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Galaxy S7 won’t connect to the internet via wifi and mobile data, slow in sending SMS, other issues

Welcome to another #GalaxyS7 post! Our article today covers 6 other S7 issues taken from submissions of some users over the past few days. As usual, we hope that suggestions and solutions mentioned here today will be helpful and beneficial for our vibrant Android community.

Below are the specific topics we’re bringing for you:

  1. Water-damaged Galaxy S7 won’t charge
  2. Galaxy S7 won’t connect to the internet via wifi and mobile data
  3. Galaxy S7 slow in sending SMS | Galaxy S7 “Unfortunately, Messenger has stopped” error
  4. Galaxy S7 showing battery overheating sign when charging
  5. Galaxy S7 won’t connect to Bluetooth speaker
  6. Galaxy S7 wifi won’t turn on

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: Water-damaged Galaxy S7 won’t charge

So I’ve had my Samsung Galaxy S7 for quite a few months now and I’ve always known that it’s water resistant. I’m still an adolescent so my parents pay for my phone (so I can’t really go anywhere to get my phone checked out and make my parents pay even more seeing as I’m on a plan with my 3 siblings and my mother and my phone alone is about $650/month, if I remember correctly). I’m a bit of a…neat freak but not neat freak like I have a organized mess in my room (yes this has to do with it) and even if something isn’t clean as long as it feels clean to me I’m ok (like i may wash my hands a few times, or even rinse my hands even though all the germs aren’t gone). Yeah, I’m kind of weird. Anyway, I’ll connect the dots now so you can follow my train of thought.

So because I know that my phone is water resistant and all and because once when it fell in the toilet I washed it with soap and water and it didn’t mess up, when I feel or my phone looks dirty I wash it. In this case I rinsed it and after I did, I realized that it was about to die, like at 12% (I know you usually have to let it dry to charge it) but I rarely let my phone die. you know “this generation never gets off their phones” etc. Well yeah, I rarely let my phone die so I used a blow dryer. I wasn’t sure it was ok to blow dry it, until I was looking on this website and saw that it was, so I first put it at medium power and at “cool” but it wasn’t quick enough, so I left it at medium power but changed the temperature to “warm”. It still didn’t help (this was the first time I ever need to charge my phone after washing it and I do realize that I should have just let it dry and die…or turn it off (but I didn’t know this would happen so I didn’t). And I tried different chargers, outlets, moving my charger AND my phone in different angles but nothing worked. I think i did a soft reboot but I’m not really sure (looked up how to online) because my phone died and if a soft reboot would’ve work. then I didn’t because it still didn’t charge after dying. Oh and I tried my best to make sure no debris was in my charger port and on my charger. And also for a split second it responded to me changing to a different outlet but it disappeared like in the beginning when it was responding every few seconds (off and on) getting worst with time. In the beginning it wasn’t charging due to water in the port but then it just wasn’t charging and yes this is the original charger and cord.

Also I checked for water damage (I read how to on this website I think) and that wasn’t the case. In the past the only problem I had was my phone randomly turning off when I first woke up and took it off the charger but that problem only really lasted about a week then it went away. Please help. Soon I start school tomorrow and really can’t survive without my phone/music….I know y’all probably won’t reply by tomorrow but yea please hurry. Thank you and sorry for this long paragraph and how my thoughts are a bit scattered and no this was not proofread so sorry. — Esther

Solution: Hi Esther. While Samsung’s latest flagship is IP68 certified, which means that it has dust proof protection and water resistance for over 1.5 meter for over 30 minutes, it doesn’t mean that the phone is fully water proof. Keep in mind that the added layer of water resistance may not work if you move the phone through water, or if you subject the device to high-pressure water source like faucets. Dropping a Galaxy S7 into a pool, toilet, or sea water can create unnecessary pressure around the device’s vulnerable ports (headphone jacks, speaker box, charging port) making water resistance protection useless. The general rule when dealing with possible water damage issue is simple — if issues occur after water exposure, you must assume that some hardware component must be affected. If the charging issue happened after you dropped your phone to water or liquid, the best thing that you can do right now is to have the phone’s hardware checked. That may be difficult given the financial situation you’re in, but this is the only way to arrive at a permanent fix. Unless you have the necessary skill set and tools, we highly discourage you to do a do-it-yourself repair. Water damage can result to all sorts of hardware issues so you need to use a number of electronics tools to check if every component is working normally.

If you have access to a nearby Samsung service center, we recommend that you bring your phone there so it can be checked. Water damage constitutes user mishandling so it automatically voids the device’s warranty but letting Samsung do the potential repair is way better than having a third party shop do it.

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 won’t connect to the internet via wifi and mobile data

My Samsung Galaxy S7 will not connect to the internet. It doesn’t matter if I go through my home WiFi or through the network, either way it’s not working. I have tried rebooting – many times – with no improvement. I have also tried shutting down completely for about half an hour before powering back up, but that did not help, either. Given the model of the phone, I cannot drop the battery out of it as I have no battery access. The phone’s attempts to connect with the internet have been rapidly draining the battery. It has occurred to me to see if letting the battery run completely down would help, but I’d like to keep trying other options as well. This problem started late last night. I made no changes to the phone at that time – no new apps or configurations. The most recent app I’ve added was a Cub Foods member app, and that was a couple weeks ago. There was an Android update this morning, but since the problem started last night, I don’t think that’s the cause. I’ve tried searching solutions online, but have yet to find anything helpful to me. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thank you! — Alison

Solution: Hi Alison. The first thing that you want to do here is to check if the problem is caused by third party apps. This is done by booting the phone to safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services from running so it’s a good way to see if something changes when it’s enabled. Basically, safe mode helps you by using simple comparative analysis; if the issue won’t occur while it is on, then one of the apps must be to blame. In order to boot the phone to safe mode, follow these steps:

      1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
      2. Press and hold the Power button.
      3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
      4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
      5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
      6. Observe the phone for a few hours to see any difference.

    If the issue remains while safe mode is enabled, a good old factory reset may help. When you factory reset a phone, all software settings are restored to their known, working state, at the same time deleting all user-introduced changes from the device. In other words, factory reset reverts all software settings to stock condition. If the issue persists even right after a factory reset, that should tell you that the reason for the problem does not lie on the software but rather on the hardware department. If you think bad hardware is to blame, you must find a way to have the unit replaced.

    For reference, below are the steps on how to factory reset your S7:

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

      Problem #3: Galaxy S7 slow in sending SMS | Galaxy S7 “Unfortunately, Messenger has stopped” error

      I own a Samsung Galaxy S7 through AT&T. All was fine until recently, when texting one of my close friends (we have been messaging a long time before with no problems) the texts that are long enough will not come in as one message, but rather be separated into little messages. I also notice that when I hit send, the sending animation is not smooth and will often not show the message “sliding” from the input box to the sent area. It will rather momentarily freeze and the sent message will just appear. (Not a big deal, just included for completeness). On top of that, if I am typing a message in response, and my friend sends another message, the messaging app will crash with an error message reading: “Unfortunately, Messenger has stopped.” The message I was typing is completely lost and not saved as a draft either. What is most unusual is that this problem only occurs when texting this specific person. For completeness, my friend uses an iPhone 6 through Sprint. — Jbinkowski8

      Solution: Hi Jbinkowski8. The cause of the problem may be a bug in the system cache or the messaging app  so the first thing that you want to do is to wipe the cache partition. Installing system updates and apps can sometimes corrupt the system cache, which, in turn, can lead to all sorts of problems. To fix the issue, simply wipe the cache partition in order to refresh the system cache. Here’s how:

          1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
          2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
          3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
          4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
          5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
          6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
          7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
          8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
          9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

        If the problem remains, you can also wipe the messaging app’s cache and data. Here’s how:

            1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
            2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
            3. Once in there, click on an application.
            4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
            5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

          Any of these two processes should fix the problem but should the issue continues, don’t hesitate to do a factory reset.

          Problem #4: Galaxy S7 showing battery overheating sign when charging

          Hi! Over the last two days or so, the charging hasn’t been very efficient even with the fast charger. I tried multiple cords and blocks and also a portable charger. Just now, my phone died while i was on video chat and I plugged it in and it says it’s fast charging now but when i go to turn it on, it blinks a thermometer at me which I’m guessing, means the battery is overheating again, but the phone actually feels cold. I’m not able to do the soft reset as i don’t have the tools to remove the back of my edge. Is there anything else i can do? Many thanks! — Emma

          Solution: Hi Emma. If the phone shows the overheating battery sign when it’s connected to a charger, the problem may lie on the battery itself. If you want to try soft reset or the equivalent of a “battery pull” follow these steps:

              • Press and hold the Power (located on the right edge) and Volume down buttons (located on the left edge) for 12 seconds.
              • Use the Volume down button to scroll to the Power Down option.
              • Press the Home key to select.

              Keep in mind that your phone may not turn on at all if the battery level during soft reset is below 5%. If you won’t be able to turn the phone back on because of this reason, try charging the phone using another Samsung charger. If it flashes the battery overheating sign once more, consider using a wireless charger. Using a wireless charger is obviously not a permanent fix so you should consider having the phone checked by Samsung so they can examine if the issue lies on the charging port or the battery.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S7 won’t connect to Bluetooth speaker

              I have a Galaxy S7 that has worked well since I purchased it. The bluetooth started malfunctioning by going on and off and telling me that ‘unfortunately bluetooth share has stopped.” This did not happen all the time. Then it stopped scanning for new devices, which I learned in a rental car when the phone couldn’t find the car. Then it stopped pairing with my small home bluetooth speaker, which seems to work with other phones.

              Tried to hook up phone to home speaker, which was already paired, but it would not connect. I read on-line that I should clear the cache, which I did, as well as the data. I also read that I should un-pair, but the speaker disappeared from the phone altogether, and now it won’t scan for new pairings at all. I press on ‘pair’, and it does not scan. At all.

              I really need Bluetooth in my car. Is there any hope? And while you’re helping me, if I were to buy a new phone, which do you recommend as being the most problem-free? I have an iPhone for work, and much prefer the Galaxy phone for my personal use.

              Thank you so much, I’ve been admiring your efforts for a long time and subscribe to your emails. — Lesley

              Solution: Hi Leyley. When faced with Bluetooth-related issue, there’s usually a need to troubleshoot not just the phone but also the other device. Bluetooth connection is a two-way street so you must consider both sides in order to arrive at a solution. In your case, there’s a chance that the problem may not be on your phone at all but rather on the other device that you’re trying to pair with it. As far as troubleshooting the phone is concerned, the most effective step that you can always do is factory reset. This will force all software settings back to their factory state. If a bug has been introduced during the course of your normal usage, factory reset should eliminate it. Assuming that the other device is compatible with your S7’s Bluetooth version, re-pairing both devices should work. If pairing won’t work still even after you’ve factory reset your phone, the issue must be on the other device. Bluetooth system, like Android, is constantly evolving so there’s a chance that incompatibility can play a role. Keep in mind that smartphones regularly receive more updates for Bluetooth than “older” versions like those in car kit systems. Put simply, you must also ensure that the other device you’re trying to pair with your phone is running the latest Bluetooth versions.

              If I were to buy a new phone, which do you recommend as being the most problem-free? We don’t want to give a particular brand or model but if you can afford the latest flagship phone from any major Android manufacturers, grab one.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S7 wifi won’t turn on

              Hello Droidguy. My name is Nana and I saw your article about wifi which are not able to turn on. I am using an S7 which has this problem since I started using it. One day,  I noticed that the wifi has turned on and I was very happy about that. I turned it on and off several times to confirm that it has started working alright and it was. About four days later, when I turned on the wifi, I noticed it has malfunctioned again as it was at first. Attached are screen shots I snapped when it started working alright. When I turn it on now, it looks as if its turning on then it goes off. I want to bring this problem to your attention since you are the Droidguy so that you can assist me with a solution. I look forward to a solution. Regards. — Nana

              Solution: Hi Nana. Like most Android issues, your problem can be caused by a software or app glitch or by bad hardware. We recommend that you try all relevant software troubleshooting for your case like wiping the cache partition, observing in safe mode, and factory reset. If they won’t help improve the situation, then you can assume that there must be a hardware issue somewhere. It can be a bad wifi antenna or other unknown parts. In this case, you want to consider repair or replacement.

               

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              Galaxy S8 apps not showing notifications, stuck in lock screen, other issues

              Welcome to our new #GalaxyS8 post for this day. We are bringing you 9 more S8 issues reported to us by some of our readers. If you will not find any useful solution in this one, make sure to check the main Galaxy S8 troubleshooting page.

              The new Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone. Photographer: Mark Gurman/Bloomberg

              If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

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

              Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

              Problem 1: Galaxy S8 not making sound notifications and won’t play videos after an update

              When I did the latest update to my S8 after the phone is on a few hours I will not be able to hear the phone ring, alarm or play videos. If I restart it’s fine for a few hours. Went to a Verizon store and they told me that Samsung is aware and  be sending a patch out. That was a month ago. — Mark

              Solution: Hi Mark. If you’re certain that this issue started after installing a system update, you must do the basic device troubleshooting for this problem and see how it works afterwards.

              Wipe the cache partition

              The cause of a problem like this can be a corrupted system cache so making sure that the device is using a good system cache is a must. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Turn off the device.
              2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
              4. Press the Volume down key to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
              5. Press the Power key to select.
              6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and 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.

              Revert all software settings to defaults

              Should nothing change after wiping the cache partition, you must not hesitate doing a factory reset. As long the issue is not due to poor firmware coding, which means that the running operating system is poorly built, factory reset should fix your problem.

              Below are the steps on how to factory reset your S8:

              1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset. To back up your files, you can use Samsung Smart Switch app.
              2. Turn off the device.
              3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
              4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
              5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
              6. Press Power button to select.
              7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
              8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
              9. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
              10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

              IMPORTANT: In order to know if factory reset has any effect, make sure to observe the phone for at least 24-48 hours without installing any app or update.

              Install app updates and make sure all apps are compatible

              If the problem returns after doing a factory reset and installing your apps, that’s a sign that one of them is problematic. You should try to ensure first that everything is updated but if that won’t help either, isolate which of the apps is to blame and remove it.

              Problem 2: Galaxy S8 mobile data not working

              I’m using Galaxy S8 phone. Using it with Airtel 4G SIM card  but mobile data is not working. I’ve checked with other Airtel 4G SIM card and its working but the problem is the same SIM card is also working with other 3G handsets.

              I’ve done with APN settings. i did twice factory reset and Hard reset but problem still remains same. Can you please just help me out from this situation? — Samir

              Solution: Hi Samir. An issue like this is most likely account-related so the only support team that can help you with it is your carrier. Device troubleshooting will not change anything as what happened after you tried a factory reset. You should talk to your carrier’s technical support team so they can figure out where the problem lies.

              Problem 3: Unlocked Verizon Galaxy S8 won’t install update

              Hi! I’ve got a question I hope you might solve. I recently bought an unlocked Verizon S8 (SM-G950U) from Best Buy (in the US). The phone works perfectly with my carrier’s SIM card (TIGO, Guatemala), but when I tried to see if there were any system updates I got a “Cannot verify your phone message.” I’ve done some looking around and found that I might need a Verizon SIM to get OTA updates. Note: Whenever I turn my phone on I get a “SIM card not from Verizon” message, but this does not cause any problems when using. Questions: Can I get an un-activated Verizon SIM from Walmart or other place and just pop it in whenever a system update becomes available (airplane mode, WiFi on) or does the card have to be linked to an active Verizon number? What other options do I have to get updates for this amazing phone? Thank you in advance for your time and help! Best regards! — Francisco

              Solution: Hi Francisco. It will take more than a Verizon SIM card toallow your phone to download over-the-air (OTA) updates. Firstly, yes you will need an active Verizon SIM card since it’s needed to authenticate the device. This will allow Verizon to identify the device and check whether or not it needs a system update.

              Secondly, the phone with an active Verizon SIM card must be connected to Verizon network to receive the update files. You can’t just pop in an active Verizon SIM card while connecting to another network. Obviously, there’s no way for your phone to request for an update from Verizon servers if the device is not connected to Verizon network.

              Frankly, there’s no way you’ll be able to update your phone automatically right now unless Samsung’s system will provide the update files to the device. To see if you can download an update from Samsung, try using their Smart Switch program. You can install Smart Switch in your computer and connect your device to it using a USB cable. If there’s an available update, there should be a prompt that will show when you open Smart Switch app in your computer. If there’s no prompt, you’re out of luck.

              If you are the more adventurous type, you can manually flash the most recent Android iteration on your phone via Odin. Flashing is risky and can potentially damage the software of your phone if not done correctly. If you accept the risks involved, try to look for a guide online on how to do it. Providing a flashing guide is beyond the scope of this article so you must do some research how to do it.

              Problem 4: Galaxy S8 camera not saving videos

              My S8+ camera does not save my videos. There is an error message when I click on the file. The file has no picture but has a giant Plus sign. — Rupert.day

              Solution: Hi Rupert.day. Make sure that there’s enough storage space left in your phone or in your SD card first. If available storage space is not an issue, you can then reset the camera app by wiping its cache and data. Here’s how:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem 5: Galaxy S8 stuck in lock screen

              THE PHONE REFUSES TO GO OFF AND A COMPUTER ROBOT KEEPS REPEATING EVERY INPUT MADE AND TIME. MOST OF ALL, I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THE PHONE. THE SCREEN COMES ON BUT I CANNOT GET PAST THE LOCK SCREEN. IT REFUSES TO RESTART OR POWER OFF. I HAVE TRIED THE RESET (POWER KEY/VOLUME DOWN/BIXBY KEY) FOR 45 SECONDS AND YET SAME PROBLEM. IT RECEIVES EVERY MESSAGE AND ALERTS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS BUT I JUST CANNOT GAIN ACCESS TO THE PHONE. — Franklinnze

              Solution: Hi Franklinnze. If you can’t use the phone because you can’t remember your screen PIN or password, we don’t think there’s something that we can do much for you. You should try a factory reset to wipe the phone and unlock it again. Here’s how to do that:

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

              Problem 6: Galaxy S8 apps not showing notifications

              Hi. I’ve been having problems with some of my notifications of some apps. The ESPN, Slickdeals, and Freestufftimes apps don’t show any notifications any more. At first it was just the ESPN and slickdeals app wouldn’t have notifications, but the Freestufftimes app did . Recently, the freestufftimes app stopped posting notifications. Please help. Thanks. — Jason

              Solution: Hi Jason. The problem is most probably caused by another app that you installed. If you can remember the app that you installed before the problem started, make sure to uninstall it. If you have no idea what app it is, do the following:

              1. Wipe the phone with factory reset (refer to the steps above).
              2. Install the apps you’re having problems with. Make sure not to install any other apps yet.
              3. Observe how the phone works with only the apps you’re having trouble with installed. Do it for at least 24 hours. Check if notifications work.
              4. Install the rest of your apps one by one. Make sure to check how notifications work after you install an app. This is so you’ll know which app is causing the problem.

              Problem 7: Galaxy S8 SMS keeps converting to MMS

              Galaxy S7. I’ve had this phone just over a week. The text limit is quite small so it turns to MMS without my realising. (I’m having to copy text- Then paste little by little. Or now write small sentences and send). On my old S3, I could turn this auto change off, but here find nowhere to do this. (My contract gives me free text but I’m getting charged for the MMS). Is there any way to change this? I’ve looked through your text info but can’t find this answer. Many thanks. — T.E

              Solution: Hi T.E. There should be an option under your messaging app’s Settings menu to allow you to send high character number before turning into an MMS. If your app does not have such an option, you must talk to your carrier what’s their policy towards MMS.

              For some, using another messaging app may fix the issue so make sure to try that as well.

              Problem 8: Galaxy S7 edge photos are corrupted

              Hi. My brand new S7 edge sometimes saves photos so that part of the photo is missing (covered in a grey box) or the photo is squashed into a few lines of pixels at the top of the image area, or the image is all yellow, or all blue. It’s odd because the thumbnail looks fine, but when you try to view the photo the issues appear. I can’t find any advice that seems relevant online. Help! — Holly

              Solution: Hi Holly. The first thing that you want to do here is to ensure that you reset your phone’s camera app.  Kindly refer to our suggestion for Rupert.day above.

              If you’ve already did that before, you also want to make sure that the problem is not caused by a bad SD card. If you’re saving to an SD card, make sure that you reformat it using your phone.

