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Samsung Galaxy S5 apps move back to phone storage after being updated, Facebook app problems, other app related issues

In this post, I will tackle several app related problems with the Samsung Galaxy S5 (#Samsung #GalaxyS5) including the issue wherein apps are moved back to the phone’s internal storage after they are updated. It started happening after the #Android 5.0 Lollipop update so apparently, Samsung developers changed a lot of things in the firmware. While it’s not really a serious problem, it’s very annoying to move those apps back to the microSD card after the update.

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Facebook-Problems

I also included some Facebook issues including the freezes that some users encountered, the error -504, proxy error 400, unable to update the timeline and news feed, etc. Facebook is a company and there is a department that makes sure its app is duly updated and compatible with the latest Android version. So, some of these problems could be in the phone, the system itself, the Play Store or triggered by other apps.

Read on to learn more about the problems I cited here and how to fix them. If, however, you are looking for a solution to a different problem, then visit our Galaxy S5 troubleshooting page where we list down every issue we address each week. We already addressed thousands of problems from our readers so odds are your problems have already been addressed before or there are similar issues. Try to use the existing solutions and if they don’t work for you, then fill up this form to contact us.

Here are the problems I covered here…

 

Apps are moved back to internal storage after being updated

Problem: Hi, I installed an SD card on my phone awhile ago and it works perfectly. I transferred all the apps to the card but my problem is that every time the apps are updated they move back to the phone’s storage. So I have to sit and transfer them all back again. I hope you can help me with this problem. Regards, Camilla.

Answer: This issue didn’t happen to S3 and S4 and it definitely started happening on the S5 after the Lollipop update. It’s a sign that Samsung and Google are steering away from external storage devices. In fact, almost all smartphones released this year don’t have expansion slots anymore.

I understand how annoying it is to move back every app that’s being updated to the microSD card but it’s not really a problem because apparently, they can be moved back without issues. Samsung designed the new firmware to work this way and there’s not much we can do about it. I know third-party developers and modders have a way around this issue but their workaround are for users who are willing to get their devices rooted or the firmware tampered.

Questions on caches and miscellaneous files

Questions: Apps I move to my SD card get moved back to device storage after an update – anything to do about this? Can I just delete Cached data – a kid at Best Buy said to just clear this for more memory.  What about Miscellaneous files? Takes us a huge amount of memory, what does it store, can it be cleared? Thanks, hope this is not repeated questions, I have searched through your list of S5 problems. 

Answer: As to your first concern, I already answered it in the first problem and there’s nothing we can do about it unless you’re willing to get your phone rooted.

Caches are files created by the system itself to make apps run smoother the next time you run them. You can delete these files at will without the risk of losing important data or files. After all, the system will create just new caches after a reboot or after an app is run. Yes, you can clear up some space but there’s not much as it’s the data that uses more storage space. You don’t want to mess with these files as you may delete some important contents. For example, if you cleared the data of the Contacts and Contact Storage services, you may end up deleting all contacts saved in your phone and once deleted, it is almost impossible to retrieve them.

The miscellaneous files can be deleted, too. But the thing is, we don’t know for sure what the contents of those files are. You may lose some important data if you decided to clear them up.

You know, the best thing to do to free up some space in your phone is to backup every important file and data and then do the master reset. The procedure will delete all settings, files, caches and data that are stored in the phone’s internal storage.

How to do master reset on Galaxy S5

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Facebook app freezes while being used

Problem: Facebook app continually freezes when browsing. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled numerous times, tried older apk versions, cleared cache and data, reset phone, etc. Not sure if it’s been since the lollipop upgrade, could be that or the app is dud as I don’t have problems with anything else freezing. Thanks in advance and for the great service you provide.

Troubleshooting: If you recently updated your phone or noticed that it started after a recent update, then it must be the firmware. As you said, you already tried sideloading previous versions of Facebook to no avail so it must be an issue with the system.

If you have sufficient knowledge to reinstall or reflash the firmware, then I suggest you do that to see if it makes a difference. Otherwise, find someone or a tech who can reinstall the OS. If the problem persists, it’s wise to revert to the previous Android version or use a custom ROM.

Facebook, as a company, has developers and engineers that handle the app to make sure it’s compatible with the latest Android version. That is sufficient enough to assume it’s not an issue with the app.

Game apps crashes on Galaxy S5 after an update

Problem: Hello, I have Galaxy S5 and it is updated to 5.0 lollipop. I am not able to play any game on it especially Gameloft games. When I download games and while opening it says “Unfortunately app has stopped working.” I have tried everything reset, cleared data and wiped cache but it still have same problem. Please help me I’m in a great problem. Thank you.

Troubleshooting: Does it happen to other apps as well? If it occurs only when you open a game app, then it must have something to do with the data. I understand you already did almost everything you can think of to fix the problem to no avail but I ask you to try to do the master reset and try to download one game and don’t restore backed up data to see if that makes a difference. If the problem doesn’t occur, then it must be something to do with the synced data. Do the same for other apps.

However, if the problem happens to all Gameloft games only, then it’s time you reported this problem to the developer especially if other apps work normally.

Gallery doesn’t pop up when uploading pictures

Problem: I sell on etsy so I use their app a lot to list my products.  All of a sudden when I try to upload a picture,  my gallery no longer pops ups. Only camera and documents? I have tried a soft reset and it’s not working.  I really need my gallery to pop up. Please help.

Troubleshooting: The way I see it is that default apps have been changed in your phone that’s why the Gallery app no longer pops up when it’s time for you to choose pictures to upload to the web. In this case, all you have to do is reset app preferences to make all stock apps the default apps.

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe to the All screen.
  5. Tap the Menu key.
  6. Choose Reset app preferences.

Facebook news feed won’t load with mobile data

Problem: I can get on Facebook with Wi-Fi but I cannot use Facebook with the data service .  I get on all my other apps (gmail etc.) with my data service only Facebook won’t work. Messenger works with data but not the news feed. I would like your help with this. Thank you.

Troubleshooting: Apparently it’s the problem with the Facebook app as all others work. I happen to encounter this kind of problem before and there’s no need of fancy troubleshooting procedures to fix this. Just clearing the cache and the data will fix the issues. So please follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Proceed to Applications.
  3. Select Manage Applications.
  4. Tap the All tab.
  5. Choose Facebook.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then OK.

Facebook shows “HTTP proxy status 400”

Problem: I downloaded the updated version of my Facebook app this morning and since then everytime I try to login it says, “Login failed. Check connection or try again. HTTP proxy status 400” Please help me. And all my other apps and data is working.

Troubleshooting: This error is the same as the 400 bad request on Windows computers. If you recently edited your APN, then it try to clear the entries in the proxy and port fields. Or, you can simply tap the Reset to Defaults button and restart your phone. It works every time, try it.

Galaxy S5 can’t install an app from the Play Store

Problem: Trying to download app from Vance & Hines for my motorcycle. It’s called FP3 fuelpak. it comes up in playstore but when installing it just runs and runs with out completing. Tried soft reboot of phone and same results. Tried several times allowing at least 10 min time and same results……just keeps trying to install but will not accept. Thanks, Rene.

Troubleshooting: Hello Rene. Make sure no apps are being updated at the time of the download. You may also try clearing the cache and data of the Download Manager service and download the app again. Lastly, if the problem persists, clear the cache and data of the Play Store, remove your Google account and set it up again. It usually works.

Related Problem: Can’t download anything from the Google Play Store. There’s a line moving when I click on install, but no download arrow showing on my phone screen. Please advise. This has been going on for over a week. — Belinda

Play Store shows error -504 while updating Facebook

Problem: Every day, “My Apps” reminds me that an update is available for Facebook. The download is always successful, but the installation always fails. It tells me that the error code is 504, but it doesn’t tell me what that means, or what the next step is. I called Google Playstore, and they haven’t a clue what error code 504 means. Can you please help me.

Troubleshooting: While it’s not a common problem, many actually reported it and it’s not just exclusive to Galaxy S5 units. That said, there are several procedures that can fix this problem based on reports from people who experienced it.

The first is to turn the internet connect off and back on. So, if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, just turn off Wi-Fi for a minute and turn it back on. Do the same if you’re using mobile data. After that, open the Play Store, go to My Apps and update Facebook.

Secondly, if the first procedure failed, clear the cache and data of FB app and then uninstall it. Reboot your phone and try to download the latest Facebook version from the Play Store. This time you are not updating the app but installing a fresh copy.

Should the first and second procedures failed, the next thing you should try is to remove your Google account, reboot your phone, setup the account again and try to update the app.

Lastly, clear the cache and data of the Google Play Store and Google Services Framework.

TouchWiz keeps popping up after changing some settings

Problem: All of a sudden Touchwiz keeps popping up! I can’t get it to go away! I may have inadvertently change a setting or deleted something that is affecting this? I’ve had the phone for 2 years and never seem this before…UGH! Can you help? I want my old home screen back…permanently. Thanks. Also not sure of Android version, sorry.”

Troubleshooting: If only the TouchWiz error pops up, then it must be just a problem exclusive to the TouchWiz service. In this case, clearing the cache and data will work.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Proceed to Applications.
  3. Select Manage Applications.
  4. Tap the All tab.
  5. Choose TouchWiz.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then OK.

Or, you can just backup all your data and do the master reset.

Facebook app crashes when using Yahoo Mail to login

Problem: So like many others I’ve had a problem with Facebook, but I think I’ve figured out why, just not how to fix it. The Facebook I use is through my yahoo mail. When I use this to log in it just crashes. If I use an old Facebook with a Gmail email account it works. So the issue is it’ll let me use the app with my Gmail Facebook but not my yahoo. The question is, why, and how to fix?! Regards, Craig.

Answer: Hi Craig. I’m not quite sure if this is connected to Yahoo’s efforts to reform the company and its services. I know a couple of friends who still use Yahoo Mail to login to Facebook without having any issues. I understand why you just can’t abandon your Yahoo account but if it gives you such a problem and if it’s really important for you to use Facebook, then I suggest you use your Gmail account.

We really can’t provider proper resolution to this problem since we don’t know if it’s a Facebook problem or Yahoo’s.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Problems After Android 5.0 Lollipop Update and How To Fix Them [Part 28]

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Problems-28

For the past 3 days, we’ve been receiving a lot of emails from Samsung Galaxy S5 owners especially who recently updated their phones to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Among the most common are issues about the WiFi that keeps disconnecting / reconnecting and faster battery drain. While these problems seem unrelated, they actually are and they can be fixed by a simple procedure, which I also included in this post.

This post is a continuation of our popular running series that deals with problems, errors and glitches of Galaxy S5. We’ve already addressed more than 300 problems/questions, so if you have issues with your phone, feel free to visit our Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting page and try the solutions or troubleshooting procedures we provided to our readers. If you can find your issue from the list or if the solutions didn’t work for you, contact us at [email protected] and provide all necessary details including the behavior of the phone and what troubleshooting steps you did. You may also post on our Facebook wall and/or Google+ page and we’ll be happy to get back to you as soon as we can.

O2 Galaxy S5 Keeps Disconnecting From WiFi After Update

Problem: Hi there, I am in the UK on O2 network. Random problems started last Friday Feb. 6th – my phone kept connecting and disconnecting with WiFi causing high data usage, when data usage should have been zero as I was at home, where I have an excellent Wifi set up. Whatever this issue was, it meant my phone wouldn’t charge properly as long as I had internet connection, taking 12 hours to charge from dead to a mere 63% and battery was draining too fast when not connected to charger.   I had to either switch phone off or put it in Airplane mode to successfully charge.

Yesterday, Feb 11th my phone tried to install updated Software – it took 3 attempts at downloading and installing, then kept freezing……Once I managed to force a restart my phone is showing it now has Android version 5 (Lollipop?) but the colours of various applications have changed and cannot be altered. One example is the message screen now has a bright orange band at the top of message list. Why???? It’s too bright and off putting. Any ideas? Kind regards, Linda.

Troubleshooting: Hi Linda. The disconnecting / reconnecting to mobile data is due to a feature called Smart Network Switch. As the name implies, the phone will automatically switch between networks (i.e. WiFi and mobile data) if it detects one is absent or has low signal. This problem plagued users who recently updated their phones so I’m a bit surprised you were experiencing this prior to the update. But anyway, the solution to the problem is as follows:

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap WiFi.
  4. Untick the checkbox next to Smart network switch.

As to the new appearances of some icons in your phone due to Lollipop update, we really can’t do anything about it since that’s how Samsung designed them.

Galaxy S5 Active Cannot Send/Recieve MMS

Problem: Hi, I saw your email on the Internet and I could really use your help. My samsung s5 active has been having problems since I did the most recent update. First I noticed I can not send or receive any picture messages and when I do it says my mobile data is turned off. I then went to turn it back on when I found that it was already on. Messing around mote trying to figure it out I found that my Internet does not work at all unless I an connected to wifi. I am with att and I’m not over my data usage nor do I think they mind charging if I did go over. Can you please tell me how to fix this. Thank you, Jessica.

Troubleshooting: Hi Jessica. If mobile data is already turned on yet the phone still couldn’t connect to the network, then the problem must be in the APN setting. This is just a bunch of letters and numbers that you will enter in your phone so it could successfully connect to the network. There are several information on AT&T’s APN online but to make sure you got the correct one, call AT&T tech support and ask for it. Then ask the rep to walk you through setting it up in your phone.

Galaxy S5 Won’t Boot Up, Flashes the Screen and Vibrates

Problem: Hello, my Galaxy S5 I have had since mid August and it turned itself off since I got it and now will not turn on. It flashed the screen upon holding down the power button vibrated at the same time, but yet didn’t complete it’s start to boot. It did this last night. My Wifi was turning itself off and on ad would not stay on. I do not know what to do with it at the moment and need it as I cannot afford to buy another one. Thank you, Ms. Berard.

Troubleshooting: Hi, Ms. Berard! I think the problem is just a stuck power key, although, there’s also a chance the switch has been damaged. To address that, remove the battery and then press the Power button many times. If it were stuck, doing so will fix it. If not, then you really have to let a tech check on it.

Once the first problem was fixed, this is what you’re going to do in order to have a stable WiFi connection:

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap WiFi.
  4. Untick the checkbox next to Smart network switch.

Apps Won’t Install on Galaxy S5

Problem: Hi. It’s been a week now and I still haven’t installed any app yet on my phone. I don’t know what happened but all of a sudden all the apps just said “installing” but its not moving. My phone is Galaxy S5 and I am from Philippines. Thank you. Best regards, Maricar.

Troubleshooting: Hi Maricar. I feel sorry for you having to experience this hassle on a brand new phone. It’s a week old phone, I think your provider would consider replacing it with a brand new unit. A new phone should not act that way. If you felt like troubleshooting the problem, though, try this:

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  5. Scroll to and tap Download manager.
  6. Tap Clear cache button.
  7. Tap Clear data button, then OK.
  8. Reboot the phone.
  9. Try to download an app.

If the problem remained, I suggest you factory reset it. Yes, I know it’s new but that’s the good thing about new phones, they don’t contain that many data yet.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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 and the problem still exists, bring it back to your provider and have it replaced.

Galaxy S5 Heated Up and Won’t Power On After

Problem: Hi, thanks for the site. Four days ago, I charged my S5 and completely forgot about it. An hour later, I felt the upper part of it was very hot. It’s completely dead. I suspected that my battery could have been overcharged. I took it out and tried on another S5, it worked just fine. I just want my phone to start up again. Please help. — Veronica

Troubleshooting: Hi Veronica! First off, there’s no such thing as “overcharging” in today’s smartphones; they’ll automatically stop charging once the charging IC detects the battery already had enough current to fill its cells. You tested the battery on another phone and it worked, right? So, swipe aside the thought that your battery may have been overcharged and damaged.

But honestly, I don’t know what caused the problem but let’s try to take the safest route in our troubleshooting. The first this I want you to do is soft reset it

  1. Remove the battery.
  2. Press and hold the Power key for a minute.
  3. Place the battery back in.
  4. Attempt to turn the phone on.

Most of the time this procedure will fix any minor firmware and hardware glitches. If, however, it failed, then focus on finding out if the phone can still manage to power up in other modes. Try to boot it up in safe mode first:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ 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 safe mode boot up was successful, then the hardware is safe. Just try booting normally and that should do it, otherwise, try booting it in recovery mode:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.

If all these procedures failed to power up the phone, then bring it to a technician and have it checked.

Galaxy S5 Screen Burning Out

Problem: Hey, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and lately when I have my brightness really low (ultimately trying to save battery life) the screen has been acting as if the light is about to completely burn out. Tonight my phone got to 5% and automatically dimmed but this time it looked like it was going crazy the screen started to get bright and dark like a light bulb before it blows, luckily when I plug it in or turn up the brightness it stops acting like its broke, but why is it doing this is it a defect in this particular galaxy or is my phone just dumb? — Trynady

Troubleshooting: It’s not the first time I heard of this problem. In fact, I already encountered two issues wherein the light sensor was damaged. So, if this problem can’t be fixed by simple troubleshooting, you really have to send the phone in for repair. The first troubleshooting procedure you need to follow is this:

  1. Swipe your finger from the top of the screen to the bottom to open the Notification Panel.
  2. The display brightness bar is shown below the Quick Panel shortcuts.
  3. Touch Auto to turn off Automatic brightness. (Please note that Automatic brightness allows the phone to automatically adjust brightness based on the remaining battery charge.)

If this procedure didn’t fix the problem, I suggest you backup your data and perform full hard reset to rule out the possibility that it’s just a firmware issue:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Galaxy S5 Gallery Never Worked Since

Problem: Hello, I have learned a lot on your website, and I really appreciate your sharing what you know and all the time and effort that has been put into it. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find anything regarding the problem I have had since I got my new S5 at Christmas. Since I got the phone, the Gallery app refuses to open. I just get a black screen, and it is hard to go back to ‘home.’ I have searched the internet, and stopped at my local AT&T store, but the best advice I have gotten is to take it to the AT&T tech guys in town, which would be quite a trip for me. I am hoping that you can offer some advice and save me a trip into downtown Houston. — Dawn

Troubleshooting: The problem, while it may be minor, is rare. Honestly, I never encountered a problem wherein the Gallery won’t run since day 1. The first thing I want you to follow, Dawn, is to clear the cache and data of the Gallery app:

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  5. Scroll to and tap Gallery.
  6. Tap Clear cache button.
  7. Tap Clear data button, then OK.
  8. Reboot the phone.
  9. Try to download an app.

