Samsung Galaxy J3 Archives

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Cannot Send Text Messages To Premium Numbers

The #Samsung #Galaxy #J3 is a budget friendly device that offers a solid set of features to consumers who want an easy to use smartphone. The latest version of this model uses a 5 inch IPS LCD display and a quad core processor combined with 2GB of RAM. It has a good build quality that even has a removable battery. Although this is a solid performing device there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Galaxy J3 cannot send text messages to premium numbers issue.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy J3 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Cannot Send Text Messages To Premium Numbers

Problem: Can a text recipient be the cause of the “failed” red ! ” when I reply to an “opt in / opt out” text? My Samsung Galaxy J3 Luna returns a “failed” red exclamation when I appropriately respond to incoming texts from Macy’s (they use three different numbers 31292, 62297, 38109). These are the “opt in or opt out” messages to which we reply Y, STOP, etc. I also have experienced difficulty with Walmart Pharmacy filing when I reply to theirs, but other entities I can reply with success, like my dentist office for example. I can send and receive “regular” typing texts other than these opt in/opt out texts. I did call Macy’s twice, they actually have a Technical Support line but I believe it is more for online services than cellular. Anyway the first time they had me make certain I was not blocking notifications from my online account settings. Then I tried again, still failed so I called back. That guy was more clueless than me, which is mortifying. I just reset all my notifications online to disable everything then allowed for texts. Boom 3 messages came in: opt-ins for order alerts, specials and account specific texts. The first 2 replies failed, I came to your FABULOUS web pages. I did a reboot by restarting and then the 3rd reply failed. I really do not want to do a complete start over just to see if I can respond to Macy’s but it seems like it may not be my phone. Can it be that THEY are the problem not me and are just loathe to admit that? Walmart pharmacy said a lot of customers had issues with their texts.

Solution: Before performing any troubleshooting steps on this phone it’s best to make sure that it is running on the latest software version. If an update is available then I suggest that you download and install it first.

To be able to send a text message to premium numbers you should make sure that this is allowed by your phone.

From the Home screen go to Apps – Settings – Apps
Tap App Manager
Tap on the Menu icon ( on the upper right side with three dots).
Tap Special access.
Tap Use Premium text message services.
Tap the app then select the Always allow option.

Once this is done try sending a premium text message. In case the issue still persists then proceed with the additional troubleshooting steps listed below.

Perform a Soft Reset

The first thing you should do in this case is a soft reset. This is usually done when the phone is unresponsive or when it suffers from a minor software glitch as its software will be refreshed.

Press and hold the Power and Volume down key for up to 15 seconds.
Wait as the device restarts.

In case your phone model has a removable battery then just remove the battery then press and hold the power button for at least a minute. Reinsert the battery then turn on the phone.

Try to check if the issue still occurs

Clear the cache and data of the text messaging app

Sometimes, corrupt temporary data stored in the messaging app can cause this problem. To eliminate this bad data you should follow the steps listed below.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache

Check if the issue still occurs.

Check if the problem occurs in Safe Mode

There are instances when an app you downloaded can cause this particular problem. To check if this is the case you will have to start the phone in Safe Mode as only the pre-installed apps are allowed to run in this mode.

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the problem does not occur in this mode then it could be caused by an app you downloaded. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

Wipe the cache partition of the phone

There are cases when the temporary data of the phone software can get corrupted which can result to issues occurring on the device. The best thing to do in this scenario is to wipe the cache partition of the phone from the recovery mode.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press and hold the Power key until the device vibrates, then release it. Keep pressing the Volume Up and Home keys the entire time.
When you see the Android Recovery screen, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Wipe cache partition, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Yes, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Reboot system now, then use the Power key to select it.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Perform a factory reset

One last troubleshooting step to consider is a factory reset. This will revert the phone back to its original factory condition and will usually fix the problem in case is is caused by a software glitch.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android device that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your questions. Contact us using this form. We read every message we receive but can’t guarantee a quick response. If we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Screen Is Flickering With Different Colors

The #Samsung #Galaxy #J3 is one of the best performing entry level Android smartphone model available in the market today. This is a basic device that has all of the necessary features needed for communications. Some of its best features include its 5 inch IPS LCD display, Exynos 7570 quad core processor paired with 2GB of RAM, and a 2600 mAh battery just to name a few. Although this is a solid performing device there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Galaxy J3 screen is flickering with different colors issue.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy J3 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Screen Is Flickering With Different Colors

Problem: My Samsung J3 (2018) is started turning its screen color to different colors (red, purple, green) and flickering then resetting itself even in Safe Mode. I followed up your solutions in the website, cleared cache partition, reboot my phone, but all the efforts I did are useless. Could you tell me how to fix the problem?

Solution: Before performing any troubleshooting steps on this device it’s best to make sure that it is running on the latest software version. If an update is available then I suggest that you download and install it first.

The best way to tackle this issue is to eliminate any software glitches that could be causing this problem. Follow the troubleshooting steps listed below which are recommended for this issue.

Perform a soft reset

The first thing you will need to do in this case is a soft reset. This will usually resolve issue caused by minor software glitches.

Press and hold the Power and Volume down key for up to 45 seconds.
Wait as the device restarts.

Check if the issue still occurs

Start the phone in Safe Mode

There are instances when an app you downloaded can cause this particular issue. To check if this is the case you will have to start the phone in Safe Mode as only the pre-installed apps are allowed to run in this mode.

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If your phone starts in this mode then you will be able to backup your phone data. Once this is done you should find out what app is causing the problem then uninstall it.

Wipe the cache partition

There are instances when a corrupted system cached data can cause this problem. It’s therefore a good idea to delete this data as the phone will just rebuild this data when it starts again.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Perform a factory reset

One last troubleshooting step to consider is a factory reset. This will bring your phone back to its original factory condition. Take note that your phone data will be deleted in the process.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
With no apps installed in the phone, try to check if the issue still occurs.