              If that won’t fix the problem either, do a factory reset.

              1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
              2. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
              3. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
              4. Tap Backup and restore.
              5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
              6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
              7. Tap the back button to the Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
              8. Tap Reset device.
              9. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
              10. Tap Continue.
              11. Tap Delete all.

              Problem 9: How to modify notifications settings in Galaxy S8

              In the past, when I have received text messages, while my “pop up” alert is switched off, I always would receive the icon of the envelope on the top left hand side of my phone, along with the senders name, along with their message, which would show up in the background, across the top bar (where notification icons show up). Since doing a system update, which I had no choice but to do… I no longer see who the text message is from, nor what it says. Is there a way to bring this back? — Tess

              Solution: Hi Tess. You can’t bring back the behavior of the previous Android iteration but you can the steps below to set notifications:

              1. Open Settings app.
              2. Tap Notifications.
              3. Look for the app you want to turn notifications for and tap it. This will turn on notifications for this app.
              4. Tap ADVANCED at the upper right hand side.
              5. Select the app you want to set the notifications for.
              6. Select the setting you want. The explanation for each option should be easy to understand.

               

              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.

              GIF option missing on Galaxy S7 Samsung keyboard, preview SMS on lock screen, other issues

              Welcome to another #GalaxyS7 post for today as we bring you 10 more issues and their corresponding solutions. We hope that this material will also be helpful to other S7 users experiencing similar problems.

              Below are the specific topics discussed here today:

              1. Galaxy S7 edge mobile data not working
              2. Galaxy S7 speaker plays sound for a second then fade
              3. Galaxy S7 from UK rebooting by itself in New Zealand
              4. Galaxy S7 edge can’t connect to the internet via mobile data
              5. Galaxy S7 cannot access company OWA after updating to Android Nougat
              6. Galaxy S7 can’t make or receive calls
              7. Galaxy S7 edge screen is cracked and randomly becomes unresponsive
              8. How to show options to call, mark as read, or reply for SMS in Galaxy S7 lockscreen
              9. How to preview SMS on Galaxy S7 lock screen
              10. GIF option missing on Galaxy S7 Samsung keyboard

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S7 edge mobile data not working

              I hope you can help me. I have had a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for about 6 months without any problems until this morning. I am unable to open any internet pages using mobile data. Nor can any app that links you to articles on the internet open pages. I constantly get the web page is unavailable error message. I have cleared my phones cache, turned it on and off multiple times & also wiped the cache partition using your instructions but I’ve had no luck. Please, please can you help? — Colinjbriggs1

              Solution: Hi Colinjbriggs1. First of all, your issue is best addressed by your network rather than by third party support teams like us. That’s because only them has access  to information relevant to troubleshoot any account-related issue you may have.

              And speaking of account issues, there’s a big chance that the main reason for your problem is account related. If you haven’t yet, we recommend that you talk to your carrier’s technical support team so they can double check the status of your account and whether or not it’s been properly setup to allow mobile data connection. You must do this before you perform any device troubleshooting. A lot of mobile data connection cases are account related so calling your carrier is a must do step.

              Insert SIM card to another smartphone

              Another good way to check if you have an account-related issue at hand is by checking if mobile data works on another device if you insert your SIM card to it. This is of course applicable only if you are on a GSM network and not on CDMA.

              Wipe the cache partition

              If you are 100% positive that your account is fine, the first device troubleshooting that you want to do is to wipe the cache partition. This will force the phone to refresh the system cache by deleting the current one and replacing it with a new one. Here’s how to do it:

              1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
              2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
              4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
              5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
              6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
              7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
              8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
              9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

              Make sure apps are up-to-date

              A lot of Android users encounter software problems simply because an app is creating a conflict with the operating system. Such an issue can easily be mitigated first of all by updating all apps, and secondly, by making sure that you only install compatible and malware-free applications. If you set your Google Play Store to let you manually install app updates, be sure to regularly check if there’s any pending app updates.

              Observe the phone in safe mode

              With so many free and easily downloadable apps around, it can sometimes be difficult to effectively screen what to install and what’s not to. Thus, there’s always a chance of experiencing problems due to a bad app. For this reason, we suggest that you try to observe the phone to safe mode and see if mobile data works in this mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so it’s a good way to know if a third party app is involved. Here’s how to do it:

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

              Do a full wipe with factory reset

              If mobile data continues to fail after doing all the troubleshooting above, you must do the more drastic possible solution of factory reset. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, etc.
              2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
              3. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
              4. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
              5. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
              6. Touch Continue.
              7. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

              Problem #2: Galaxy S7 speaker plays sound for a second then fade

              Hello. Any sound coming from my speaker (using speakerphone, music/video, alarm clock, etc.) plays for only a second then fades out. The call doesn’t die or the video or whatever app playing the sound is still active, there’s just no sound. On a call, I can switch back to regular phone mode and hear just fine but that speaker will only work for a second. I can put in ear buds and hear just fine as well. I’ve done research but can’t find anything that helps with this. — Michael

              Solution: Hi Michael. An issue like this is more likely caused by a malfunctioning hardware so the only software troubleshooting that we suggest is factory reset. This will eliminate possible software bug that may have developed over time. We are not aware of any specific bug that can lead to the exact issue you’re having so this may also be an isolated case. If factory reset won’t fix the problem, you can bet bad hardware is to blame. In this case, you want to send the phone in so it can be repaired or replaced.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S7 from UK rebooting by itself in New Zealand

              My wife has recently bought an imported S7 here in NZ and has been having some power issues with the device. The phone was originally from the UK and on the Virgin network and works great on our NZ network. The problem is that it has now shut down several time on its own and can’t be revived unless doing a “battery pull”. On only one occasion has the blue light been flashing, the others it has been completely dead. The battery has always had plenty of charge. A couple of questions:

              1. The phone is running MM and is quite out-of- date (security patch shows August last year with no OTA updates available) whereas my own NZ issued S7 is running Nougat without problems. Could it be possible the out-of-date firmware could be causing issues?
              2. I copied some pictures from her old phone (Nexus 5X) to the SD card in her S7. Could that cause an issue? Should I reformat the SD card a (Samsung Evo+)?
              3. Do you think changing the CSC of the phone to NZC like my own and flashing the latest firmware available might do the trick? (I’m not new to tinkering with firmware, rooting etc. But as we use NFC payments the firmware has to be stock unrooted!) Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. — Alex

              Solution: Hi Alex. Let’s answer your questions one by one.

              1. There are a lot of Android phones and Galaxy S7 in particular that still runs older Android versions without experiencing boot problems so we don’t think having Marshmallow is an issue here. It’s always recommended though that you install the latest updates to minimize security  threats and run the latest in Android technology. We understand this phone can no longer be updated by air (OTA) because it’s not from a New Zealand network. If you want to update it, you really have to manually flash Android Nougat to it either via Samsung Smart Switch, or Odin.
              2. We’ve seen some random reboot cases caused by a bad SD card so yeah, you can definitely consider the SD card as a possible cause. Simply reformat it using the S7 in question and observe the phone for a few days to see if it continues to shut down on its own.
              3. As mentioned above, we don’t think this is a firmware issue but so updating Android to the most recent one may not make a difference. We want you to focus troubleshooting the other possible factors though by doing a cache partition wipe, installation of all app updates, and factory reset. Prior to resetting the phone, you can also try to observe the phone in safe mode first to see if a third party app is causing this trouble.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S7 edge can’t connect to the internet via mobile data

              I have an AT&T unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 edge phone. I changed the carrier to T-Mobile. The data is not working on the phone. I set the APN to the required one and cleared the cache on the phone. Still data and internet is not working. Please help. Thanks. — Remya

              Solution: Hi Remya. Your issue is similar to Colinjbriggs1 above so please refer to our suggestions for him.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S7 cannot access company OWA after updating to Android Nougat

              After I upgraded to Android seven version, I couldn’t access my company OWA account. The application require me for device administrator activation. However, it prompt me for the device encryption with an option to continue. The whole system was stucked there and not allow me to access to the following page. — Irene

              Solution: Hi Irene. This is an issue that only your company’s IT department can shed light on. This can be a phone firmware issue, or a problem with your company’s security policy.

              As far as device troubleshooting is concerned, you are only limited to the basic ones such as wiping the cache partition, clearing the email app’s cache and data, and factory reset. If these three procedures won’t help, there must be an external factor that prevents your phone from accessing your company’s email service.

              We’ve provided the steps above on how to wipe the cache partition and do a factory reset. If you don’t know how to clear an app’s cache and data, here are the steps:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S7 can’t make or receive calls

              My Galaxy S7 will not make or receive phone calls. The carrier is Straight Talk with service on Verizon towers. This happened before when I was traveling I65 north through Kentucky and is doing the same thing now, again while I’m in Kentucky on i65 north. My phone number is 334-429-1712…HELP PLEASE! — Ricky

              Solution: Hi Ricky. We’re afraid there’s nothing that we can do to help except to suggest some basic device troubleshooting such as the following:

              • restart
              • manually changing network modes
              • wiping of cache partition
              • factory reset

              The best people that you want to talk about this problem though is your carrier’s technical support team. This is especially true if your phone is showing good signals but can’t avail of voice call service.

              Problem #7: Galaxy S7 edge screen is cracked and randomly becomes unresponsive

              My Samsung Galaxy S7 edge screen seems to be split with a line about a centimeter from the top bezel and below that line my screen is very twitchy. My screen also only turns on every couple minutes and stays not responsive for several minutes. I haven’t dropped it recently but the screen is cracked. I think it is a software issue. — Satvik912

              Solution: Hi Satvik912. There is no software issue that can crack a screen so if you didn’t drop the device ever, you should seriously consider sending it in so the hardware can be checked. The only problems end users can fix on your end are software-related so if you really think software is to blame, do a factory reset. If the screen continues to behave similarly afterwards, let a professional examine your phone so you’ll be advised on what to do next.

              Here are the steps on how to factory reset your S7:

              1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, etc.
              2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
              3. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              4. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
              5. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
              6. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
              7. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
              8. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
              9. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
              10. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

              Problem #8: How to show options to call, mark as read, or reply for SMS in Galaxy S7 lockscreen

              Hi. The issue I’m having with my Samsung S7 is I am no longer given the option to reply to a text whenever I get a new message. I use to be able to hit clear, view or reply when I got a message but since the update it’s not even an option in settings anymore. Thanks for your time. — Jenn

              Solution: Hi Jenn. If you are missing the options to call, mark as read, or reply to a shown message in your lock screen, that’s because Google did it by design. To show the options, you must tap the shown message in your lock screen and gently pull it down.

              Problem #9: How to preview SMS on Galaxy S7 lock screen

              Hey, Just like the other people, I can not preview my messages at all. I followed the directions that you gave last time but couldn’t complete them because I do not have a preview button at all. I have look in every setting and it doesn’t exist. What should I do to fix the problem? — Bharper228

              Solution: Hi Bharper228. In order to preview an incoming SMS while on the lockscreen, you must do the following steps:

              1. Open Settings app.
              2. Tap Applications.
              3. Select Messages.
              4. Select Notifications.
              5. Tap On lock screen.
              6. Select show content.

              Problem 10: GIF option missing on Galaxy S7 Samsung keyboard

              I was using my GIF’s last week on my Samsung keyboard and now the option is no longer available when I hold down the Mic Key next to the space bar. I cannot find any options to change to be able to access the GIF’s that are preloaded. I do not want to get an app in the store to support this. I also checked, and my phone says it has the latest updates. — Laura

              Solution: Hi Laura. We don’t use GIF that much in our Galaxy S7 but we can’t find the same option you’re missing in at least two of our Galaxy S7 as well. We can confirm that we had GIF option when using Samsung keyboard before so Samsung must have stopped supporting the feature in Android Nougat. We are still looking for a confirmation for this change from other sources so we’ll update this post once we have an accurate information.

              As a workaround, try to use another keyboard app that may provide GIF at this time.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Galaxy S6 can’t connect to the internet, mobile data not working, other issues

              Welcome to another #GalaxyS6 post. This will be the last post before we close the week so we hope that you’ll find it informative. Don’t forget to visit our main Galaxy S6 troubleshooting page if you won’t find anything useful here.

              For now, these are the issues we’re covering for you:

              1. Galaxy S6 mutes voice calls | Galaxy S6 microphone stops working during calls
              2. Galaxy S6 wireless charging not working
              3. Galaxy S6 won’t connect to any wifi network
              4. Galaxy S6 won’t turn back on unless put in a freezer
              5. Galaxy S6 can’t connect to the internet, mobile data not working | Galaxy S6 cellular network not working
              6. Galaxy S6 screen stopped working | Galaxy S6 won’t charge
              7. Accidentally dropped Galaxy S6 edge screen won’t turn on | Galaxy S6 won’t power back on

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S6 mutes voice calls | Galaxy S6 microphone stops working during calls

              Here’s an interesting one. I got my Galaxy S6 back in June and as of October, it started muting the call on my end. I can hear everything they’re saying but they don’t hear me. The call doesn’t drop, it stays connected until one of us hangs up. It was steadily increasing based on longer conversations. I have insurance on it so I sent it away to be repaired. I received a new replacement phone and guess what! It still mutes! A completely different phone (checked the IMEI #). I have cleared the cache partition and ran in safe mode to detect if a 3rd party app was the problem but it didn’t happen while in safe mode. I don’t want to keep it that way, but this is driving me crazy! Any ideas that you haven’t suggested?

              P.S. the phone I sent away, I did a hard reset and got the little Android guy dead with an exclamation above it. I couldn’t get it to turn back on for 2 hours and when it did, my security software was still detecting the singularity showing up in the background. — Gboden86

              Solution: Hi Gboden86. It looks like you misunderstood what safe mode does. If your calls work normally while your phone is booted to safe mode, that is, muting does not occur, then that’s proof that one of your third party apps is causing the problem. This means that you simply re-installed the cause root cause of the issue on the second phone. Safe mode won’t pinpoint the exact problematic app though so you must manually do it yourself. This is done by uninstalling apps one by one, making sure that you observe how voice calls after each uninstallation. This is the only way to identify the cause of the trouble and if you have plenty of apps, you may have to spend considerable amount of time to be successful.

              If you noticed that that problem started after installing a new app, try to remove it first to see if that is the cause.

              Alternatively, you can do a reverse process by wiping the phone first via factory reset and observing how the phone behaves after you install an individual app. To factory rest your S6, follow these steps:

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

              Problem #2: Galaxy S6 wireless charging not working

              Hi and thank you in advance for any help you can provide. My phone will no longer charge despite the wireless charging units (I have used multiple ones) indicating that the battery is actually charging (lightning bolts and time to full recharge are visible… but the charge stays at 0% for several days now). I have done three soft resets (which has worked in the past) but they are not successful. In addition, my pins inside my phone are damaged, so i cannot charge in the traditional manner. Is there any other things you would recommend?

              NOTE: I do not know which Android version I have, nor even how to determine that, so i just picked the first one in your drop down list. Thank you. — Jerome

              Solution: Hi Jerome. Try charging the phone when it’s powered off. If the wireless charging problem continues, then it can also be an indication that the phone’s battery is malfunctioning. In this case, you have no other choice but to have the phone repaired or replaced.

              Before you submit the device to Samsung or to any other relevant party for repair or replacement request, try to check if you can boot the phone either safe mode or recovery mode. If you can boot to any of these modes, try to check how wireless charging works. If there’s no difference, go ahead with repair or replacement.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S6 won’t connect to any wifi network

              Hi. my name is Kyle and I have a Galaxy S6 active. The issue that i want to bring up is that my phone is unable to connect to the internet/router. I’ve tried inputting the WEP key in several times, caps and with no caps. I gave up on this tactic, and i thought of using the WPS button on my router, while having the phone ready for pairing to it. It acted like it didn’t see the device, although i have other devices connected to it.

              I’ve also tried using other routers from friends’ houses, no luck. Maybe i accidentally have something on that’s preventing me from connecting to any routers.

              A few days ago it was working. (I only use phone for wi-fi). Let’s get the main bullshit out of the way so i don’t have to wait on you texting me back with the standerd questions.

               

              • No power saving bullshit is on.
              • Airplain mode anit on,
              • Bluetooth is off
              • Mobile hotspot off.
              • Yes tried turning off phone, with and without down key.
              • Tried forgetting wifi password, and redoing it (waiting 10 seconds to turn wifi back ok) and no I’m not resetting phone to factory format. —  Player1down

               

              Solution: Hi Player1down. If your phone is unable to connect to multiple separate wifi networks, the cause of the problem must be one of the following:

              1. a bad app
              2. an unknown software glitch
              3. an unknown hardware malfunction

              To check if an is to blame, you must boot your phone to safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services from running. If one of the installed apps is the cause, the issue should not occur while wifi is enabled. To boot to safe mode, follow these steps:

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

              If nothing happens when you boot to safe mode, that is, wifi remains problematic and won’t connect, do a factory reset. Here’s how to do it:

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

              If you don’t want to do a factory rest, have the phone repaired or replaced.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S6 won’t turn back on unless put in a freezer

              I have a Samsung Galaxy S6. It got an update and apparently had glitches in it per Samsung and AT&T. It has made my phone not function. It will not turn on unless I put it in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. I spent months and months researching and found somebody with the same phone in the same problem they said they took it to a technician and the technician was able to get the device to power up by putting it in the freezer. (To get data), I gave it a shot and it worked. So that’s how I have been turning on the phone now. Problem is I want to figure out why I can’t just power up the phone normally anymore. I have hard reset, soft reset and I am back on stock firmware. Once the phone Powers up it seems to work absolutely perfect besides the fact if it turns off or I turn it off it will not power back on without the freezer. Can you please help me I’m totally stumped. — Bouncebackcutt

              Solution: Hi Bouncebackcutt. If your phone shuts down on its own and won’t turn back on unless you cool it down by leaving it in a freezer, the reason for it may be overheating. Smartphones, like regular computers, are designed to power down if the internal temperature goes beyond its designed heat threshold to prevent damaging components. An overheating device won’t turn back on unless the internal temperature does back down to normal. If this keeps happening, it means that there’s a deeper hardware problem causing it. One of the motherboard’s transistors may be malfunctioning, or any other component like the battery may not be working properly. Such case cannot be solved by doing software hacks. That’s the reason why soft reset, hard reset, and flashing back stock firmware did not help at all. If the phone is still covered by a warranty, make sure that you have it repaired or replaced. If our hunch is correct, the motherboard may need to be replaced, which means that you are better off with a replacement than repair.

              If the phone is no longer in warranty, you’re out of luck as that means that you will have to shoulder the repair or replacement cost.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S6 can’t connect to the internet, mobile data not working | Galaxy S6 cellular network not working

              Hello. i have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and when i try to use mobile data, it is just not working. I went to Settings>More networks>mobile networks. but only three options pop up on the screen: “mobile Data,” “network mode,” and “network Operators.” I don’t see the “APN” settings. How can i fix this problem becuase without it i cannot use mobile data?

              It seems that the problem is because the phone is missing that configuration, so if there is a solution please help me out. I bought this phone in the US and had it unlocked in Ecuador (South America) where i currently live, and the company carrier worked out fine, though i never used mobile data until i decided to give it a try while deployed here in Iraq. i just got a phone card from a local phone company here in Iraq called Zain, and i am trying to use mobile internet to contact family. Thank you so much for your help. — Cristhian

              Solution: Hi Christhian. Assuming your phone has indeed been network unlocked, that is, its original software has been modified so it can work with other network carriers, there are other factors that you should consider.

              GSM vs CDMA. Smartphones, like the Galaxy S6, are not universally compatible with all networks around the world. Samsung builds phones with the carrier’s network specifications in mind. For example, not all Galaxy S6 phone models are compatible with Verizon network in the United States. When Verizon orders Galaxy S6 units from Samsung, the latter must ensure that delivered units must be compatible with Verizon’s network, which means that the phone must be a CDMA device. The same is true for AT&T phones, only that they must be GSM devices.

              GSM phones can be relatively easy to reconfigure so it works in another GSM network. As long as the device has been network unlocked, a GSM phone can work in another network as long as you insert an active SIM on it.

              The same is not true however if you have a CDMA phone, like one from Verizon. CDMA devices, like the ones from Verizon, are notoriously difficult to configure. In most cases, you can’t use a CDMA phone to another CDMA network, like using a Verizon phone in a Sprint network. Using a CDMA phone in a GSM network may not work all the time.