If you already have photos in your phone, don’t worry they’ll remain intact if you did this procedure. In case the problem remained after you cleared both the cache and the data, boot the phone in safe mode and open the Gallery from there:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ 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.

Lastly, if the problem persisted even in safe mode, hard reset the phone to give it a fresh start and to see if the problem could be fixed by doing so. Otherwise, it’s a firmware issue and you really need to have your provider’s tech check on it.

Text Message Won’t Pop Up After Lollipop Update

Problem: I upgraded my phone yesterday and now I’m unable to get my text message windows to pop up while in other apps. Now I have to go into the text app itself. Before upgrade I could receive my text messages in the pop up window regardless if I had my phone on silent or vibrate. Now I can only receive them in the pop up window if my phone is on ring or vibrate. I went into the Text app notification settings and checked the pop up window box but nothing is working. I hope you can help. Best Regards, Amanda.

Troubleshooting: Hi Amanda, please clear the cache and data of the messaging app to see if that makes a difference. There have been a lot of reports about this problem shortly after an update and that simple troubleshooting procedure fixed many.

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  5. Scroll to and tap the messaging app.
  6. Tap Clear cache button.
  7. Tap Clear data button, then OK.

If, however, the problem remained, factory reset the phone but don’t forget to backup all your data first.

Email Photos Won’t Show After Update

Problem: I have a Galaxy S5 with Verizon, I just did the update yesterday. There’s been a few things I’ve learned to tweak with to figure it out but one I can’t seem to manage is the email content. This is in the email app, not the Gmail app. If its text, it’s shown. If it’s something from, for example, Coldstone or Togos, with an ad or coupon, nothing shows up. There is no picture, nothing. I’ve tried looking for a setting to show html content, like it had been before the update, but no such luck. Suggestions?

Also, when I turn the ringer off, Inc vibrate, it now turns my alarm off. So I have to go into the ringer settings (shortcut still, yes) to change it to priority interruptions only every time. That’s annoying, that’s the way that works now tho right?

Looking forward to hearing back in regards to being able to view my email content. I want my coupons back 😉 Thanks! — Dawn

Solution: Hi Dawn. So, you have a couple of problems after the update, huh? Don’t worry, they can be fixed. Now, about your email problem, just try to scroll down to the very bottom of the email message that has attachments. The blue refresh icon will appear and after that, you can now download the attachment.

About the other issue, I guess that’s how the S5 with Lollipop works now but there’s a workaround.

  1. Open the Notification bar on the lock screen.
  2. Tap on the top right icon to go to icon page.
  3. Tap on the pencil icon to edit buttons.
  4. Drag ‘always interrupt’ button to the top section.
  5. This time, when you open the notification bar, you can tap on the always interrupt button.
  6. It will show priority only and the sound icon will show Sound (priority).
  7. Now, go to Settings > Sound and notification > Interruptions.
  8. Choose the options you want to occur when pressing the Always interrupt button.
  9. It will tell you that “Alarms are always considered priority interruptions.”

Can’t Access Emails on Galaxy S5

Problem: Hi. Just got a Samsung Galaxy S5..vodafone.network…hubby is using my 4 …i am unable to get any emails through…keeps saying…network error check connections….i have compared all settings in hubbys phone…all are the same..and we have the one email account on both the phones…i did get some through…but not all…even have the 2 phones side by side…hubbys has strong signal…my new one…network error….have you any tips..before i have to take time off work..to take phone back i to vodafone store…..lucky i can still access emails on hubbys phone..same network..many thanks. — Tracey

Troubleshooting: Hi Tracey, I have a feeling that mobile data hasn’t been enabled in your phone. Please follow these steps to enable it:

  1. From the home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to and tap More networks.
  4. Tap Mobile networks.
  5. Tap Mobile data.
  6. Tap OK if prompted.

Just in case mobile data has already been enabled and this problem still occurs, then the APN in your phone may not have been set properly. Call tech support and ask for the correct APN settings and have the rep walk you through setting them up in your phone.

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Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your emails. Email us via [email protected] any time. We read every email but can’t guarantee a response. Lastly, if we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends or visit our Troubleshooting Page. Thanks.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Problems After Lollipop Update & Ways To Fix Them [Part 48]

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Lollipop-Update-Problems

As the roll out of Android 5 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy S5 continues, so as our support. This is the 48th installment of our Samsung Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting series and I addressed newly discovered problems after the most recent update. In this post alone, I’ve dealt with a couple of microSD card issues that occurred after the most recent firmware upgrade. Learn how to fix them by reading the issues I cited below.

To our readers, we offer free Android support. Feel free to send us your problems through email or by posting on our social media network pages. You may email us at [email protected] or post on our Facebook wall or Google+ page. Make sure to include all necessary details like your phone model, Android version it runs, nature of the problem, behavior of the device, and when it started. Vague questions or emails lacking information may not be addressed. We are serious in providing this free service, so we ask you to do your part and make it easier for us to assess your concerns. We don’t mind how long your email is as long as it contains all information we need to accurately assess your concerns.

MicroSD Card Data Deleted After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi, I was googling to find a way to fix my Samsung S5 problem and I landed on your page: Samsung Galaxy S5 Problems After Android 5.0 Lollipop Update and How To Fix Them [Part 30]. That being said, that’s where I got your email from. I have a little issue for which, i hope, you will be able to fix: I have a Samsung S5, SM-G900W8, for which I received a notification for a new system update. i tried to install it, no success because my phone memory was full. I said to myself, hell with it, lets transfer all pictures and videos on my micro SD card of 64GB to free 3GB worth of space and that’s what I did. After my phone being updated, I was amazed by the new look of the OS. later that night, I come home only to find out that all data on my SD Card has been erased, except the folders.

Please help me out to find a way to recover my pictures and videos! — NSK

Troubleshooting: First of all, I will assume that you have successfully transferred all data you wanted to transfer before update. More often, problems like this are brought about by major updates, albeit, not so common. There are two possibilities here: first, it could be that the microSD card has been totally corrupted during the update process or second, the new firmware has a bug or a glitch that may hinder the phone from reading external storage devices properly. I understand your main concern is your videos and photos, so let’s take the safest route in troubleshooting this issue. Before anything else, DO NOT reformat your microSD card even if you’re prompted by your phone; that’s one way to make sure you can’t recover your data. This is what I advise you to do:

  1. Reboot the phone. I understand if you already did this a hundred times but if you haven’t done it yet, please do.
  2. Let your computer read your microSD card. After the reboot and the phone still couldn’t read from it, unmount it, insert it to a card reader and let your laptop read it. If you are immediately prompted to reformat the card, then there’s a very slim chance you could recover your data. On the other hand, if the computer can read from the card, then use that opportunity to backup everything you don’t want to lose.
  3. Use FAT32 format in reformatting microSD card. Only do this if you have successfully made a backup of all your data.

Once you have successfully reformatted your microSD card and the phone still couldn’t read it, it’s possible the card has been damaged and only computers can read from it. There is, however, a chance that it’s a firmware glitch especially if the phone cannot read from microSD cards. If it were the case, then you have to perform full hard reset on your phone. Follow these steps:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Galaxy S5 VPN, Real Racing 3 Issues After Lollipop

Problem: Hi, I have just upgraded my Galaxy S5 couple of days ago (Model No: SM-G900H) and in the last couple of days, have found the following issues:

  1. When trying to enter into Settings -> VPN, the phone asks for the passcode over and over again (tried with pattern as well as pin). Thing to note is that it is able to detect a wrong passcode but when the correct one is entered, it just simply re-asks for it. How do you think this could be fixed?
  2. While playing Real Racing 3, sometimes my phone is not able to detect me tilting my phone to make a left / right turn in the game. Now, the game has not been updated since the lollipop upgrade so I am guessing it might be an issue with the phone failing to recognize the change in direction (It sorts itself out after a few seconds). If the issue is game related, clearing game data is also not an option as I would end up losing my progress. Do you think some kind of re-calibration might help? Can you provide steps for this?

Plz let me know if you need any more info regarding the phone or it’s setup.

Regards, Sumit.

Troubleshooting: I once experienced similar issues with VPN and the only thing I did was wipe the cache partition and it worked like a charm. Although, I don’t know exactly how bad the problem is in your phone, I still advise you to wipe off the cache partition to rule out the possibility that it’s just a corrupt cache issue.

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

If wiping the cache partition didn’t work, then you need to delete and re-setup your VPN.

Now about the issue with Real Racing 3, more often, recalibration works. However, if the problem started immediately after the update, then wiping the cache partition may still be the most viable troubleshooting procedure to follow. I understand you don’t want to lose all your progress, so I advise to use Real Racing 3’s cloud backup feature. Clearing the data will delete all your progress as well as additional downloaded data. However, if you backed up your account in the cloud, you will still be able to retain your progress by logging into your account, although, you will have to re-download all additional data.

Lastly, if all these procedures failed, try to reset the phone to bring it back to its factory defaults. That way, the issue with the gyroscope.

Galaxy S5 4G and Phone Call Issues After Lollipop

Problem: Hi guys, been reading your blogs, cant seem to find my problem, so I got my s5 around 6 months back, never had issues on kitkat, got the lollipop 5, then updated to 5.1 I think 2 weeks back. The problem is that my 4g never works, I have to keep putting the phone on flight mode then turn off flight mode then 4g works, (or just turn on/off data).

The 4G symbol is not shown then as soon as I disable then enable flight mode, 3g/4g starts working.

Problem 2 is that whenever I’m on the phone, the line keeps getting cut off, happens to all numbers and in all areas (London). Most of the time the person on the other line cannot hear me or the line just cuts off. Hope you can help as I’m having a nightmare! Thanks, Amit.

Troubleshooting: Hi Amit. If the 4G issue gets resolved after you turn on and off the Airplane mode, then wiping the cache partition will permanently fix the problem. Once old cache files are cleared, the phone will create newer ones to be used by default services including the service that handles mobile data connectivity. Don’t worry, wiping the cache partition will not delete any of your data, that’s the best thing about the procedure.

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

About your second problem, I think it’s related to the capability of the phone to detect mobile data signal normally. Fix the first problem and you will fix the second.

Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect To Mobile Data After Lollipop

Problem: Hi, my Galaxy S5 cannot connect to data after the most recent update! It connects to Wi-Fi and can make and receive calls but not data! I’ve factory reset the phone, cleared the cache, I even went to Samsung experience store in best buy and had them re-flash the software and change the SIM but nothing helped. Hopefully you have done ideas!

Thanks, Toni.

Troubleshooting: Hi Toni, none of the things you mentioned maybe able to fix the problem especially if it concerns the APN settings. The APN is the most important set of data you need to enter into your phone so that it can connect to the mobile data network of your service provider. If the problem started immediately after the lollipop update, it could be that the APN may have been messed up or deleted. Call your service provider and ask for it. Don’t worry, it’s free. You may also ask the representative to walk you through setting it up in your phone.

Galaxy S5 Has Issues Staying Connected To WiFi After Lollipop

Problem: After updating my S5 I have had issues staying connected to my home WiFi. I will click on the network to connect and type in my password it will connect briefly and then automatically disconnects. It also doesn’t seem to remember this WiFi network. I have reviewed your forum and unable to locate something to help. I have tried to uncheck the smart connector but this does not resolve the issue.   I have also tried the phone in safe mode. When I do this the WiFi does connect and stay so then I uninstalled any recently downloaded apps. I then take the phone out of safe mode and the WiFi no longer works.

My service is with Sprint if that makes any difference. Also of note, when at location with WiFi with no password it connects and stays connected. Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. — Daniel

Troubleshooting: Hi Daniel. The first thing I want you to do is turn off mobile data completely and then observe if the phone still disconnects from your WiFi network. If it stayed connected, then it still automatically switches between networks. Wiping the cache partition will fix the problem. However, after you disabled the mobile data and the phone still disconnects from your WiFi network, then there’s a chance that the issue with your network itself considering you said the phone stays connected with other networks that have no passwords.

Try deleting your WiFi network in your phone, then reboot the device and then let it detect it one more time and try to connect. If the problem remained, reboot your network device, or use a channel that has low interference (via router settings), or use a different encryption method. If the problem still wasn’t fixed, perform full hard reset but don’t forget to backup all your data first.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Galaxy S5 Battery Drain Issue Caused By Zedge App

Description: We’ve already tackled a lot of emails about the fast battery draining issue with Samsung Galaxy S5 after the Android 5 lollipop update. One of our readers shared about his experience saying the problem was narrowed down to one popular app known as Zedge.

I, myself, personally use Zedge to manage my wallpapers and ringtones and it saddens me to know this. So, I tried uninstalling it from my phone and yes, there is an improvement in the battery life. I already tried contacting the developer and hopefully they can do something about it the soonest time possible.

Try to read the actual email sent by Alex below:

Solution: Been reading about the battery drain issue on drippler. I took your advice on wiping the cache and getting rid of frivolous apps. I’ve narrowed the issue down to one app. Zedge. I nixed zedge and issue stopped. I reinstalled zedge and the issue came back. Uninstaller it again and the battery drain issue has stopped. Thought I’d give that tidbit to you guys to post as I know a lot of people use zedge. — Alex

Unable To Turn On WiFi On Galaxy S5 After Lollipop

Problem: Hello, since updating my S5 with the latest update I have been receiving error messages regarding contacts has stopped working or firefox. The battery has also been draining faster and running hotter then usual. However the latest issue is the most frustrating I am unable to simply turn my wifi capability to on. It is actually automatically swith in to off every time I try to slide to on. I have preformed a reset and power down. The only thing I haven’t done is a factory reset. Please let me know if you are able to assist me in resolving this issue. Thank you, John.

Troubleshooting: Hey John. I am sorry to hear you’re currently experiencing a lot of issues after the lollipop update. I understand that the most annoying issue you have right now is regarding the capability of your phone to turn the WiFi on. More often, this problem is caused by corrupt data or cache or some third-party apps have gone rogue affecting the core functions of your phone. Taking the safest route in troubleshooting this issue, I suggest you boot your phone in safe mode first. Here’s how:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ 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.

Once in safe mode, try turning the WiFi on and if it stayed on then just boot back in normal mode and the problem must have been fixed already. Otherwise, the next safe way to troubleshoot it is to wipe the cache partition so that the phone will be forced to create new caches for core functions and apps.

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

Lastly, if all these procedures failed, backup your data and perform full master reset to bring the phone back to its default settings and reformat the data partition. Don’t worry, the lollipop update will not be uninstalled.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Galaxy S5 Bluetooth Won’t Stay Synced With Car After Lollipop

Problem: I have recently updated my Samsung s5 as of yesterday afternoon. On my morning commute to work the phone just fine with my radio’s Bluetooth system. After the update on my ride home my phone will no longer stay synced with Bluetooth. I have to turn the vehicle off and resync my phone and then will only work for a few moments, drop the call, say no Bluetooth is available and stop working.

Please advise me on how to fix this as I am in outside sales and need to use my phone constantly while out driving. Thanks! — Chip

Troubleshooting: Bluetooth syncing problem with Galaxy S5 after the lollipop update is one of most common problems. There are a few procedures you can try to fix the problem and the first is deleting all Bluetooth pairing sessions in your phone and re-pair it with your car. If the problem persists, then refer to your car’s manual to reset Bluetooth or delete paired devices and then follow the typical pairing procedure. If the problem remained, you really have to perform factory reset on your phone but don’t forget to backup all your data.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Multiple Galaxy S5 Issues After Lollipop Update

Problems: Hi. Since the update, like so many others, my battery is draining faster and throughout the day, I get a notice saying Unfortunately, Contacts has Stopped… also my camera gets stuck when taking a picture, takes several seconds to show the picture taken and my pictures aren’t as clear as they used to be. I consistently lose my wifi and my phone switches from 4G to 3G to 1x throughout the day. Also facebook crashes regularly. I loved this phone until this update… everything about my phone is slower now. I am going to try to clear the cache per your earlier advice to others, but I am so very disappointed. — Gwen

Troubleshooting: Hi Gwen! That’s a lot of issues to deal with. If it were my phone, I would immediately perform master reset because it would be a waste of time troubleshooting problems I didn’t know what the cause is. Of course, it is obvious the recent lollipop update may have messed it up for you but then the root cause couldn’t be determined easily. So, I suggest you boot the phone in safe mode, backup all your data and perform hard reset. If the procedure couldn’t fix the issue, bring the phone to your service provider or to Samsung service center and have lollipop firmware re-flashed.

Booting in Safe Mode

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ 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.

Master Reset

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Cannot Move Files To MicroSD Card On Galaxy S5

Problem: Hi. I have a strange and incredibly frustrating problem. I bought a brand new SD Card from Best Buy for my S5. I properly installed it (It is listed on the “storage” screen, which means it is recognized by the phone).

I have been able to transfer applications onto the card, no problem

Now, the issue: nothing else will transfer: not pictures, not music, not documents. NOTHING.

I have viewed multiple “how to videos”, tutorials, etc and all have the same instructions. I have followed them perfectly.

When I do the final step of hitting the “move” button after selecting the items to move, and where to move them on the SD card, it simply returns to the “my files” screen. I look on the SD card, and nothing has been moved.

I have done this multiple times. Thinking it was a corrupted disk, I returned it and bought another. The same thing happened.

There is not an “error” notice. There is not any notification that the file has not been transferred (and nothing stating it has been transferred). It’s perplexing! HELP! — C. Drummond

Troubleshooting: If apps can be moved to the microSD card, then there’s with the storage device. Pictures and videos can be transferred to it either through the Gallery app or by using the stock file manager. Please try the other if one failed. Another option is to connect the phone to a computer and use the computer’s file manager to drag and drop files to the microSD card.

Also, while using the stock file manager, try to “Copy” the file to the microSD card instead of “moving” it. If copying is successful, then you can delete the original files from your phone’s internal storage. I think there’s no problem with either your phone or the microSD card but please do email us back if the problem persists and provide as much details as possible especially the method you use in “moving” files.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your emails. Email us via [email protected] any time. We read every email but can’t guarantee a response. Lastly, if we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends or visit our Troubleshooting Page. Thanks.

Galaxy Note 4 messaging app lags and keeps on failing when sending text message, other issues

Note 4

We hope that our #GalaxyNote4 post for today help answer some of the questions shared by some of our community members.