If the above steps doesn’t fix the problem then you will need to bring the phone to a service center and have it checked as this is most likely caused by a faulty hardware component already, possibly by a defective display assembly.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android device that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your questions. Contact us using this form. We read every message we receive but can’t guarantee a quick response. If we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Screen Won’t Remain On During Calls

Welcome to another installment of our troubleshooting series where we help our readers who own the #Samsung #Galaxy #J3 fix the issues that they are experiencing with their phone. This is a basic smartphone model that’s best suited for the budget conscious consumer. While it does not have all the features found on flagship devices it has a set of solid features that make it a great phone in its class. Although this is a solid performing device there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Galaxy J3 screen won’t remain on during calls issue.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy J3 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Screen Won’t Remain On During Calls

Problem: My screen goes black when on phone calls. Doesn’t matter if speaker is on or off. My time out is set to 10 min. so it should not be going black. I have to keep tapping the screen every couple of seconds or keep hitting the Home button to turn the screen back on. This is very annoying, especially when you need to tap number keys for the options for your call. The phone is a Samsung Galaxy J3 . It is less than a year old and very well taken care of. It has never been dropped or gotten wet. In fact my screen is scratch free, which should tell you that the phone is well taken care of. I cannot find any settings that relate to this issue. I do not have a white screen setting or face recognition or any sensor. I realize that this phone is not a $500 phone, but I would expect this black screen annoyance to have a fix. I like the phone and I do not live on my phone, but some phone calls to certain businesses can be rather lengthy. I know that I am not the only person to have this problem. Can you help me? I do apologize if you have answered this question before, but I have not found a solution for my phone. My husband has the exact phone that I do with the same problem.

Solution: Before performing any troubleshooting steps on this device it’s best to make sure that it is running on the latest software version. If an update is available then I suggest that you download and install it first.

Listed below are the recommended troubleshooting steps you need to perform for this particular problem.

Disable the proximity sensor

The proximity sensor can detect when a person is holding the phone near their face during a call and turns off the display to prevent keypad presses and battery consumption from the display.

Tap the Phone icon
Tap the Menu icon
Go to Call settings
Find the setting to turn off screen during calls and disable it.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Perform a soft reset

Most issues such as this can usually be fixed by doing a soft reset. This is usually the first thing you will have to do when the phone is unresponsive however this will also work in this case as it will refresh the phone software. This is done by pressing and holding the power and volume down buttons for at least 10 seconds. Your phone should restart after this and once the device has fully booted up try to check if the issue still occurs.

Check if the problem occurs in Safe Mode

There are instances when an app you downloaded can cause this particular problem. To check if this is the case you will have to start the phone in Safe Mode as only the pre-installed apps are allowed to run in this mode.

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the problem does not occur in this mode then it could be caused by an app you downloaded. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

Wipe the cache partition of the phone

There are cases when the temporary data of the phone software can get corrupted which can result to issues occurring on the device. The best thing to do in this scenario is to wipe the cache partition of the phone from the recovery mode.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press and hold the Power key until the device vibrates, then release it. Keep pressing the Volume Up and Home keys the entire time.
When you see the Android Recovery screen, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Wipe cache partition, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Yes, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Reboot system now, then use the Power key to select it.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Perform a factory reset

One last troubleshooting step to consider is a factory reset. This will revert the phone back to its original factory condition and will usually fix the problem in case is is caused by a software glitch.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Immediately check if the issue still occurs after the reset. In case the issue still persists after the factory reset then you should bring the phone to a service center and have it checked.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android device that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your questions. Contact us using this form. We read every message we receive can’t guarantee a quick response. If we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Weak Signal Reception

Welcome to another installment of our troubleshooting series where we aim to help our readers who own the #Samsung #Galaxy #J3 fix the issues that they are experiencing with their phone. This is a budget Android smartphone that has a good build quality and has most of the basic features that you would want on a mobile device. Although this is a solid performing device there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Galaxy J3 weak signal reception issue.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy J3 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J3 Weak Signal Reception

Problem: I bought a Samsung Galaxy J3 in the USA last summer (Model SM-J327T). The phone worked well. Then I had it unlocked by Samsung and moved to the UK. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but now the phone doesn’t work so well: it often has a weak signal in places where I should have great reception. This affects my ability to access data in particular. Wifi is fine. Samsung in the UK won’t fix a non-EU phone, but their advisor suggested it might be an antenna issue and that I should pay a third-party provider to have it fixed. I don’t want to pay if I can avoid it. I wonder if the problem might be something to do with the move from the USA to the UK. Might it be possible to fix the problem by adjusting the phone’s settings?

Solution: Before performing any troubleshooting steps on this phone it’s best to make sure that it is running on the latest software version. If an update is available then I suggest that you download and install it first.

The first thing that you will need to do in this case is to check if the network is causing the problem by following the troubleshooting steps listed below.

Check the network signal bars

It’s best to make sure that the phone has excellent signal reception from the network as a low signal can cause this particular problem. If necessary go to an area that has a strong signal reception then check if the issue occurs.

Check if there is a network outage

Sometimes this problem can be caused by issues within the network itself. You can check the website of your carrier if there are any reports of outages in your area. You can also contact the customer service department of your carrier to verify if a network outage exists.

Try using a different SIM card

There are instances when the problem can be caused by a faulty SIM card. To verify if this is the case you should try using a different SIM in your phone.

If the problem is not caused by the network then proceed with the additional troubleshooting steps listed below.

Perform a soft reset

Most issues such as this can usually be fixed by doing a soft reset. Since your phone has a removable battery I suggest that you remove the battery then press and hold the power button for at least a minute. Reinsert the battery then turn on the phone. This procedure will refresh the phone software. Once this is done check if the issue still occurs.