              Hardware configuration. Another factor to consider is the hardware configuration of your phone. Each phone model, targeted to a certain network operator, has a specific network chip installed to allow it to work only in a certain frequency range. For example, a Verizon Galaxy S6 (128GB model) can only support the following frequencies:

              LTE Band 13/4/2 (700/1700/1900 MHz) out of box;

              LTE Band 3/5/7 capable (1800/850/700 MHz);

              CDMA/1xEVDO Rev. A (800/1900 MHz);

              Global – EDGE/GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSPA/UMTS(850/900/1900/2100 MHz)

              This means that the phone’s hardware is limited to working with the frequencies above. If the operating frequencies of the current carrier in Iraq are incompatible with your phone’s, there’s nothing that you can do about that. This may be the reason why the APN settings on your phone does not appear. Usually, APN settings are automatically configured in  phone once an active SIM card has been inserted. If your phone does not recognize the SIM card, or it doesn’t show any network signal, that’s a sign that your phone cannot work with that carrier.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S6 screen stopped working | Galaxy S6 won’t charge

              Hello. I just wanted to complain about the S6 and see if you feel the phone is garbage. I had the S5 for 2 years. Flawless phone until the end. Towards the end it would turn off. I think that may have had something to do with space. Now that I have deleted most stuff off it, it is fine. Anyhow, I upgraded to the S6.

              I wanted the S7 but couldn’t afford it at the time. 3 weeks after I got the phone, I plugged it in to charge. After a little while I went to check my phone and the LCD screen was bleeding. Within 36 hours, I could not see my screen at all. I have an old account that has a balance on it with Verizon. Because of that old account, they would not honor the warranty. Then they tell me it wouldn’t matter because bleeding screens are not covered. I called Samsung. Their warranty, you have to schedule a tech to come look at your device. It takes up to 11 days. What kind of garbage is that?

              So I was forced to file an insurance claim. $150 for a new phone. Now mind you, I did not drop my phone, did not push too hard on the screen and did not get it wet. Even the guy at the store said it looked brand new and should be covered. So, there’s one issue.

              Now here I am, 3 weeks later. I cannot charge my phone. Says battery too cold to charge. Are you kidding me?! The phone is not too cold, no lint in the charging port, and I did not get my phone wet. My phone is my lifeline, So I am careful with it. I do not abuse my phones! So here I am again needing to replace a phone. Thank goodness Asurion will honor the warranty. Verizon sure won’t, because of the old bill. I find that slightly ridiculous because my main account is in good standing and paid every month for several years. The one that I am behind on was a case of being too nice and somebody taking advantage of my good graces. Will never do that again.

              So, could you please tell me what you think? What is the problem with the S6? I feel that maybe Samsung should take them off the shelves. I thought I loved Samsung, now I’m thinking I should have gone with a different phone. Different brand. Thanks for your quick response. — Erin

              Solution: Hi Erin. If we consider the millions of working Galaxy S6 around the world, having some users report defective S6 units can almost be expected. We’ve received sporadic reports of isolated extraordinary cases but none was similar to yours. Based on our own experience with Samsung phones, from the low end ones to flagships like the Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series, screen problems are some of the least common. Luck, or the lack of it, may be the reason why you have a malfunctioning Galaxy S6. We can confirm that your problem is not true for millions of other Galaxy S6 out there. You may have simply received a lemon. We understand that telling you to get a replacement may be easier said than done but it’s the only reasonable solution that we can suggest. A broken screen cannot be fixed by a software hack obviously so fixing it on your level is out of the question. Sure, there are many S6 problems, majority of them unreported, but the same can be said of other smartphones like iOS devices as well. In general, again considering the millions of S6 phones in service today, the Galaxy S6 is a reliable flagship device. It’s not perfect though so there may be anecdotal reports about isolated problems like the one you experienced. But then again, that’s one of the main reasons why warranty exists in the first place. There’s no perfect manufacturing system and somewhere along the way, a few hundred or thousands out of a million may have a defect when they leave the factory. Have the phone replaced and save yourself from more trouble.

              Problem #7: Accidentally dropped Galaxy S6 edge screen won’t turn on | Galaxy S6 won’t power back on

              Good day. I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge. It has been with me for only a couple of months. It was never dropped in water; however, I dropped it a few times. There is some screen damage but the phone was still in full working condition. I never had any problems with my phone because of the screen. It was still working yesterday afternoon. I was busy on my phone and eventually it just froze and rebooted by itself. I waited for the phone to reboot and when I continued working on it, it froze again but this time not turning of at all. I left it for the night hoping the battery would run flat and turn off. This morning I plugged my phone in to charge and wait a few minutes. I tried switching the phone back on, and it came on. As I swiped the screen so I could enter my phone it froze again. When the screen went black, I heard messages coming through. After a while, I checked my phone but this time it is not doing anything. The notification light keeps on blinking but when I press the home button, it does not switch the screen back on. I tried switching the phone off but nothing happens. I am concerned about this problem.  Please can you help? Kind Regards. — Natasha

              Solution: Hi Natasha. The only software hack that you can try is to see if the phone will turn on to other modes. If it doesn’t, you really have to seek help from a professional so the hardware can be physically examined. Keep in mind that unnecessary shock from accidental drop can both have short-term and long-term negative effects. In some cases, a dropped smartphone may not work right away while others can keep the appearance of working for some time, depending on the extent of the damage. If you did not do anything drastic on the software before noticing the problem, the cause of the trouble right now may be the long-term effect of that drop. Because diagnosing a hardware problem requires solid electronic knowledge and special tools, make sure that you let a trained technician do the job for you. Before you do that though, make sure that you try to restart the phone to alternate modes.

              For reference, there are the steps on how to restart your S6 to different Android boot modes:

              Boot in Recovery mode:

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

              Boot in Download Mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
              4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
              5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
              6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

              Boot in safe mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and hold the Power button.
              3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
              4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
              5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
              6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

               

              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.

              Fix Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge that can’t connect via mobile data & other internet connectivity issues

              The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (#Samsung #GalaxyS6Edge) has two primary ways to connect to the internet; via mobile data or through a Wi-Fi network. The speed of the connection totally depends on how good the services offered by your internet service provider or carrier.

              S6-Edge-Internet-Problems

              In this post, I tackled some of the most common connectivity issues reported by S6 Edge owners. Continue reading to know how to fix or troubleshoot them. Here’s the list of the issues…

              1. Galaxy S6 Edge can’t connect to the internet using mobile data
              2. S6 Edge not getting good service at a certain location
              3. Galaxy S6 Edge can’t be detected by computer
              4. Galaxy S6 Edge has issues filling out forms online
              5. Galaxy S6 Edge has issues while using the Viber app

              In case you need help with other problems, don’t hesitate to contact us by filling up this form. Just make sure you include all necessary details about the problem so that it will be easier for us to help you. You may also browse through our troubleshooting page to find out if your concern has already been addressed before. If so, then use the solutions we provided.

              Galaxy S6 Edge can’t connect to the internet using mobile data

              Problem: “I bought the S6 Edge in the US to bring home to the UK. I told the sales person (a Best Buy employee) that I didn’t require a carrier because I would be using my UK CIM card (EE). The sales person said the device is a Verizon phone but that it is unlocked so it can be used everywhere in the world. He also said that I’d need to change the APN on the phone. As soon as I inserted my UK SIM card in the phone, I got the message “SIM card not from Verizon Wireless” and the only way to make that notification disappear is to force close it but every time the phone restarts/reboots the message comes up again and I cannot uncheck the “Show notification” box. I tried to change the APN on the phone as I was advised but when I click on Access Point Names, there is only “LTE-Verizon Internet” but it’s in grey and I can’t click on it. I don’t know what to do here. Should I call my carrier (EE)?

              Also under the “Network Mode” there are 3 options (Global, LTE/CDMA and LTE/GSM/UMTS) and the Global is ticked. The “Network Operators” is grey and I cannot search for my carrier (EE).

              I can make and receive phone calls but I’m not sure regarding text messages. I sent one to my other phone and I’m still waiting to receive it. I switched off my Wi-Fi and my mobile data isn’t working. I can see a very faded H on the top corner of the phone (where the clock, battery and signal bars are).

              Also, downloads from the Play Store take longer. Does that have anything to do with the phone or with my Wi-Fi provider?

              I don’t know what to do at this point. I was very excited about the phone but if I can’t get it to work, it’s quite a lot of money down the drain. I specifically told the sales person that the phone needed to be unlocked and unblocked and he guaranteed me that it was. Now I can’t get it to work. I would appreciate tremendously if you could help me.”

              Recommendations: Changing the APN settings may not be the only thing you need to get your device all set in this case. I understand that you’ve already tried to change the APN but unable to do so because the list is greyed out. Just to make sure we’re not missing anything, kindly restart your phone and then go back to Settings -> Mobile Networks -> Access Point Names, and see if there are any changes. If the options remain disabled or greyed, then you may try the following workarounds.

              1. Remove SIM card from your Galaxy S6 Edge with the following steps:
              • Power off your device completely.
              • Locate the SIM card tray.
              • Use the eject tool or a paper clip to gently push the small button on the SIM card tray.
              • When the tray ejects, remove the SIM card carefully.
              • Wait for a few seconds, and then place the SIM card back into the SIM card tray.
              • Insert the tray into the SIM Card slot until it snaps in place. Ensure it’s secured.
              • Now, turn on your phone.
              1. Re-configure the Access Point Name (APN) and enable data settings with these steps:
              • Tap the Apps icon from the Home screen.
              • Tap Settings.
              • Scroll to Connections tab.
              • Tap Mobile Networks.
              • Tap Access Point Names.
              • Scroll to and tap to select your carrier. If it’s not available, tap the MORE icon, and then tap New APN.

              Note: To reset your APN settings, tap the MORE icon and then select Reset to default.

              • Verify and update your Data APN settings. Please contact your carrier (EE) for the correct information to use for the Data APN.
              • Tap Save to save the changes you’ve made.
              • Tap to select the APN profile you prefer to use and the bullet point fills with green right next to the APN profile.

              If you still cannot change the APN settings, then I concur to your first thought of contacting your carrier (EE) for further assistance and recommendations. Since it’s a Verizon device, most likely, it’s still bounded by the so-called carrier restrictions. This means your phone is currently network locked. In order to get rid of these restrictions, you need to factory unlock your Galaxy S6 Edge first. This is when you would be needing a SIM network unlock code. Once it’s unlocked, you can already use any SIM card and/or device from any GSM carrier worldwide. While there are a lot of networks unlock solutions for Galaxy S6 Edge available online, I strongly recommend contacting your carrier first, to ensure you’re doing the right thing.

              As for your network operator selection, you can manually select wireless network for your device to connect after it is network unlocked. Just head on to Apps > Settings > Connections > Mobile networks > Network operators > Search Now.

              S6 Edge not getting good service at a certain location

              Problem: I live in the San Marcos, TX area, where my internet service works good… I come home to the RGV (Rio Grande Valley) and the service is really BAD…I NEED ANSWERS PLEASE on how to fix this Issue.

              Troubleshooting: Perhaps, you’re not getting a good wireless signal in your home at Rio Grande Valley that’s why your Internet connection is also not good. You can try the following workarounds to help speed up your Internet connection:

              1. Power cycle your wireless router or modem. To do this, turn off the router/modem, unplug it from the power outlet, and plug it back in after 30 seconds then turn it back on.
                2. Also ensure your router or modem runs the latest software version. You may need to verify it with your Internet service provider (ISP).
              2. Perform a soft reset on your phone or simply turn it off for a few seconds and then turn it back on. After that, connect to the Internet and see if there are any changes or improvements.

              If there’s none, then you may proceed with the following workarounds:

              • On your phone, forget the network and set it up again. Also try to toggle Wi-Fi off and on.
              • Switch to different network modes available. Go to Settings-> Mobile networks-> Network mode. Try switching to CDMA only.

              If nothing else works, then please contact your Internet service provider or network carrier to escalate your Internet or connectivity issue.

              Galaxy S6 Edge can’t be detected by computer

              Problem: I am having the same issue as below in your June 12 2015 article titled Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge can’t be detected by Windows PC & Mac. I am at work and they block us from downloading apps. Also, my layout to get to the debugger is not like you described below. Help! Thanks.

              Troubleshooting: First of all, try to check the USB cable you used to connect your phone to the computer and ensure it’s functional. Since, not all USB cables are not designed for file transfer, you may try to use a different USB cable to connect your phone to the computer. Doing so will help you determine if the problem is on the USB cable or not.

              Also make sure the physical connections are secured, from your phone to the computer and vice versa. In some cases, the computer may not be able to recognize your phone because either ports/sockets is damaged.

              Considering everything is all good with the physical connections (both the USB cable and ports are okay) the next thing to do is configure your phone settings enable USB file transfer and USB debugging.

              To enable USB file transfer on your phone, head on to Settings-> Storage-> USB computer connection -> check Media device (MTP). Enabling USB debugging will allow the computer to read your phone as an external disk/drive. To enable this feature, go to Settings-> Developer Options -> USB debugging. If prompted, tap OK to allow USB debugging on your device.

              The settings layout/menu options may vary by Android OS version your phone is running on. For devices running the stock Android Marshmallow 6.0, here’s how to access the menu option to enable USB debugging:

              • Disconnect the USB cable from your phone.
              • Turn on Developer Mode by navigating to Settings-> About Phone -> and then tap on Build Number several times until a screen pops up.
              • Head on to your phone Settings-> Developer Options.
              • Tap to enable USB debugging.
              • Turn your phone screen off.
              • Connect your phone to the computer via USB cable.
              • Unlock your phone screen.
              • Swipe down the screen to view notifications and then tap on “USB for charging.”
              • Tap to select File transfers from the pop-up screen.
              • Lock your phone screen and unlock it again.

              Also ensure Samsung Kies file transfer software is not installed on your device as it could often cause conflict with the stock Android file transfer.

              Galaxy S6 Edge has issues filling out forms online

              Problem: I am unable to use any of my email addresses to fill out forms online. I tried clearing my cache but that didn’t fix the problem. I’m not ready to do a factory reset just yet.

              Recommendations: I’m not sure what types of forms you’re referring to here, but usually, issues like this can be rectified by clearing cache and/or data on the browser or application you are using. I understand that you already have tried clearing cache but to no avail. Since you haven’t specified which application you’ve cleared cache from, I want you to do it again and this time with the browser app you’re using on your device.

              • If you’re using the stock Internet browser on your phone while attempting to fill out online forms, open the browser, tap More-> Settings-> Privacy-> Delete personal data -> then delete browsing information you want such as history, cache, cookies and site data, and others.
              • If you are using other browser app, go to Settings-> App Manager-> then tap the Clear Cache or Clear Data Alternatively, you can just enable Incognito Mode on your browser.
              • After clearing the browser history, perform a soft reset or simply reboot your phone.
              • If you suspect a third-party app is triggering the problem, try to boot your device into safe mode and see if you still can’t fill out online forms with any of your email addresses.

              If you can, then it implies a third-party app is the culprit and that’s what you need to take care of first.

              Galaxy S6 Edge has issues while using the Viber app

              Problem: Hi, my problem is with the Viber App. I can call and text using the App, but when the phone is inactive for 15 minutes / (Standby) my Viber account goes into last seen 2 minutes ago and so on,

              1. I have not left the room were my Wi-Fi router is.
              2. I had no problem with this when i used my S4 on Viber.
              3. The reason i know it goes into last seen mode is i check it with a second phone i have.

              Can you help please? Thanks.

              Recommendations: Over-the-top (OTT) apps like Facebook Messenger and Viber are normally designed to work this way. Your account appears “Online” when the Viber app is running in the foreground and background (in short, active) and that your phone is connected to the Internet. When the phone is on standby or becomes idle for a few minutes or hours, your Viber status switches to “Last seen…” It will also switch to the same mode, if your phone has no internet connection, or when you manually exit from the application.

              However, as long as you are connected to the Wi-Fi or mobile data and the Viber app is running in the background, you should still be able to receive push notifications and through that incoming call alerts in this mode. The app will launch again (even if it’s closed) once you accept a call through the notification, and then connect your incoming call. In your case, the only suggestions I can offer are as follow:

              • Close or exit the Viber app.
              • Reboot (soft reset) your device.
              • Turn Wi-Fi off and then back on.
              • Open/launch the Viber app.
              • Check your Viber account status after a few minutes.

              If the issue remains, then you may configure your Viber settings to control when Viber app is connected to Wi-Fi using the Wi-Fi Sleep policy setting. To ensure Viber will keep Wi-Fi on at all times, select the “Always connected” option. Otherwise, select the option to “Use device’s settings” to comply with the settings defined in your phone.

              If that won’t do any good and you’re certain that there’s no problem with your phone’s Internet/Wi-Fi/mobile data connectivity, my final suggestion is to contact Viber Support for further assistance and recommendations.

              Connect with us

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

              Quick fixes to Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile data & Wi-Fi problems that occurred after Marshmallow update

              Here are some of the internet-related problems reported by our readers that occurred to their Samsung Galaxy S6 (#GalaxyS6) after Android 6.0 #Marshmallow update has been rolled out.

              Galaxy-S6-mobile-data-wi-fi-problems-marshmallow

              I’ve covered some mobile data and Wi-Fi issues that you might also encounter in the future. So continue reading to know how to tackle them. You may click on the link to jump to a specific problem…

              1. Galaxy S6 keeps restarting every 2 minutes, wireless services lost
              2. Bogus notification alert pops up when browser is opened
              3. Galaxy S6 doesn’t display the login screen for Wi-Fi connection
              4. Galaxy S6 disconnects from Wi-Fi network and reconnects
              5. Galaxy S6 showing “No connection detected” error
              6. Mobile data connection not working with a certain SIM card
              7. Galaxy S6 Wi-Fi hotspot is working but there’s no internet connection
              8. Wi-Fi Calling option can’t be found on Galaxy S6

              For other issues, visit our S6 troubleshooting page. Find problems that are similar to what you have and use the solutions we provided. If they don’t work, then fill up this questionnaire and hit submit to contact us directly. We expect you to provide all necessary information about the problem so we can help you better.

              Galaxy S6 keeps restarting every 2 minutes, wireless services lost

              Problem: My phone keeps restarting every 2 minutes, and in that time I am not able to get any service. I do not get internet or even 4g/3g network. I have tried all types of reboots on it even the factory reboot and have not received any results. At this point is there anything that I can do or do I simply have to get a new phone. I have had this phone for approximately two to three weeks. Is this a normal happenstance for Galaxy S6s or is it the android version that is causing this?

              Troubleshooting: No, it’s never normal for a high-end smartphone to reboot on its own and the fact that wireless services won’t function in the device is because maybe there’s a serious firmware issue. So, the best troubleshooting procedure I want you to do is the master reset.

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

              If the problem persists, it’s time you talked with your provider and negotiate a replacement; it’s a device problem.

              Bogus notification alert pops up when browser is opened

              Problem: When we open the browser, a pop up appears saying “This page at notificalerts.com says: warning, this Samsung Galaxy S6 is corrupted with a virus and the battery has been damaged. System has detected 4 virus causing serious damage to your battery, and must be removed and fixed immediately. Continue with instructions to fix phone. do not close window. exit at your own risk.” And we cannot close the window after this. Please assist.

              Solution: I’m not sure what web browser you’re using but you can easily close it by tapping the Recent apps button, finding the app and swiping it right or left. Don’t worry, the notification is a bogus alert and it only wants you to download a certain app that once installed on your phone, will create even more pop ups. You may also clear the cache and the data of the web browser you’re using to get rid of anything that may trigger the ad.

              Galaxy S6 doesn’t display the login screen for Wi-Fi connection

              Problem: I travel a lot. Without fail, whenever I go to connect to the hotel Wi-Fi, I select the  wifi but the password/log in page never appears. My phone will even display that im “connected”,  but just get the spinning wheel of death when I try to go to any site. At the same time, I can connect to my iPad and the log in page appears. So its not a hotel issue, its a Samsung/Android issue. Had same issues with my S4. Can’t someone figure this out?

              Troubleshooting: You may have already connected to the network before and saved the SSID and password that’s a single tap will automatically connect your phone to the network. Try to “Forget” the network and let the phone detect and reconnect to it. You should be prompted to enter the password this time.