Below are specific topics covered in this article:

  1. Why a Galaxy Note 4 battery suddenly loses charge
  2. Galaxy Note 4 screen is unresponsive
  3. Galaxy Note 4 lag issue can’t be fixed by software troubleshooting
  4. Galaxy Note 4 not sending text message properly after Lollipop update
  5. Galaxy Note 4 messaging app lags and keeps on failing when sending text message

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

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

 

Problem #1: Why a Galaxy Note 4 battery suddenly loses charge

Hi guys. Thanks in advance for reading about my issue. Basically, I have a Samsung Note 4 in white. Originally it was locked to Vodafone but i had it unlocked (via an eBay unlock code)… have been using it for a couple of months after it was unlocked and it’s a brilliant phone and everything worked fine. I had the Note 3 before this.

Yesterday, whilst i was on the phone, the phone just turned off suddenly. It had some battery left so I was shocked to when it turned off.

Since then, I have tried everything… no responses at all – no vibration, no LED lights…!

Tried different chargers, connecting to my laptop, soft reset, recovery mode….. you name it!! ABSOLOTELY NOTHING HAS HELPED! 🙁

So basically the phone is dead but yesterday was working 100% fine. I don’t know what’s the issue. Someone please help me. — Riz

Solution: Hi Riz. If there’s one important troubleshooting step that you did not mention, it is battery replacement. If you’ve been using your Note 4 for over a year now, there’s a chance that the battery may have simply lost its ability to hold a charge. Lithium-based batteries like the one on your handset gradually loses capacity everytime you recharge it. After some time, the battery will just die a natural death due to regular charging cycles even if you take care of it.

A Lithium-ion battery works by moving Lithium ions between a cathode and an anode. During a charging session, the ions stick to the Carbon (graphite) anode, then they move back to the Lithium-Cobalt Oxide cathode when you discharge the battery or when you when your phone. The process of ions moving back and forth between the electrodes is called “cycling”.

The problem lies in the inefficiency of the cycling process. Every time you charge the battery, a film of Lithium atoms are collected permanently in the anode, resulting to capacity loss. The more Lithium ions bonded in the anode for good, the less the charge becomes. If the ions can’t move between the electrodes, no charge is generated leading to failure to deliver power. Do the charging cycle everyday and the battery will lose significant charge in over a year.

While the decline in capacity is gradual, it will not cause the battery to fail entirely though. This kind of situation can be caused by a different thing called electrolyte oxidation. Like the anode accumulating a film of ions during and after every cycle, the cathode can develop a similar layer due to battery overheating or higher voltage. Exposing the battery to high voltage or heat can create a layer of ions around the cathode which can lead to sudden capacity loss — one which is easily noticeable compared to the gradual decline because of regular charging cycle.

The problem is manifested in the phone being unable to boot up normally because the battery no longer deliver power. Unfortunately, electrolyte oxidation on the cathode is permanent and can cause irreversible damage. Your best bet is to have the battery replaced. Thankfully, you have a Note 4 so battery replacement can be done easily.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note 4 screen is unresponsive

I can’t use my screen, but I know I have a version of Lollipop installed. The screen has the following issues:

1.) won’t respond to touch

2.) white, vertical, lines of varying width running the entire length of the screen.

3.) black, inky, splotches on screen that have continued to appear / grow since last night when this issue started.

I dropped it a few times recently, but with no immediately noticeable issues.

Was out a party last night and noticed it was getting hit in my pocket, so then I removed it and placed it somewhere safe – I checked it later, and it had these issues. — Kyle

Solution: Hi Kyle. If the phone appears to power on normally as it probably vibrates and make a sound when restarting it but the screen remains unresponsive, that’s a clear sign that you have a hardware issue. The drop may have damaged the display assembly or some of its components causing it to appear to be unresponsive and showing those lines.

If you are confident of your electronics skills, you can try the DIY (do-it-yourself) tutorials that some sites provide on how to replace the display assembly. Keep in mind though that screen replacement process is a bit tricky and can result to other hardware issues if not done correctly.

We highly recommend though that you let a professional do it for you. Better still, call Samsung so they can repair or replace the handset in a matter of days.

Problem #3: Galaxy Note 4 lag issue can’t be fixed by software troubleshooting

Hi. I have been having problems with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It is constantly freezing, lagging, rebooting. I had taken it over to the Samsung repair center and they said that they rebuilt my software and check out all the hardware and everything passed its tests. However right after I left there I had more problems.

I use the phone for 3 days without my micro SD card installed as requested. I also use the phone as a game without installing anything. The problems continued although they were less frequent. Now I have put back in my micro SD card and reinstalled my backup but just for data. I still have not installed any third-party applications.

The issues with the phone seem to be getting worse. I am lucky if I can use the phone sometimes for 2 minutes before it freezes and I have to pull the battery to reset it.

Also sometimes when pulling the battery for reset the phone will boot up into download mode saying that it can’t boot up or can’t find a partition. Sometimes I will put in the battery and it’ll vibrate like it’s turning on but nothing happens. Sometimes I will put in the battery and hit the power button and nothing happens at all so I have to remove the battery and keep it out for a little while before it’ll turn on again. I am not certain if this is a software issue or if this might be still a hardware issue even though Samsung stated everything was fine. 

 I hope that you might be able to offer some helpful information so I can continue to improve on this phone otherwise I’m afraid I may have to replace it. 

 Thank you very much for your help. — Ranon

Solution: Hi Ranon. If Samsung’s diagnostics were not able to identify the reason for the lag issue, then most probably we won’t be of little to no help to you. The best that we can do in this case is to tell a user to do the basic software troubleshooting like wiping system and app caches, doing a factory reset, booting in safe mode, or at most, flashing a new ROM. If nothing of these procedures won’t help, we can assume that the issue lies something deeper, which unfortunately is beyond an average user’s ability to identify and resolve.

Lag issues that can’t be fixed by simple troubleshooting can be indicative of a processor malfunction, a coding glitch deep inside the operating system, some other hardware components that no longer works normally, or a combination of these three. In order to do a task like loading a game, all the necessary hardware like the processor (CPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Signal Processor, Modem, etc., are supposed to work in harmony to create a smooth rendering on the display. Visible lag can happen if any of the hardware components fail to work as expected. In other words, you may notice lag if your device is unable to handle a task/s. Keep in mind that your device manages multiple tasks or threads at the same time.

If a CPU, for example, has been damaged for some reason, it may not be able to process multiple tasks at the same time. This situation can create a chain of problems to other components as well as they will not get the expected result from the processor, causing further lag and stutter.

The thing is, this problem is rare. As mentioned, lag issues that refuse to be fixed by software troubleshooting means that there’s probably a hardware-related cause. We suggest that you invest in phone replacement rather than attempt to have it fixed.

Problem #4: Galaxy Note 4 not sending text message properly after Lollipop update

Hi..i have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 N910F running on Android 5.1.1. Ever since i bought this phone, I’ve been facing this problem. I don’t know if this problem was there when the phone was running on KitKat as i updated it immediately after i bought it.

The problem is that after sending a few text messages, the phone stops sending further messages. At that point the phone doesn’t make any call or receive any call. Mobile data also cannot be switched on. In short, all network related functions stop. The signal bar shows full signals but wi-fi, applications and other functions keep on working fine. When i restart the phone, it starts sending text messages again and receives and makes calls again but again after sending a few text messages, the phone fails to send further messages.

I’ve tried doing a factory reset but of no use. If i don’t send text messages the phone, works perfectly fine for days; mobile data, calls everything works fine but the moment i send a few messages the problem starts again. Kindly guide me about it.. I am really worried about this problem. Thankyou. — Taimoor

Solution: Hi Taimoor. The problem may be caused by a third party app you installed. Doing a factory reset then re-installing the same set of apps afterwards is counterproductive. You can either try to do another round of factory reset and observe the phone for a few days without installing anything, or you can boot the phone in safe mode and observe it for a few hours. Either way should help you determine if one of your apps is to blame. Booting Galaxy Note 4 in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party or download apps leaving pre-installed ones and core services running. This procedure can help you determine which of your apps is causing a problem. For reference, here are the steps to boot your Note 4 in safe mode:

  • Turn off the phone completely.
  • Press and hold the Power key and the Volume Down key.
  • When the phone starts to boot, release the Power key but continue holding the Volüme Down key until the phone finished restarting.
  • Safe mode will be display at the lower left corner; you may release the Volume Down key now.

Problem #5: Galaxy Note 4 messaging app lags and keeps on failing when sending text message

Insurance company sent me a new NOTE 4 replacement. had done a back up. I reinstalled using Kies3. Everything works fine except messaging. I read the info on here about lagging texts. My texts don’t load immediately. And to delete any messages take 1-10 minutes. It’s frustrating.

I followed instructions about application manager and clearing Cache and data HOWEVER my MESSAGING App doesn’t appear in the downloaded or SD or running but appears in the “all” column. I did the data clear and still a problem.

All the other apps show up. I did install Textra as a 3rd party app. It worked great for one day and now, when i try to send im getting numerous FAIL message and try again.. SO i switched back to the default android Messaging. Any thoughts? — Michael

Solution: Hi Michael. Texting problems like the one you are experiencing can be caused by device-specific issue or wireless carrier problem. Your first task is to identify if it’s related to your phone by doing some software troubleshooting. You can start by either wiping the cache partition or going directly to factory reset. The former ensures that the system cache is fresh to minimize app-related problems, while the latter  restores all app and system settings back to default. Both of them can be done in Recovery Mode. Here’s how they’re done:

  • Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  • When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  • When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Volume Up key.
  • Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ or ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
  • Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ (for factory reset) using the Volume Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  • When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  • The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

Any of these procedures should help you fix the problem. If nothing works though, make sure to contact your wireless carrier to see if the issue is from their side.

 

Engage with us

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

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

Galaxy S5 won’t install downloaded Android update, other issues

S5 update

Hello everyone! This post covers some #GalaxyS5 problems shared by some of our community members over the past 2 weeks. If you want to browse other S5-related issues and solutions, kindly visit this page.

  1. GGalaxy S5 keeps getting update message when trying to check voicemail
  2. GGalaxy S5 screen constantly moves up and down
  3. GGalaxy S5 won’t detect SD cards properly
  4. GGalaxy S5 won’t install downloaded Android update
  5. GGalaxy S5 music not working properly when connected to car Bluetooth
  6. GGalaxy S5 screen problem after a fall

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

 

Problem #1: Galaxy S5 keeps getting update message when trying to check voicemail

I use the standard voicemail that came on my phone and subscribed to voicemail-to-text some year ago.  A couple of months ago suddenly when I push the blue icon (that looks like a roll of film; I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be)  I don’t just get the voicemail text and the button to hear the voicemail, but overlaying it there’s a box saying “Check for update. Important Update! Due to a possible battery issue with your last update, this software update is mandatory. Depending on your device, you will only be able to “Cancel” out of the update twice before you must take it”. Then there’s a box you can check (but it doesn’t matter if you check it or not) “Allow automatic updating” then a bar to press that says “Update”.

Now, no matter how many times I press it (and you MUST do it to retrieve your voicemail, so I say I’ve tried it maybe 35 times) the installation always fails.  But then it at least lets me retrieve my voicemail/read text by eliminating the pop-up box until next time I try to retrieve a voicemail.

I have already tried a soft reset, and tried to install what the box wants me to with a variety of different connections.  (At home I have a Sprint Airrave but it won’t install anywhere is what I’m saying). — Coral

Solution: Hi Coral. The blue icon as well as the message about an update may be manifestations of malicious software in your phone. Make sure that you wipe the phone clean and re-install only trusted apps. Wiping the phone can be done via factory reset. Here’s how:

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

One of the ways a malware can find its way to your device is by installing a third party application. Make sure to go over your apps and see if any of them comes from an untrusted source or developer. We recommend that you keep official apps only and avoid those that were made by unheard of developer. If you are, for example, fond of online shopping try to keep apps from official retailers only. Don’t just install anything as that’s a sure way of compromising your device and digital world.

Problem #2: Galaxy S5 screen constantly moves up and down

When i boot my Samsung Galaxy S5, starting from Samsung Logo, screen starts moving up and up without stopping. it does not stop at all. i went to a AT&T store, did a hard reset. Even the unix console started going up and up, like someone is scrolling your screen upwards!

Earlier than today, screen always scrolling upwards and after 10 secs become totally blank. Although i can see the task button and return button lit up, even hear button click sounds. after that i did a soft reset. now, screen does not black out, but keeps moving upwards, and touch creates a vibration of screen, but nothing moves. i don’t know if some software updates resulted in this!  My cell phone had fallen very many times from hand , but never behaved like it. even it does not have a  liquid damage at all, because the indicator does not show. i was planning to go to a repair shop.  but i googled and found your website. looks promising to me. i will be in luck, if i can save some bucks!

thanks in advance. — Shouvanik

Solution: Hi Shouvanik. Your issue doesn’t look like a software issue at all. In fact, the symptoms you are describing are consistent with indicators of a malfunctioning screen assembly. The real problem may be the digitizer, the LCD, or the flex cable. These things compose the display assembly and there’s no way for us to check how they work right now unless we can physically check the phone. We suggest you bring the phone to a local shop and have the screen checked.

Problem #3: Galaxy S5 won’t detect SD cards properly

About a week ago, my wife and I were at my son’s basketball game. She ran out of storage space on her 64GB Sandisk card in her S5 so I said, no problem.  Unmounted her card, removed it. Then I went to my same model S5 phone, formatted my exact same 64GB card (wasn’t sure what was on it but whatever it was wasn’t important), unmounted, then removed it. Put my card in her phone, powered up phone and off she went to recording.  No problems there.

However my phone is being a royal PITA with this.  Everything is identical on the two phones with software, updates, etc.

After I copied the ton of pics and videos from my wife’s card, I formatted it exfat first and inserted into my phone. All it would do is “preparing SD card”, then a message “you can safely remove SD card” would appear with the card icon on the taskbar with an exclamation point on it.  Jacked with it by formatting to fat32, reading and writing to it in both exfat and fat32 formats on my computer with no problems.  ran sandisk utilities on the disk and found no problems.  Finally got frustrated and dug out another new in sealed package 64GB Sandisk card. Inserted it, same darn problem!  I then grabbed a used 8GB Sandisk card, formatted it fat32 and inserted it, same problem.

Jacked with this for a couple of hours now and it’s frustrating the heck out of me because I shouldn’t be having these problems.

Never as long as I’ve had this phone have I ever had any issues with it and especially like this.  I’m a 26 year IT guy who knows what he’s doing so really what I’m trying to find out here is what changed in the Android OS that is causing these issues? — Todd

Solution: Hi Todd. We are not aware of any Android OS update that can cause an issue like the one on your phone. Since it’s clear that the SD cards you’ve tried are all working, the issue is definitely isolated to your device only. Try booting in safe mode after mounting your SD card to see the difference. A third party app may be causing this trouble and checking it in safe mode is a good way to start. Here’s how:

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

Another good thing to try is factory reset. This will help you determine if there’s a firmware-related bug that may have caused the phone to not detect SD cards properly.

Problem #4: Galaxy S5 won’t install downloaded Android update

I have not been able to update my phone for the past 5 months. I finally got a 64 Gigabyte SD card because it said I didn’t have enough space. I moved all the files that could be onto my SD card & I have at least one and a half gigabytes to update. In the air that it said the first time was that I didn’t have enough space in that I needed about 800 megabytes. The past three times I’ve tried to do this update, it does a 20 to 30 minute load showing a bar going across the screen and reading off number and the percentage a bit downloading the update. By the time it’s finished, it says what it did before the update saying that there’s an update available and then when I press “Continue” it says I don’t have enough space. And I’ve been messing with the same update for over 5 months. Could you please help me figure out what the problem is. I would appreciate it so much thank you for your time. — Mar

Solution: Hi Mar. Try to delete the system cache first before attempting another update. If the problem is being caused by a bad cache, doing this should fix it. Simply follow these steps on how to wipe the cache partition:

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

Should wiping cache partition fails to make any difference, proceed to performing a master reset.

Problem #5: Galaxy S5 music not working properly when connected to car Bluetooth

I was always able to listen to music on my phone through my car’s bluetooth prior to a major update around August 2015.  I have tried doing a soft reset, clearing out my phone’s cache, uninstalling my car from my phone, uninstalling my phone from my car.  Nothing is helping and I am extremely frustrated.  When I use car mode, this is what happens…though my car’s audio, I am asked what songs I would like to hear.  I respond, my car’s audio says ok.

The problem is it plays the songs through my phone speaker, and not my car audio.  Immediately after that happens, my car bluetooth says goodbye and disconnects me.  I am able to receive and make phone calls through my car’s audio, but listening to music, never happens.  I am so sick of these updates that never seem to be completely ready.  The old system was working fine for me, this new system has just made my battery drain, my phone sluggish, and I can no longer listen to music in my car.  I could not be more disappointed.  Please help me figure out how to listen to music again in my car.  Thank you. — Rene

Solution: Hi Rene. There may be a compatibility issue at play here. The thing is, you’re dealing with two Bluetooth devices. Both of them must be using the same protocol and technology in order to work harmoniously. If a Bluetooth problem started appearing after updating your Android device, make sure that your car’s infotainment system is compatible with the S5’s Bluetooth system.

Another possible cause for this problem can be a glitch on the Car Mode app. Try deleting Car Mode app’s cache and data, unpair the re-pair your phone to your car, and try again. You can also try to factory reset your phone just in case there’s a firmware glitch that may have developed along the way.

Problem #6: Galaxy S5 screen problem after a fall

Hi. I’ve recently changed the display on my S5 after it had become unresponsive due to physical damage of the screen. It was working fine until my 3 year old dropped it on the floor and now every once in a while, when I wake up the phone, I just see the soft key lights and the phone reboots itself and displays a white screen with noise. Usually removing the battery and restarting after a while brings it back to normal but nowadays the issue is repeating itself very frequently and hence asking for help. Do you think I should take it to the service center and have them take a look at it? I’m reluctant for that since they simply suggest to change the display again which will cost me big bucks (again). Thanks.  — Sam

Solution: Hi Sam. There’s really no other effective way to fix the screen problem other than having it checked (and possibly replaced again) by a repair shop. As mentioned above, the screen assembly has three major parts — the digitizer, the LCD, and the flex cable. The digitizer is a thin layer of glass on top of the LCD that converts your touch into a digital signal. The flex cable connects the digitizer to the motherboard so data can be processed by the phone. The LCD is a super thin monitor that functions like your computer monitor. Together, these three components work in order to convert your touch commands into digital signal and beam the desired result on the screen. Any of these components may have been affected negatively after a fall and there’s no way to check what the exact problem is unless the phone is checked physically.