Check if the problem occurs in Safe Mode

There are instances when an app you downloaded can cause this particular problem. To check if this is the case you will have to start the phone in Safe Mode as only the pre-installed apps are allowed to run in this mode.

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the problem does not occur in this mode then it could be caused by an app you downloaded. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

Wipe the cache partition of the phone

There are cases when the temporary data of the phone software can get corrupted which can result to issues occurring on the device. The best thing to do in this scenario is to wipe the cache partition of the phone from the recovery mode.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press and hold the Power key until the device vibrates, then release it. Keep pressing the Volume Up and Home keys the entire time.
When you see the Android Recovery screen, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Wipe cache partition, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Yes, then use the Power key to select it.
Use the Volume keys to scroll down to Reboot system now, then use the Power key to select it.

Check if the issue still occurs.

Perform a factory reset

One last troubleshooting step to consider is a factory reset. This will revert the phone back to its original factory condition and will usually fix the problem in case is is caused by a software glitch. Make sure to backup your phone data before performing this procedure.

Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Check if the issue still occurs. In case it does then this could already be caused by a faulty hardware component, possibly the antenna. The best thing to do right now is to bring the phone to a service center and have it checked.

Engage with us

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android device that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your questions. Contact us using this form. We read every message we receive but can’t guarantee a quick response. If we

5 best Verizon prepaid phones available today in 2019

Getting prepaid phones makes a lot of sense. Given the kind of smartphones there are on Verizon’s prepaid network, one doesn’t have to worry about finding the best device for themselves. This wasn’t the case a few years ago when only mid-ranged and budget handsets used to be sold on prepaid, but things are clearly different today.

Best Verizon Prepaid Phones

Brand	ProductAmazon.com Link	Price on Amazon.com
Samsung	Samsung Galaxy S7	269.99
Motorola	Moto G4 Plus (4th Gen)	162.95
Verizon	Moto G Play	96.98
Samsung	Samsung J3	87.99

Just to make it clear to you, prepaid devices are the ones that you have to pay for a month in advance. There are no monthly bills that you pay after your usage. It’s basically a pay-as-you-use kind of a deal, really. So you won’t need two-year agreements or any other major forms to fill. You simply have to head over to the carrier, express your interest in getting a smartphone on prepaid and you’re good to go.

It’s also important to note that Verizon allows you to bring your own device to its prepaid network. Barring some fees like activation charges and others, you won’t have to shell out much either. The activation charge is waived off in some cases if you’re lucky enough. Keeping these factors in mind, getting yourself on the carrier’s prepaid network makes a lot of sense. But what if you want to get a new device for yourself? Well, we’ve got you covered as we have compiled a list of the best Verizon prepaid handsets available for purchase today.

5 Best Verizon prepaid phones available today in 2017

Samsung Galaxy S7

This Samsung flagship needs no introduction as it has been one of the most popular handsets last year and even today. You can get this beauty from Amazon in the 32GB format for just $485. For this price, the smartphone is an absolute steal, so we can’t recommend this highly enough. Packing a super powerful Quad HD Super AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 820 SoC, and a 12-megapixel rear camera, the Galaxy S7 is certainly the flagship phone you deserve.

One caveat here is that the phone is only offered in Black, but barring that, we think you can’t get a better deal than this at the moment. The smartphone can be paired with Verizon’s prepaid network, obviously. Which means you can enjoy Big Red’s blazing fast network on the handset. Given that Verizon offers a comprehensive list of 4G LTE plans, you won’t be disappointed with this arrangement.

Google Pixel (32GB)

This shiny new Google handset is selling for just $795 on Amazon. Most people don’t need a proper introduction of the handset, but it’s one of the most popular smartphones to come out of Google’s sheds and for pretty obvious reasons. Not only does it pack the best hardware (designed by HTC), but it also comes with the latest software that one can ask for, making it a very desirable handset. The Pixel is fully compatible with Verizon’s prepaid networks as well.

It is packing a 5-inch 1080p display, the slightly advanced Snapdragon 821 processor, and a groundbreaking 12.3-megapixel rear camera which can take some of the best photos you will see from a smartphone. The retailer is offering the handset in a 32GB configuration and in the “Quite Black” color variant. If you’re looking for the best Vanilla Android experience and don’t mind the steep price tag for the premium hardware, the Google Pixel is pretty much the best device you can get right now.

Moto G4 Plus

One of Moto’s most popular mid-rangers, the Moto G4 Plus is a no frills handset that will only set you back by $249. It comes with what many would consider a value-for-money hardware, something that’s pretty common in the current market environment. Naturally, the smartphone will work smoothly with Verizon Wireless’ networks in the country as well.

This handset is perfectly suited for those who are not looking to spend too much up front, but still want a high-end experience from their handset. The fact that it comes with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM allows you to do a multitude of things without breaking a sweat. There’s a 5.5-inch 1080p display and a pretty capable 16-megapixel rear camera on board as well, making this a highly capable smartphone on this list.

Samsung Galaxy J3

The Galaxy J3, or the J3, as it is known, is a mid-ranger as you would have expected by now. It only costs $84.84 via Amazon currently. But considering the kind of hardware you’re getting with this device, you wouldn’t worry too much about the price tag. It helps that the smartphone is coming directly from Verizon Prepaid, thus avoiding you the trouble of having to manually take it to a Verizon outlet to get it activated.

It comes with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display sporting a resolution of 1280 x 720. This is pretty commonly found on mid-ranged and budget devices, so it’s not particularly a surprise. There’s a 5-megapixel rear camera, and 8GB of onboard storage, so it’s a pretty capable device for the price you’re expected to shell out. The fact that the camera comes with decent low-light features is a major bonus here. If you’re planning to try out Verizon Prepaid but also want to purchase a new smartphone at the same time, this particular smartphone comes highly recommended. The reviews for the Galaxy J3 have been pretty favorable as well.