              Galaxy S6 disconnects from Wi-Fi network and reconnects

              Problem: Hello. I have the S6 Gold 64gb. Every time I’m connected to Wi-Fi it disconnects and reconnects again… every 30 min. I also noticed when I use mobile data (4g) I got notification from some apps “connection error.” I have the SM-G920F version SIM free. Can you help me to resolve this issue? Thanks.

              Solution: The phone automatically switches between networks when Smart Network Switch feature is enabled. Turn it off and the problem will be fixed. But your issue with the mobile data may need intervention from your provider–the APN may need to be re-setup. Here’s how you disable Smart Network Switch…

              1. Swipe down from the top of the screen with one finger.
              2. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner.
              3. Tap the WiFi icon.
              4. Tap the Menu icon on the upper-right corner of the screen.
              5. Choose Advanced from the drop down.
              6. Uncheck the box next to “Smart network switch.”

              Galaxy S6 showing “No connection detected” error

              Problem: I just noticed last night that a message keeps popping up that says ‘No connection detected. Try again later.’ Both when I’m connected via Wi-Fi and mobile data even though my connection is perfectly fine. I tried to search the net on ways how to fix it. I change the date/time, cleared the cache and re-install my Gmail account but none of those worked. I hope you can help me solve this problem. Thanks!

              Troubleshooting: You should know what app is showing this error because it might be just an exclusive app problem. You should also know how frequent it happens. Closely observation is key to fixing this problem.

              Just in case both Wi-Fi and mobile data are enabled in your phone, try turning Smart network switch off to see if it still happens. There’s a chance that this issue occurs every time the phone switches between networks.

              Mobile data connection not working with a certain SIM card

              Problem: Internet does not work when my MTN SIM card is inserted.  There is no notification (H+ or 3G) at the top right hand side. However, when other carriers (Etisalat and Airtel) are put into the phone it works as expected. In simple terms, it is a selective device even though it is open to all networks. This issue only started about 1 month after purchasing the S6.

              Solution: When you insert that SIM card you’re having problem with, make sure you also change the default APN in your phone. If the issue still persists after, then call the provider and re-setup the APN. That should do it.

              Galaxy S6 Wi-Fi hotspot is working but there’s no internet connection

              Problem: I just purchased my Galaxy S6 yesterday.  It is showing a hot spot connection to my galaxy Pad.  My Pad shows it is connected to my wifi hotspot.  But I can not access the internet on my Pad as it says i have no connection to the server.  I have done the soft restarts and ran the advanced task killer.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

              Answer: Your Galaxy S6 should have an active internet connection through mobile data so it can “share” it to your Pad. That said, make sure mobile data is enabled and if there’s still a connection problem, then call your provider and have the APN setup on your device.

              Wi-Fi Calling option can’t be found on Galaxy S6

              Problem: I want to enable Wi-Fi calling and have seen tutorials that show how to turn it on going to Settings > Applications > Phone and then scrolling to the bottom to see Wi-Fi calling and switching it on. Unfortunately the last option I have is vibrate under the subcategory  voicemail and I’m not sure how to make the option appear. I have installed the latest software. Please help.

              Answer: It only means one thing–your service provider doesn’t offer Wi-Fi Calling. That’s the reason why there’s no option to enable the feature on your device.

              Connect with us

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

              Galaxy Note 5 fingerprint sensor not working, not recognizing fingerprint, other issues

              Hello Android fans! Welcome to our most recent #GalaxyNote5 article. As usual, the issues we cover in this one are taken from messages we receive from some of our readers. If you happen to send us your own issue but are yet to see them published, be sure to continue watching out for more Note 5 issues.

              Below are the specific topics we’re discussing in this one:

              1. Galaxy Note 5 stuck in random reboot loop
              2. Galaxy Note 5 mobile data not working with 3G network
              3. How to display option to reply to a message on Galaxy Note 5 lock screen, how to show content on lock screen
              4. Galaxy Note 5 voice calling or advanced calling not working
              5. Galaxy Note 5 fingerprint sensor not working, not recognizing fingerprint
              6. Galaxy Note 5 can’t make phone calls after installing Nougat
              7. Galaxy Note 5 charges very slow, fast charge not working
              8. Galaxy Note 5 draining battery fast
              9. Galaxy Note 5 showing “Mobile Network not Connected” error after rear camera replacement

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy Note 5 stuck in random reboot loop

              My Galaxy Note 5 has gone into a perpetual restart loop. upon restart the phone home screen appears for about 3 seconds then the phone shuts off and restarts. Upon restart the Galaxy Logo DOES not reappear but only the SAMSUNG logo appears, then back to home screen for 3 seconds then restart etc… I tried cleaning the cache memory but this has not worked. I tried going into Safe Mode, the only thing this did is that it changed the theme on the home screen (not sure if as a result the entire phone memory has been wiped off) but this has not solved the issue.

              I have no problem replacing the phone, the issue is data retrieval if this is still possible. Thanks. — Ramzi

              Solution: Hi Ramzi. File recovery is only possible if your phone is stable and the operating system is working normally. This means that unless you’ll be able to boot the phone normally in safe mode or normal mode and the phone stays that way for minutes, no file transfer is possible.

              Sometimes, a problem like yours is caused by a bad battery so if the phone continues to shut down by itself, make sure to send the phone in.

              We don’t know what you did to your phone before this problem occurred but if you tried modify the software by rooting or flashing, we assume you already anticipate a problem like this. Only advanced users attempt software modification so we assume you are aware of risks that can result from such activity.

              Problem #2: Galaxy Note 5 mobile data not working with 3G network

              Dear sir. I bought an CDMA us phone of Sprint (Galaxy Note 5) and it is working fine with my local carrier. However the only issue is 3G as it was working fine until i update the software to Android 7 as the data through 3G is not working at all and the symbol of 3G is not appearing any more. However, 3G worked only for minute or more when the phone rebooted and tried to activate handsfree then after the attempt of activation fails the 3g symbol and connection disappeared again and this happen every time i reboot the mobile. Is there any solution? Thanks in advance for your assistance. — Abdulrahman

              Solution: Hi Abdulrahman. If you’re positive that this problem started after installing an Android update, then you must do the basic software troubleshooting.

              Wipe the cache partition

              This should be the first thing that must be done for any post-update issues you encounter.  Some problems following an update are caused by a corrupt system cache so refreshing the current cache may be able to help. Here are the steps on how to wipe the cache partition on your Note S7:

              1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
              2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
              4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
              5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
              6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
              7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
              8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
              9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

              Perform a factory reset

              Another good thing to do in this case is to wipe the phone clean and revert all software settings and apps to their defaults. If the cause of your networking problem is caused by an app bug or software glitch, factory reset should be able to solve it. Here’s how it’s done:

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

              Once you’ve factory reset the device, make sure not to re-install any app or update. You need to observe the phone for at least 24 hours to see if there’s any significant difference, or if the problem persists. If it does, then it’s very likely that the firmware you installed is poorly coded. If you received the update by air (OTA update), contact your carrier so they can look into the issue.

              Problem #3: How to display option to reply to a message on Galaxy Note 5 lock screen, how to show content on lock screen

              My Galaxy Note 5 used to show a preview of text messages when they came in and it had an option to reply right from the preview. This no longer is an option. It also no longer shows content when the phone is locked. I’ve gone through the steps you’ve set out by turning it off in settings, rebooting and then turning it back on and it still doesn’t work. I would love to have those features back! Help! 🙂 — Lesley

              Solution: Hi Lesley. With Android Nougat, the three options (CALL, MARK AS READ, AND REPLY) usually available under a notification in a lock screen are hidden. To display them again, you must tap and slide down a notification.

              To show the contents of a notification in the lock screen, you must do the following:

              1. Open the Settings app.
              2. Tap Applications.
              3. Tap on the application you want to edit.
              4. Look for Notifications and tap it.
              5. Slide the slider to the right to allow notifications.
              6. If you want to show the content of the notification in the lock screen, tap On lock screen and select Show content.

              Problem #4: Galaxy Note 5 voice calling or advanced calling not working

              I have an unlocked Note 5. I’m on a third party carrier on Verizon network. I cannot get video or advanced calling and it gives me an error that says we’ve encountered a problem activating Advanced calling 1.0 . my son’s girlfriend said that there is a update for Galaxy right now I think she’s got a 7 Edge. Mine shows it’s already updated but it honestly it doesn’t have all the cool features that the latest Android update supposed to have and I don’t know if mine’s really Marshmallow. Could this be because the phone is unlocked? — Chey

              Solution: Hi Chey. Video calling or advanced calling are carrier-specific services so to get an accurate information, you must talk to your carrier’s support representatives. If your Note 5 keeps came from another carrier but you’re now using it in a Verizon network, you can’t expect that all apps and features on the phone will work. The phone may be network unlocked but the main software was not changed. That said, you can expect that not all pre-installed apps or services being offered by the original carrier can work on this device since you’re in a different network already. Again, we suggest that you talk to your current carrier and see if your problem is caused by incompatibility somewhere.

              Your Note 5 should already be running Android Nougat (Android 7) and not Marshmallow (Android 6). To check, go under Settings>About device>Software info.

              If it’s still on Marshmallow, that’s probably because your carrier can not update it by air (over-the-air) since it’s still running the firmware of the original carrier. If this is the case, the only way to update it is by manually doing it yourself. Installing the update by yourself is called flashing and it’s a risky procedure if you don’t do it properly. If you want to update the software, do some research and find a good guide that will tell what to do. Again, we want to warn you that flashing is risky and can potentially brick your device. Make sure you know exactly what you’re doing to avoid problems. Providing a guide on how to flash your phone is beyond the scope of this article so you should try to ask help from someone if you can’t find a good literature to help you.

              Problem #5: Galaxy Note 5 fingerprint sensor not working, not recognizing fingerprint

              I went to set up my fingerprint password. I guess I had done it in the past because it is just asking for my fingerprint when I try, instead of letting me set it up. (I’ve had this phone since it came out. It is now May 2017). It isn’t recognizing my fingerprint. I also can’t figure out the backup password. I read some other questions you answered, trying to get some help without bothering you. One person had said their phone isn’t connected to the internet, so the backup password is the only way he can try to verify. Does that mean there is something I CAN do over the internet to fix this, or do I have to do a reset? Also, I’m not sure which android version I am running on. I put Marshmallow because I’m pretty sure at one point I had that. I do all the updates the phone tells me to, if that helps. Thanks so much for your time! — Charlie

              Solution: Hi Charlie. The first two simple workarounds for a fingerprint issue that you should try should be:

              1. soft reset, and
              2. cache partition wipe.

              To soft reset your Note 5, follow these steps:

              1. Press and hold the Power (located on the right edge) and Volume down buttons (located on the left edge) for 12 seconds.
              2. Use the Volume down button to scroll to the Power Down option.
              3. Press the Home key to select.
              4. The device should power down completely. It is recommended that the device be powered up in Safe Mode.

              The steps on how to wipe the cache partition are provided above. Kindly refer to them.

              If wiping the cache partition won’t work, the next step that you want to is to clear the data of the Fingerprint app. This will revert the app to its default settings, allowing your to set up your fingerprints anew. Here are the steps:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to Apps. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0 or 7.0.
              3. Tap the More settings icon on the top right corner (three-dot icon).
              4. Tap Show system apps.
              5. Once in there, look for Fingerprint app and tap it.
              6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              7. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application. Tap Clear Data button.

              Problem #6: Galaxy Note 5 can’t make phone calls after installing Nougat

              T-Mobile pushed the Nougat update to my phone a bit over a week ago. Since then, I cannot make phone calls. Whether from Messages, Contacts, or Phone Log, after selecting Callee (person I’m calling) and pressing Call, the call screen flashes up, and then it says “Call Ended”. I can retry calling interminably with the same result. I can receive calls just fine, texting works, and 4G/LTE data works. I’ve found 2 workarounds to this problem — go into and out of Airplane mode, or turn Wi-Fi calling on and then off (I usually have it off) — which allow me to make 1 call – just 1! – after which the problem recurs. Your link, https://thedroidguy.com/2017/04/samsung-galaxy-note-5-cant-call-nougat-update-issue-related-problems-1072228, is the only one I’ve found on this issue to-date. — Fred

              Solution: Hi Fred. If you’ve already tried wiping the cache partition, we suggest that you try to clear the Phone app’s cache and data before wiping the phone via factory reset. Deleting the Phone app’s data may be able to fix the problem if the bug lies on this app only. Here’s how to do that:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0 or 7.0.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem #7: Galaxy Note 5 charges very slow, fast charge not working

              Hi there. My Note 5 will hold charge very well but not charge up. It recognizes the charger is connected but does not charge. I have tried a reset, charging in safe mode, charging the device while turned off, cleaning the port, removing my case, changing my charger, using my charger in another phone and charging the device while not in use. I am using the original fast charger and if I charge while not in use, I get roughly 6% over 8 hours. If turned off I can fully charge in about 5-6 hours. My charger charges other phones from dead to full in 1-2 hours. I’m not sure what the problem could be. Any feedback is welcome! Thank you. — Emily

              Solution: Hi Emily. If you’ve already tried factory reset before contacting us, then the problem must be hardware in nature. Try to see if fast charging works wirelessly first. If it does, that means the software allows fast charging and there’s a malfunction in the charging port. In this case, you should send the phone in for repair or replacement.

              Problem #8: Galaxy Note 5 draining battery fast

              My Galaxy Note 5 has been having significant battery problems. On full 100% charge, it lasts about 3 hours before I have to charge it again. I have had it for about 1 year now, it didn’t use to be like this. The problem has began just a few months ago. Please help me solve this. I have tried the software steps already, they doesn’t work. I have even factory reset the phone like 5 times. Please help me! — Henry

              Solution: Hi Henry. Countless factory resets and software solutions won’t fix the issue if the main cause is your apps, or a huge number of apps. Remember, the more apps you install, the higher the chance that one of them can cause a problem. The higher the number of your apps, the faster the battery drains as well. To see if this is true in your situation, do another round of factory reset and observe how fast battery drains without apps or updates. If the rate of battery drain will be the same even when you haven’t installed any third party app, you can bet bad hardware is to blame. It can be a malfunctioning battery or other hardware malfunction. In that case, you should want to contact Samsung or your carrier so the device can be replaced or repaired.

              Problem #9: Galaxy Note 5 showing “Mobile Network not Connected” error after rear camera replacement

              Recently, I noticed my rear camera lens was cracked and broken. I did a little research and it didn’t seem to be too much trouble to replace the entire camera. I have worked in some form of IT support for 15 years now so this isn’t new to me. Anyhow, I found refurbished OEM cameras on Walmart’s website for only $4.95 each. I made sure it was the correct camera for my Galaxy Note 5 and ordered 4 of them…just to be on the safe side since they were refurbished. After receiving them, I carefully disassembled my device and replaced the camera. I reconnected everything as close to how it was originally assembled and booted up my phone. It worked great. The next day, I had a few calls that dropped while at work and that seemed odd. I dismissed it. The next day, while at home, I tried to make a call and I continually received “Mobile Network not Connected”. This has happened ever since and that’s been a couple days ago. I have taken it all apart and put it back together several times. I upgraded the OS but that didn’t help. I have, since then, performed a “Hard reset” to factory defaults and tried wiping the “System Cache Partition” as you guys urge users to do. I’m at the end of the line here. Did my camera repair go wrong? Could the camera I’ve got installed now be causing an issue? I feel like it’s hardware related but I have it all installed correctly and carefully like it should be. Could I have broken a small wire or something during the repair process? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! — Chris

              Solution: Hi Chris. We need to physically check your phone in order to know exactly what went wrong. The error message you’re getting may be an indication of a network chip or modem problem, which, in turn can be caused by the repair you’ve done. If factory reset did not fix it, then the problem must be hardware in nature. We don’t provide diagnostics and troubleshooting in this blog so if you want to go to the bottom of the issue, we recommend that look for other websites that do.

               

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              Galaxy S6 edge plus cannot send SMS with emoji or photo attachment, other issues

              Hello Android community! Welcome back to another #GalaxyS6 post for the day. As usual, we’re publishing reports from other S6 users as well as the solutions for each of them. Don’t forget to keep watching for more S6 articles in the coming days.

              If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

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

              Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

              Problem 1: Accidentally dropped Galaxy S6 won’t boot normally, keeps getting stuck in splash screen

              Dropped phone and it will not boot. I think the battery came unseated. I can get into ODIN while connected to a computer. I can get the splash screen to load and then it dies, only while connected. I only need to recover the contacts and possibly the pictures. I have downloaded a few tools to do that but none of them have S6 SM-G920R4 as a model. Can I get the contacts by booting to ODIN?

              Also, I tried to start a recovery process with a similar model name and when it started, the ODIN screen displayed FRP lock. Can I unlock that if i can’t get into the phone? Any suggestions? — Thoneycuttjr

              Solution: Hi Thoneycuttjr. Contacts, together with other data, are protected information and can only be accessed within Android operating system so you can’t get to them via Odin. Try booting the phone to safe mode instead to see if you can load Android and the pre-installed apps. Here’s how:

              1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 20 to 30 seconds.
              2. Once you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key immediately but continue pressing the Volume Down key.
              3. Your phone should continue booting up and you will be prompted to unlock your phone as usual.
              4. You will know if the phone successfully booted in safe mode if the text “Safe mode” is displayed at the lower-left corner of the screen.

              If the phone won’t load safe mode either, you’re out of luck.

              For your second question, the answer depends on the hacking software you’re using. At this time, there’s no known hacking software that can unlock FRP because the authentication process involves a Google account, which means that you need to also get permission from Google servers if the phone is online. The only effective way to bypass FRP right now is by flashing of stock ROM to a locked system. Doing so would wipe the phone clean so if your main concern is recovery of your files and contacts, you would want to avoid it as much as possible.

              Keep in mind that flashing and use of hacking software are meant to address software issues. If you want to address the main problem in order to make the phone stable again, you need to eventually send the phone in for repair.

              Problem 2: Galaxy S6 screen cracked after phone was dropped

              I just dropped my phone. It landed face down. It already had a crack on the upper left corner. I now see two dark line cracks in that same corner. You cannot feel them like you can the other crack, meaning it seems to be under the glass plate. There is a blue light that brightens and darkens. The screen won’t turn on. When I hold the power button, and even when I don’t, I’ll get a quick flash on the screen only on certain parts of the screen. I can’t hard or soft reset it. I was just wondering if there was a way to fix this without going to see someone or replacing my phone. Thanks! — Angela.patruno.rn

              Solution: Hi Angela.patruno.rn. Unless you are a trained smartphone technician with general knowledge of Samsung devices, the best available option for you is to have the phone checked by a professional. Because the main cause of the problem is accidental drop, there’s a chance that some components may be damaged as well. Even if you can manage to replace the screen or screen assembly yourself, there’s no guarantee that your phone will work normally again. Like water damage, unnecessary shock from a drop can lead to all sorts of problems.

              If you don’t want to invest a few hundred dollars for repair or parts replacement, try looking for do-it-yourself tutorials on how to replace the screen on your S6. We don’t provide DIY guides so you can use Google to look for websites that can help you. iFixit is a good place to start.

              Problem 3: Verizon Galaxy S6 edge plus won’t install update in AT&T network

              I have an unlocked Galaxy S6 Edge Plus (it was on Verizon, is now on AT&T). I had a few minor issues with MMS and the WiFi when I first started using the phone, and after calling Customer Service, that issue was resolved. However, I cannot check for system updates. Every time I try, a dialog box pops up that says “Sorry, we are having trouble authenticating your device.” I can’t seem to find any information on what that means or how to fix it. — Shannon F

              Solution: Hi Shannon F. You can’t download a system update for a Verizon phone in AT&T network. That’s because carriers only send updates to their own phones, or devices running their own firmware. Your S6 still runs Verizon firmware although it’s been modified to work in AT&T network.

              Try installing the Samsung Smart Switch app in your computer and connect your S6 to it via USB cable. If Smart Switch will prompt you to update the phone, go ahead and do it. If there’s no prompt from Smart Switch, that means that there’s no easy option to update your phone.

              If you think you can handle flashing, do some research about it and how to do it on your phone. Flashing or manual installation of software in an Android device can potentially ruin your phone so you want to ensure that you know what you’re doing. If you believe that upgrading your phone’s software is worth the risks, flashing the most recent Android version on your phone will be the only way to do it. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do this.