 

Engage with us

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

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

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

Galaxy S4 freezes and becomes unresponsive during calls

S4 calls

Calls-related issues are sparse, especially in #Samsung devices but we noticed a few of them in the past few weeks so we have decided to publish them here today. Below are the specific #GalaxyS4 call problems addressed in this post:

  1. Galaxy S4 phone icon counter not working properly after Lollipop update
  2. Galaxy S4 stops working while in a call
  3. Galaxy S4 contacts are switched to another account
  4. Galaxy S4 freezes and becomes unresponsive during calls
  5. Galaxy S4 freezing and taking a long time to send SMS
  6. Galaxy S4 no longer turns on after updating to Lollipop

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

 

Problem #1: Galaxy S4 phone icon counter not working properly after Lollipop update

  1. Since the OS update it to Lollipop 5.0.1 the counter on the phone icon doesn’t show messages when the phone is off. However in my apps I have an addon that was pretty installed voice to text messaging that shows the correct count. If my phone is on and someone calls and I don’t answer it then the counter does appear on the home screen phone icon. Is this part of the problem of the update? It’s more of a nuisance then an actual problem.
  2. What’s in the first hour of using my new Samsung S4, first Samsung device, I accidentally deleted the startup music file. I have Boost as my carrier. When contacting Samsung they suggested that I upload everything to the cloud, do a factory reset, and download everything that I had put on the phone afterwards. This seems like too much of a problem when all I needed was just a music file. I’m probably better off without hearing the little jingle when the phone turns on but I kind of miss it. Those are anyway just to get the file back if I wanted it or on my just fortunate enough to get rid of that little music in the beginning when the phone starts?

Thank you very much. — John

Solution: Hi John. To fix the first issue, make sure that you delete the cache partition, also known as the system cache. An operating system update is supposed to delete the cache partition to make way for a new cache but it doesn’t happen sometimes. This situation can, at times, lead to app issues. Wiping the cache to force the phone to create one is recommended. This is harmless and can be done regularly,  especially after an update.

To do that, just follow these steps:

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

For the second issue, the only solution available for you is to do a factory reset. The music file you’re missing is part of the package of the stock ROM and there’s no repository to get that specific file from. Restoring the defaults and initial software state of the phone is the only way to go.

Problem #2: Galaxy S4 stops working while in a call

A few weeks ago I  received a call. I tried to answer it and it acted like I wasn’t even touching it. Needless to say I missed the call.  It didn’t happen every call but the majority of them it did screw up.  After that was going on about a week (I’m horrible with timing by the way, I might be way off) my screen started glitching and freezing.  Even if I hit the pet button once or twice I hit the screen to pull up to turn off or restart, then it froze there and I couldn’t get it to do anything. every other time though hitting the power button didn’t do anything. the screen would black and stay black. The only way to make it work at all was top pull the battery. I left the battery out as long as an hour before hoping it help,  I started it in hard reset mode and went down to clean cache then restarted it. Nothing helped. I got too tired of it because it got more and more frequent so I factory reset it after I put everything in my cloud.  It worked for about a day and New it’s back to acting stupid.  It’s not as bad yet but it’s on its way.  PLEASE HELP I can’t afford a new phone. I’m at a loss as for what to do — Charley

Solution: Hi Charley. It looks like the problem is caused by a bad app. Boot the phone in safe mode for at least 24 hours to see the difference. While in safe mode, no third party apps can run so it’s a good way to check if our hunch is correct. To boot your S4 in safe mode, just follow these steps:

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

If the issue fails to occur while in this mode, start uninstalling apps until you have eliminated the source of the problem.

Problem #3: Galaxy S4 contacts are switched to another account

I noticed at Christmas time that my Galaxy S4 switched some contacts in my phone because when I went to text my brother, he was completely gone from my phone. His cell number somehow got linked to the contact info of one of my teachers at the school where I work.  There were a couple other contacts that were mixed up too, but somehow it fixed itself.

Now yesterday, one of our administrators at school suddenly had her name switched to a teacher’s name in my phone.  As I started digging deeper, it appears that it is email addresses (and sometimes profile pics) that are getting linked to the wrong person. This happens even though I have my phone set to only show contacts in my phone, and not my google contacts.  Since I work at a school, I also have a school provided Android phone and these issues do not happen on that phone, so I am thinking it is Samsung specific???  Any ideas?? — Karen

Solution: Hi Karen. The issue may stem from corrupted Contacts cache and data. You can try to delete them to see what happens next. Before you do this procedure though, make sure that you save all your contacts somewhere safe as a backup. To delete the Contacts app’s cache and data, just follow these steps:

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

Problem #4: Galaxy S4 freezes and becomes unresponsive during calls

When calling, the screen won’t turn on again when moving away from ear, the screen gets unresponsive even when pressing the ON button or HOME, the call is still on (the voice from caller can be still heard) but the phone won’t respond at all, just a blank unresponsive screen, specially in 800 numbers when most of the times the agent won’t hang up and the call is still on despite the conversation ended.

Same issue with the call from WhatsApp the screen is unresponsive, when that happens at least I can call the HOME button, press and hold and brings all the apps that are open and I can close it from there and the call ends, but when ending normal calls, the screen is just black nothing works. — Rick

Solution: Hi Rick. Your phone’s operating system may be corrupted or there might be third party application that messed it up. You can try to resolve this by performing a factory reset. Here’s how:

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

Now, factory resetting the phone will become useless unless you also eliminate the possible problematic third party app. Make sure that you observe the phone for at least 48 hours without installing anything. This will give you ample time to see how your device behaves when taking calls. If everything looks normal, start installing your apps. If the issue returns sometime after you installed your apps back, boot your S4 in safe mode (steps provided above).

Problem #5: Galaxy S4 freezing and taking a long time to send SMS

Recently phone is not sending texts or taking 4 or 5 minutes to do so.  Also, seems like text stops then catches up later as I type. I have taken out battery, sim card, sd card, then rebooted. I have done cache partition. I’m told if it continues that my only option is to factory reset? Is that true or  should I maybe get new sim  card. Phone is 2.5 yrs old and never a problem, virus, always protected. Lately I have had an issue where phone freezes.  I have moved everything I can to sd card I now have over 2 gigs on device free. Please let me know my options. Thanks. ps. I Play Words with friends, never an issue until recently but it will freeze as well. It is not recently installed. — Gary

Solution: Hi Gary. If you haven’t factory reset the phone for over 2 years now, we say it’s a good way to check if it helps to resolve your issues. Slow performance issues can develop over time so making sure that the phone’s operating system is in top shape won’t hurt.

Problem #6: Galaxy S4 no longer turns on after updating to Lollipop

The phone doesn’t even turn on, nor shows any signs of charging like it used to….Last Saturday, it drained off out of battery and turned off and never turned on again so far.. may it be an issue with the internal system card? Is there any hope..? Is it possible if there was like a short circuit between the battery and the phone?

I had to buy another battery because it was vicious already… since I installed Lollipop…battery’s life totally changed to worst and drains a lot quicker…and only upgraded to Lollipop because the device asked for it…So in reality it’s Samsung’s fault because a user can never guess if the updates are already totally tested and functional, so they should assume responsibility for that! Thanks. — INES

Solution: Hi INES. If this phone is already using a newly-bought battery, there might be a hardware issue that causes the S4 not to boot up normally at this time. System updates rarely result to hardware failure so the phone’s boot up issue may have only be a coincidence. Have the phone checked for possible hardware issues. If you have a nearby Samsung store in your area, make sure that you let them check your S4 first.

In case you are not aware, there are two other ways to boot your S4 via recovery and/or download mode. Try to check if you can restart the phone in recovery mode first so you can do a factory reset. If you will only be able to boot your phone in download mode, that means that there’s a firmware-related event that’s causing the phone to fail in its normal boot up process. You may end up flashing a stock or custom ROM.

 

 

Engage with us

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

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

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

 

Samsung Galaxy S4 stuck on system recovery screen after lollipop update, other Android update related issues

While the Android lollipop update brought happiness to many Samsung Galaxy S4 (#Samsung #GalaxyS4) owners, there were some who wished they didn’t download and install the new firmware to their phones as they encountered a lot of issues after they did. I addressed some of those problems here including the issue wherein the S4 start to fail or its operating system crashed after an update.

Samsung-Galaxy-S4-Lollipop-Update-Problems

Other problems included here are related to links that won’t open when tapped, lost calendar entries after the update, overheating and more crashing issues. Read on to learn more about these problems and how to tackle them in case they happen to you in the future.

For those who are looking for a solution to a different problem, visit our Galaxy S4 troubleshooting page. We already addressed hundreds (if not thousands) of problems sent by our readers so odds are we already address your concern before or there are several others that are similar to yours. Find these issues and try the solutions we provided. If they won’t work, then contact us through this form.

Here are the problems I covered in this post…

Galaxy S4 fails or crashes after a firmware update

Problem: Samsung notified me of firmware update. When I try to install, the green robot falls over dead. My phone freezes. It takes several attempts to restart the phone. Samsung keeps posting update download requests.

Troubleshooting: Did the update complete or fail? This information is very important for us so we can provide accurate troubleshooting guides and solutions. But anyway, if the update was successful and you got stuck on the Android System Recovery screen (where you can see the Android robot dead), then all you got to do is wipe the cache partition:

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

However, if it failed, then you can just reboot the phone. If the reboot failed too, try booting in up in the safe mode and then reboot normal from there. Works every time.

How to boot Galaxy S4 in safe mode

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

I hope this helps.

Can’t open links after the lollipop update

Problem: I did the lollipop update and now I can’t open any links in any apps.  I’ve tried in Instagram and my goSMS apps, but I can’t open links on either one. It starts to go to the website, then goes back to original place where the link is.  Thanks for the help!  I also did a soft reboot,  no change.

Troubleshooting: Is it a valid link? Does it happen to all links or just one? To check if the link is valid, manually type it on the address bar of the web browser (if possible, use a computer). If it’s valid or if it displays a real web page, the issue could be in the apps you use. Hyperlinks are opened by default on a web browser unless the user changed the default app. With that in mind, it’s better that we reset all app preferences to default by following these steps:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe to the All screen.
  5. Tap the Menu key.
  6. Choose Reset app preferences.

You may now try to open the link and it will prompt you to choose an app to be the default app to open all links. Choose the stock web browser and that’s it.

On the other hand, if the problem only happens to certain links but work with others, then the issue isn’t with the phone or its apps but with the links.

Calendar entries lost after lollipop update

Problem: After installing lollipop update, my calendar lost all my entries. In application manager I see a calendar with data in it. A calendar with little data in it and an app titled Calendar Storage. What are options for retrieving calendar data? Bountiful blessings! — Blair

Troubleshooting: Hi Blair! The question is have you synced your calendar with any of your online accounts especially Google? If so and if you left your phone synced and connected to the internet all the time, there’s a big chance you will recover all those entries by syncing your phone with the same account. Otherwise, it is impossible to recover them.

There were a lot of reported cases wherein the phone got wiped out after an update and this might be the reason why all those entries disappeared. The “little data” you can see when you open the Application Manager are ones that are necessary to run the app and they don’t necessary constitute the data for the entries you lost. So basically, if you don’t have a backup of your entries, it’s impossible to recover them.

Galaxy S4 overheats, crashes after lollipop update

Problem: Overheating…once below 30% battery phone switches off instantly and turns itself on and off until battery dies or until plugged in. Randomly crashes as well. Factory reset twice, massive battery drain when nothing is open. Having to charge constantly. Not a single problem until lollipop update. Help.

Troubleshooting: This is one of the reasons why a lot of owners are afraid to update their phones. You’re not the first one to report this kind of problem after an update and I tell you, there are only two possibilities here: either the problem is caused by corrupt caches and/or data or the firmware itself has serious issues.

We shall rule out the former first by wiping the cache partition. Please follow the steps on how to wipe the cache partition in the first problem. If the procedure failed to fix the problem, then I suggest you do the master reset but don’t forget to backup data you don’t want to lose as they will all be deleted during the process. I understand you already did the factory reset to no avail but try this procedure before you seek help from a technician:

  1. Turn the phone off completely. (Remove the battery and place it back in)
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
  3. Release the Power button when the phone vibrates but continue holding on to the Volume Up and Home buttons.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release both the Home and Volume Up buttons.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press the Power button to select it.
  7. Using the Volume Down button again, highlight ‘delete all user data.’
  8. Press the Power key to select it.
  9. Once the reset is complete, choose ‘Reboot system now.’
  10. Press the Power button to restart the phone.

If the reset didn’t work, then it’s safe to assume you have downloaded a bad update or a corrupt firmware. It’s time you sought assistance from someone who knows how to reinstall the previous firmware or the current one.

TouchWiz keeps crashing after lollipop update

Problem: After lollipop upgrade on my Samsung Galaxy S4, the default launcher – TouchWiz has stopped working. If I try to move any widget, everything hangs. I did try some third-party launchers, but the default one was way better. Can someone advise on how to fix this issue?

Troubleshooting: There’s a chance it’s a firmware issue or just some corrupt caches affecting the TouchWiz app. But since the error message mentions TW as the one that’s crashing, it’s the first one you need to go after. That said, try clearing TouchWiz’s cache and data:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe to the All screen.
  5. Find and tap TouchWiz.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data, then OK.

If the problem still persists, try wiping the entire cache partition. Follow the steps in the first problem. Should the problem persist after deleting all caches, try the master reset. For app issues like this, the reset usually takes care of it, otherwise, reinstall the firmware or have someone do it for you.

Activation lock triggered after hard reset

Problem: My wife did a hard reset on her Samsung Galaxy S4. When she tried re-activating it, the activation lock was triggered. I went through everything with Verizon, and then Samsung. Resetting the phone in various ways, resetting the Samsung account password, and nothing worked.

I sent phone to Samsung to be flashed, but they sent it back unrepaired because the activation lock is triggered. I had told them it was locked before sending it to them.

I have found that there are two accounts linked to the phone. My wife’s, and another that is missing one letter from my wife account. Now I am waiting for a Samsung engineer to review the issue and get back to me.

Do they have the ability to wipe the phone account info so we can set it up again? Thanks, Johny.”

Answer: Hello Johny! The answer to your question is Yes. Samsung techs can wipe the phone account information and account specialists may be able to access Samsung accounts. So, basically, these people are very capable of fixing the problem especially the one your wife has with her phone. I’m a bit confused though why they returned the phone unrepaired due to “triggered activation lock.” If it matters a lot to them, they can surely verify on their end who triggered it but even if it was triggered on your end, they should still be able to fix the problem or forward it to your provider if there were network-related issues.

Perhaps triggered activation lock isn’t covered in the warranty as it may fall into “tampered firmware” category and the reason they sent it back is because they can’t repair it without a fee. My point is, no one can help you better than these people. So, communicate with them because there’s not much we can do about it.

Galaxy S4 can’t get signal after lollipop update

Problem: One day my phone died just as I was about to plug it in and once I plugged it up a notice popped up saying something about a bad OS and I needed to restart or move on with out it but it took almost 3 hours to get that screen to go  away. The next morning it started normally but it will not get signal anywhere now so I was wondering how I need to fix this so I can use my phone again.

Troubleshooting: Reboot your phone multiple times to make sure it’s not just a system crash because the first part of your description sounded like there’s a problem with the firmware due to the recent lollipop update. You may also want to do the master reset to try to fix this problem and if it persists, seek help from someone who knows how to reflash the firmware.

Galaxy S4 and apps keep crashing, became slow after lollipop update

Problem: My phone keeps crashing. Everytime I use whatsapp or gmail, the phone crashes, as in, it returns to the home screen and the custom wallpaper that I have set changes to the default blue wallpaper. Battery drains really fast and the phone has massive overheating issues. The phone has become really slow and features like multiwindow have become totally unusable. Please provide some solution to the problem!! thanks in advance!

Troubleshooting: It actually sounds like the problem is TouchWiz, although other apps may also result to these kinds of behaviors when they crash. One way to isolate the problem is to boot the phone in safe mode. If the problem still occurs, try clearing the cache and data of the TouchWiz app, then uninstall and reinstall both WhatsApp and Gmail apps. If all else fails, try the master reset.

Connect with us

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Sprint Galaxy S5 Problems, Errors & How To Fix Them [Part 2]

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Problems-9

Dear readers! Welcome to the 2nd part of our Sprint Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting series. While we already have an existing series for the S5, we found it necessary to publish support articles for our readers who explicitly mentioned their service provider or carrier. This is one of our ways to provide personalized support, although, we only support service providers in the U.S.

In this post, I included a dozen of problems Sprint users reported plus their solutions and/or workarounds. Please browse through this page to see if your concern is among the ones I addressed.

For those who have issues with their phones, feel free to ask us questions or seek help. You may contact us through email at [email protected] or post on our social pages: Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. I also suggest you visit our Samsung Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting page as it contains hundreds of problems we previously addressed.

Click on a link below to jump to a specific section:

  1. Sprint Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect To The Internet
  2. Sprint Galaxy S5 Restarts Randomly
  3. Multiple Issues With Sprint Galaxy S5 After Lollipop Update
  4. Galaxy S5 Stuck On Sprint Spark Screen
  5. Can’t Edit/Reset APN Settings on Sprint Galaxy S5
  6. Sprint Galaxy S5 Won’t Boot Up
  7. Sprint Galaxy S5 Issue With Stock Email App
  8. Multiple Performance Issues With Sprint Galaxy S5
  9. Lollipop Update Corrupted Photos in Galaxy S5 Sport
  10. Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Issue On Sprint Galaxy S5
  11. Sprint Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect to Home WiFi
  12. S Health & Samsung Galaxy Stopped Working

Sprint Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect To The Internet

Problem: Hello, I purchased my Galaxy S5 back in October and I have had no problems with it up until now. We have 24GB of data per month and have not came close to going over which leads me to my problem. I can receive phone calls, emails, and text messages while not on wifi, but none of my apps will work. Snapchat will jot send snaps and proceeds to tell me I have no Internet connection, Twitter and all related apps will not refresh until I am back on wifi. Please help!

Troubleshooting: Hi! First of all, turn off WiFi in your phone and then, double-check if mobile data is enabled in your phone by following the steps below:

  1. From the top edge of your phone screen, slide two fingers down.
  2. If the mobile data icon is colored neon green, it’s enabled. Otherwise, just tap on it to turn on and this could be just the fix you’re looking for.