Moto G Play

Yet another offering from Verizon Prepaid directly, this 2016 mid-ranger has managed to impress a vast number of customers. It will only set you back by $54.58, which is yet another highlight worth mentioning here. The smartphone comes with a 5-inch HD display, a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, and an 8-megapixel rear camera, so it’s a pretty capable offering even with the low price tag. What’s particularly interesting about the Moto G Play is the fact that it comes with Moto’s suite of software features to enhance user experience.

You will be able to purchase the handset in a solitary black version, so there appears to be a dearth of color variants with this particular handset. But considering how Black is the preferred version for most handsets, we don’t think prospective customers should worry about this much. You will be pleased to know that the handset comes with an all-day battery life, thanks to the 2,800mAh unit packed underneath.

Best Verizon Prepaid Phones

Brand	ProductAmazon.com Link	Price on Amazon.com
Samsung	Samsung Galaxy S7	269.99
Motorola	Moto G4 Plus (4th Gen)	162.95
Verizon	Moto G Play	96.98
Samsung	Samsung J3	87.99

How to fix Google Play Store error 8 on Samsung Galaxy J3

The Google Play Store error 8 that many Samsung Galaxy J3 owners have been complaining about occurs when you try to update or install an app. It could be account-related or it could be just a minor issue with the Play Store itself. The thing is that you may find this issue very annoying as you will have to go through all the steps you’ve taken in installing or updating the app only to be greeted by the same error.

Some owners reported that the problem got fixed on its own but some apparently had to do something to get it sorted out. In this post, I will guide you on how to troubleshoot your Galaxy J3 that’s bugged by the Play Store error 8. The actual error goes like this “App can’t be installed. Try again, and if the problem continues, get help troubleshooting. (Error code: -8)” and you have no other choice but to hit OK. Continue reading down below as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Going back to our troubleshooting, here’s what you need to do on your Galaxy J3 if it keeps getting the Play Store error 8…

Restart your Galaxy J3 and try downloading the app again.
Run phone in safe mode and try downloading the app.
Clear cache and data of the Play Store.
Remove Google account and then add it back again.
Master Reset your Galaxy J3.

If this is the first time that you encountered this error message or any Play Store errors for that matter, then it could be just a very minor glitch with the firmware or the app. More often, such problems can be fixed by simply rebooting your phone and doing what you were doing when the problem occurred. However, if this doesn’t fix the problem, then try running the phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party elements. From there, try to download the same application and see if the error still shows up.

The next thing you need to do if the problem continues is to clear the cache and data of the Play Store. This will reset it back to its default and configuration as well as replace possible corrupt cache and data files. Many owners reported that this method actually worked for them, so it could work for you, too.

Since this probably an account-related issue, it’s better to remove your Google account from your Galaxy J3 if clearing the cache and data of Play Store didn’t fix the problem. After you’ve removed your account, restart your phone and then add the same account. Once everything is set up, try downloading the app. Or, if you have another Google account, you better use that one to download the application you want.

Lastly, if all else fails, you need to reset your phone. A master reset should be able to fix this problem since the Play Store is a core application and thus, embedded in the firmware. Before the reset, make sure to create a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted. Once everything is set, follow these steps to reset your Galaxy J3:

Back up all your personal data stored on the phone.
Tap Apps from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Tap Backup and reset.
Select Factory data reset.
If prompted, read and review the information. If you are using an SD card and that is inserted, select the option to Format SD card if you also want to delete the data on your microSD card. Note that once you format the microSD card, the data can no longer be recovered.
Tap Reset Phone.
Tap Delete All to delete all information and downloaded apps.
If prompted, enter your security lock or passcode to proceed.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!

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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.

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) keeps popping up “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” that your Samsung Galaxy J3 keeps showing basically notifies you that the built-in web browser has stopped and it doesn’t necessarily mean the internet connectivity got interrupted or something. Needless to say, it’s an issue with an app and not with one of the core functions or services.

App issues might be caused by other apps and while pre-installed apps like Internet always works well with other built-in applications, there are third-party elements that may trigger a conflict, thus, resulting to this error. There are also times that it’s just a problem with the app itself or an issue with the firmware due to some files that may have been corrupted, changed, deleted or became incompatible with the system. Read on to know more about this error message and how to get rid of it.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 with error “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped”

Problem: I got this relatively cheap phone called J3 and my first two months of use was good until a few days back when my internet stopped. Well, at least, that’s what the box that keeps showing says, “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped.” I cannot browse because every time I do, the error shows up. Don’t have any idea why this is happening in the first place let alone a clue on how to fix it. Can you help?

Troubleshooting: You may not be able to browse because the app you’re using to browse the web keeps crashing but it appears that you still have an active internet connection. But let’s set that aside for now so we can troubleshoot your device and get rid of the error…

Step 1: Clear the cache and data of the Internet app

This will reset the app back to its factory default settings but will also delete your bookmarks and browsing history. Nonetheless, it’s a necessary procedure you need to do before you proceed with your troubleshooting.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager
Tap Internet.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

After this one, try to open the Internet app to see if it still crashes and if so, move on to the next step. However, based on reports from our readers, this might be the one procedure you have to undergo and the problem may be fixed.

Step 2: Restart your device in Safe mode to know if third-party apps are causing the error

This one will definitely isolate the problem; it will tell you whether or not your third-party apps (ones you downloaded from the Play Store or installed manually) have something to do with it. This is how you boot your J3 in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the error gets fixed in this mode, then it’s confirmed that the cause of the problem is one or some of the third-party apps. Find the culprit and uninstall it, otherwise, move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system caches so that they’ll be replaced

If the error message keeps showing up while the phone is in safe mode, then the problem is with the firmware or, at least, it’s time to look into this possibility and rule it out before doing a reset. The next procedure I want to show you is about how to delete the system caches and force the phone to create new ones that are completely compatible with the firmware.

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the problem continues, however, then you have no other option but to reset your device.