              Problem 4: Galaxy S6 is dead, won’t charge, won’t turn on

              Galaxy S6 has been working fine until yesterday. I didn’t drop it or get it wet. I close apps after using. I use a wireless charger at night. I was using it before I left for Costco. When I got there it was totally dead. I tried car charger to no avail. So I took it to the Verizon kiosk. He tried every charger he had. Nothing happened. He said I must have overheated the battery (he said never leave it overnight to charge). So I ended up purchasing a new S8+, which is out of my budget, but had no other choice. 6 hours later, last night, I noticed the battery symbol finally showed up. So I charged it. Seems fine, but of course nothing is usable since it is all transferred to my new phone. I have 14 days to return it. My fear is the battery has been permanently damaged and may quit again. Have you had other experiences like this? — Imp822

              Solution: Hi Imp822. Smartphones can stop charging or turning back on all of a sudden for a variety of reasons. The symptoms may be the same — not charging, screen remains black, overheating, or not turning on — but the exact cause may not always be the same for each case. If you want to get to the bottom of the problem, you must send the phone in so the hardware can be physically checked and tested.

              We’re always receiving reports from our readers that their smartphones have stopped working all of a sudden so your case is not really the first one. Sadly, there’s no way we can know what causes your problem so you must send it to Samsung or an independent service center for a fix.

              Problem 5: Galaxy S6 question about non-removable battery, SIM card, and USB cable

              Hi there. It is good to find your website that can help people regarding my problem. I currently have a Note 3, bought an used S6 recently, and I have some questions:

              1. The battery for the S6 is non-removable (just find out), so if this “new” S6’s battery is close to its end of life, what should I do?
              2. The S6 is using a nano SIM, but the Note 3 is using Micro Sim (just find out, Lol. yes, I didn’t do any research before I bought the S6). My friend told me I can use an adaptor to put the nano SIM into the Note 3’s micro SIM slot. Is it a good option?
              3. I transfer all my file to my laptop from my note 3, however by reading your forum, I don’t have the original USB cable for the S6, so what do I do to transfer the data over? My laptop is old and have USB 2.0 only.

              Thank you very much for your attention. Best Regards. — Kai

              Solution: Hi Kai. Let’s answer your questions one by one.

              1. We don’t find Samsung’s decision to use a non-removable battery packs in their flagship phones good at all because a Lithium-based battery usually runs out relatively fast these days. Anyway, if you’ll find your S6 showing signs of battery problems months from now, there’s really nothing much that you can do but to send it in so the battery can be replaced. Samsung or a third party service center can do a battery replacement for you but that will surely cost you something (which would have been free if you have a removable battery pack like the one in your Note 3).
              2. Unless you already have a nano SIM card to use, a SIM card adapter is really the only option for you if you want to insert your old micro SIM to your S6.
              3. Any working USB cable should work.

              Problem 6: Galaxy S6 video keeps freezing after an update

              Hi. My latest problem with my phone is with camera. When I’m recording a video or I’m watching one on Snapchat for instance, it starts well but after a few seconds the video freezes, the sound goes on like nothing happened, and then the video catches up, sometimes fast forwarding, sometimes at a normal speed. My phone went smooth and very fast in commands, but ever since my first software update, it feels like it’s broken. And lately I’ve been receiving a lot of soft updates . And it’s not like you have a choice to update or not…it’s either now, later or during the night. If you have an answer for me. That’ll be great. Thanks. — Renatzush

              Solution: Hi Renatzush. If you’re positive that the issues started happening after installing Android update, you must do the basic software troubleshooting steps that we usually mention in our posts. These troubleshooting steps include the following:

              1. wiping the cache partition
              2. observing phone in safe mode
              3. performing a factory reset

              Below are the exact steps on how to do each of these procedures:

              Cache partition wipe. This should be the first thing that you want to do to ensure that your device has a good system cache. Wiping the cache partition won’t affect your user data such as photos, videos, music, etc. so it can be done safely. Here’s how to do it:

              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.

              Observe the phone in safe mode. Sometimes, incompatible or problematic apps can cause problems with other apps after an update. To check, you can easily restart the phone to safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so if the problem won’t occur while the phone is in this mode, you can bet one of the apps is behind the trouble. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 20 to 30 seconds.
              2. Once you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key immediately but continue pressing the Volume Down key.
              3. Your phone should continue booting up and you will be prompted to unlock your phone as usual.
              4. You will know if the phone successfully booted in safe mode if the text “Safe mode” is displayed at the lower-left corner of the screen.

              Return all phone settings back to their defaults with factory reset. Factory reset should be the last resort of users experiencing problems after a software update. Here’s how it’s done on your S6:

              1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
              2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
              3. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
              4. When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
              5. Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
              6. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
              7. Press the Vol Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
              8. After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

              Before doing a factory reset, you may also want to try clearing your camera app’s cache and data. If the cause of the problem is on app level only, this might very well fix the problem for you. Make sure to try this step before a factory reset.

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem 7: Galaxy S6 not charging via USB cable

              I actually have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and I am having difficulty with the battery. My son’s phone was having a problem with the phone not charging correctly and when I looked it up and found that it might be the battery I ordered a new battery. I received the battery and when I put it in it will not turn on.

              I figured that it needed to be charged. So I put it on the charger and it flashed the battery symbol and then flashed off. I tried to push a button to see if it was still charging and it doesn’t respond. I thought that it was that the new battery was so dead that maybe it needed to charge more. So I left in on the charger over night and it has not changed the status. It is not charging on cord. I have tried by changing cords, that didn’t work. I tried by cleaning out the port. I am at a lost now. I need help please. — Tmallak

              Solution: Hi Tmallak. In a situation like this, bad battery is only one of the possible causes. Other factors that can show similar symptoms you’re experiencing right now includes the following:

              • bad charging port
              • malfunctioning power IC
              • other unknown motherboard problem

              Since you’ve already eliminated bad battery as the possible cause, one of the three items above must be the reason behind the trouble. Unfortunately, there’s no direct way to test them unless you send the phone to Samsung, or to a trained technician.

              If you have a wireless charger, you can also try to use it to see if the phone has a bad charging port only.

              Problem 8: Verizon Galaxy S6 mobile data not working when in Europe, Bluetooth issue when connecting to car kit

              I have a Galaxy S6 unlocked from Verizon. I am using it with T-Mobile SIM card, does most everything in the U.S. but I recently went to Europe and was supposed to have unlimited data, and text. Well, I had absolutely NO data, didn’t even have the 4G or 2G or the LTE symbol on the phone. Any time I tried to access any web site I got a message that I had no internet connection. I could send a basic text as long as it had no attachment or multiple addressees. I could not send any pics.

              Interestingly enough my wife is right next to me with her I Phone 5 also T-Mobile, we are on the same plan, she had 2 and 3G data and could send pics via text. We were mostly in Eastern Europe but also stopped in UK. I never had data or could text pics. The only real issue I have in the U.S. is that my phone will connect Bluetooth to my Cadillac SRX but only phone calls. My text will not read over my Bluetooth and also I cannot play music from apps such as Pandora or I Heart Radio, nor will it read map directions over my car speakers. I previously had a Nokia Windows phone and could do all of this. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated. — Lewis

              Solution: Hi Lewis. First of all, we want to make it clear that you can’t expect to have all features and functions work normally when you use a phone running a different firmware on another network. Your phone right now is running a modified Verizon firmware though it’s been network unlocked for T-Mobile. This means that the core operating system is still a Verizon version and not that of T-Mobile. And that can create complications. Exactly what complications we can’t say. You’ll have to experience them to know. We don’t work for both Verizon and T-Mobile and we don’t have any experience using a Verizon phone on T-Mobile so we don’t know what problems a user may encounter when in this setup. The most common reports we receive from users like you mention network-related issues and usually, there’s nothing much that we can do for them. Network issues must be resolved by carriers because only them knows the exact programming details to use.

              Secondly, your mobile data issue may have something to do with how roaming works in your phone. Keep in mind that you have a Verizon firmware on this device so the normal roaming setup provided by your carrier may not work. This may be the reason why you have a problem when you are in Europe.

              Thirdly, the bluetooth issue may be due to incompatibility issue between your phone and your bluetooth car kit. Try to unpair and re-pair them to see if that will make a difference. You also want to do a factory reset on both devices if re-pairing won’t work. If the issue persist, contact the car kit’s maker or the auto maker to see if there’s a way to update the car kit’s system. Most of the time, outdated car kit is the reason for the incompatibility issue.

              Problem 9: Galaxy S6 edge plus cannot send SMS with emoji or photo attachment

              My son gave me a S6 edge plus he has owned from AT&T. I cannot get photos or bitmoji to attach to my text. It just says “sending” in red and it is not received by the recipient. I use Straight Talk prepaid cards but I did buy the straight talk SIM card and installed. I previously had an exact set up with a Galaxy S3 from AT&T, with Straight Talk and it never had this problem. I have tried every setting and correction in the s6 and cannot find out what is wrong. Please help! Thanks. — Rebecca

              Solution: Hi Rebecca. Your current network provided may not support the current messaging format on your phone so you must talk to them to resolve the problem. It’s also possible that it’s a messaging app problem so try to use a different one to see the difference. For example, if you’re using the native Samsung messaging app right now, try switching to another one that you can get for free from Google Play Store.

              Problem 10: Galaxy S6 screen is unresponsive after an accidental drop

              Hello, I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 that has an unresponsive touchscreen ever since it was dropped. The on/off and volume buttons work fine, but when trying to restart or unlock the phone via the screen, nothing happens. A message is displayed saying ‘Restart’, but I am unable to restart due to the screen being unresponsive. All visuals are intact, and it isn’t necessarily frozen, just that it doesn’t respond to touch like before. Thanks. — Savannahs8758

              Solution: Hi Savannahs8758. The shock from the drop may have damaged the digitizer, which is the layer of the screen that converts your analog touches into digital signals. The digitizer is one of the main components of a screen assembly so damaging it usually results to the replacement of the entire screen. The best thing that you can do now is to send the phone in so the problem can be fixed by a professional.

              We don’t provide guides on how to replace hardware components. If you have the expertise, replacement parts, and tools to do the job, try to find a good guide online.

              Problem 11: Galaxy S6 drains battery fast, overheating, and keeps freezing

              The battery life is poor now it’s 18months old! It can be on 100% and even without using it through the day it can be dead by noon. Also, when I’m charging the phone and also when the phone has been fully charged the back and front of the phone gets very hot!

              It also has moments of being very slow to react to the touch screen and yes I close all my apps after being opened its a routine I’ve done since having the phone. Could you please explain these problems, do I need a new battery?? — Mr DAVID JOHN

              Solution: Hi Mr DAVID JOHN. The symptoms you mention are consistent with a general hardware failure so you’ll be lucky if replacing the battery will fix it. General hardware failure is usually caused by some components no longer working properly so it requires a thorough hardware diagnostics and troubleshooting. We suggest that you contact Samsung so you can send the phone to them. An issue like this usually ends up in a replacement rather than a repair so make sure to back everything up before sending it in.

               

              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 Note 4 can’t install Nougat update, voice calls and internet keep dropping, other issues

              Hello #GalaxyNote4 users! Welcome to another article that handles 11 more Note 4 issues. We’re also bringing you solutions to each of these issues of course so take your time. In case you’ll not find any issue that resembles your own problem, consider checking our main Galaxy Note 4 troubleshooting page.

              If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

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

              Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

              Problem 1: Pre-owned Galaxy Note 4 shuts down on its own when battery is at 30%

              I just bought a used note 4. the outside appearance of the phone is great but I noticed an issue almost immediately. The phone came dead, I charged it for almost little while just enough to turn it on and get all my information transferred over. at about 30% the phone just vibrated and turned off. the phone would attempt to turn itself back on but once the red verizon screen displays, it vibrates and turns off again. this will continue over and over until I plug it into a charGer.

              Once I charge it, the battery life seems to go by fairly quickly. Usually drops about 10% in about hour when in use then once I gets down to 30% it turns itself off again.

              I also had issues with the Samsung messaging; it’s constantly freezing, shutting itself down, and not displaying pictures. I eventually got tired of it and went back to regular messaging.

              What do you think, is there anything you recommend trying before I send it back to the seller? I really don’t want to deal with the hassle of transferring all my stuff back and sending the phone back to the sender but I also don’t want to settle for a defective phone. Please help! — Chelsea

              Solution: Hi Chelsea. We don’t know how old this Note 4 you have right now but if it’s over two years old, there’s a high chance that the battery is nearing its end-of-life. It may be the reason why the phone appears unable to charge properly and shuts down when battery reaches 30%.

              To see if you can fix the issue without replacing the battery, do a battery calibration first. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
              2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
              3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
              4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
              5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
              6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
              7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
              8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
              9. Repeat the cycle once.

              If you’re willing to invest in a new battery to see if that will save you from the hassle of moving information over to another device and returning the phone to its previous owner, we say you go ahead.

              If a new battery will not fix the issue however, get a refund or return the device.

              Problem 2: Galaxy Note 4 could not start normally

              Good morning. My daughter has a Note 4 and since couple a weeks ago the cellphone restart constantly and showing “couldn’t do a normal boot. ddi: mmc_read failed. Odin Mode high speed.” She told me that the cellphone started the bad function restarting many times, then it wasn’t charging correctly and now appears the couldn’t do a normal boot. ddi: mmc_read failed. Odin Mode high speed. I factory reseted many times, the cellphone open normally and few minutes later, it restart and appears the same problem. Could you please help me with this request Thanks. Sincerely. — Victor

              Solution: Hi Victor. An issue like this can be due to software glitch or hardware malfunction. If factory reset did not fix the issue, the only other software solution that you can try is flashing. Flashing is an Android term to refer to the procedure of installing software to a Samsung device. Because it requires several user interventions to accomplish, flashing is risky and can potentially damage a phone’s software if not done correctly. Before you do it, make sure to do some research on how it’s done and what tools you need. Remember, flashing is just a software fix. If the cause of the problem is bad hardware, your Note 4 will continue to act up even after a successful flashing procedure.

              You should try flashing the phone’s bootloader first. If nothing will change afterwards, consider flashing the firmware as well.

              Below is an example of how to flash a phone’s bootloader. The exact steps may vary depending on your phone’s model so make sure to use a good guide on how to flash the bootloader and/or firmware on your device. The provided steps below are for demonstration purposes only.

              1. Look for the correct firmware for your phone model and download it. Make sure that select the right one. It should be the same exact firmware that ran previously on your device. We assume that you list down the firmware version somewhere. If you did not take note of it before, there’s a chance that you may pick the wrong one. As you may know now, using an incorrect firmware can cause complications so good luck with that.
              2. Let’s now say that you have identified the correct firmware. You then want to download it to your computer. The firmware file should have a bunch of files in it like AP_, BL_, CSC_, etc.
              3. Look for the file that starts with a label BL; this should be the corresponding bootloader file for this firmware. Once you’ve identified the bootloader file, copy it to your computer’s desktop or to any other folder that you can easily access.
              4. Proceed with the rest of the flashing procedure using the Odin program.
              5. In Odin, click on the BL tab and make sure to use the bootloader file you’ve identified earlier.
              6. Now, make sure that the “Device Added” status and its “ID:COM box” has turned blue before hitting the START button. This will initiate the flashing of your phone’s bootloader.
              7. Restart the phone once the procedure is finished.

              Problem 3: Galaxy Note 4 drains battery power fast, battery won’t charge to 100%

              At first, my phone Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was working well but later on after a few months the battery started draining quicker. The battery did not get fully charged but only up to 80 to 90 percent.

              A few days later the battery started to drain abnormally. Below 30 percent the network disappeared while receiving an incoming call. Physically the battery seemed to be normal (not swollen). I replaced the battery and the problem got solved. However a few month later, the new battery started to behave like the previous one. Now I have again replaced the battery. With this new battery the phone suddenly turns off (mostly when I turn on wifi/data) and does not turn on until I put the phone on charging or remove and remount the battery. I have tried switching on my phone in safe mode and replacing two other batteries but the turning off problem still exist. Please help. —        Osama

              Solution: Hi Osama. If multiple battery replacements did not fix the issue at all, it’s fairly possible that the problem lies on your phone. It can be anything at this point though since there’s no way to know what’s wrong with it unless the hardware is checked properly. As far as software troubleshooting is concerned, there’s really nothing much that you can do at this point. If you haven’t tried some though, make sure that you do these two important possible solutions:

              1. battery calibration, and
              2. factory reset.

              Below are the steps on how to do these steps:

              Battery calibration

              1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
              2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
              3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
              4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
              5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
              6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
              7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
              8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
              9. Repeat the cycle once.

              Factory reset

              1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
              2. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
              3. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
              4. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
              5. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
              6. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
              7. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
              8. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
              9. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

              Remember, if you can’t fix the problem after doing the software solutions above, you should have the phone repaired or replaced.

              Problem 4: Galaxy Note 4 Phone app keeps crashing

              I bought my AT&T Note 4 online, factory refurbished & carrier unlocked. I have had Straight Talk service on the phone for approx 2 yrs & haven’t had any major issues. now i get these pop up error messages that say “unfortunately com.sec.phone isn’t working” and i can not use the dialer pad to make calls. it will crash & say “unfortunately contacts has stopped” after 3 numbers. the only way i can make outgoing calls is to go into my text msgs & swipe right on the conversation. I want to do a factory reset & wipe all the data, but i don’t know if that will erase my unlock code. — Ashley

              Solution: Hi Ashley. Factory reset will most likely erase the modifications that unlocked your phone because this process will basically return all software settings to their defaults. If you don’t want that, we suggest that you try wiping the cache and data of the apps involved instead.

              Below are the steps to do that:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem 5: Galaxy Note 4 voice calls and internet keep dropping, can’t access internet when voice call is on-going

              Hi. I’ve been using the Note 4 for around 2 years with T-Mobile. It’s a AT&T unlocked device and worked very well with T-Mobile. Recently, T-Mobile switched to the 4G LTE network and I’ve started encountering various issues although I’ve added the 4G LTE APN on the device. 1. Quality of calls and calls dropping 2. The Internet connection keeps dropping. 3. It does not allow me to make calls and access the Internet simultaneously. Kindly advise. Regards. — Sian

              Solution: Hi Sian. For an issue like this, there’s no better support team that can help you other than your carrier. Make sure to talk to their technical support team so they can help you troubleshoot the device and your account.

              Problem 6: Galaxy Note 4 slow performance, apps crashing issue after an update

              I recently updated as there was once again another update. Shortly after the update I noticed some extremely slow response times followed by Touchwiz actually crashing on me once. Now I keep on seeing extremely slow response time, random reboots, random battery drops (from 90% to 30% in about 20 min) and sometimes odd behavior. When I hit a button, the function of the back button is executed instead. Allot of these symptoms match Sudden Death Syndrome… Should I consider heading down a couple updates? Or should I try and salvage the situation and get a new phone declaring this one to be on its death bed? — Sjors

              Solution: Hi Sjors. Well, phone replacement should be the ultimate last resort for you. If you’ve already tried all software troubleshooting for update issues such as cache partition wipe, observing in safe mode, factory reset, and flashing, then you really have no other option but to get a new device.

              Problem 7: Galaxy Note 4 can’t install Nougat update

              Hi there ! I’ve been trying to install the update from 6.0 to 7.0 for months but there is always an Error (no code) and will not install the update. Even though I have successfully downloaded the update. I’ve tried a factory reset, soft boot, killing all running apps and ensuring I have enough memory (1.2GB) available. I think I’ve tried almost everything I have read about this issue and hoping you can help! Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise! — Keri

              Solution: Hi Keri. Was your phone rooted or running a custom/non-official firmware before? If any of these is true, it’s possible that there’s an app or service that’s preventing Android from installing the update. If your phone continues to refuse to install an over-the-air update, you should try to manually update it instead via Odin.

              Providing a guide on how to flash a stock firmware is beyond the scope of this article so kindly use Google to search for a good one.

              By the way, if you haven’t given it a try, consider using Smart Switch to see if there’s an available update Samsung can provide for you. Simply install Smart Switch in your computer, connect your Note 4 to the PC via USB, and open Smart Switch program. If there’s a prompt from Smart Switch that there’s an available update, go ahead and install it.