However, if mobile data was already turned on yet the phone can’t still connect to the internet, then there must be something wrong with the APN. Check to see if your phone still has the correct APN from Sprint. Follow these steps to check APN settings:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap More networks.
  3. Tap Mobile networks.
  4. Touch Access Point Names.
  5. If the phone’s from Sprint originally, it must already have an APN. All you need to do is tap Restore defaults.

After that, check if the phone can now connect to the internet. If not, then double-check if the APN conforms with the following settings:

  • Name: Sprint
  • APN: cinet.spcs
  • Proxy: blank
  • Username: blank
  • Password: blank
  • Server: Not set
  • MMSC: blank
  • MMS Proxy: 68.28.31.7
  • MMS Port: blank
  • MCC: 234
  • MNC: 15
  • Authentication type: not set
  • APN Type: default
  • APN protocol: IPv4

If everything else failed, please call Sprint and ask for the correct APN or ask the rep to check if everything is fine on their end.

Sprint Galaxy S5 Restarts Randomly

Problem: So every now and then my S5 comes up with a 1 minute timer to restart the device with no reason why. Notification says device will restart in (1 minute timer) I have found nothing in any of the forums i have read to fix it and was wondering if anyone else is having this issue. I’ve noticed it sometimes during daylight hours but mainly around 11pm +/- half an hour. Please help. — Cody

Troubleshooting: Hi Cody. If the phone “randomly” restarts at a specific time of the day, it could be an app that’s causing it. I haven’t heard of a pre-installed app that would cause the phone to reboot so it might be a third-party one that’s causing the problem. One way to isolate the problem is to reboot the phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all downloaded applications. Once the phone is in safe mode, observe if the phone still reboots. If not, then find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it. Otherwise, the problem is with the firmware and factory reset might just be the most logical thing to do since we don’t know what’s really causing the issue.

Multiple Issues With Sprint Galaxy S5 After Lollipop Update

Problems: Hello Droid Guy, soon after I upgraded to the S5, the lollipop release was issued for my provider. Not sure if that is the culprit. Currently having issues with:

  • MANY applications constantly updating. Especially apps that are inconveniently pre-loaded,
  • wifi continuously scanning (with those options turned off), switching between open networks and dropping,
  • a notification that the phone is “downloading avatars” for over 24 hours!?! Unable to find the app that is responsible.

Are you aware of any of the above concerns?

Samsung Galaxy S5 purchased 12/27/2014 through Sprint now running the “Connections Optimizer” program, with no difference. Thanks in advance for any response, Michelle W.

Troubleshooting: Yes, Michelle. The problems you’ve encountered after you updated your phone to lollipop are among the most common issues owners reported. But don’t worry, these issues can be fixed:

First, about the apps that constantly updating, just reboot the phone until all apps are optimized. Some users reported they had to restart their phones more than 5 times to optimize all their apps.

Second, disabling the Smart Network Switch often fixes issues with wireless connectivity. But since you said you already did that and the problem remained, then wipe the cache partition to force the phone to delete previous service caches and create new ones. That should do it.

About the third problem, just clear the cache and data of the Download manager and the phone will stop downloading all files or documents or whatever it is your phone is downloading.

I hope this helps, Michelle.

Galaxy S5 Stuck On Sprint Spark Screen

Problem: Hello. I have the Samsung Galaxy S5 (Sprint Spark) for about 7 months and I first upgraded the phone firmware and the phone didn’t turn on, so I went to the Sprint store and they restore the device to its factory mode.

Now, It happened again… I received the request to upgrade the firmware, I made a backup and give the ok to upgrade. Once again I got a problem, but this time the boot get stuck on the yellow Sprint Spark and stays there forever. After a minute or so the phone starts to get hotter and hotter. Try to power off and the button doesn’t work, the only way to turn it off is removing the battery.

Thing I’ve already done:

  1. wipe data/factory reset (ok) (stays frozen on Sprint Spark screen)
  2. wipe cache partition (ok) (stays frozen on Sprint Spark screen)
  3. reboot to bootloader (stay on downloading mode forever)

After all this it freezes on Sprint Spark screen. I’ll appreciate any recommendation or quick fix to resolve this problem. Thanks, Marco.

Troubleshooting: Hi Marco. The only way (the way I see it) to fix this problem is to “reflash” the firmware and there are two options to go about it: either you reflash the previous firmware and re-update or simply flash the new firmware into your phone. However, doing so on your end will void the warranty. So, I suggest you let Sprint’s technicians do it for you. I really am not sure why your phone can’t successfully update over the air. Maybe next time try using Samsung Kies when updating to prevent this issue.

Can’t Edit/Reset APN Settings on Sprint Galaxy S5

Question: Hey my Galaxy S5 updated to the 5.0 version and I’m trying to get my mms to start back working…But under my access point names menu, its not letting me reset to default..could you please help me out? My phone is under Sprint but was flashed over to page plus. — Ryan

Answer: More often, CDMA phones (those that don’t use SIM cards) come with APN already embedded in the firmware and end users have no way of editing it. In this case, only your provider can help you.

During my tenure as a tech support for one of the wireless companies in the US, we have a tool that could reset APN settings in both Verizon and Sprint networks. So, I suggest you call Sprint’s tech support and have the rep reset the APN for you.

Sprint Galaxy S5 Won’t Boot Up

Problem: Hello. I did a reset to factory defaults and now the phone won’t power back on. It is a Sprint phone and worked just fine until an update took it from kit kat to android. Now I have glitches where the camera malfunctions apps stop working and now it gets hot and uses battery very fast even though I have all apps as forced stop in application manager. Even when in sleep mode it doesn’t want to wake up all the time. It will vibrate go to Samsung Galaxy S5 start screen, stay there for a bit bout 30 seconds and then turn black screen and try to restart again over and over again and again. This especially happens a lot when Sprint updates their SprintZone app, which seems to be daily. Any ideas prior to trading it in for a note 4? — Larry

Related Problem: Hello, I have this annoying issue with my Sprint Galaxy S5 after I updated its software to lollipop. After a day or two my mobile keeps on rebooting and I don’t know what causes the issue. I tried removing the battery and waited several hours assuming that the issue will be fixed. But when I placed it back the battery, my phone still keeps on rebooting and I can’t use it. Is there any fix for this issue? Help! – Owen

Troubleshooting: Hi Larry! First of all, make sure the phone has enough battery to power it on. Plug it in to charge until it’s full and then begin your troubleshooting.

Based on your description, it seems like the Power key of your device is stuck. Try pressing the button several times to see if you can make the device to power up until the Home screen shows.

In the case where the phone can boot up successfully but reboots randomly, the problem might be in the firmware. The best way to isolate the issue is to boot it up in safe mode and observe closely if the problem still occurs. Hard reset is you last option before you decide to trade it with a different device. But if I were you, I won’t trouble myself so much with troubleshooting when I’m considering buying a new phone to replace it.

Sprint Galaxy S5 Issue With Stock Email App

Problem: I have a Galaxy S5 I purchased in January 2015. My carrier is Sprint. It has had the lollipop update for quite a while now, maybe a couple of months, with no real problems. Just in the last week or so I noticed an issue with the email app. (Stock app.).

When viewing the email folders the trash folder will show X number of deleted emails next to it. After opening the trash folder and deleting all trash emails, the trash folder is empty, however, when you return to the folders view the trash folder will still show that there are X number of deleted emails in the folder, but when you open the trash folder again it is empty. For example right now the trash folder shows there are 63 deleted emails in it but when I open it, it is empty. If I delete all of my email accounts and then set them all back up it corrects the problem but after about a day or so the problem returns. I have done this 3 times now. Also when viewing the individual accounts (I have 4) it is not always the same account causing the problem, it may be any of the 4 or a combination. I have looked online and this seems to be an issue that has been around for quite some time with Galaxy products but no one has found a solution for it so far. Also I called Sprint tech. support and after an hour and a half they gave up and connected me to Samsung support who tied directly into my phone and after another hour they gave up. Would really appreciate any help in finding a fix. Thanks, Marty.

Troubleshooting: I really feel sorry for you knowing you’ve already spent so much time with different tech support groups to no avail. I have seen a lot of problems like this before and most of the time, deleting the problematic account and setting it back up will fix the issue.

I really don’t know what troubleshooting procedures you’ve already done with Sprint and Samsung tech support but the way I see it, deleting all the accounts and clearing both the cache and data of the Email app before setting them all back up will fix this. Also, to troubleshoot further (and it may take days depending on the number of accounts you have), I suggest you setup just one account per day and observe when the problem would show up. This way, you will know for sure if the issue is with the app or with your accounts.

Multiple Performance Issues With Sprint Galaxy S5

Problem: Hello. I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read the following b/c it’s EXACTLY how I feel:

“I’ve never been so disgusted with a piece of hardware or software after an upgrade. It’s almost enough to make me go buy that fruit version of a phone.”

I am not an Apple user but I would give up my 1st born (which I don’t have) to get rid of this phone. This is my 2nd Galaxy S5 in 3 months and I have had nothing but problems. Brought the 1st one to the Sprint store – repair person said she’d never seen that issue – a display issue. Got me a replacement phone….and then things REALLY started going wrong. The phone freezes, shuts down, starts up…displays app error messages constantly “<fill in the blank> has stopped working.”

I noticed a Sprint KB article on all this, so I’m sure they’re aware of it but….doesn’t matter what I do…..camera, internet, text, emails….pick up the darn thing….look at it….I mean, I can’t turn it on most of the times without pulling the battery…and yes, I’ve done all of the things I’ve found in the Android forums….clear cache….etc. AND I just did a ‘factory reset’….nothing fixes it.

Happened before the Lollipop update AND after…no change.

Given that Samsung has sold probably millions of these things the ONLY thing I can think of is that I am a Sprint user on the West Coast…so just maybe the operating system is not interfacing well with the Sprint network here which as everyone knows is not as good as Verizon or ATT. Any ideas, suggestions other than getting an iPhone? Thanks. — Barb

Troubleshooting: Hey Barb. I understand the frustration and I’m really sorry if you feel that way and that your provider hasn’t fixed the problem for you. I doubt the replacement unit you got was brand new; more often, customers are given refurbished phones to replace their “problematic” brand new phones. That said, it is almost certain that the unit has issues.

The problems you mentioned are a combination of firmware and hardware issues and all your efforts to troubleshoot them will be useless. So, the only way you can go about this is to request for a “working” replacement unit. As you said, you already did factory reset but these problems remained. I know it will be very inconvenient to go to Sprint store and request for yet another replacement unit but there’s nothing much you can do about it. I’m sorry.

Lollipop Update Corrupted Photos in Galaxy S5 Sport

Problem: Good morning, I am hoping you are able to help. Two days ago, Sprint did a lollipop update on my Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport. Since that time, about half of my pictures, are black, stating unsupported, or media not found. I am heartbroken, as many of the pics are of our new grandchild. I have tried everything to fix this, but to no avail. I do have backup on, but, they are not there either. When removing sd card, to put on computer, same issue remains. Please help. — Julie

Troubleshooting: It appears like the update, somehow, has reached your microSD card and corrupted its contents. If your computer can’t ready from the card either, then find some technicians in your area who knows how to extract photos or files from corrupted SD cards. There’s nothing much we can do about it because it’s more of a hardware issue than anything else.

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Issue On Sprint Galaxy S5

Problem: Since I downloaded the lollipop upgrade to my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S5 my work email won’t work. I tried deleting the account and reinstalling it but I am not being allowed to set it up. It is a Microsoft Exchange Activesync type. The message says that there are problems with the security certificate for the site, that it isn’t from a trusted authority. But it is and was on there before the upgrade. Any ideas. — Jill

Troubleshooting: Hi Jill. As long as you have all the correct information entered on each field, the Security Warning doesn’t matter at all. Just tap Continue and you should be able to setup your Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account. But actually, that warning message is expected to come up almost every time you setup an account.

Sprint Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect to Home WiFi

Problem: Hi guys, I have this annoying issue with my Sprint Galaxy S5 for almost 2 weeks now. The issue started after I updated my phone’s software from lollipop to Kitkat. After the update, my device cannot anymore connect to my Home Wi-Fi, I rebooted it multiple times but my phone still won’t connect. How can I fix it? – Emma

Troubleshooting: Hello Emma, the type of issue you have in your device is very rampant especially after updating phone’s software from Kitkat to Lollipop. Since you’ve mentioned that you’ve been having this issue for 2 weeks already, I’m not really sure what procedures you already did in your device are.

Try to connect to any public WiFi networks just to see if your phone is still capable of doing that. If so, then the problem is with your Home network and not your phone. Otherwise, continue troubleshooting by booting your phone in safe mode first. After booting up the device in Safe Mode and the issue persists then, you can try wiping the cache partition of the device. Lastly, a hard reset is necessary if everything else failed.

Sprint Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect With Bluetooth Speaker

Problem: Hello guys, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and I bought it from Sprint a year ago. After I updated my phone’s software the device performance was good and I didn’t have any issue with it. However, I noticed the issue 3 days ago when I tried to use my Bluetooth but my device won’t connect to the other device or to my portable speaker. I’m really sure that my portable speaker has no problem because I’m using it with my tablet and laptop. I rebooted my S5 multiple times but the issue still persists and until now my Bluetooth is useless. I think this issue is minor and I hope you can help me. Thanks and more power! – Riley

Troubleshooting: Hi Riley, this issue is very common to S5 users especially after updating the phone’s firmware to lollipop. In fact, a lot of our readers have also have also this same exact problem. First, you can try deleting all those paired Bluetooth devices in your S5. Doing this will delete all Bluetooth data that was stored in your Galaxy S5 and will create newer data. Try to see if your device will detect or can connect to the other devices. If the procedure didn’t work then you don’t have a choice but to perform factory reset.

S Health & Samsung Galaxy Stopped Working

Problem: Good day guys, since I purchased my Galaxy S5 from Sprint I don’t have any issues on my device. However, since last week after I updated my phone’s software to lollipop my S Health App is not working anymore. When I open the app the message will appear saying “Unfortunately S Health stopped working”. I removed the battery of the device and place it back but the message still appears on the phone screen. I’m not a tech savvy guy maybe you can help me with my issue. Thanks and more power! – Grant

Related Problem: Hi, last week I updated my phone’s software from Kitkat to lollipop but after a few hours the issue occurs. Every time I open any of my apps there’s message popping up saying “Samsung Galaxy has stopped”. I already close all running apps of my device but the issue still happening. How can I fix it? – Jade

Troubleshooting: I assume that the update process was successful and that you haven’t received any error message while trying to upgrade from Kitkat to Lollipop. We have several readers who also have this kind of problem and since S Health is a pre-installed app or a system service, a master reset is necessary to fix this problem.

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Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your emails. Email us via [email protected] any time. We read every email but can’t guarantee a response.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Problems After Lollipop Update & How To Fix Them [Part 67]

note 3

Welcome to the 67th installment of our Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Troubleshooting series. In this post, I addressed 12 problems that occurred after the lollipop update. We’ve been bombarded with hundreds of questions from our readers and we cannot answer all of them in a day, so we publish posts like this.

We are serious in providing assistance especially to our readers and we will never get tired of doing this. So, feel free to send your concerns via email ([email protected]) or post our social network pages (Facebook and Google+). What we offer is a free service or support but we ask you to provide all necessary details about your problems and your phone. Emails that contain vague questions may not be answered.

If you have problems with your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 after the lollipop update, continue reading as I may have addressed them in this post.

Galaxy Note 3 Failed To Install The Lollipop Update

Problem: So I received a notification that there’s an available update for my phone, a Galaxy Note 3 I purchased last year. It wasn’t the first time I received a notification like it and the previous updates installed just fine without any issues during and after the installation. I was hoping it was going to be like that, I was wrong. Now I don’t know what to do next. Can you help me, please. — Stacie

Related Problem: Hello droid guys! I was supposed to download a new update but it couldn’t finish it. I remember the first time I received a notification about an update, everything went smoothly not like this. Since I already hit the download button but failed, I couldn’t re-download it. So my question is, how can I download the update again and successfully install it? Thanks! — Jessy

Troubleshooting: Hi Stacie and Jessy! There’s no guarantee everything will go smoothly and I feel sorry you have to experience all the hassles. But don’t worry, if the update process failed the first time you attempted it, then there must be something that hindered it. The most common reason is the lack of storage space in your phone’s internal storage. You may have enough space in your SD card but that’s not where Android will download the new firmware package. To be sure the process won’t be interrupted the next time you download it, there must be at least 3GB of space left in the phones memory. It means, you will have to transfer your pictures, videos or any other files saved in the phone’s memory to your microSD card or download them to your computer to make space. If it were the apps that occupy the space, you have to uninstall some of them and clear their data to make way for the new firmware.

After you made space in your phone’s internal storage, initiate the update process again via Settings. If the phone can’t find the new firmware because you already attempted to download it, then clear the cache and data of the Download Manager service to delete all traces of the new firmware in the system and then try again.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps
  2. Choose Settings, and tap General
  3. Scroll down to Device manager section and tap Application manager.
  4. Scroll to the right to display contents of ALL
  5. Scroll down to find Download Manager.
  6. Now tap the Clear Cache
  7. Tap the Clear Data button, then OK.

Galaxy Note 3 System UI Unavailable Error After Lollipop Update

Problem: Good morning, my husband and I have the note 3 and we both updated our phones yesterday. Mine works like a charm but, his is another story. He gets notifications and can’t see them. A prime example, someone calls – his phone rings but, the phone screen with the caller ID doesn’t pop up. It also says “system UI unavailable” and pull down screen with the wifi toggles and such doesn’t pull down anymore. Anyway to fix this? Kindest Regards, Kiah.

Related Problem: Hi guys. First off, I want to thank you for everything you’re doing for us users. I’ve been following your blog since I encountered a problem with my Note 3 last year. Now, I have another problem that I don’t know how to fix and I don’t think you’ve already addressed this.

After I updated to Android 5 Lollipop, my phone automatically rebooted. The reboot was successful and by the time I was about to use my phone and open my email, the error message “Unfortunately, System UI has stopped” popped up. Then, the phone would just freeze for several minutes. By the time it started to act ok and when I try to use it again, the error message reappears. Basically, I can’t do a thing with it and I really don’t know how to fix it. Please help me. Thank you, Julie.

Troubleshooting: Hi Kiah and Julie! Apparently, the update caused this problem and it didn’t just happen with lollipop, it also occurred when Note 3 transitioned from Jelly Bean to Kitkat. But basically, the problem is that the new system may still be using data built by the previous system and since it’s already obsolete, there will be errors. The solution is to clear obsolete data and caches–full hard reset!