Step 4: You must reset your phone to bring it back to factory default settings

At this point, a reset is necessary. You’ve done the basics but they didn’t return a favorable result. A reset, however, will delete all your personal files and data so make sure to make a backup of things you don’t want to lose.

After backing up, disable the anti-theft security feature and then do the reset. This is how to disable it…

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

And this is how you reset your device…

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

I hope we were able to help you with your problem.

CONNECT WITH US

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J3 with black screen of death issue (easy steps)

The black screen of death (BSoD) manifests in different ways but the most common of them all is when the phone’s screen remains blank no matter what you do but the phone is actually showing signs that it’s powered on and still working. For instance, when messages or calls come in, you can hear the phone play the notification tone but the screen won’t turn on. The second most common sign of BSoD is when the phone seems completely dead.

Some of our readers with the Samsung Galaxy J3 have contacted us regarding this problem that’s why we have to address this once again even if we’ve already tackled similar issues in the past. This is for the benefit of our readers who reached out to us asking for help. So, if you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently bugged by this problem, continue reading as this post may help you fix it.

For owners who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. Browse through the page to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance don’t hesitate to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step by step guide to fixing black screen of death on Galaxy J3

More often than not, the black screen of death is a result of a system crash and while it may seem like a serious problem, it’s actually not. You can fix it using the method I will share with you in a little while. However, if this problem resulted from an attempt to modify the firmware, then it’s most likely that the process failed or you may have installed a ROM that’s corrupt or lacking files. You may need to reinstall the stock firmware to be able to use your phone again.

But if this issue started for no apparent reason, then here’s what you should do to fix it…

If you’re using the original or the 2016 variant of this device, all you gotta do is remove the battery from the phone and then press the Power key for a minute. This will refresh your phone’s memory and may boot it up the moment you re-insert the battery and press the Power key.
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However, if you have the 2017 variant which has a non-removable battery, you just have to press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key simultaneously for 10 seconds. It’s called the Forced Restart and has similar effect as with the battery pull procedure. If the phone does not respond to this method, try to repeat the process but this press and hold the Volume Down button first and without letting go of it, press and hold the Power key. Keep both keys held for 10 seconds and see if the phone reboots.

Now, if your device doesn’t respond to this method, then you will have to try troubleshooting it. Don’t worry, I will walk you through every step of the way until we’ve exhausted everything.

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Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 with black screen of death

In this troubleshooting guide, we will try to determine what the problem is all about so that we can try to formulate a solution that might fix the problem and prevent it from happening again in the future. There are a few things you need to do to rule out every possibility. With all that being said, try to go through the procedures below…

Make sure it’s not due to liquid damage

As the owner, you should be the first one to know what happened to your phone and why it’s not responding at all. But there are times when issues like this just occur out of the blue so the first thing you need to check is the possibility that the problem is due to liquid damage:

Look into the USB / charger port to find traces of water.
Use a cotton swab to clean the area or insert a small piece of tissue to absorb the moist.
You may also blow into it to get rid of any foreign materials that might have interfered with circuits.
Check the Liquid Damage Indicator (LDI) to see if it’s tripped or not. Just remove the SIM card tray and look into the SIM slot to find a small sticker.
If the LDI is white, then there’s no liquid damage but if it turned red or purple, it’s obvious that the cause of the problem is liquid.

In case it’s liquid damage, bring the phone to the service center to have a technician check it for you.

Try charging your phone to know how it responds

After making sure this problem isn’t due to liquid damage, you should try charging your device to see if it responds to that. It’s possible that this problem is just due to a drained battery that’s why your device isn’t responding no matter you do.

So, plug the charger in to a working wall outlet and connect your phone to it using the original cable. Regardless whether the phone shows the charging symbol on the screen or not, allow it to charge for at least ten minutes provided it’s not heating up. After which, try to turn it on to see if it responds. If still not, then do the Forced Restart once again but this time while the device is connected to its charger.

After this and the phone is still not responding, move on to the next procedure.

Attempt to boot your phone up in Safe mode

The most important thing at this moment is to see your phone power up its display and reach the home screen because if that’s the case, you can already consider the problem fixed. So, try running the phone in safe mode where everything is loaded except for third-party apps:

Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the phone is still not responding to this procedure, then do the next one.

Try booting the phone up in Recovery mode

The Android system recovery is the fail-safe of phones running Android. The components will all be powered up but the user interface is not. Even if the phone has some serious firmware issues, it may still be able to boot up in this mode. It’s important that you do this procedure to know if the problem is with the hardware or not. If you can successfully boot your phone up in this mode, you can do a couple of things that have a significant impact and that’s to wipe the cache partition and Master Reset.

How to boot your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

How to do the Master reset on your Galaxy J3

Assuming you’ve successfully booted the phone up in Recovery mode, then it’s clear that the hardware is fine. At this point, the issue is reduced to not booting up instead of not turning on. You can fix it by doing the master reset but take note all your files and data will be deleted if you did this…

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

However, the phone cannot boot up in this mode, then it’s time to bring it to the service center as it might be a hardware problem after all.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you one way or another. If you still need our help, feel free to contact us anytime.

Posts you may also like to read:

How to fix Samsung Galaxy J3 with “Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Processes are actually small apps that are running in the background and assist apps. The error message “Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped” basically notifies the user that one of the core processes has crashed. More often, this kind of error is triggered by apps that use it. In this case, it’s the dialer or phone application that triggers the error.