              Problem 8: Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn on properly after an update

              Hi sir! I have Galaxy Note 4 edge. 2 days back an update regarding software upgradation i updated) came. i updated my phone but suddenly a message appeared with after an automatic shut down with that your phone is not uprooted correctly and the phone hangs, neither shuts down and also not starting. After 3-4 times a soft reset starts the phone but again shuts down after 2 hours. Then I reset the factory settings, the situation remained the same but the shut down time established up to 3 hours, please help me in this regard. Thanx. — HASSAN

              Solution: Hi Hassan. As mentioned above, the troubleshooting steps that you can do for a phone that stops working properly after an update includes the following:

              1. Cache partition wipe
              2. Observing in safe mode
              3. Factory reset
              4. Flashing an older stock firmware

              If these four solutions won’t help, have the phone replaced.

              Problem 9: Only one side of headset works when connected to Galaxy Note 4

              Dear, hey TDG. I’m so happy I found your blog and it seems like you know your way around with these devices. Thank you for helping the rest of us.

              I’ve my Galaxy Note 4 for almost a year and a half. Had no problem with it until yesterday and I find it really annoying. I use my headphones a lot  while driving or even at work. Yesterday, as I was working on an assignment, I had my music on for about 2 hours and it was working good. Then i stopped the music and unplugged my headphones after reaching home. when i played the music i could hear only on one side of the headphones. i thought that might be because of headphones damaged, so i tried to play the songs connecting to Bluetooth headsets. i was shocked again i can hear only in one side. Then i connected my Bluetooth headset in another mobile. it was working both side as well as the headphones, so i just want to know can we correct this fault. Is there anything to be changed in settings?  Thanks. — Syed

              Solution: Hi Syed. An issue like this is not caused by some settings misconfiguration. In some cases, a software glitch can lead to audio problems but a factory reset should be able to fix it easily. If you haven’t tried it yet, make sure to do a factory reset and see what happens from there. If the issue stays after such reset, you can assume that a hardware malfunction is to blame. In this case, you must seek a phone replacement.

              Problem 10: Galaxy Note 4 shuts down on its own

              Hi. My wife us having issues with her Galaxy Note 4. It will boot up and start normally then after a few minutes it reboots itself. Then it’ll run for about a minute and repeat. I did see a possible is sure or side effect. When I open the full pull down menu from the top of the screen, the multi window and smart pause icons are partially selected. They are green bit a faded green. Like the WiFi icon when it is initially selected before it connects. If I try to turn on or off these options is says they don’t function in easy mode. I checked and the phone is in standard mode. Lastly, it is a used phone. I did a factory reset and full system update before we started using it. It has been perfect for a few months, this started last night. Any help would be excellent. — Josh

              Solution: Hi Josh. Did your wife did something different like install an app, update, or non-official software before the issue started? Or was the phone dropped or exposed to water, heat, or direct sunlight for a long period? Any of these things may have directly or indirectly caused the problem so you have to ask for more details. We don’t have enough information to help you identify the problem either and everything you’ve provided here don’t give us any hint at all. We suspect it’s a hardware problem since a factory reset did not change anything at all. Consider having the hardware checked if you can’t figure out a fix on your end.

              Problem 11: Galaxy Note 4 keeps freezing

              Hi. My Samsung Galaxy Note 4 mobile keeps freezing while I’m using it. i did reset also many times. i changed battery too because it’s getting power off when battery in 50% are 60% but it’s have same problem again and again. i gaved to service center also they added some files which was missed but they also wondering its still gettig freeze i putted my storage also free when its freeze i have to remove the battery n put it again then also its on some time some time its didnt on iam facing this pblm from i just updated software which show in about phone its getti g pblm from that time plsss tell me what can i do for this. — Iqbal

              Solution: Hi Iqbal. Like what we said to a number of people in this post, if you can’t fix the issue with software troubleshooting and solutions, you should have your phone repaired or replaced. Freezing problem can be a sign of a hardware malfunction so if you’ve already tried all software tweaks that we mention in this post, it’s time that you consider having the phone replaced.

               

              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 mobile data connection is intermittent, won’t send/receive MMS, other issues

              Welcome to our first #GalaxyS5 post for 2017! One of the issues we cover for you today has something to do with intermittent mobile data issue. We hope that our suggestions for every problem will help not just the users mentioned here today but other Android users as well. Don’t forget to visit our main Galaxy S5 troubleshooting page should you not find anything useful in this post.

              Below are the topics we discuss in this material:

              1. Galaxy S5 charges very slow
              2. Galaxy S5 mini stuck in Samsung logo screen after updating to Marshmallow
              3. Galaxy S5 mobile data not working | Galaxy S5 won’t send/receive MMS
              4. Galaxy S5 mobile data connection is intermittent
              5. Verizon Galaxy S5 no longer connects to Straight Talk mobile data after an update
              6. Galaxy S5 takes screenshots of games but photos can’t be found

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S5 charges very slow

              I currently own a Galaxy S5. Tonight i was holding it and it made the noise the phone makes when you plug a charger in, but I was not using a cord at all. I went to plug it into the charger (not the original) and it charged for a second and then it kept flashing and then eventually, the phone showed a “please use original charger” flag. I then found the original charger (that hasn’t completely charged correctly for some time. The phone showed the same message. I then proceeded to try 3 other chargers, one original from another Galaxy and one that was just a compatible Samsung charger, but none worked.  Then i took the battery out, numerous times and still nothing. i then took the battery out for a few seconds and re-placed it and then put the phone on airplane mode. The phone seems to be charging, but it’s very slow. Please don’t tell me I will need a new phone!!! Thank you. — Adrianne

              Solution: Hi Adrianne. For an issue like yours, the most effective solution is almost always to get a replacement phone. The symptoms you describe are consistent with a malfunctioning charging port. To check if it’s indeed a hardware issue and not a software one, you must try to factory reset the device. If the cause of the problem is on operating system or apps level, factory reset should fix the problem, as the phone should charge normally right after the reset. If nothing changes though, there’s only one thing to blame — a bad charging port. Try cleaning the charging port with compressed air. Try to avoid poking the inside of the port to prevent breaking or bending possibly unaligned pins. Before using compressed air, try to use bright lighting and, if possible, magnification to look inside the port. If you’re lucky, removing a foreign object like lint or dust inside may bring back the normal functionality of the port.

              Charging ports are usually one of the first hardware components that fail due to general wear and tear such as plugging and unplugging, mishandling of the device, corrosion, internal damage, and bending of metal contacts. Usually, a bad charging port is accompanied by overheating so if the charging port area heats up abnormally while charging, you can almost certainly assume that bad hardware is to blame. If you don’t have the knowledge and tools to perform a charging port replacement, your only choice in the matter is either repair or replacement. If you have access to a nearby Samsung service center, be sure to bring the device there. Otherwise, simply let a professional take a look at the said component so he/she can assess if it can be fixed or not.

              For reference, below are the steps on how to factory reset your phone:

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

              Problem #2: Galaxy S5 mini stuck in Samsung logo screen after updating to Marshmallow

              Hi. I have a mini S5 which i bought 2 years ago. Yesterday i got to upgrade my software version to Marshmallow. After an hour when i came back to see if it’s completed i noticed it was turned off and every time i was pressing the switch button only a small LED light at the top of my phone was showing. When i put it to charge my battery was low. After it charged i tried to switch it on but it was stuck and showed only the Samsung logo. I let it for a while but again my battery was low. After numerous tries i pressed the power on and volume down button but is asked for the custom OS warning which says a custom OS can cause critical problems. Please help me if you can. — Yash

              Solution: Hi Yash. How did you get the Marshmallow update? Is it via over-the-air (OTA), or by manual flashing? If it’s the former, you must try to fix the software via Smart Switch emergency recovery tool, or with the help of Samsung Kies software. Both of these apps are provided by Samsung so simply install them in a computer and see which of them will work. If nothing changes after trying both of them, you must let your carrier know about the problem. You can also try to boot the phone to recovery mode so you can wipe the cache partition and factory reset. Here’s how to boot your phone to recovery mode:

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

              If you tried to update the software via Odin mode, then the main reason for the problem may be an incorrect firmware or a step that you didn’t do right. Make sure that you use the correct firmware next time and follow the steps properly.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S5 mobile data not working | Galaxy S5 won’t send/receive MMS

              My Samsung Galaxy S5, ever since it updated, has been running slower. But my two major issues are:

              • it doesn’t allow me to send or receive any picture messages
              • it also doesn’t allow my mobile data to kick in while I’m not around wifi

              It’s very frustrating. I have Google how to fix everything. it tells me to do it’s on already. How do I fixed these major issues I’m having? My plan is unlimited Internet so I know I should have mobile data when not around wifi but it won’t kick in. Please help me with these two major issues. I want to be able to send pictures, throw text messaging and can’t send or receive. It just keeps trying or keeps saying download. Please email me back  the solutions to these issues. Thank you. — Lilprincess6790

              Solution: Hi Lilprincess6790. first of all, we want to make it a point that our blog does not send solutions to emails of those who ask assistance from us. We want to make our suggestions public so we apologize if you won’t receive any email from us. We do hope that you’ll find this post relevant at this time.

              Secondly, your problem appears an account issue (with your wireless carrier) more than a phone problem. Sending and receiving of MMS won’t work unless mobile data on your phone is working. If you are in a GSM network, try to insert your SIM card to a known, working phone to see if mobile data is working or not. This is the only way to check on your end if the service is still active on your account. If mobile data remains non-functional in a second phone, contact your wireless carrier so they can assist you. We can’t do anything about a mobile data connection problem when the cause of the issue is due to billing or account problem.

              Problem #4:  Galaxy S5 mobile data connection is intermittent

              Hello. Got an issue with my Galaxy S5 for a week now. It is starting to get on my nerves. 🙂

              Mobile internet works for few seconds then stops working and resumes again between 30 – 180 seconds. Sometimes I have to wait even more, but working internet last just for a few seconds. Reception is fine, no changes there. it shows data connection, when internet stops I see only arrow representing upload lit up, not flickering. Using Viber, Skype, just trying to browse news has become annoying. Since i have to wait for those “online” intervals. Now here is what i tried and what I didn’t. Got new configuration messages installed, rebooted, no help. Deleted configurations from phone, installed again, no help. Haven’t tried to put my SIM card to new phone (unable at the moment), so maybe it is the phone or SIM card (hopefully, it is easy to replace). As soon as i have time i will backup my phone reset to factory settings, install latest update to Android (still on Lollipop). Thanks. — Miki

              Solution: Hi Miki. Aside from your plan to factory reset the device and try the SIM card to another phone, we also suggest that you contact your wireless carrier so they’ll know about the issue. There may be an on-going issue in the area affecting some of their subscribers so telling them about your problem should help them assist you more effectively. There’s really nothing much that we can tell you on what to do as issues like yours are better handled by carriers.

              In case the issue is due to a third party app, you can observe the phone while it’s in safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so if the issue won’t occur, that’s proof that our hunch is correct. Safe mode won’t help you identify the culprit though so you must invest some time narrowing down the possible causes. Below are the steps on how to boot the phone to safe mode:

              • 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.

              Problem #5: Verizon Galaxy S5 no longer connects to Straight Talk mobile data after an update

              Hi! Love your site, loads of good info. My issue is as follows. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 used and bought an accompanying “bring your own phone” package. Everything set up fine and I used it for several months. Recently there was a software update available which I started. There was a problem and the phone ended up getting turned off. The update was then failed and the phone would then only show me the screen saying that the update had failed and I needed to run the Verizon Software Upgrade Assistant (the repair portion) to repair the phone and finish the update. After a few failed attempts, the repair assistant finally worked overnight while I was sleeping. The phone was usable again. It sent and received texts and calls and hooked up to wifi fine but will not connect to the internet via data. When I go to look at the APN it shows VZWINTERNET and only that one. Doesn’t give me the option to add others either (plus sign is gray and unclickable). So I tried having Straight Talk update my APN and data settings but it shows up as an incompatible SIM, even though it is absolutely the same Straight Talk SIM I’ve had and was working. Did the repair assistant mess up my SIM? Is there any way to fix it or do I now need a new SIM? Thank you in advance for your consideration. — J. Scott

              Solution: Hi J. Scott. We don’t think it’s the SIM card that’s messed up. The Verizon software assistant must have reconfigured the device’s firmware, erasing non-Verizon settings and restoring the default factory settings. Try bringing the phone to a shop that’s equipped with more advanced software so they can manually change some network settings. Alternatively, try to contact the original owner of the device and ask for instructions how the device became compatible with your current carrier. Keep in mind that reconfiguration of a CDMA phone like your S5 from Verizon is not straightforward. Most of the time, special software that require rooting the device may be needed to make a CDMA phone work in another network. We don’t have the knowledge or the tools to do the job so try to do some research when you have the time.

              The usual dose of software troubleshooting such as wiping the cache partition and factory reset won’t help in this situation.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S5 takes screenshots of games but photos can’t be found

              Hello! I’m having a problem with my S5 and would love some insight on how to fix it or even an explanation on why it does it. I’ve had my S5 for almost a year now and until recently I was unaware that it takes screenshots/pictures of the games I have downloaded on my phone.  I recently started taking my phone to Walmart to use the Kiosk to print photos from my phone. When I plug my phone into the machine, it says 1200+ files found. I have around 800 pictures so I couldn’t understand where the extra pictures came from. When they load on the screen, more than half are screenshots of advertisements I’ve watched or screenshots of games I play. There are so many and it’s now taken up so much memory that I can’t download any apps or take any more pictures.  When I look for them on my phone to delete, I can only find the pictures I’ve taken. Where are these snaps going and how do I delete them? I just had a baby and can’t save any pics or videos because the stupid  memory is full of crap!  I hope you can understand my problem and give me some advice. Thank you for your time. — Heather

              Solution: Hi Heather. If you can’t find the screenshots in the Gallery app, then they must be kept somewhere by the app that took them. Try using the pre-installed My Files app from Samsung to search every nook and cranny in your phone’s directory. We can’t tell you where to start because we are not aware of any app (malicious or not) that does this thing. If you want to get to the bottom of the problem, we suggest that you back everything up first with the help of Samsung Smart Switch app. Simply install the said app on your computer, then connect your phone to it via USB cable. Smart Switch will give you an option what files to transfer to your PC so you can either have everything moved or only a select few. Once you’ve created your back up, you can then factory reset your phone to wipe everything. Here’s how to do that:

              • 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.

              Once the phone has been factory reset, connect the phone to your computer again and restore your back up. Be careful not to install all your apps though. You have to filter every app you want to install as one of them is culprit. Make sure that you only install the ones you are familiar of. Try not to install back apps you don’t need at all. If the problem will return after a factory reset, that means that you simply re-introduced the app to your device. It’s up to you on how to identify which of them is the problem.

               

               

               

              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 Note 4 takes a long time to send and receive SMS, mobile data not working, other issues

              Hello Android community. Welcome to another #GalaxyNote4 article that addresses some problems reported to us by some members of our community. Don’t forget to keep watching for more of the same articles in the coming days.

              If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

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

              Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

              Problem 1: Galaxy Note 4 can’t send SMS

              I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Text message started acting up. it would take a good 30 minutes to receive a text and when I tried to send a text the recipient would get it but it showed on my phone that it was still trying to send. The next day my texts would not send at all. Failure message on every text I try to send (tried multiple people) but now I can receive text within a timely manner. Talked with AT&T who said to check for system update and if that didn’t work factory reset. No update available. after reading other suggestions online I tried changing the message center number in settings, that did not work. Lastly was forced to that redeye factory reset. Ever after completely factory reset still cannot send texts but can receive texts. AT&T guy said its likely not the SIM card since it would work sometimes and i was receiving texts. I can make and receive phone calls as well. It seems every function on my phone works except successfully sending texts. Is there anything else to try? — Nicole

              Solution: Hi Nicole. Firstly, we want to emphasize the point that an issue like this should be within your network operator’s scope of support, especially if your phone came from them. There’s no better support team that can help you with this one than them.

              Secondly, there are two sets of troubleshooting that you must do. The first one is device troubleshooting. This one covers the usual software troubleshooting steps that we recommend and some that you may encounter when checking other forums and supports sites in the web. The second set of troubleshooting must be done by your carrier’s support team. This type of troubleshooting can’t be done by an end user like you because they involve account- and network-related checks that only your carrier know how to do.

              If you’ve already tried a factory reset before, the problem is more likely network- or account-related so you should continue to work with your carrier.

              Before contacting them again, it’s also good if you can try another messaging app to see if the current one you’re using is problematic.

              Also, try to see if a third party app is involved by restarting the phone to safe mode. When safe mode is enabled, all third party apps will be prevented from running. If the issue won’t occur while the phone in safe mode, that’s proof that our hunch is correct. You must uninstall third party apps until the issue has been eliminated. Below are the steps on how to do it:

              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 Volume Down key until the phone finished restarting.
              4. Safe mode will be display at the lower left corner; you may release the Volume Down key now.

              Problem 2: Galaxy Note 4 takes a long time to send and receive SMS

              I have a Galaxy Note 4 and ever since 5/8/17, it takes forever to send a text message. And sometimes, it takes a very long time to also receive a message. All the while, this drains my battery down to almost nothing, as the phone is trying to send and receive. I have taken the battery out and cleared the cache, nothing seems to improve this issue. Also, at the time time I started having problems sending and receiving text, I also get a notification on my device after a power on that say “checking device status” which lasts for a few minutes.

              I have never had that before the texting issue. How can I fix my phone please? — Dlrmg

              Solution: Hi Dlrmg. One of the first things that you should do in this case is to ask yourself what you did differently that may have changed something in the phone to cause this problem. Did you install another app, an Android update, or change some network settings? If you did, try to reverse it by, say, uninstalling the newly installed app and observe the phone.

              If nothing was changed on the phone and the issue appeared out of nowhere, you must do some software troubleshooting.

              Wipe the cache partition

              The first software troubleshooting that you want to do is cache partition wipe. This will allow you to eliminate possible system cache problem. Here’s how to 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 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.

              Delete messaging app’s cache and data

              Should cache partition wipe fail to deliver a fix, your next move would be to delete the cache and data of the messaging app. This will deal with the possible app-level bug causing the problem. Here’s it’s done:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              You want to clear the app’s cache first. Once you’ve done that, try to check if it can start working normally again. If the problem stays, clear the messaging app’s data.

              Try using a different messaging app

              We don’t know what messaging app you’re using but if it’s a non-Samsung one, try using the native messaging first and observe how it works. If the problem persists, try a different third party messaging app like Textra.

              Wipe the phone with factory reset

              If you can’t figure out what’s causing the problem, revert all software settings and apps to defaults and see how it goes. This should be the last step that you must do on your end.

              1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
              2. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
              3. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
              4. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
              5. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
              6. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
              7. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
              8. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
              9. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

              Contact your carrier

              If all else fail, you must let your carrier know about the problem.

              Problem 3: Galaxy Note 4 mobile data not working

              I have a Note 4 for over a year now and it has served me very well. All of a sudden my data does not load. The icon indicates the upload and download of data but nothing loads — no messages, no web browser. I can use wifi, however, but I don’t have wifi connection at home and my data connection is my main access to the internet. I have one shut offs, shut off with battery pull, reset APN, reset entire phone, tried a new SIM card and it still doesn’t work! My original SIM however works in another phone so I know it’s a phone problem. — Matt

              Solution: Hi Matt. If a factory reset did not fix the issue and you’re 100% positive that there’s no account problem at all, then you’re right. It must be a phone problem. The

              modem may no longer be working properly at this time. Unfortunately, there’s no way to test this particular chip directly so you must either send the phone in or prefer to just get it replaced.

              Sometimes, modem issues can be fixed by installing updates. You can install Smart Switch app in your computer so you can connect your phone to it via USB cable and check if there’s an available update that you can install. If Smart Switch will say that there’s no update for the device, or if there’s no prompt to say there’s an available update, you’re out of luck.

              Problem 4: Galaxy Note 4 restarts randomly, freezing, lagging issues

              My device lags terribly and switches itself off and fails to power on unless I remove the battery and put it back… it then goes into Odin mode…. it freezes a lot and processes lag a lot… I have performed factory resets but to no avail…when it lags it switches itself off or freezes or just shows a blank screen with the background… please help I got the phone about a year back. — Nicholas

              Solution: Hi Nicholas. An issue like this can be caused by either a software or hardware issue. Since we know that it’s not a software problem because factory reset did not change anything, we can assume that bad hardware is to blame. To fix the issue, you should first try battery replacement as freezing or lagging issues can sometimes be caused by a malfunctioning battery.