But before you actually do that, try to boot the phone in safe mode and backup all your important data especially ones that were saved in your phone’s internal storage because they will all be deleted.

Safe Mode

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

Full Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power
  3. When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home
  5. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

Galaxy Note 3 Freezes and Lags After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi Harold! I have been following your blogs since 2013 when my Galaxy S3 started to fail. Last year, I upgraded to Note 3 and I never had a problem with it until as of late after I installed the latest lollipop update. After I successfully installed lollipop, my phone began to freeze like crazy to the point that I couldn’t use it. When I open my email, it freezes. When I use Facebook, it freezes. Whatever I do, it freezes for a few minutes and I don’t want that. I just want my phone back. Please help me as I’m at a loss here. Thanks. — Jade

Related Problem: I know you guys are very busy so I will be brief. But first of all, thank your reading my email and for all the effort you do in helping us. My problem started after I installed the newest update, I think it’s Android 5 or lollipop. The problem is that, the phone frequently lags at random. When I say lag, it will take more than 10 seconds to load even the music app. I listen to music with my Note 3 a lot so I know it would only take a second or two to open it. But gone were those days. Now, the phone just lags more frequently than not. So, I need your help guys because I’m really a noob when it comes to these things. Thanks! — Mila

Troubleshooting: In Jade’s case, it’s apparent the recent update corrupted some of the caches and data. This problem is very common after major updates or if Android will transition from one version to another, in this case, it’s from Kitkat to Lollipop. The first thing that needs to be done is wipe the cache partition so the phone will be forced to create new files for the new system:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power
  3. When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home
  5. Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache.
  7. With ‘reboot system now’ highlighted, press the Power key to restart the device.

With Mila’s case, it’s possible the problem is with the apps that lag. I recommend clearing the cache and data of the Music app first. If that would fix the problem, then it must be done for other apps that also lag just to avoid the hassle of backing up all important data. However, clearing the cache and data of those apps won’t fix the problem, then it’s time to factory reset the phone. But then again, it’s imperative that all data will be backed up before the process:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps
  2. Choose Settings, and tap General
  3. Tap Backup and reset and choose Factory data reset.
  4. At the bottom of the screen, touch the button Reset device.
  5. Choose Erase everything. Once all data and settings on the Note 3 have been deleted, the phone will reset and then reboot.

Turned Off Notification LED Still Flashes After Lollipop Update

Problem: The blue notification light flashes when the screen is off even though the box for this option is unchecked. I’ve tried checking and unchecking the box, but it still flashes when I receive a new notification during the off screen. I want to turn this off, but can’t. Suggestions?

Troubleshooting: If there is any light manager app installed in the device or anything at all that could manipulate the LED, then it must be uninstalled before you troubleshoot the problem. After all, you can reinstall it whenever you want to as long as you know what the problem really is.

However, if that is not the case, then I suggest you boot your phone first in safe mode just to make sure not one of your third-party apps will interfere with your device. Here’s how you boot Galaxy Note 3 in safe mode:

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

Once in safe mode, observe closely if the LED still flashes. If so, then the problem is with the firmware, otherwise, you will have to look into your apps one-by-one to know which one causes the problem.

Now, the issue was firmware-related, then there’s no other option but to hard reset your phone. Of course, you will have to backup all your data before you do that as they will all be deleted.

Galaxy Note 3 Stuck In Easy Mode

Problem: Phone is Galaxy Note 3. Android Version is 4.3 (won’t update). So I just got a Galaxy Note 3 from the internet today and when I turned it on the phone was in easy mode. When I turned the easy mode setting off, the phone was still stuck in easy mode. I went under ->Settings to the application manager under -> All to clear all defaults like I’ve been reading and nothing happened. When I went under -> All in the -> Application Manager setting, Touchwiz Easy was the only launcher. I looked for home screen, launcher, touchwiz, etc (in case it had a different name). So basically, touchwiz isn’t installed on my device? When I downloaded another launcher and it asked me which launcher I wanted to set as default, the only options I had were the touchwiz easy and the launcher I just installed. Is there a way to fix this myself or would I have to take it in?

Troubleshooting: It could have been very helpful if you included the model number of this device and what you country you are in. In the U.S., Android 4.4 has long been rolled out in preparation for Android 5. If this phone is carrier-branded, it must follow the trail of updates to be able to download and install the latest firmware. In your case, we don’t know if the phone is rooted or running a custom firmware but the best thing to do to get the device out of Easy Mode is to hard reset it. I understand you just got the phone so I assume you haven’t stored data or files in it yet so there’s nothing to lose.

Full Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power
  3. When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home
  5. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to turn the restart the device.

Galaxy Note 3 Home Button Won’t Work & Won’t Auto Rotate

Problem: Hi I need some help with my Note 3. It started today, all of a sudden it wouldn’t auto rotate. I removed battery and Sim card then restart. Still not working, however now it also won’t let me use the main button, at all. Menu button and back arrow work. What can I do, if anything? Thanks for your time!

Troubleshooting: Of course, my first question is “What happened to the phone before the Home button stopped functioning?” If the button just stopped functioning without apparent reason, which happens sometimes, then it must be a glitch. A minor one could be fixed by a simple reboot while a more serious one by soft reset:

  1. Pull the battery out while the phone is on.
  2. Press and hold the Power key for a minute.
  3. Place the battery back in and turn the phone on.

However, if liquid or physical damage caused this problem, find the nearest service center and have a professional take a look at it because we don’t know the extent of the problem.

About the auto rotate issue, first of all, make sure the feature is enabled. Then, open an app that supports auto-rotate like the stock browser. Remember, there are apps that don’t support auto rotate. It would also be logical if you performed hard reset especially if these problems remained after doing some troubleshooting.

Galaxy Note 3 Proximity Sensor Issue After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hello. I’ve updated 2 Galaxy Note 3’s (AT&T) to Lollipop couple weeks ago and when I put the phone to my ear, it does not black out so its inconvenient when I put the call on mute or end call and mess with other functions/settings. Both 2 phones do the same thing. It’s as if the proximity sensor isn’t working at all. Any viable solutions?

Troubleshooting: You said you have another phone that also does the same thing. If that phone is a Note 3 and the problem started immediately after you updated it to lollipop, then it must be a bug with the firmware. It’s no coincidence that both Note 3 are having the same problem after being updated to lollipop. However, if that is not the case, then you have to go through basic troubleshooting procedure:

  1. First off, remove the case if the phone has one.
  2. Clean the entire screen of the phone to make sure dirt isn’t the cause of this.
  3. If you have an air spray can, give the earpiece a blast to get rid of the dirt inside that may also block the proximity sensor. Or, you can simply blow hard enough several times.
  4. There were cases that the screen protector obscured the proximity sensor, it would also be wise to take it off.
  5. If all these failed, then bring the phone to the nearest service center and have a technician take a look at it.

Uninstall Lollipop From Galaxy Note 3

Problem: Hello, I unwittingly installed Lollipop 5.0 on my Galaxy Note 3 and what a mistake. I HATE IT. I am visually impaired and the grey on white and all of these lollipop faded colors on white are absolutely an eyestrain. I want what I think I had before including my widgets on Kitkat 4.4.4 How do I uninstall Lollipop and get Kitkat back? It has not been a good day and this debacle has just made matters even worse. HELP! — Genevieve

Troubleshooting: Once installed, there’s no way for average users to uninstall the firmware to downgrade it to the previous version. In Android, the word “update” means deleting all remnants of the previous version while installing new files for the new firmware.

The best way to go back to the previous version is to root your phone and manually install the previous version. This, of course, is risky and will surely void your warranty. I am not sure if service providers will downgrade the firmware if their customer asked them to, but it’s worth a try.

Galaxy Note 3 Email Issue After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi there, I hope you can help. I am going nuts since the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to my ATT Galaxy Note 3. The phone is connected via Bluetooth to my 2015 Subaru outback. Now while driving and listening to audio books, etc. from my phone over my car sound system, the car starts getting alerts about incoming email (not gmail), literally dozens of messages at one time (mostly spam). It takes tens of minutes for this to occur after starting a trip, but it keeps happening. I have done everything I can to stop this. It is going to cause an accident.

The only thing that eventual y works is turning off Bluetooth at the phone. Neither muting nor turning off the stereo on the car works, as it treats it as an alert. I do not even check email on that particular email account. There is no disable alerts under email under sounds and notifications/application notifications, only set as priority.

I don’t even know who to blame (Samsung, Google, Subaru). I have three email accounts on the email app. My work email to exchange server does not seem to be an issue. It appears to only be the one that gets a lot of spam, which is why I only check it manually. Is Subaru somehow making a request for mail delivery form my phone, that wasn’t happening before the Lollipop update? — Larry

Troubleshooting: Hi Larry, you can have this problem solved in any way you want but first off, no, it’s not Subaru’s fault. It’s all your phone’s! That said, here are the thing you can do to address this issue:

  1. It’s a bit extreme but delete the account you’re having problems with.
  2. Or, you can just set the syncing frequency so emails will come in when you’re at home or when you’re not driving.
  3. Lastly, change the notification for that specific account. Go to Email > tap Menu > Settings > Manage accounts > Email notifications > Vibrate.

Galaxy Note 3 Acting Up After Liquid Damage

Problem: Hi, my phone was in contact with water (without me knowing) and powered off on its own. Put it in rice, and it wouldn’t power on. Tried disassembling and cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and it DID power on, but there are still bugs. The phone will not hold a charge – it maxes out at 23% and then just continues to die (sometimes won’t charge at all). The phone is also constantly making a static noise like the speaker is blown. Cannot send or receive phone calls. All other features – text, internet, apps, camera – are fully functioning. I just got the phone less than 6 months ago and it was in mint condition, so if I can just purchase new parts and use those to fix it, I’d like to do that. If it’s beyond repair, then it is what it is. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Regards, Natalie.

Suggestion: There’s no way for us to know the extent of the liquid damage but in your case, it seems it totally messed up your phone. Your lucky the phone still powers on so there’s a chance it can be fixed. However, you said it refuses to charge, that’s one indication that the charging IC is busted, which is expected for phones that have been in contact with liquid.

All these behaviors you mentioned are typical of liquid damage. While there’s no guarantee the phone will be repaired back to normal, I would still suggest you have a technician take a look at it. Blowing hot air over phone components often helps but never a guarantee.

Galaxy Note 3 Apps Greyed Out After Lollipop Update

Question: Hi, few days back I updated my Note 3 to lollipop, after a few hours I noticed that 20% of my previously installed apps are “greyed out”. And when I tried clicking certain app there’s a message appears saying that the apps need to be installed. Do I really have to install back those apps? Please help! – Matt

Troubleshooting: This problem only occurs when the microSD card can’t be detected by the phone or was un-mounted. Of course, the apps that were greyed out are ones that were saved or moved to the SD card. Their icons turned grey to indicate they were once installed but can never be opened because all necessary data cannot be accessed.

To fix this problem, just make sure the microSD card is mounted or still readable. If it happens that the card is already damaged, there’s no way you can save the data of these apps. Instead, you need to download and reinstall them to your phone’s internal storage.

Galaxy Note 3 GPS Problem After Lollipop Update

Problem: After I updated my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 the GPS lost its signal. And when I turn Off and On my phone it always says “Searching for GPS”. And there’s an instance also when I unlock my device the message will show up on the notification panel and will immediately go to “Location set by GPS”. How can I fix it? – Mark

Troubleshooting: First of all, try to wipe the cache partition as it is always possible the GPS cache files got corrupted during the update process. If that won’t work, then try this:

  1. Open your phone and dial this like you’re making a call *#9090# if still not working try this one *#197328640#.
  2. Tap Menu, and select key input, enter Q.
  3. Tap Menu again and select key input and enter 0000.
  4. The next Menu will pop up after a few minutes.
  5. If you don’t have UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) it will show like this; UMTS->COMMON->NV REBUILD->NV REBUILD->SYSTEM->PROTOCOL->GPS->IMS UE SETTINGS & INFO->SETTING->SYSTEM->NV REBUILD->ALL
  6. After all those steps you can restart your device and wait for a minute to finish the process.

If this procedure also failed, then perform full hard reset of the device.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Problems After Android 5 Lollipop Update & Ways To Fix Them [Part 6]

The Android 5 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has already been rolled out in the United States and since it’s a major update, we expected there would be problems, bugs, glitches and whatnot. True enough, a day after the roll out started, we began receiving bulks of emails from our readers asking for help. The problems I cited below are the most common Galaxy Note 4 problems after lollipop update. Skim through the page to find out if the issue you currently have is similar to one of the problems I addressed in this post.

Galaxy-Note-4-Lollipop-Problems

For those who have just tuned in, we provide free Android support; meaning, we answer questions, help solve your problems and draft troubleshooting procedures for you to follow. All you need to do is send your concerns to [email protected] or post on our Facebook wall and/or Google+ page. However, we strongly urge you to provide all necessary details and information about your problem so that we can accurately assess your concern and provide appropriate solutions.

  1. Galaxy Note 4 Abnormal Battery Drain After Lollipop Update
  2. WiFi Drops, Disconnects Intermittently After Lollipop
  3. Galaxy Note 4 Cannot Install Android 5 Lollipop Update
  4. Galaxy Note 4 Stuck During Boot Up After Lollipop Update
  5. Some Of The Apps Won’t Open After Lollipop Update
  6. Galaxy Note 4 Overheats After Lollipop Update
  7. Galaxy Note 4 Keeps Connecting To Mobile Data After Lollipop
  8. Galaxy Note 4 LED Indicator Not Working After Lollipop
  9. How To Change Font Style on Note 4?
  10. How Can I Delete All Personal Information on Note 4?

Galaxy Note 4 Abnormal Battery Drain After Lollipop Update

Problem: I bought my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 about two months ago and it’s my first experience with Android. I love the new ecosystem and interface and all other features I haven’t experienced with Apple’s iPhone. So far, so good…until after I installed the recently rolled out Android Lollipop update. Immediately after the update, I noticed the battery doesn’t last as long as before. For example, I used my phone for Facebook and it was only about 15 minutes. When I check the battery percentage, it dropped from 87% to 81%. Before, an hour of use will only use up 2% to 3% of battery with mobile data on. So, with my Note 4 running lollipop, it won’t last a day of use unlike before. Can you help me figure out the problem is? Thank you for all the help! — Jerome

Troubleshooting: This problem is common not only to Galaxy Note 4 but to other Android devices and it often occurs after a major update. The most common cause is the corrupt data used by the new system that is why the problem won’t occur if the user boots the phone in safe mode. There, however, some cases wherein the problem wasn’t caused by corrupt app data but rather by corrupt caches used by system apps and services. But since we don’t know for sure what’s causing the issue, let’s take the safest route in troubleshooting it. The first thing I want you to do is boot the phone in safe mode and observe:

  1. Turn off the phone completely.
  2. Press and hold the Power key and the Volume Down key.
  3. When the phone starts to boot, release the Power key but continue holding the Vol Down key until the phone finished restarting.
  4. Safe mode will be displayed at the lower left corner; you may release the Volume Down key now.

When the phone is in safe mode, all third-party apps and services are temporarily disabled. So, if some of them were causing the problem, the phone should not drain it’s battery as fast as when it’s booted normally. In this case, clearing the cache and data of the third-party apps as well as updating all those that have available updates will fix the problem. However, if the problem remained even if the phone is in safe mode, wiping the cache partition will do the trick.

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. When the wiping of the cache partition is finished, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the power key.

WiFi Drops, Disconnects Intermittently After Lollipop

Problem: I update my Galaxy Note 4 to lollipop about a couple of days ago and since around that time I can’t use my WiFi as well as I could because it often drops or disconnects after a minute or two. The phone is pretty new and before the update, it was working great that I haven’t noticed any problem. It was only after the update that I encountered a few issues that I was able to resolve except this WiFi thing. Not really a techie person so to be honest, I’m afraid I might mess up the settings if I continue to fix this problem without guidance from people who know what they’re doing. So, I really need your help guys. Please help me fix this problem. Thank you so much! — Jamieson

Troubleshooting: When it comes to WiFi issues, there are a lot of factors we need to consider and the first of them are your network equipment (i.e. modem, routers, etc.); make sure these equipment are working properly. If you have a laptop or other IP-capable devices, try to connect them to your network and see if they can browse the internet. If they can, then it’s not network-related. Otherwise, you need to troubleshoot your network by simply rebooting the equipment to refresh them. Or, you may call your service provider to get it sorted out.

But let’s assume your WiFi network is completely fine, the first thing you need to do is “Forget” the network from your device’s Settings menu. After doing this, let your device detect and re-connect to the same network. This will refresh everything and for minor WiFi issues, this procedure is very effective.

If the problem remained after doing the aforementioned procedures, then check if Power Saving Mode is enabled. There were a lot of reports from users suggesting the feature is interfering with the phone’s normal connectivity functions. You may disable the Power Saving Mode feature or just some restrictions that have something to do with wireless connectivity.

After all these and the issue persisted, then it’s time you backed up all your important data and perform a full hard reset of your device as the problem may be caused by the system itself. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  8. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

Galaxy Note 4 Cannot Install Android 5 Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi droid guys! I own a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and about 4 days ago, I received a notification that there’s an available update. I waited a couple of days to finally deciding to download it but when I did, the phone refused to download it. I don’t know why it can’t download the update but if there’s something you can tell me to fix this problem, I will greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Problem 2: Hello! I already attempted several times to update my Galaxy Note 4 to the recent lollipop firmware but it seems stuck somewhere. One time, the download was successful but the installation failed. There was also another time when it was stuck in the download process. Again, I already attempted several times to no avail. I really can’t figure out what the issue is, so please help me. — Barry

Problem 3: I tried installing the lollipop update to my Note 4 today but it didn’t push through. The phone is still powered on but there’s no activity for so long now. I don’t know what to do. Help me please.

Question: How come I haven’t received a notification about the lollipop update for the Note 4? My wife has the same phone she already received the notification and installed the update.

Troubleshooting: Updates are rolled out in batches, so if your wife or friend received the notification about the update, just wait until you get one. Rest assured your device will be updated soon.

Now, for Note 4s that couldn’t complete the lollipop download/installation, there are some things you need to check to make sure your phone is lollipop-ready.