In this post, I will tackle this error message with the Samsung Galaxy J3 as the subject of our troubleshooting. We will try to rule out each possibility that may have caused the problem. Please note that the error is often just a symptom or a sign that something isn’t working properly in the background. So, if you own this device and are currently being bugged by the same issue, continue reading below so you would know what to do.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 with error “Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped”

As the owner, you should take a little of your time to try and fix the problem but since we really cannot pinpoint what the cause is, we need to troubleshoot your phone to know why this problem occurs and what needs to be done to get rid of the error message as well as fix the real problem for good. But just be go to the steps, here’s one of the problems from our readers that best describes this error…

Problem: Everytime I dial a phone number there is a box that pops up saying “Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped.” It started showing up about a couple of days ago but prior to that, I noticed by phone to have slowed down a bit and then there were instances that it would freeze for a second or two. I don’t quite understand why it’s doing this and I understand it might be an app crashing but there’s no app with that name in my phone. Oh by the way, my phone is a Galaxy J3 and I bought it brand new in February. It’s frustrating because I cannot dial a number without being greeted by this error. Please help. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: It’s not the first time that we’ve encountered this problem. In fact, since we started providing support to our readers, we’ve already seen a lot of complaints that are similar to this one. It doesn’t only happen to the Galaxy J3, other Android owners, regardless of the brand and model of the phone, may still encounter this kind of error as it is more of a core android process that’s crashing. That said, here’s what you need to do to troubleshoot your phone plagued by this error:

Step 1: Reboot your Galaxy J3 in safe mode and try making a call

Let’s try to isolate the problem immediately to know if it’s caused by one or some of third-party apps installed on your phone or if it’s an issue with the firmware itself. Booting your phone in safe mode means you’re running it in its diagnostic mode, which disables all third-party app. This is how you start your J3 in safe mode…

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the problem still occurs while the phone is in this mode, then it might be an issue with app or the firmware itself. However, if it’s fixed, then there’s one or two third-party app that’s causing it. You have to find that app and uninstall it to fix the problem. I understand it’s easier said than done but begin your search from app installations that happen to be in the same timeline as the problem started to occur. You may uninstall more than one app but if that’s what it takes to fix this problem, then it’s worth it.

Step 2: Clear the cache and data of the process and app that’s using it

We need to reset both the process that’s crashing as well as the app that’s using it. So, in this case, we will be clearing the cache and data of both the process com.android.phone and the Phone app. But before you actually do that, make a backup of your contacts as well as your call logs if necessary, then follow these steps:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager
Tap the com.android.phone.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

Just follow the same steps in resetting the phone app but look for Phone instead of com.android.phone. After resetting them, restart your phone to normal mode to refresh its memory. If the problem still occurs, then do the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system cache so they’ll be replaced

We’ve seen a lot of times that system caches get corrupted for some reason and it often occurs when the firmware is updated to a new version. They can also be corrupted when the phone suffers other firmware issues that have impact on the performance of the phone. That’s why it’s better to delete them more often so the system will replace them.

Since you don’t have access to individual caches, you should boot your phone in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition from there. Don’t worry, none of your data will be deleted. Here’s how you do it:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

It may take a little longer for the phone to boot up after this but wait until the device becomes fully active and then try to make a call to see if the error still shows up and if so, then you have no other option but to do the next step.

Step 4: Backup your data and reset your phone

At this point, you really need to reset your phone as the problem might be caused by a firmware issue that just started. Backup all your personal files and data such as your contacts, pictures, videos, etc., then disable anti-theft by following these steps:

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

Now, you’re ready to reset your device…

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

The error message “Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped” might also be a sign of corrupt firmware. So, if the error still shows up after the reset, then the firmware has to be reinstalled. Bring the phone to the store or shop and let the tech take care of it for you.

CONNECT WITH US

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

How to fix a Samsung Galaxy J3 that won’t turn on, stuck on black screen (easy steps)

When your Samsung Galaxy J3 refuses to power on, it likely denotes a hardware issue otherwise, software malfunction. If the problem occurs after you dropped your phone or got it wet, then most likely it’s hardware damage and therefore needs repair or service. On the other hand, you may consider it a software issue if it suddenly occurs to your phone that couldn’t power on without any prior instances of dropping or liquid exposure on the phone. In this case, your phone has power but something is making it stuck on black screen. To fix the problem, you will need to identify the culprit and get rid of it.

For software-related issues like when your phone is stuck on black screen, there are some workarounds you can try to troubleshoot software errors on your Samsung Galaxy J3 that might have prevented it from booting up. This post will walk you through the entire process, so go ahead and attempt to save your phone before procuring a new one.

For owners who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting guide for we have already addressed many of the problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you still need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Potential solutions to fix Galaxy J7 that won’t turn on or stuck on black screen

Highlighted below are potential solutions and recommended workarounds that can help fix your Samsung Galaxy J3 that won’t power on or has power but couldn’t complete the bootup process as it gets stuck on black screen.

Plug your phone into a wall outlet then let it charge for about 1 hour.

One possibility that you need to consider in this case is that your phone might have completely ran out of battery and therefore, all it needed is a recharge to be able to power up again. The battery indicator may take up to 10 minutes to show up on the phone’s screen especially if the battery was completely drained.

Make sure that all your charging equipment is working to rule charging issue out from the possible causes. If you have an extra charger that’s compatible with your Galaxy J3, try to use it and see if that makes a difference. Also verify that the USB cable is not damaged and the USB connection is firm with very little mobility. Check the USB connections for bent pins or corrosion.

Force your phone to restart while plugged into a charger.

A forced restart works the same as a soft reset that fixes minor software glitches that caused your device to not work as intended. It’s also a safe process since it will not affect your phone data. Here’s what you should do then.

While plugged into a wall outlet, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for about 10 to 20 seconds or until the Samsung logo appears. This might help if your device is just frozen and stuck on black screen but still has power.

Remove and then replace the battery.

Removing and reinserting the battery might be the solution especially if the problem has something to do with a dislodged battery. Similar to a soft reset and forced restart, battery removal can likewise help fix minor software glitches affecting the phone’s power functions. Here’s how to do so:

Ensure your device is powered off.
Place your phone in face down position.
Use the notch found on the upper-left corner to gently lift and remove the battery cover.
Locate the other notch on the lower-right corner of the battery then lift the battery out.
When the battery is removed, carefully inspect for any sign of damage like swelling or discoloration. If there is none, reinsert the battery.
Be sure to alight the gold battery contacts with the contacts in the battery compartment then gently press it into place.
Align the battery cover then gently press to snap the cover into place.

