the cause of the overheating is a firmware issue. You have to do this prior to bringing your phone to a shop and let a tech fix the problem. As I said earlier, we’ve encountered cases of overheating that were caused by a firmware problem that’s why it’s necessary to do this. Aside from the fact that this could fix the problem, it’s also a preparatory procedure to delete all your personal information before letting a third-party to take a look at your phone. The catch is that all your files and data saved in the phone’s internal storage will be deleted so you need to make a backup of things you don’t want to lose. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset.

How to disable the Factory Reset Protection on Galaxy J5

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

How to reset your Galaxy J5

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

You can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

If the phone is still overheating after the reset, then it’s time you brought the phone to a shop and let the phone be fixed by a tech.

Connect with us

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