  1. Make sure you are connected to a fast and stable WiFi network. Unstable WiFi connection may disrupt the download process or may corrupt some data that will consequently mess up with the installation.
  2. Your phone must have, at least, 3GB space left in its internal memory. Yes, the new lollipop firmware need that much space to be installed and run on your phone.
  3. Allow 30 to 60 minutes to download and install the new update. If the phone seems to have no activity, let it be. Remember, removing the battery during OS update may cause more serious issues to your phone.
  4. Your phone will automatically reboot after OS installation and this time, it will take more time to boot up as the new system creates new caches and data for apps and services. Don’t panic if it seems stuck during boot up, just wait until it reaches the Home screen.
  5. Apps may also take time to load for the first time after the lollipop update as they will be optimized for the new system.

I hope this helps.

Galaxy Note 4 Stuck During Boot Up After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi! Yesterday my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has been updated to Android 5 Lollipop update. The download and installation was smooth and fast but when the time for the phone to reboot after the installation, it got stuck during boot up. I was thinking maybe it only needed time to boot up for the first time after the new system was installed so I left it for more than an hour considering the number of apps I installed. I actually left the house to run some errands but when I came home, the phone was still on the same screen as when I left it. So, I removed the battery and tried rebooting it, still the same. So now, I’m confused why this is happening and at the same time very annoyed because the new update messed up everything for me. I need your expertise on this. Thank you. — Leanne

Related Problem: After I downloaded lollipop to my Note 4, the phone freezes when it starts up and won’t continue to the Home screen. My brother said to remove the SIM card and reboot but it’s still the same. My neighbor also told me to remove the battery and press the Power button for 30 seconds and then try to reboot but the problem is still the same. Don’t know what to do at this point. Help me.

Troubleshooting: Hi Leanne! I will, of course, assume that the download and installation was successful. More often, the phone gets stuck on the boot up screen after the update when some caches were corrupted during the process. Clearing all them will fix the problem, so that’s all you need to do to continue using your phone. Just follow these steps and you’ll be fine:

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. When the wiping of the cache partition is finished, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the power key.

Some Of The Apps Won’t Open After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi Harold. I’ve been following your blog ever since you posted the first part of your Galaxy Note 4 troubleshooting series. I enjoyed reading the first few posts but I haven’t had issues with my phone until I downloaded the recent lollipop update. I successfully installed the new firmware and the process was actually smooth. The phone’s performance improved and I love the new interface and additional features. However, some of the apps I installed won’t work anymore after the update. I know the problem is update-related as I was still able to use these apps before I updated my phone. I rebooted many times already because I’m afraid to change the settings in my phone thinking I might cause more trouble than good. I need your advice on this. How can I make these apps work again? — Lilibeth

Troubleshooting: More often than not, if an app won’t work after a major update, then it’s a compatibility issue. Meaning, the app needs to be updated so it would work or run smoothly on the new system. Apps developed by small-time (individual) developers are often the ones to have problems like this. Modifying a running app will also take time and only big-time developers can afford to spend so much time tweaking their apps and make them compatible with the new firmware, in this case, it’s Android 5 Lollipop.

That said, the first thing you need to do is check via Google Play Store to see if there available updates for apps that won’t open after the recent update. If there are, then update the apps at once to fix the problem. Otherwise, the best thing to do is clear both the cache and data to see if that would make a difference. Also, uninstalling the app and downloading a fresh copy from the Play Store may fix the issue. But if all else failed, it’s time you contacted the developer of the app and report the problem. There’s nothing much we can do if it’s a compatibility problem than wait until the developer releases a patch to fix the issue or a new update to make the app run on a new system.

Galaxy Note 4 Overheats After Lollipop Update

Problem: I noticed that after I updated my Note 4 to lollipop, it began to develop heat like it never did before. It’s not normal because when I hold the phone, the heat will make my hand feel uncomfortable. Since I bought the phone 3 months ago, I have always been observing its performance and behavior and immediately after the update, the performance deteriorated and then there’s excessive heating. Not really sure what caused these issues but if you have something you can suggest I do to fix them, I would greatly appreciate your effort. Thank you and please continue with what you’re doing. You are helping millions of Android users around the globe. — Ben

Troubleshooting: There are a lot of factors that may contribute to the development of heat in a device and considering Note 4 is a powerful smartphone, it develops heat faster than phones with lower specs. But then, of course, the heat it develops must be within the threshold because too much heat can damage some of its components inside not to mention the discomfort it creates for its user.

Since the problem started immediately after the lollipop update, we can narrow the problem down to corrupt data or caches and more often, third-party apps are among the common culprits. That said, it would be wise to boot the phone in safe mode first and then observe its performance and how much heat it can develop when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled.

  1. Turn off the phone completely.
  2. Press and hold the Power key and the Volume Down key.
  3. When the phone starts to boot, release the Power key but continue holding the Vol Down key until the phone finished restarting.
  4. Safe mode will be displayed at the lower left corner; you may release the Volume Down key now.

If the phone still develops too much heat even in safe mode, there’s no other option but to perform full hard reset so that all corrupt data will be wiped out. Otherwise, you need to find those apps that are causing the problem; begin with apps that need to be updated.

Full Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  8. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

Galaxy Note 4 Keeps Connecting To Mobile Data After Lollipop

Problem: I am currently experiencing a very weird problem with my new Note 4 and it started after I updated the phone about 3 days ago. The problem is, it keeps on reconnecting to mobile data and disconnects from my WiFi network and between those sessions, internet connectivity is cut off. In short, I cannot get a decent internet connection even if my WiFi network is fast and stable because the phone thinks I wanted to use mobile data. I am 59 years old and I’m not really savvy when it comes to this thing. I’m afraid I might change something that will break my phone. By the way, the phone was a gift by my daughter so I really don’t have a choice but to accept and use it. I have worked with a tech company so I have a little understanding how internet works but when it comes to troubleshooting some problems, I’m not into that. Can you help me, please? — Josie

Troubleshooting: Hi Josie. This problem is common to Galaxy devices that recently received lollipop update. The Note 4 has a feature that will allow it to connect to a network that has better signal. While it is a useful feature, more often, it becomes very annoying as it makes the phone dumber. That said, it would be better if you turn the feature off to fix this problem. Or, if you don’t use mobile data, turn it off so that the phone will be forced to connect to WiFi even if the signal reception isn’t that good. To disable Smart Network Switch feature, follow these steps:

  1. Swipe down from the top of the screen with one finger.
  2. Tap the Settings icon.
  3. Tap Wi-Fi.
  4. Tap the checkbox next to Smart Network Switch to uncheck it.
  5. Tap OK.

Galaxy Note 4 LED Indicator Not Working After Lollipop

Problem: Hi guys! First of all, thank you for making yourselves available for us users. You’re more helpful than other websites in this niche.

I have a problem with my Galaxy Note 4 but before that, one of the features I love most about this phone is the fact that it has LED indicator that notifies me whenever something has arrived or if the battery is low and so on. After the lollipop update, the indicator doesn’t work anymore and as much as I want to troubleshoot, I really just want to know if Samsung intentionally removed the feature.

Of course, I will be very happy if you can help me turn it back on because, at night, I always rely on it to tell me if I have messages or missed calls. More power to your website. — Rose

Troubleshooting: Hi Rose! Removing the feature would be one of the most absurd decisions Samsung could ever make considering majority of its devices have LED indicators. It would be a total waste of resources having a component that won’t function. So, the answer to your question is no. Samsung didn’t remove the feature.

However, Android 5 Lollipop can now disable all notifications if the phone is set to Silent Mode or muted. If, the phone wasn’t muted but the LED indicator still won’t notify you, then make sure the phone is set to notify you for your desired alert types. Go to Settings > Display > LED indicator > check desired alert types. At this point, the problem should have been solved already. Otherwise, you need to further check on the General Priority Notification settings by going to Settings > Sounds and notifications > Interruptions > set priority interruption for Events and reminders, Phone calls or Messages.

How To Change Font Style on Note 4

Question: Hi. I recently purchased a brand new Galaxy Note 4 and it is my first Android phone. I’m still learning how to use it to my own advantage and there’s one thing I can’t figure out; how can I change the font style? By the way, I already updated it to the latest firmware and I’ve seen from a friend that the font style of his Note 4 was different from the default. Do I have to root the phone to have a new font style? Or, is there a setting for it? Thanks! — Mia

Answer: Hi Mia! Welcome to the Android bandwagon! Note 4 is a good phone for starters. To answer your question about whether you need to root your phone to change the font style, no, you don’t have to. There’s a setting for that, although, I understand why new users can’t easily find it. Go to Settings > Display > Font > Font style. Now choose among the available font styles and hit the Download button. That’s pretty much it!

How Can I Delete All Personal Information on Note 4

Question: So, I have a one month old Galaxy Note 4 that I will give to my cousin next week as I will be buying iPhone 6. I’m not really into technology so I had the sales rep setup the phone for me with all my personal emails and information entered. Now, I’m worried that my cousin will have access to my personal information so I want to clear out everything in the phone before I hand the device over to her. But how can I do that? Can you walk me through deleting all personal information? And by the way, if it matters, the device has recently been updated to lollipop. Regards, Julia.

Answer: Hi Julia! To make sure your privacy isn’t compromised, you just have to perform full hard reset to delete all personal information as well as all apps you installed that may be using your Google account. That’s all you need to do. Please follow these steps:

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  8. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your emails. Email us via [email protected] any time. We read every email but can’t guarantee a response. Lastly, if we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends or visit our Troubleshooting Page. Thanks.

Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Problems and Questions on Android 5 Lollipop Update [Part 2]

Sprint Galaxy S5

We did receive a lot of emails from our readers who own Galaxy S5s and many were asking if their device will ever get the lollipop update. Samsung hasn’t finished rolling out updates in the U.S., so as of now, you can easily download Android 5 on your Samsung Galaxy S5 device. But for Straight Talk branded model, there seems to be no word if the update would ever gonna come.

I addressed 10 problems in this post and answered a few questions our readers sent us including the questions on the lollipop update. Read on to know more about it and discover solutions and/or troubleshooting guides that you may be able to use if ever you are going to encounter problems in the future.

You may visit our Samsung Galaxy S5 troubleshooting page find out if your concern has already been addressed before or send us an email at [email protected]. Please provide all necessary details and information so that we can accurately assess your concerns and provide you with appropriate solutions. Also, feel free to post your questions on our Facebook wall and/or Google+ page.

Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update Questions and Answers

Question 1: Hi Harold! I have been following your Galaxy S5 articles especially ones under Straight Talk. I was wondering when the lollipop update would arrive. My phone was bought from Walmart and since then, I never received any update. Thank you for doing all the hard work finding solutions, you guys are doing a great job! — Mayette

Question 2: Hello, do you guys know when I can download and install Lollipop on my Galaxy S5? It’s a Straight Talk model.

Question 3: When am I going to receive lollipop update on my Galaxy S5 ST model?

Answer: The Lollipop update already started rolling out in the U.S., although carriers seed them by phases to minimize server overloading. However, when it comes to Straight Talk, I don’t think the company will roll out the update any time soon. If you’ve stayed with it for more than 6 months, you may have noticed that there were no update notifications on your phone. It’s because ST don’t normally rule out update. You need Samsung’s help to update your phone, or try using Kies. There were reports from users who have successfully updated their ST branded Android phones. It’s worth a try. You may also want to call Straight Talk itself and ask about the update just to be sure.

Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect to WiFi

Problem: Good day guys, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and I received it 2 weeks ago from Straight Talk. During my first 2 weeks of using my S5 I don’t have any issues connecting to the internet. But just this week, my new phone could no longer connect to my home Wi-Fi. I checked the settings several times and tried over and over but my phone refused to connect. I don’t have any idea why this is happening. However, the issue causes delays in my business because I can’t check my emails. I’m not a tech-savvy person so I can’t figure it out what really the cause of the issue is. Please help me fix this problem. Thanks! – Ryan

Troubleshooting: You mentioned that the issue started just this week. But don’t you worry, it’s just a minor problem and you can easily fix it by simple troubleshooting. Try to follow these steps:

  1. Reboot your phone and also your router.
  2. Go to Settings, then WiFi and select “Forget” on your home network and wait until the device can detect it again.
  3. Now reconnect to your home network if you can.
  4. If still can’t, try another device or another mobile phone to connect to your home network.
  5. If only your Galaxy S5 could not connect to your home WiFi, then there’s something wrong with your mobile phone.
  6. Try connecting to the public network, and if it still can’t, then reboot the phone in Safe mode and do it again.
  7. After that, and your S5 still can’t connect, then backup your data and perform hard reset via recovery mode.

If hard reset didn’t fix the issue, you need to have the phone checked as it could be a hardware issue.

Galaxy S5 Stuck on Logo After Lollipop Update

Problem:  Hi guys, the issue started with my S5 after I updated it’s software. After a few days, I noticed that my phone goes slow and it won’t boot up anymore. The phone can power on but it stuck on Samsung logo. I tried several times turning it on and off but nothing works. Help guys!

Troubleshooting: Your issue seems like the update you did corrupted some data or cache in your phone that is why it cannot boot up completely. This is not a major issue and it can be fix by just wiping the cache partition. Here are the steps that you need to follow:

  1. Turn off your mobile phone.
  2. Press and hold the three buttons: Volume Up key, Home key and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue pressing and holding the Volume Up key and Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Volume Up key and Home key.
  5. Press the volume down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete ‘Reboot System Now’ is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key restart your mobile phone.

In case the phone can’t still boot up completely after wiping the cache partition, or if it still has some performance issues, you really need to do full hard reset by rebooting in recovery mode again.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

ST Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect to Mobile Data

Problem: Good day guys, I have a Galaxy S5 for almost 6 months and i don’t have issues with my phone. But the problem started last week my mobile data was not working anymore. When i tried connecting to my home WiFi I can simply browse the web and check on my emails without any delay. I’m with straight talk and enrolled to their unlimited promo and i think there’s nothing wrong with my account. How can I fix it guys? — John

Answer: Hello John, your issue seems like there’s something wrong with your APN settings and we can consider that as one of the reasons why your mobile data is not working. However, i understand that after Straight Talk provisioned your account you can immediately make and receive calls and text messages as well. But somehow, there’s something wrong during the process and you need to consider that one as a major reason why you’re data is not working until now. So, the best thing that you need to do is to call your service provider and ask for the correct APN of your phone. After you can have the correct APN your mobile data will work.

There are information you can find on the internet about the APN settings for Android users under Straight Talk network but I suggest you call them and ask for it to make sure you get the correct one.

Galaxy S5 Messaging App Keeps Crashing

Question:  Hi, I’ve had a Galaxy S5 for almost a week now, for the past 3 days my default messaging app is not working. I tried checking my texting history but I wasn’t able to find any of it, and the only way that i can fix the issue is to restart my phone. I downloaded messenger and my phone is working great. But after a few hours the issue came back and I need to restart my phone several times to make it work. I wanted to know if the issue is minor. Thanks!

Answer: Hello, regarding your issue this is the first time that our team encountered issue like this. I’ve seen several cases of stock apps crashing especially after major updates. More often, clearing both the cache and the data will fix the issue, so that’s the first thing I want you to do. If the problem persists after that, there’s no other option but to reset the phone to its factory defaults and I suggest you do it through the recovery mode.

Samsung Galaxy Service Has Stopped

Question: Hello guys, I have a Galaxy S5 with straight talk and enrolled with their unlimited promo. But a couple of days ago i can’t access my Gallery. And when someone sends me a photo there’s a message that will pop-up on the phone screen “Unfortunately, Samsung Galaxy has stopped working.” When i tap the OK message underneath, my phone will work normally. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue? — Paul

Answer: Samsung Galaxy is not just any service or app. It’s a collective term for all Galaxy apps installed in your phone. If it crashes, there’s no way to tell which app caused it and you can’t just clear the cache and data of any apps.

To troubleshoot this, you need to have a good internet connection. Many of Samsung’s apps need internet connection to connect to their respective servers and pull information. If interrupted, those apps may crash and as a result, this error pops up.

If the problem persists even with a good internet connection and you don’t know which app caused it, then I suggest your reset the phone to factory settings. A factory reset will do but I suggest you follow the hard reset procedure as it is more effective than the former.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Galaxy S5 Notification Bar Messed Up After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi droid guy, i have this Galaxy S5 for almost a month now. Last Monday, I updated it’s software but I noticed that the notification bar used to tell me if I have messages, emails, missed calls does not work. I certainly checked the setting of the device and reboot several times but the notification bar still not working. How can I fix it? — Ryan

Troubleshooting: It looks like the recent update, somehow, messed up some of the data and caches in your phone, which is, by the way, expected especially if it’s a major update, that is from Kitkat to Lollipop. More often, wiping the cache partition will fix the issue, if not, then you need to reset the phone.

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

Galaxy S5 Can’t Send Picture Messages

Question:  Hi I’m a BYOP customer of Straight talk and my phone is working fine. However, just this week I noticed after I took a picture and try to send in one of my friends but my phone cannot send it. I asked some of my tech-savvy friends but they cannot fix the issue. I’m pretty sure that my plan has nothing to do on the issue because I enrolled in unlimited promo. I checked all the setting of my phone and restart several times but nothing seems to work. Help! — May

Answer: Hello May, you mentioned that you asked some of your tech-savvy friends about the issue but nothing seems to work. Well, when it comes on the issue of your phone it seems like there’s something wrong with the APN settings or the APN is incorrect. The best thing that can do on the issue is to call Straight talk customer service or you can got to their website. Here are the steps on how to go the phone’s APN settings:

  1. Go to Settings and tap more networks.
  2. Tap Mobile networks, then Access Point Names.
  3. Tap the plus (+) sign to create a new one.
  4. Now enter the APN that Straight talk gave you.
  5. After you’ve entered the correct APN, tap the Menu icon.
  6. Tap Save.
  7. Now tick the radio button next to the APN you just added to use it.

Note: Don’t forget to enable mobile data as it is required to be able to send/receive MMS or picture messages.

Text Messages Not In Chronological Order

Problem: Good day, I bought a Galaxy S5 last week. But after a couple of days I noticed that the messages that I received are not in order. Although I can send and receive text messages but the issue causes a delay every time I have a text message. I already hard reset my phone but nothing seems to work and by the way I’m with Straight Talk. How can I fix it?

Troubleshooting: Well, there’s nothing to worry about, it’s just a minor issue in which, you need to do something with the date and time. Just follow these steps and you’ll be fine.

  1. From the Home screen tap Apps icon.
  2. Launch Settings.
  3. Under ‘System section, tap Date and Time.
  4. Make sure Automatic Date and Time, and Automatic time zone are checked.