Then attempt to power on by pressing the Power button for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If it turns on, then you’re good. If it doesn’t, move on to the next workaround.

Remove external storage media like SD card from your device.

Broken file segments or corrupt contents on the SD card inserted in your phone can also be the root cause. It’s similar to what happens on some computers that couldn’t boot up with the external storage media or peripheral devices attached. To make sure this isn’t causing your trouble, try to remove any microSD card from your phone’s SD card slot and then reattempt to turn it on.

Unmounting the microSD card before removing it is recommended but since this couldn’t be done since your phone is dead in the first place, just go ahead and remove the SD card from the slot. Once the card is removed, press the Power button again until your phone powers on.

Connect your phone to a computer then attempt to restore firmware with Samsung Kies.

If you have an available computer with Samsung Kies software installed, try to use it in saving your device. Connect your Galaxy J3 to your computer using the supplied USB connector and if possible, restore the stock firmware on your device. The process permanently deletes all personal information from your device. Here’s how it’s actually done:

Open Kies on your computer then go to Tools-> Firmware Upgrade and Installation.
Enter your device Model name and then click OK.
Next enter the S/N number of your device and click OK.
Wait for Kies to verify that the feature is available for your device. If it is available, click OK to proceed.
You will see the firmware version along with a note that the information on your device will be permanently deleted during the process. Click OK to continue.
Follow the onscreen instructions to ready your device for emergency recovery.
Put a checkmark on the box next to I have read all of the above information.
Connect your device to Kies.
If prompted, click the Start upgrade button to reinstall the firmware on your device.
Kies will then download and prepare your system to update the firmware. The entire process can take some time to finish depending on your network and computer specs.
Respond to any security prompts and wait until the upgrade process is complete. When it’s finished, click OK.

You may then disconnect your device from your computer or allow it to fully charge before using.

Other Suggestions

Reset your phone system if possible. If you were able to bring your Galaxy J3 back to life after performing the above procedures, then go ahead and reset your Galaxy J3 in recovery mode. Why? Because, something has your phone system to crash and get stuck on black screen. It can be a system bug, corrupt file, or rogue app that’s preventing your device from powering up or finishing the bootup process. Performing a full system reset will eliminate whatever the culprit is and thereby prevents your device from getting stuck again when booting.
Replace the battery. If you suspect that the battery might have been damaged, then try to replace it with a new one and see if that yields a positive outcome.
Inspect the SIM tray slot for damage. Aside from the USB connections and charging equipment, also inspect the Liquid Damage Indicator in the SIM tray slot.

When to escalate the problem?

A defective hardware component on your Samsung Galaxy J3 is most likely to blame if your device still doesn’t power on after doing all prior workarounds. At this point, your next option is either to escalate the problem to Samsung or schedule for a service center visit.

You may contact your carrier or Samsung Support to escalate the issue and seek further recommendations but if calling is not your option or you couldn’t reach or get help from the support team, then just take your device to a service center instead and have it diagnosed by a technician.

Connect with us

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

Posts you may also like to read:

Samsung Galaxy J3 gets stuck on boot screen after rebooting [Troubleshooting Guide]

Read and understand why your Samsung Galaxy J3 can sometimes get stuck on the boot screen and learn how to troubleshoot it when it happens.

Getting stuck on the boot screen could be a sign of a serious firmware issue, however, based on our experiences, there are cases wherein the phone cannot boot up successfully and end up getting stuck on the logo or black screen during the boot up process due to apps that crash. The point is, we really don’t know what’s happening with your phone if it won’t continue booting up to the home screen. This is the reason why we need to troubleshoot your phone.

So, in this post, I will tackle this problem with the Samsung Galaxy J3 being the subject of our troubleshooting. We will try to look into each possibility and rule out each of them until we can pinpoint what the problem with your phone is. That way, it would easier to fix it and make it start successfully again. So, if you own this amazing device and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading below to know what to do.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J3 that’s stuck on the boot screen

Problem: Hello droid guys. I have a Galaxy J3 smartphone I bought online for a fair price. It’s been like 4 or 5 months since I got it ever since, I never encountered issues with it until recently when it decided to reboot on its own. I’m not really a tech guy so I don’t know what happened to it. It just rebooted on its own while I was using and when it finally started to boot up, it got stuck on a black screen after the Samsung logo. Sometimes it gets stuck on the logo but most of the time, it’s just black screen. I am hoping that you guys can help me out to bring the phone back to life. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: As I said earlier, this problem could be the doing of some of the apps you installed or it’s a sign of a more serious firmware problem. Let us try to rule out one possibility after another because while this problem seems complex, more often, it’s not and hopefully we can fix it with the steps below.

Step 1: Try to do the soft reset to find out if it can make a difference

There are times when apps and the firmware glitch and when it happens, a lot of things can happen and more often, they’re performance-related. It includes apps crashing, phone lagging and freezing, random and frequent reboots and this–getting stuck on boot screen.

These glitches can be fixed by a simple reboot procedure and we want you to do that, which I think, you already did. If the reboot doesn’t fix the problem, then you should do the soft reset. Don’t worry, it’s a very simple procedure to do. You just have to remove the back cover and then pull the battery out. While the battery is out, press and hold the Power key for a minute. This will drain all stored electricity in some of the components inside and refresh the phone’s memory.

After which, place the back in and then the back cover. Just make sure the battery is properly inserted with connectors touching each other. Lastly, try to turn the phone on and see if it can boot up successfully.