              If a new battery won’t solve the problem, have the phone repaired or replaced.

              Problem 5: Galaxy Note 4 restarts on its own

              Hi. I have had my Note 4 for a year and a half and it’s been great. Recently it has started turning itself off for no apparent reason. It can happen anywhere from 10% to 75% charge. When it goes off it won’t turn back on until I remove the back cover and remove the battery then putting it back in it wit doesn’t ill restart. Thinking it may be the battery I bought a new Samsung genuine battery but the same happens. All my apps are updated regularly as is the phone itself. What I have noticed is that it has not shut down once the mobile data is turned off. I have just carried out a factory reset with the SD card removed and it has still shut down. The phone does get quite hot at times even with the new battery. I don’t use games and I don’t have a lot of apps. in fact since the factory reset I have not added any new ones. One tip from someone was to put some paper at the base of the battery to give it a better fit which one guy said cured his problem but it still shuts down. Help please. Many thanks.  — Michael

              Solution: Hi Michael. We don’t know nothing much about your device to identify the true cause of your problem but if your phone was physically impacted or damaged before, there’s a chance that there’s bad hardware behind the trouble. In that case, we suggest that you skip all software troubleshooting and proceed to repair or replacement right away. There’s no amount of tweaks or software hacks that you can do to solve bad hardware. We don’t think the cause of the problem is software because you’ve already tried factory reset in the first place. There may be a component or parts that are no longer working properly at this time.

              Problem 6:  Galaxy Note 4 not charging, not turning back on

              Hi. I had issues with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for a week.

               

              • Initially it was about the message “Downloading…do not turn of this screen”.
              • Removed the battery, tried to switch on the phone. it would start sometimes and would not other times.
              • Removed the battery and held the power button to drain the charge and once the battery was plugged in, the phone started. This worked fine, but had to repeat it everytime the phone got locked.
              • Did cache clean up. Problem still persisted.
              • Did factory reset. Seemed to be fine on first restart. Installed all the apps.
              • The phone screen was locked and then phone was switched off and has not started since then.
              • Replaced the battery, plugged it to a laptop. The phone does not charge on plugging it to the charger, it does not start. Can you please guide. — Kartik

               

              Solution: Hi Kartik. There’s only so much that you can do about this problem. If the phone no longer turns back on normally, the most likely cause is hardware in nature. Try to see if you can turn it back on to alternate modes by following the steps below. If your Note 4 remains unresponsive to different hardware button combinations, the hardware is most probably dead. You should have it repaired or replaced.

              Below are the steps on how to turn the phone on to different modes:

              Boot in Recovery mode:

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

              Boot in Download Mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
              4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
              5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
              6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

              Boot in safe mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and hold the Power button.
              3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
              4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
              5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
              6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

              Problem 7: Galaxy Note 4 keeps switching off

              Good day. I bought a Samsung Note 4 from a friend. The problem i have with this phone is that it keeps switching off, either when i go into FB or want to browse the internet. Even when i want to work in Photo studio as well as when i want to download from the Play Store. It won’t switch back on until i either take the battery out or plug the charger in. I have done the following and nothing seems to have worked:

              • Bought a new battery
              • Factory reset
              • Deleted FB and reloaded it
              • Today i deleted all the apps that i loaded, hoping that it would not switch off, but it did.

              This afternoon when i went into the internet it died. When i tried to load Advanced App Killer, it died again!! Please help me! — Diane

              Solution: Hi Diane. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of possible hardware issues that can happen in any smartphone due to huge number of components that work together. If one hardware component like a power IC is not working properly at this time, it can result to problems you’re experiencing right now. The entire system works like a chain and if one component is not working properly, the chain will no longer work as it should. That factory reset did not fix the problem is a sign that this is not a software problem at all. Software issues are relatively easy to fix than hardware ones and usually, they are usually addressed by a factory reset. Try to see if you can return the phone to your friend so you can get a refund. Otherwise, your only choice is repair or replacement.

              Problem 8: Sprint Galaxy Note 4 cannot send MMS over AT&T network

              This is a Sprint phone unlocked and changed over to ATT. All worked well till about two weeks ago. I currently can not send out MMS messages (no problem with SMS or receiving MMS messages. I tried message app, ATT message app and even Google Android message app ( it asked for my phone number, but still will not send an MMS text) Under About Device>Status  my phone number is 0. could this be the problem, and if so how to put in the correct number? Went to ATT and they put in new SIM card, no change. Went online to ATT Web pages, added two new APNs based on ATT, still no work. Love my note, but new one not out yet. help? — Rich

              Solution: Hi Rich. The network settings may had been changed, resulting to your phone being unable to send MMS. Using a new ATT SIM card will not help in this case because you have a CDMA phone, which means that the SIM card is there only for 4G LTE. The core system files that handle network functions may still need to be modified again after it was reverted to its original Sprint setup, or to something else. We don’t know anything about your phone or how it’s been modified to work in a GSM network like AT&T so you must let someone check it physically so specific software changes can be done on it. If a shop did the software modification on this phone before, you need to bring the phone back to them to check if there’s something that they need to change again.

               

              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 Note 4 cannot format an SD card, won’t save files, other issues

              Today, we cover more #GalaxyNote4 issues. As usual, the issues mentioned in this article are taken from requests for assistance from some Note 4 users in the past. If you’re looking for a solution to your own Note 4 issue, you may find this material useful. We also covered other Note 4 issues for at least a year now so make sure to check previous articles in this link.

              Below are the topics we discuss for you today:

              1. Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn back on after screen assembly was replaced
              2. Galaxy Note 4 cannot format an SD card
              3. Galaxy Note 4 won’t boot up
              4. Galaxy Note 4 mobile data not working
              5. Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn on after accidentally dropped
              6. Galaxy Note 4 keeps restarting on its own, won’t work if not connected to charger
              7. Galaxy Note 4 won’t save files to SD card, not detecting correct remaining storage space

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn back on after screen assembly was replaced

              Hello. This is Tyler Shiflette from South Carolina. I’m having a big problem with my Note 4. Sometimes ago I dropped it on some rocks and cracked the front glass. The phone still worked. It was just at the bottom left corner. I decided to change just the glass, MISTAKE. needless to say, I messed up the digitizer/LCD screen. So I bought a new screen/LCD/digitizer, the whole set up. I watched several Youtube videos, read over your website several times. Got the new LCD, screen in mail and started to replace. I got everything put back together and to my surprise, nothing works. No LED, no charging screen, and where the SIM card goes under neath where the processor is gets really hot when the power button is pressed. Still no lights, no screen on, no charging indications, just nothing at all but that processor getting hot. When I depress the power it cools back down. I have 2 batteries that I have switched out, still nothing. Maybe you will have some insight on what is happening. Thanks. — Tyler

              Solution: Hi Tyler. If the phone gets hot when you try to boot it up, there may be some connection problems that must be addressed. There may be a loosely connected metal contact, or a wrongly connected one somewhere. This often happens if you heat up the phone too much when disassembling it. It’s also possible that the flex cable that connects the digitizer to the logic board may have been damaged so you also want to check on that. Discussion of possible causes for this issue is beyond the scope of this article. If you can’t figure out the cause of the problem, we suggest that you let a professional go over your work.

              Problem #2: Galaxy Note 4 cannot format an SD card

              Hi. I stumbled across you page about SD cards not working in an Android device. I’m having one of the problems you listed and I wanted to see if you could help me out with some more info so I can prevent/ prepare for it in the future. Here is the link: https://thedroidguy.com/2016/06/samsung-galaxy-note-4-not-reading-microsd-card-issue-related-problems-1060664.

              I’m am having the SD card won’t format problem. I was just on vacation, and to be honest I have no idea what happened. I turned my phone on one of the days and got the message in the upper corner “SD card not readable” something like that. I pulled down the menu then clicked on it and it told me I need to format it… so I did. It got to 20% then gave me the “Command ‘(x) volume partition disk: 179,64 public failed with ‘(xxx) (x) command failed” message. I did some research and one of the first processes of diagnosis is to plug the SD card into another device to see if it reads it. So I did, I plugged it into my Gopro and it did not read. At this point I’m assuming its toast and I won’t be able to recover any of the photos. I was going to buy an SD card computer reader so try the “CMD” method. But since my Gopro didn’t read it I’m thinking that is out of the option. Any thoughts?

              I would really like to recover the items on my SD card but if not I will have to cut my losses. I have my go pro SD card that I will most likely use in the mean time. But what do you think caused this to happen?

              Also, what steps can I take to be prepared for if this happens again. I was figuring backing up the phone and SD card to a thumb drive so I could restore it if it happened again. Any of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. — Mark

              Solution: Hi Mark. We won’t go into details how an SD card can get corrupted but the fact about it, or to any digital storage device in general, is that they can fail any time. With today’s smartphone system, there can be tens of thousands of potential point of failures that can affect an SD card. Frankly, we can’t tell you exactly what happened, or what caused the card to fail. Assuming there was no physical damage to the card due to heat or cold exposure, the most likely cause must be software initiated. This means that a software glitch or error may have occurred while it’s trying to read or write on the SD card. Android is a sophisticated software environment that any failing point can affect a functionality severely. For example, if an app was trying to write to the SD card but was interrupted all of a sudden, it may result to file corruption.

              Keep in mind that any storage device can’t run forever. An SD card is limited by its write/delete cycles. It can wear off over time. Modern SD cards are now equipped with a system, to manage wear-leveling to spread out writing of data over a large portion and avoid frequently written and overwritten sectors, but it’s still not perfect. A lot of SD cards still fail simply because a particular page or sector keeps getting used more often, and thus fails prematurely. We think this is what happened to your SD card. Unfortunately, once this situation develops, there’s not much a user can do. Most of the time, it manifests out of the blue and it’s too late to do something about it. In some cases, an SD card may work again after it’s been reformatted so you should attempt to reformat yours too if you want to find out if it can still be saved.

              Depending on the problem, you may or may not be able to recover your files from the card. The only way to find out is to insert the card to another device like another smartphone or computer. If a second or third device fails to read or access the card, you’re out of luck.

              In today’s world, the only way to prevent losing important digital memories and data is to create a backup. If you don’t back your files often, you only have yourself to blame if a storage medium fails out of the blue. Although many storage devices have greatly improved in reliability over the years, they are still not 100% foolproof. Make it a habit of always creating a copy of irreplaceable files to avoid heartaches when your SD card or phone fails. If you want lesser hassle in backing up, try to use remote cloud services to let your phone save copies of photos or videos when it’s connected to the internet. Such system is limited by internet availability of course, like when you’re vacationing in a remote island, but you really have to other option other than to manually copy your files to another device.

              Problem #3: Galaxy Note 4 won’t boot up

              Hello. I have a Note 4 and it died on me last night. I noticed a bit of lag which then became a freeze. then the phone rebooted on its own. it allowed me to back all my info and save my media to the SD card but then it froze again. I rebooted in recovery, wiped cache data; rebooted the phone and it came on only to freeze again and shutdown within 5 minutes. I then took the battery out, removed chip and reinstalled. Rebooted again in recovery and reset to factory; then rebooted and it again froze and shutdown. Took it to the store and had it checked by tech who tried reflashing on PC but it failed. Now device only boots to “Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again.” which I did but seems that the device isn’t supported by Kies or Smart Switch. How can I restore my phone? Any ideas will help since nothing is working on it so far. — Kaos809

              Solution: Hi Kaos809. We can’t know what may have happened exactly but we think that the only effective solution to this problem is by dealing with the firmware. To do that, you must make sure that your computer is equipped with the right drivers so it can interact with the phone via Smart Switch. Be sure to download the needed drivers from Samsung’s site. Once your PC has installed the right drivers, try to update the firmware again via Smart Switch. Keep in mind that updating the firmware via Smart Switch may not work if your phone already runs the latest firmware version. In that case, you should then try manually installing stock firmware via Odin. The exact steps on how to do this is beyond the scope of this article so make sure to use Google to find a good guide to help you.

              Problem #4: Galaxy Note 4 mobile data not working

              Hello. Based in London, UK. Just before Christmas last I retired my trusty Galaxy Note 3 and purchased a used in perfect condition, unlocked Verizon Galaxy Note 4, SM-N910V, Android Version 6.01. I hadn’t realized it was a Verizon Note model until getting it home. I am on the EE 4G network. I had to do some tweaking but thanks to your site and instructions I got the phone up and running and for my needs it works just fine. Most of the tweaking was done under APN+ settings. I have just discovered my Mobile Data button/toggle is not working, I can see it, I can press it and turn it on but I can’t connect to sites such as Google, Amazon UK, You Tube via mobile data. Connecting using the Wifi button there are no issues. Can you help me, Thank you. — Craig

              Solution: Hi Craig. Unlike wifi functionality, mobile data uses a wireless carrier’s service so you must first become a subscriber for it in order to use it. Kindly contact your carrier so you can subscribe to their mobile data service. Once that’s done, you can then ask them for instructions on how to configure your phone.

              Since you have a Verizon phone, there’s a chance that not all features will work on your carrier’s network. For example, your phone’s hardware may not support your carrier’s mobile data frequency so before you subscribe, try checking if your phone will be compatible with their system.

              Problem #5: Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn on after accidentally dropped

              Ok so check this out. I dropped my phone and then screen turned black after the fall. I tried restarting it and when it restarts I see the “Samsung Galaxy Note 4 powered by Android” screen. After that the screen goes black and the LED goes light blue and then dark blue pulsating continuously. I’ve tried removing the battery and restarting the phone. I also tried putting the phone in recovery mode by holding the power button and volume down button, and I even went as far as to buy a new screen with digitizer and reconnect it but still no progress. Help me droid guy. You’re my only hope. — James

              Solution: Hi James. Unnecessary shock can lead to all sorts of problems, just like what happens when you expose a phone to liquid. If the phone fails to boot up normally after you dropped it, the logic board may have been damaged. Our blog does not provide hardware fixes so we recommend that you let a professional physically check the device first. Only then can you know if the damage is extensive or not.

              Problem #6: Galaxy Note 4 keeps restarting on its own, won’t work if not connected to charger

              I recently have had issues with the phone turning off and on and not able to reboot correctly unless it’s plugged in. So weird. The battery says 100% charged. I have to remove the battery in order for this to stop. So my phone stays plugged in or connected to a portable power device. I reset the entire phone about 3 months ago and the problem went away. Now the problem has come back. I hate to keep resetting and downloading everything again. I am trying to hold on till another device comes out. iPhone 8 or Note 8. I actually liked this phone. Any suggestions? If I go to Verizon they will say….UPGRADE. — Craig

              Solution: Hi Craig. The first thing that you want to try here is to wipe the cache partition. This will ensure that the phone is using a fresh system cache. A corrupted system cache can sometimes lead to all sorts of problems so keeping it up-to-date is a must. Here’s how it’s done:

              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

              Once you’ve cleared the cache partition, the next step would be to retrain the operating system to detect the true level of the remaining battery power. This procedure is called battery calibration. Battery Stats, an Android operating system feature that tracks battery capacity can sometimes be mistaken. It may at times give the false reading causing the phone to automatically shut the system off. To rectify this, calibrating the battery must be done. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
              2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
              3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
              4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
              5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
              6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
              7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
              8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
              9. Repeat the cycle once.
              10. If there’s something wrong with how the phone’s operating system manages power usage, battery calibration should fix it.

              If battery calibration won’t help fix your issue, do a final round of factory reset.

              If factory reset won’t solve the problem either, that’s probably because of a bad battery. Try a new battery and see if that will make any difference.

              Problem #7: Galaxy Note 4 won’t save files to SD card, not detecting correct remaining storage space

              Hi. I have a Samsung Note 4. I have no idea what Android version it is but i had to select one so i randomly guessed. A couple of weeks ago i finally got around to uploading approximately 1200 photos off my phone SD card onto my computer & deleted the photos off my phone to create space again. I continued to take photos but when i got to roughly 100 photos it said there was no more space on the SD card & started saving the photos i took to a new folder (also called camera) that was just on my phone. I uploaded & then deleted the photos i had on my SD card & tried to select the few photos (approx 10) that were in the ‘camera’ folder on my phone & move them to the folder named ‘camera’ that was on my SD card. It said there was insufficient space to do so & that i needed to delete downloads, photos etc to create space. I had not knowingly downloaded anything big in those few weeks & when i looked at the properties of my 16GB SD card it said there was approx 7GB remaining. How do i convince my phone that there IS space on the SD card & how do i convince it to save my photos onto my SD card rather than onto my phone where i can’t retrieve them? Your advice would be very much appreciated!!! — Liz

              Solution: Hi Liz. There may be a bug causing the phone not to be able to read the SD card properly so make sure that you reformat the card again. Here’s how to do it:

              1. From a Home screen, navigate: Apps > Settings.
              2. From the Device section, tap Storage.
              3. From the Portable storage section, tap SD card.
              4. Tap Format.
              5. Tap FORMAT (located in the lower-right).
              6. Tap DONE (located in the lower-right).

              If the same problem occurs, consider doing a factory reset to wipe the phone clean and eliminate a possible software issue. Here’s how:

              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.

              NOTE: Factory reset will delete data stored in the phone’s internal storage device. Make sure that you create a backup before you do it.

              We suggest that you use Samsung Smart Switch to create a backup.

               

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

              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.

              Tips on how to save Note 4 battery power, fix for slow charging issue, other issues

              There’s been an uptick in reported #GalaxyNote4 recently so we’re trying to publish them as soon as possible. This post brings you 5 more Note 4 issues and their solutions. For those new to our blog, don’t forget to also visit our main Galaxy Note 4 troubleshooting page.

              Here are the topics we cover for you today:

              1. Tips on how to save Note 4 battery power
              2. Galaxy Note 4 totally unresponsive and won’t turn on
              3. Some apps won’t work when using Galaxy Note 4 mobile data
              4. Galaxy Note 4 randomly shuts down when battery level is at 10% or 20%
              5. Galaxy Note 4 charging very slowly

              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: Tips on how to save Note 4 battery power

              Hi. First, thanks for helping me. Now, my problem. About a month or so ago, my phone went dark. i tried to restart it, and got a message saying  something about a battery boot failure. I tried swapping batteries, and got the splash screen and it shut off. I tried a few times to restart it and got another battery boot failure message, then nothing. I finally gave up, left my phone alone for couple of weeks, then tried another battery. It started, but the batteries didn’t last long; they drain rapidly, so I have to swap them out multiple times a day. A lot of times, the phone drains the batteries instantly. It takes 2 to 4 batteries before the phone will start again. I can’t plug in via the USB port because it rusted out (I live in snow country, so there’s a lot of humidity in the winter). So, I use a Qi pad to charge the phone, though it doesn’t always charge, and I use a separate charger to charge individual batteries.

              Sometimes, the phone instantly drains batteries; sometimes, the phone will turn on if I remove it and put it back in again. I am a retired disabled senior, these phones are quite a financial burden to have to replace after only a year or so for anyone, but, especially for someone like me. I have been trying to locate a suitable replacement that will serve all my needs, and still be affordable, but, I have as yet to succeed. (Besides, I just lost $450 when I hired and prepaid a handyman for work and he simply left and refused to answer my calls, so I really can’t afford to buy a new phone). I rely on my phone for most of my browsing and other things, because I lost my computers in a fire last year, which took almost everything I owned. I have as yet been able to replace or substitute everything, so I rely on my phone quite heavily. I also would prefer to not have to buy a new phone, especially since I just had the screen replaced last summer. I also had a memory/boot failure last spring, and lost all my data, because I had to do a hard reset.

              My son also had a problem with the internal memory failing, and had to buy a new phone. Apparently, many people have had both of these problems with the Note 4, but, I like the features and am now accustomed to using this phone and would just prefer to stay with the Samsung Notes. I would be very grateful if you could help me.

              Incidentally, I tried the solution your site gave to remove the battery, then hold down the power button for 1 minute. It took several attempts before it would stay on past the splash screen, so I assume that the power problem still exists. Thank you for your time and assistance. — Tomiko

              Solution: Hi Tomiko. We may not always say this clearly in our posts but we are here to help users with software problems. If you haven’t noticed, most of our suggestions are limited to providing solutions to problems that we think have software problems only. If we think that bad hardware is to blame, we always tell users to send their device to a service center or have it replaced. That’s because hardware problems need complicated tests that can only be done by someone with the right skills and training. Such tests also needs specialized kits that most average Android users don’t have. That said, we will continue this practice with your case. If nothing will change after you’ve exhausted all software solutions, there’s nothing more that we can tell  you. For example, although we think you will be able to improve the situation by doing some software hacks, you should still submit the phone for a hardware check up if you want to get to the bottom of the problem. And speaking of software hacks, below are the things that you can do.