That’s it.

Question on WiFi Calling Feature on Galaxy S5

Problem: Hi guys, I’m with straight talk for a year now and I have a Galaxy S5. I don’t have issues with my phone. But I’m just curious if it’s possible that I can have WiFi Calling feature installed on my phone? Thanks — Mike

Answer: As far as I know, WiFi Calling feature will work only if you’re under the service of Sprint and T-Mobile. But since you’re with Straight Talk, no, you can’t enjoy such feature right now because the company doesn’t support it or it has never been installed. However, if you really want to have that kind of feature on your phone, then you can just simply root your phone and find custom ROM that offer that feature and install it. That’s the easiest way if you really want to have WiFi Calling feature on your Galaxy S5.

Galaxy S5 Crashes While Using Camera

Problem: Hi, I recently upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S5 and sometimes when I take pictures, my phone immediately turns off right after the shutter noise (and doesn’t save/capture the picture). The phone does not ‘shut down’ just turns completely off and then won’t turn back on! The only way to turn it back on is to plug it in. I thought this was certainly a manufacturing defect, so I exchanged it for a brand new one, and it’s doing the same thing. It’s not with every picture but i’d guess every 20-30 or so? I’ve searched every key phrase i can muster up and I haven’t yet found any other users having this problem or tutorials on what to do.

Did i simply end up with 2 lemons? Should I exchange this phone as well? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Sincerely, Vanessa.

Troubleshooting: Hey Vanessa. Based on your description, I think there’s an app that’s causing this problem. Try finding an app that’s also using some or all of the features of the camera app. Being your search by going through each app your installed. If you’re using a third-party camera app, try to uninstall it to see if that affects the performance of the phone. If not, then backup your data and perform full hard reset.

After the reset, don’t install any app just yet. Instead, try to take some pictures to see if the camera will cause crashes. If so, then bring the phone to a technician to have it sorted out. If not, then proceed with app installation but be very observant of the app you install to know which one causes the problem.

Question On Galaxy S5 Battery

Question: Hi guys! Love what you do. Thank you.

Ok, I’m an idiot when it comes to tech stuff, and i just went from iPhone to Samsung Galaxy S5 and am totally freaking out. I just bought a 16GB micro SIM card thinking it was memory for my camera. I said I was an idiot didn’t I? lol So, would my Android have a use for it?

If so, I’ve read says you need to remove the battery to replace it. But when I called Tech support about another issue, they said that removing the battery would clear the phone and all my information would be lost.

So confused. Even now I’m having issues with typing this email! (can’t even figure how to cut and paste! Will look that up later.) Agggh!

Answer: I believe you’re talking about an SD card and not a SIM card because apparently, there is no such thing as a SIM card with 16GB capacity. But to answer your question, no, the phone will not reset if you removed the battery from the compartment. You can just pull the battery out and your data will remain intact.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your emails. Email us via [email protected] any time. We read every email but can’t guarantee a response. Lastly, if we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends or visit our Troubleshooting Page. Thanks.

 

Samsung Galaxy S5 Problems After Android 5.0 Lollipop Update and How To Fix Them [Part 30]

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Lollipop-Problems

The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for Samsung Galaxy S5 is full of bugs. Since it was rolled out, we were already receiving emails from our readers asking for help about issues they’ve encountered immediately after Lollipop was installed. The most common are WiFi and mobile data auto switching issues, faster battery draining problem, overly sensitive Home button, music keeps skipping when streamed through Bluetooth, etc.

Samsung and respective carriers should be rolling out patches soon enough to address these issues as some of them can’t be fixed. Fixable or not, we are always open to your questions and/or emails. We are willing to help you resolve problems with your phone brought by Lollipop. All we need are details of the problem, so make sure you include all necessary information when writing emails. You may send your inquiries to [email protected] and we will do our best to help you. You may also post on our Facebook wall and/or Google+ page. For now, we focus on Lollipop update problems, so if you have issues that aren’t related to the latest update, I suggest you visit our Samsung Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting page as we listed all problems we already addressed in the past. It is most likely your concern has already been answered.

Connected to WiFi Network Prompt Pops Up

Problem: Please can you help with a couple of problems with my Samsung Galaxy S5?

Firstly I continually get a message on the screen saying “connected to Wi Fi network. Brightbox …..”. This message comes onto the screen every 30 seconds or so. I have to wait for it to go before I can use the phone to call or text and when watching a film it is annoying.

Also my phone is losing charge very quickly. Only had the phone 10 months – when it was new it would sometimes last for 36 hours before I had to charge. Now it can be 100% charged at 10 in the morning and within six or seven hours it is down to 10%. Do I need a new battery?

Cannot find any similar problems on your page of troubleshooting. Thanks. — M Clayton

Related Problem: Hi, I have a Samsung galaxy s5. When I am at home on wifi I repeatedly (about every 2 minutes) get a pop up that says connected to wifi (with the wifi name). I am actually always connected at home.

I have had that phone for about a month and a half but this just started about a week ago. I have checked all wifi settings and they are fine.

How do I fix this? It is very frustrating along with the phone freezing all the time. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. — Tina

Troubleshooting: Hello. I assume you are connected to the Internet via mobile data. However, your phone, somehow, connects to a WiFi network and this could only happen if WiFi is enabled. If you don’t want your phone to keep connecting to his network time and time again, disable WiFi.

But just in case you are connected via WiFi and this “Brightbox” network is your own, then the problem occurs because mobile data is enabled in your phone. There are two ways to prevent this error message from popping up; either you disable mobile data or the Smart Network Switch option.

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap WiFi.
  4. Untick the checkbox next to Smart network switch.

This procedure may also fix the battery draining problem.

Galaxy S5 Can’t Send SMS After Lollipop Update

Problem: Your Samsung Galaxy S5 Problems columns have been very informative. I’ve looked for my issue, but haven’t seen it.

My Galaxy S5 updated to Lolly pop 3 or 4 days ago. Since then none of my text messages I’m trying to send will go. The only information I get is that my attempt to send has failed. Tonight I called my daughter and had her send me a text message, which I did receive. But the reply I tried to send once again failed. Attempts to resend failed.

I’ve gone into settings and cleared the cache and checked the different options. I don’t believe anything changed there. I’ve restarted phone and also did a full power off and let it be before turning back on.

Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your help. — Bonnie

Troubleshooting: Hi Bonnie. First of all, if you’re trying to send a text message with attached picture or any special characters considered as “picture” by the phone, then make sure mobile data is enabled in your phone. Text messages like that are automatically converted to MMS and the typical cellular network cannot transmit those messages.

However, if you were just trying to send a plain text message and didn’t went through, I suggest you call your provider first to inquire about the status of your account and to verify settings with your phone. There’s a chance the message center number was changed during the update; that is very important in sending SMS messages.

Galaxy S5 Alarm Clock Problem After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi there, since my S5 updated on 5th/6th February I cannot guarantee my alarm going off in the morning. It didn’t go off on the 6th for the first time ever, causing me to oversleep for work, and again on the 9th, so I downloaded an alarm app. This worked on the 10th, but then not on the 11th!

I have seen your suggestion about the wifi and have resolved that problem. I have also been having the problem with the battery draining quickly, also not receiving texts when I should. I have sometimes found that restarting my phone helps, but it’s driving me mad lol. I look forward to hearing from you. — Vicki

Troubleshooting: Hi Vicki! You’re not the only one having this problem. It’s one of the aftermaths of Samsung’s decision to replace Blocking Mode with Interruptions. But anyway, you can fix this problem by going to Settings > Sound and notification > Interruptions > check Events and Reminders. Scroll down to find ‘Set priority interruption period’ and specify the date and time range.

Galaxy S5 Music Skipping After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi, I’ve been reading your posts and have yet to find anybody reporting this particular problem . my phone constantly skips when listening to audio over Bluetooth. I have tried using Google Play and Samsung music player as well as Pandora. seems to happen more on Google Play than the others however it is happening with all. I would then try to listen to the same song directly on the phone speaker and there would be no skipping which leads me to believe the problem is related to the Bluetooth connection. Its driving me crazy. Weird thing is, it will work fine one day, and the next it will skip like crazy. I’ve only had the phone for a month, any ideas? Thanks. — Matt

Related Problem: I have a problem with playing music through bluetooth. I have some powerbeats 2 headphones and use my galaxy s5 with it to play music. Recently when I play music through them the music skips or cuts out for a quick second. I have connected them to another bluetooth phone and they work just fine so I know its not the headphones. I noticed my phone recently started doing this after the lollipop update. Any solutions on how to fix this? — Christian

Troubleshooting: Hey Matt. Apparently it’s a Bluetooth problem and we’re yet to know if it’s the phone that has issues or your BT device. Before anything else, try booting your S5 in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ 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 safe mode, try to pair your BT device and see if the music skips. If so, try clearing the cache and data of Bluetooth and Bluetooth Share through Application Manager.

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  5. Scroll to and tap Bluetooth.
  6. Tap Clear data button, then OK.
  7. Go back to the Application Manager screen.
  8. Scroll to and tap Bluetooth share.
  9. Tap Clear data button and then OK to confirm.

After doing the procedure above, try to delete all pairings and then pair your Bluetooth device again. If the music still skips after all these, it’s time you used a different BT headphone or speaker to find out if it still does the same. The last resort would be to hard reset the phone in case the problem persists with other devices. If the problem remained after the reset, chances are the latest Lollipop update ruined it for you or it’s a hardware problem.

Galaxy S5 WiFi Stopped Working After Lollipop Update

Problem: The droid guy, I downloaded the new software two days ago, everything was working great until my wi-fi stopped working, not the usual wifi issues. When I push the wifi button on the quick setting(from any page) it does not recognize that I am trying to turn it on and on the main settings it does the same thing. The only thing I can do on that page is click the box that says Show WiFi pop up. In the settings portion of the page the two things I can do is push advance and help, which does nothing to fix the problem. I restarted my phone, checked the wifi signal, checked to see if there was any missing updates. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, for a wifi issue. Thank you for your time! — Jaclyn

Troubleshooting: It was a major update and many dependencies were changed during the process. More often the phone would still continue to use caches from previous version and since it already runs a different version, some functionalities will not work the way they should. I suggest you wipe the cache partition so that the phone will be forced to create new files based on the version of Android it’s currently running.

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

Galaxy S5 Contacts Issue After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi, I’ve recently been taking an intrest in your galaxy s5 problems page. I have the Verizon s5 on android 5.0. The Update Worked Great Up Untill Today. But I started getting a pop up saying contacts have stopped. I know a good amount about android but I don’t want to downgrade to 4.4.4 or anything but if you could give me an awnser to help that would be awsome. Also I noticed that my sisters s5 (also on verizon) had been freezing and crashing. Any help with that would be much appreciated. Thank you, Erik.

Related Problem: Hi, I’ve had my S5 since late last year and had no problems whatsoever, until the most recent software update. Apart from the really irritating cosmetic changes that I am now lumbered with I also have the following problems –

When making a telephone call, after a few seconds the screen goes black and will not come back to life no matter what I try which means I cannot end calls and am reliant on the person I have called to hang up. This never happened before the update and is now happening in 19 out of 20 outgoing calls.

I keep getting an error saying that Contacts has failed and closed. It keeps downloading emails I’ve already seen, read and deleted. Any advice on these would be much appreciated, particularly the lack of a visible screen with outgoing calls. Many thanks in advance. — Jeanette

Related Problem: Hi, Three days ago i did a system update on my S5 and several thing have went wrong since. First my phone will say “contacts have stopped”. Second it seems my key pad got smaller. It also seems my touch screen sensitivity is not as good. Third my lock screen will just shut off here and there. I have to go back into my settings and turn in back on. Also it changed the colors for my text message and phone dial pad screen to some ugly pale colors. And the worst issue is it seems like my battery drains ten times faster now! Any ideas how to fix any or all of these issue. I appreciate your help. Thanks Brandon.

Troubleshooting: Hi Erik. The immediate troubleshooting procedure you must do is to clear the cache and data of the Contacts app. Your contacts list will remain intact because it’s actually the Contacts storage service that keeps them, however, I suggest you make a backup of them before following these steps:

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the DOWNLOADED screen.
  5. Scroll to and tap Contacts.
  6. Tap Clear cache button.
  7. Tap Clear data button, then OK.

If, however, the problem remained after you did that. There’s no other option but full hard reset. The Kitkat to Lollipop update was a major one so it is expected some caches and data will become unusable to the new system and that there will be a lot of changes to the dependencies of services and other apps. Hard reset can surely fix your problem as well as your sister’s.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

Disabling Water Damage Warning Pop Up Messages

Problem: Hi, firstly I want to say thanks for the great website for trouble shooting, it’s very helpful. I have 2 small issues I couldn’t quite find an answer to and hope you can help.

  1. The pop-up message to close the charge cover or check battery cover, can this be switched off so it doesn’t appear at all?
  2. I have some apps that I have switched the notifications off in the application manager of my phone. I have, however, noticed that a few of them automatically turn back on when I turn my phone off and back on again. Other apps do not seem to be affected. I have checked the play store and everything is turned off there so I’m not sure why it’s doing this. Any suggestions? Didn’t seem to have this problem with my S2

Many thanks, Karon.

Troubleshooting: Hi Karon. You cannot get rid of those messages unless your phone is rooted. If you decided to root your phone, then install Xpose Framework and download Xposed G-Touchwiz, which is offered for free on Play Store. Once installed, you will have the option to tweak Touchwiz to your liking including disabling stock warnings and messages.

About the issue, I think there are other services that call on those apps to function and in the process, the notification is enabled. I really can’t provide an exact resolution to this problem as I don’t know what those apps are. If you can get back to us, let us know the apps you were having issues with.

Galaxy S5 Randomly Reboots After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi, ever since the new update went onto my phone, it has been randomly just restarting and not asking me for the PIN that’s on my SIM. I’ve read previous links saying don’t let it overheat and it isn’t doing that. I have a 32gb memory card in it but never caused me any issues prior to the update several weeks ago. I just wander if I’ll need to replace the battery. I don’t ‘overcharge’ my battery but do watch YouTube/Live TV on my device whilst charging (when i am bored at work).

Can you help to advise please as it has baffled me. Will i need to wait for bug fixes to be available and update then or is there anything i can actively do for my priceless piece of technology. Many thanks, Simon.

Related Problem: Hi I recently updated to lollipop on my Galaxy S5 ,all sorts of issues so decided on a factory reset! This seemed to work perfectly until I went out of reach of WiFi !!! Now no mobile data! Would be great if you could help me restore this issue! Many thanks in advance (please). — Angeline

Troubleshooting: Hi Simon. It’s obvious, Lollipop update is buggy and millions of S5 owners were affected by it. For sure, there will be an update anytime soon. However, I suggest you reset the phone first to see if it makes a difference. If the battery problem persists, check to know if your WiFi or mobile data connection disconnects automatically. If so, follow these steps to address it:

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap WiFi.
  4. Untick the checkbox next to Smart network switch.

APN Problems with Galaxy S5 After Lollipop Update

Question: I hope you can help me with my S5 problems. Me and my husband both have S5. Mine updated back in January. After that my battery life was about half of what it was. I was unable to update my weather widget that came on the phone by hitting the refresh i had to actually open the widget, unable to send emails, apps saying they encountered an error and had to manually download picture messages. I took the phone to the sprint repair center and was told that my phone was defective and was given a new s5. The new one worked like a dream and i got home and it updated. After it updated it was exactly like the one i was told was defective.

I contacted the repair center and was told that my phone was not defective that they just found out the update that was sent down was actually the cause of my problem and samsung was sending down an update for the new operating system and rhat would fix my problem when i installed that update. They said the phone was dropping the data connection and would only pick it up for a couple seconds. I installed the 2nd update and it fixed the weather widget issue but i still cannot send emails and have to majually download picture messages.

All of my problems are on the mobile network……wifi works just fine. I called samsung and they went throigh everything and told me i needed to contact sprint and have them refresh the APN on my phone since it will not let me access it. Called sprint and they think im crazy. After my husbands phone updated he has the exact same problems as me. Do you have any suggestions? I officially hate this phone. No one can give me any help with this. — Kayla

Answer: Hi Kayla! Samsung rep was right, it’s APN issue and since you couldn’t change or edit the APN in your phone, then it’s Sprint’s job to refresh it for you. The APN is a set of data that needs to be set in the phone so that it can connect to the mobile data network. Some carriers of service providers allow their subscribers to manipulate APN settings but apparently, Sprint doesn’t. So, the best thing to do is call them.

I understand the hassle of calling tech support and try to explain to the rep your problem. But this time, immediately ask the rep to refresh or “fix” the APN in your phone. If he’ll ask why, then tell him you can’t access the Internet using mobile data.

Game Runs When Snapchat or Facebook Is Launched

Problem: I have a Samsung galaxy s5 it’s the international variant. I have just upgraded to lollipop and ever since anytime I open an app say snapchat or Facebook a game automatically opens itself, the game is empire four kingdoms, this happens for every app I open even if my wifi is switched off. Any ideas how to stop the game from automatically opening every time. I have uninstalled it and tried force closing clearing cache etc. I’m really frustrated by it so any help would be appreciated greatly. — Lorcan

Troubleshooting: If you’ve already uninstalled the said game, there’s no reason for it to run anymore. However, if the phone does something unusual every time you open Snapchat or Facebook, then reinstall them both and just reinstall them back after. You may also wipe the cache partition as this glitch may have been caused by corrupt caches:

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

Galaxy S5 Can’t Read MicroSD Card After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi, my sprint Galaxy S5 (SM-G900P) just updated to Android 5.0 and during it there were some errors. The SD card was reading fine before the update but now will not read. I reformatted it on my computer and still nothing. I used my old galaxy S3 and reformatted using that and still nothing.

I also took another memory card and tried that and it doesn’t read. It just keeps saying “Preparing SD card, Checking for errors.”

Do you know what I can do to fix this? The phone will not let me format the card while it’s inserted because it will not read it.

Thank You, John.

Troubleshooting: Hey, John. Please try to reformat the card using FAT32 format and try again. If the phone can’t still read from it after that, then the recent update messed up with the service that handles microSD card. Just yesterday I tried to troubleshoot one an issue exactly like this and we spent more than two hours trying to figure out ways to fix it. At the end, the problem remained and we had to perform full hard reset. It fixed the problem! So, I suggest you do the same thing, too. I understand it’s a hassle backing up all your data but there’s no other choice.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  3. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  5. Press the Volume down key 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.

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