              Perform a factory reset. Your main issue is battery drain so you want to make sure that you reset all software settings back to their default, working state. You want to ensure that the phone’s software environment is a clean slate before you do other stuff. As its name suggests, factory reset will erase everything from your phone so make sure that you back all your data before proceeding. And here are the steps on how to factory reset your Note 4:

              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 Volume 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 Volume 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.

              Re-install necessary apps only. Just like in everyday life in general, the more activities you do, the faster your energy drains. The same is true when it comes to the software environment of a digital device so the next good thing to do once you’ve factory reset your phone is to ensure that you install as few apps as possible. The more apps and services there are, the more complex computing and processing becomes. Other apps are also designed to have associated services running in the background, even if you’ve already closed the main app itself. Thus, the more apps you install the more items there are to consider when dealing with battery drain issue. Think hard about what apps you need, not want. This may be difficult as it may take away the enjoyment of having such an amazing phone but keep in mind that you’re trying to deal with a battery drain problem here. You are not one of those lucky users who seem to be having a normal experience with their gadget. We know that apps are the lifeblood of our smartphones today but if you want to get down to the problem, you must make some sacrifices.

              Now, how, you may ask, will you know which apps are necessary? Well, that depends on your usage habits. Necessity in this context is subjective and it’s for you to decide. If, for example, you must be in constant communication with your relatives via one of social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., you need to install one such apps. Texting and voice calling are, of course, given apps so they should be automatically installed. The general rule that we would like to give you here is to think hard what apps you use everyday. If you have apps that you haven’t used in 2 weeks, they may not be that necessary for you at all. The goal is to have as few apps as possible to minimize bugs that helps drain battery power faster.

              Also, you want to stick to official apps if possible. If you are fond of online shopping for example, make sure that you only use apps from companies that you trust. Official apps tend to receive regular patches to address known bugs and are optimized to work with all Android versions. Apps created by lesser known or inexperienced developers don’t receive regular updates and may not be optimized, increasing their chances of creating a conflict with an operating system resulting to bugs and issues such as battery drain. Needless to say, you want to ensure that you only install quality apps on your phone.

              If you want to know more on how to avoid installing bad apps, don’t limit yourself to our blog. There are many other blogs out there that can give you information on what apps to install to help you in this case. For example, you may discover that Greenify app is actually a good app to install first.

              Turn off master sync. Another good practice that you want to start doing in this case is to turn off master or automatic syncing feature of the phone. If enabled, master sync allows apps to regularly communicate with their remote servers to see if there are updates available, provided your phone is constantly connected to the internet either via wifi or mobile data. While not necessarily bad, master sync feature can be one of the major factors why your battery tends to give you less power most of the time. Some of the usual apps that can impact battery consumption are e-commerce, social networking, and even email apps like eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, to mention a few. If you can’t live without these apps, make sure that you configure the settings of each so they only receive updates if you manually tell them to. Sync options may vary from app to app but what you want to do is to basically prevent apps from syncing on their own.

              To turn off master sync, simply pull down the status bar and look for the Sync icon. Tap it to turn it off.

              Disable wifi or mobile data when not in use. Another thing that many smartphone users overlook is leaving their device constantly connected to the internet. Make sure that you only allow your phone to connect to the internet if you need it. Otherwise, turn wifi and mobile data off to minimize the chance of some apps from automatically downloading contents.

              If you are in an area with spotty mobile data connection, turning off mobile data service can also help prevent battery drain. Any attempt of your phone to connect to your carrier’s network takes processing power so you are actually helping the phone conserve precious battery juice by simply preventing it from contacting the network.

              Dim the screen. If you’re used to having the AMOLED screen at full blast all the time, we say you start considering making another sacrifice. Make sure that you set screen brightness to the lowest comfortable setting to conserve as much energy as possible. We’re not saying that you sacrifice your eye’s health in this one but to just try to find a certain brightness level that you can work with for a long time.

              Use Power saving mode. If you want to drastically control battery consumption, you can make use of either Power Saving Mode or Ultra Power Saving Mode. For a brief explanation on how to do any of them, visit this official Samsung page.

              Problem #2: Galaxy Note 4 totally unresponsive and won’t turn on

              Hi. Basically a few weeks ago I got my phone out my pocket and my Note 4 was very laggy, crashing and restarting. I performed a soft reset and I also factory reset it. Unfortunately this did not resolve the issue. I searched on the internet and this seemed a bit of a common problem. From research I downloaded an app called “wake lock” which keeps your phone from going in to deep sleep/hibernation mode and keeps the CPU running. After downloading and activating it worked like new! However from lack of battery the phone had died and i couldn’t get it back on. I managed to get into download mode and safe mode a couple of times when this happened and I managed to get the phone to boot up again! But now the my phone died again and this time it’s completely unresponsive. Won’t charge (it did before when it was on), can’t get into download mode or safe mode. The only thing that shows me the phone isn’t completely dead is that when I plug it into my laptop… my laptop makes a noise that it recognizes a device has been plugged in. but that’s it. I’m a bit stuck here. I’ve not rooted my phone either. Oh I also bought a new battery and put that in to see if that was the problem. Thanks. — Dan

              Solution: Hi Dan. Frankly, you don’t have many options in this one and the only thing that you can try is to see if the phone boots to other modes (safe mode, download mode, recovery mode). If the phone won’t boot to any of them, bad hardware must be to blame. Hardware malfunction in this case can vary from a simply damaged power button to some unknown motherboard issue. If a new battery won’t fix it, have the phone repaired or replaced.

              For reference, these are the steps on how to boot to alternate modes:

              Boot in Recovery mode:

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

              Boot in Download Mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
              3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
              4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
              5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
              6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

              Boot in safe mode:

              1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
              2. Press and hold the Power button.
              3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
              4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
              5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
              6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

              Problem #3: Some apps won’t work when using Galaxy Note 4 mobile data

              Dear I am having trouble with my Galaxy Note 4, specifically with my internet connectivity. I can use all applications through wifi but can’t do using the operator internet provider. Once I’m using the phone internet, some of the applications is working normally (Instagram, Facebook, Google Maps,.. ) whereas the others not working like (Google page, Linkedin, Youtube, Gmail apps…). Could you please assist as i have connected with the operator several times and there is no problem since I am Hotspotting the internet to my laptop to send you this message. Thanks and appreciate your assistance. Regards. — Moe

              Solution: Hi Moe. If you’re positive that mobile data is working on your phone, the problem may be caused by a bad system cache. To fix the problem, 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 Volume 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.

              If the problem remains after refreshing the system cache, the next good thing to do is to ensure that you wipe the cache and data of each problematic app. Here’s how to do it:

              1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
              2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
              3. Once in there, click on an application.
              4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
              5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

              Problem #4: Galaxy Note 4 randomly shuts down when battery level is at 10% or 20%

              My Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is 8 month old and still under warranty. I’m having random shut down between 20% to 10% the phone. Sometimes it goes into a bootloop but most of the times it just turns off by itself when i connect my phone to the charger. There is always some juice in it but the phone will not turn on unless i charge it. The problem started after October security patch OTA update. I’m not really sure if it’s a software issue bug or it’s hardware problem * or the battery itself* My device model is SM-N910G snapdragon variant not rooted stock 6.0.1 MM with the latest Dec security patch update. — Amar

              Solution: Hi Amar. A few things that you can try to get to the bottom of the issue includes the following:

              1. Wiping the cache partition (steps provided above).
              2. Battery recalibration (steps provided below).
              3. Observing the phone in safe mode to see if there’s a difference when no third party apps are running.
              4. Factory reset (steps provided above).
              5. Using a different battery.
              6. Send the phone for repair or replacement.

              As you can see, the first four in the list are meant to check if a software glitch is to blame. If they won’t help you fix the problem, the last two should be done.

              Problem #5: Galaxy Note 4 charging very slowly

              Hi. My phone shows that its charging, however, the amount doesn’t always increase. Sometimes it stays on the same amount for 20-30 minutes. It charges but super slowly and it seems like the connection is lose because it doesn’t always stay “charging.” I had my phone plugged in last night before bed and it was at 13%. when I woke up in the middle of the night, around 4 am, it was at 14%. Does that sound like it could be a cord issue? I’m using my best cord. It doesn’t look like anything is wrong internally in the port but I’m not sure exactly what it’s supposed to look like. — Jessica

              Solution: Hi Jessica. Slow charging issue like what you’re experiencing right now can be a product of a malfunctioning hardware, or by simply having too many apps and background services running. To know which is which, you can do a few things like the ones below:

              1. Boot the phone to safe mode while charging. Having too many apps running while charging may be enough to make charging rate too slow. What that means is that the charging rate is only barely enough to replenish lost power due to apps. To fix that, you want to prevent some apps (third party apps and services) from working by booting the phone to safe mode. This is a remedy and not a solution so if you want to permanently fix the issue, you should uninstall apps. Refer to the steps above on how to boot to safe mode.
              2. Uninstall apps and disable bloatware. As mentioned above, you should consider removing apps if the issue continues. You would also want to remove carrier-, Samsung, or Google-provided apps you don’t use. These apps are known as bloatwares and as the name suggests, they are there to provide often redundant or unnecessary functions. Removing them may improve battery performance.
              3. Recalibrate the battery. Refer to our suggestions above.
              4. Do a factory reset.
              5. Use another battery. If your Note 4 has been around (over a year old), there’s a possibility that the battery is now nearing its end of life. In other words, it may be losing significant capacity to hold a charge so make sure that you try another one.
              6. General hardware failure may be to blame. The charging port may have been damaged or some motherboard issue may be causing the problem. Make sure to have the hardware checked.

               

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

              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 S7 randomly freezing and rebooting when battery level is low, other issues

              We have been receiving a growing number of #GalaxyS7 issues recently so you can expect to see more posts for this particular device more often. In this post today, we cover 6 more issues that we’ve collected over the last few days. We hope that the solutions provided here will help not only the users mentioned here today but also others who may have similar troubles. For those who may be new to our blog, don’t forget to visit our main Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page.

              Below are the specific topics we’re discussing here today:

              1. Galaxy S7 won’t turn on after phone got accidentally dropped
              2. Refurbished Galaxy S7 mobile data with Sprint keeps disconnecting
              3. Galaxy S7 randomly freezing and rebooting when battery level is low
              4. Galaxy S7 won’t charge beyond 0% and randomly reboots
              5. Galaxy S7 Messages app keeps showing an error report
              6. Galaxy S7 charging erratically, stuck in boot loop

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S7 won’t turn on after phone got accidentally dropped

              My Galaxy S7 was getting hot about a month after I got it. It would get hot when charging or even just during use. I did drop it without a case (I took of the case to try and keep it from overheating). After I dropped it the screen went black. Now I can’t get it to turn on. I tried the stuff on your troubleshooting page. When I push the power button and the down volume I can tell it turns on because the blue light on top starts to flash and the lights below turn on, but the screen does not come on. It starts to get hot again and then it vibrates that it is shutting down. Is this because it was dropped or a more serious problem. Even with insurance the clowns want $175 to replace it. — Sherri

              Solution: Hi Sherri. That the screen malfunctioned right away after the phone was dropped is already a clear indicator of a hardware problem. You don’t need any other troubleshooting step to tell you that your phone’s screen is toast. The purpose of our suggested troubleshooting steps, to try and boot the phone to different modes, is to ascertain in an indirect way whether or not bad hardware is to blame. Some users may experience signs of  hardware problem later, while others like yourself encounter them immediately. The accidental drop may have damaged the screen resulting to black screen of death issue. There’s also a chance that the battery or some components of the motherboard may be damaged too as the phone now exhibits symptoms of overheating and random reboot issues.

              We hope the issue is localized to the screen only as replacement of the screen assembly should fix the issue relatively easily. However, if other critical components in the motherboard are affected as well, replacing the screen may not be enough to give you a fully working phone after repair. Overheating during charging, for example, may be an indicator of a malfunctioning charging port or battery. In the end, the only thing that you can actually do is to hope for the best. That said, make sure that you let Samsung handle the repair. Better still, just get a replacement unit if that’s still possible.

              Problem #2: Refurbished Galaxy S7 mobile data with Sprint keeps disconnecting

              So I got a refurbished S7 just a few days ago and right off the bat it’s having trouble with the SIM card. Sprint puts in a new one and everything seems fine for like one day. Then I lose all mobile data on a trip to the airport and have to drive back with no GPS, lost as F**k. So 8 Sprint customer support/techs, 1 store visit, 2 Samsung techs and 1 geeks quad visit later, I FINALLY factory reset the thing and restore it with Smart Switch and it’s running like a top. I go to sleep, wake up, have 1/2 the next day before the cellular data dues on me AGAIN! SIM card status reads mobile data “disconnected.” Both Sprint and Samsung don’t want to give me a replacement because I bought it from a 3rd party. What the hell can I do? It seems not a physically damaged phone. It seems just got software and simple card issues. The settings doesn’t even have the system update button and the ##BRAND# just brings me to a voice-mail error message. HELP! — Eric

              Solution: Hi Eric. Frankly, we don’t think there’s anything that we can do to help you fix your problem. The reason why we say so is the fact that we don’t have enough information to even begin our troubleshooting with. Telling us that you have a refurbished Galaxy S7 does not help. For instance, we don’t know if you have a GSM or CDMA phone. We assume it is a CDMA phone because you mention Sprint but we can be mistaken on this one too. Keep in mind that this critical information matters because if your phone is actually not a Sprint Galaxy S7 model, that may be the reason why you’re having the issue in the first place. In other words, if you have an S7 from different carrier, for example an AT&T model and you’re trying to use it on Sprint network, the networking functionality of the device may not work as expected. Even if your S7 has been network unlocked, that doesn’t guarantee that it will work properly on a different network. Given how little information you provide us, we can only speculate on what may be happening right now. It’s possible that the phone’s software may not be compatible with Sprint’s system, causing an incomplete provisioning/registration process. There’s also a chance that the phone’s hardware may be incompatible with Sprint’s operating frequency. The best thing that you can do right now is to work with Sprint so they can check if your phone is fully compatible with your device. Try to gather as much information about your phone as possible so you can give them to Sprint’s technical support. Again, you should remember, if this Galaxy S7 is not a Sprint model, you don’t have to expect that everything should work as expected. There will always be some functionalities that will be left out so you must accept that fact.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S7 randomly freezing and rebooting when battery level is low

              Hi Guys. Few days ago, I was on a WhatsApp call until my battery went to 0% and the phone died. I have then put it on charge, powered it on soon after and left it for about an hour. When I have taken it back I have found it frozen. I have then reset it by pressing the key combination, and when the phone was back, it worked fine for about 15 seconds and then got stuck again. Since then I’m not able to use my phone normally. It gets stuck after few seconds of a reboot if it is connected to the charger. It gets stuck even if not on charge.

              I have noticed though that the amount of time the phone takes to freeze after a reboot changes based on how much the battery is charged. When it is about 35% I can use the phone almost normally with no issue even though sometimes it freezes even when the battery is at 10%. As soon as I connect it to the charger it freezes after few seconds even if the battery is almost down. I have launched it in safe mode but it get stuck the same way. Can it be a battery issue? Thanks. — Leo

              Solution: Hi Leo. There’s a chance that the root of the issue may be battery-related so the first thing that you want to do is recalibrate it. This is a process of retraining the operating system on how to measure battery levels properly. Battery recalibration is a simple step so you can do it anytime. Here’s how it’s done:

              1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
              2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
              3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
              4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
              5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
              6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
              7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
              8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
              9. Repeat the cycle once.

              The next good thing that you can try if nothing changes after recalibrating the battery is factory reset. You want to do this to see if the issue is software in nature or not. As the name suggests, factory reset will restore all software settings to their known working state, making it a good method to check if there’s an issue on the hardware department. You must observe the phone for some time, at least 24 hours, after a factory reset to see the difference. Should the issue remains, that’s a sign that the problem will not be resolved on your level. In this case, you must find a way to have the phone repaired or replaced.

              For reference, here are the steps on how to factory reset your Galaxy S7:

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

              Problem #4: Galaxy S7 won’t charge beyond 0% and randomly reboots

              Hello, I have a 7-month old Samsung Galaxy S7. Last Friday (13/01/17) my phone was dead so I plugged it into the charger. The lightning bolt symbol appeared like usual but then instead of showing the battery percentage, the phone went blank. I tried again and again but I was having no luck. So I just left it in the charger and hoped for the best. Still no luck. Four days later I tried leaving it charged overnight again. When I woke up it had begun charging again and was on 9%. It charged throughout the day with no issues but now (same day) it has reverted back to the same problem. I can turn the phone on but it just says 0% and turns back off. Do you have any suggestions? I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards. — Ruairi

              Solution: Hi Ruairi. There are a number of factors that you want to consider to get to the bottom of this issue. Like most Android issues, this one may be caused by a software glitch, an app bug, or a hardware malfunction so you need to go through a series of troubleshooting steps.

              1. Use another charger or USB cable. The first thing that you want to do is to ensure that you have a good working sets of charging cable and charger head. Try charging another Samsung device with your current charger to see if it’s working. Alternatively, you can get another Samsung charger and USB cable to see if the current one is defective.
              2. Check the charging port for defects or debris. The most commonly damaged component in smartphones today is the charging port. Depending on how you take care of your device, the charging port may or may not be damaged at this time. Try to examine the port using some form of magnification to check whether there are bent pins inside. If a pin has been damaged due to wear and tear, charging may become impossible or erratic. It’s also a good way to check for possible lint or debris that may be getting in the way when a charger is inserted.
              3. Restart the phone to safe mode. While we’re not aware of any third party app causing a boot issue such as yours, we insist that you observe how charging works when the phone is in a different boot mode. That said, we want you to charge the phone while it’s on safe mode. Here’s how to boot your S7 to safe mode:
                • Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
                • Press and hold the Power button.
                • Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
                • Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
                • Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
              4. Recalibrate the battery. See our explanation and steps above.
              5. Wipe the phone via factory reset. This should be the ultimate software solution that you can try on your end. If the issue persists after a factory reset, have the phone repaired or replaced.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S7 Messages app keeps showing an error report

              The issue I’m dealing with is my Messages app. I recently hard-reset my phone due to a different issue. I can’t exactly remember what, but after I reset my phone, the Messages app started sending out an Error Report. I have had the S7 for some time now and I never encountered this issue until now. After about 30 seconds of being on Messages- whether I’m writing a message or I just opened it- it’ll crash and send me an Error Report message. I waited a couple days, hoping the error would fix itself. When the issue didn’t go away, I soft reset my phone and the issue went away for maybe a couple of hours but came right back. So now, here I am, asking for some advice. This crash is driving me insane! Please help. — Erica

              Solution: Hi Erica. We suggest that you try wiping the cache and data of the Messages app first if you haven’t done it yet. Here’s how to do it:

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

              If the issue won’t go away, do a factory reset. And if the issue continues even after a factory reset, consider using another messaging app. There are a lot of free messaging apps in Google Play Store that you can choose from.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S7 charging erratically, stuck in boot loop

              My daughter’s phone, whose email is above, is an S7. Her phone is malfunctioning. It will only hold a charge for about 3 hours, if it is idle. The screen goes dark as early as with a 35% charge remaining. It goes into a reboot mode randomly, where it turns off, reboots, comes back to the log in screen and then starts the process over, last night for over 20 minutes, and when it is doing it, it doesn’t respond to any keys, like the power button or the reboot key combo you recommend on your site. From dark screen to 100% charge took less than 15 minutes. She has tried the hard reboot you recommend, but nothing seems to be helping. It has not gotten wet, but I am sure it has slipped out of her hand at some point or another. — Bterfly92

              Solution: Hi Bterfly92. The issue may appear different from others in this post but the potential solutions remain the same. Possible causes include a malfunctioning battery or screen assembly, or an unknown software glitch. Like in almost any Android issue troubleshooting, the way to know if bad hardware is to blame is by doing all software troubleshooting for the issue. If nothing changes after you’ve exhausted software troubleshooting, you can then assume that a hardware issue is responsible. Please follow our suggestion for Ruairi above.

               

              Engage with us

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

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