Step 2: Try to reboot your phone in Safe mode to see if third-party apps caused it

Now, we’re in the point wherein we need to rule out the possibility that one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. The rationale behind this procedure is this: if the problem is caused by a third-party app, then your J3 should be able to boot up in safe mode successfully considering the fact that third-party elements won’t be loaded during boot up. So, here’s how you start your Galaxy J3 in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

Now, if the phone successfully started up in this mode, then our suspicion that at least a third-party causes the problem is confirmed. In that case, move on to the next step, otherwise, jump to step 4.

Step 3: Find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it

You only have to do this if your phone has successfully started up in Safe mode because it means that one or some of the third-party app you installed or downloaded from the Play Store is causing the problem. All you gotta do is find it and then uninstall it. I suggest you begin your search from apps you installed when the problem started. Once you already have a suspect, follow these steps to uninstall it:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If this doesn’t work or if your phone cannot boot in safe mode, then move on to the next step.

Step 4: Try booting up your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

This procedure will delete all system caches but they will actually be replaced with new ones, so you’re not just deleting them. The point is, this procedure is very important because it makes sure the caches the firmware uses are not corrupt or obsolete.

I’m not sure if your Galaxy J3 received a firmware update because you said it just rebooted on its own after that, it could no longer continue to the home screen. Firmware updates have a tendency to corrupt caches and when it happens, performance issues may occur. So, you need to rule out the possibility that this problem is caused by some of the caches that got corrupted. Here’s how you do it:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

It may take a few more seconds than usual before the phone becomes active so if the phone cannot immediately boot up, just wait a little longer. But 3 minutes is long enough to know if the phone is still stuck on the boot screen or not. So, if it cannot reach the home screen in 3 minutes, it may still be stuck.

Step 5: Make a backup of your important files and data and reset your phone

After doing the previous steps and the phone still cannot continue booting up, then it’s time to just backup your files and data and bring the phone back to its factory default settings. I suggest you reset it through the Recovery mode as both the cache and data partitions will be reformatted so it’s more thorough than the reset via Settings menu. However, make sure you know your Google ID and password as you may be locked out of your phone after the reset if you don’t. Better yet, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) but following these steps:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap Menu.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

Now, to reset your phone via Android system recovery, follow these steps:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope the problem gets fixed by one of these steps but if it won’t, then it’s time you brought the phone to a shop and have the tech take a look at it for you.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J3 that keeps freezing, lagging and gets stuck on the logo

Problem: It’s been a year now that I bought this cheap phone when my Galaxy S5 was lost. It’s the J3; it was cheap and a really good replacement phone. Well anyways, I was planning to buy a new but this phone never gave up on me and it was working really great for a year. Then, it started to freeze, lag and just yesterday, it can no longer reach the home screen. I didn’t expect much from it and I thought it might be time to buy a new one but I just want it to work just in case I’m gonna need it again. So can you help me? Thank you.

Troubleshooting: It is clear enough that your phone’s performance was the one that suffered from this issue. First, it slowed down and then this–stuck on the boot screen. While the Galaxy J3 has received positive review for its specs despite being an entry-level device, we can already expect it to slow down after months of use and that’s what happened. So, here’s what I suggest you do about it:

Step 1: Find out immediately if third-party apps have something to do with it

We need to know how the phone behaves when all third-party apps are disabled that’s why it’s imperative you start your phone up in safe mode. Now, if the phone successfully boots up in this mode, it is almost certain third-party apps caused the problem especially if the freezes and the lags disappeared.

In this case, finding the app that’s causing the problem and uninstalling it would be your best bet but I know it sounds easier than said. So, try to find suspects starting from the apps you installed shortly prior to the freezing and lagging.

If backing up your data and files and doing the reset is a lot quicker and easier for you, then you should do it for as long as the phone has successfully booted up in safe mode. Reset your device via the Settings menu, here’s how…

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.
From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Backup and restore.
If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset device.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.

However, if the phone cannot boot up in safe mode, then the next might help.

Step 2: Attempt to boot your phone in Recovery mode

We simply want to know if it’s still capable of booting up in this mode because it can, then we are almost sure the problem can be fixed. You just have to try wiping the cache partition and if that won’t then you must go with the reset. Of course, your files and data won’t be backed up so it’s up to you if you want to go with it bring the phone to the tech.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

Connect with us

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

What to do if your Samsung Galaxy J3 is stuck on the logo and won’t boot up [Troubleshooting Guide]

Getting stuck on the logo while booting up is a sign of a firmware issue but whether or not it’s serious or minor, we have to dig deeper to know. We have received a lot of complaints from the owners of the Samsung Galaxy J3 that have experienced this kind of problem. According to many of them, the phone just won’t boot up or can’t get past the logo for some reason.

In this post, I will tackle this kind of problem with the Galaxy J3 being the subject or our troubleshooting. We will look into possibilities and causes and try to rule out each one of them so that we can come up with a conclusion that may point out what the real culprit is. If you own this nice phone and are currently bugged by a similar problem, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you fix it.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 that gets stuck on the logo during boot up

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know what the problem is so we can do something about it. This kind of problem hinders you from using your phone so it has to be fixed as soon as possible. Before we jump into our troubleshooting steps, here’s one of the messages we received that best explains this issue:

Problem: Hi guys. I hope y’all doing great. I have a problem with my phone and I think it’s a serious one. But before I tell you what it is, I just want you to know that I’m always taking good care of all my devices and this one hasn’t been dropped nor submerged in water so it’s neither physical nor liquid damage. My phone is a Galaxy J3, it’s cheaper compared to other Galaxy devices but it gets the job done. However, a few days back, it rebooted on its own and could no longer boot up or reach the home screen. It gets stuck on the logo when I reboot it and it stays there until the battery is drained out and yes, I’ve tried leaving it alone until the battery ran out. Since then I haven’t been able to use it so I need your help to fix this. What must I do?

Troubleshooting: Please go through the steps below to try and fix this kind of problem with your Galaxy J3.

Step 1: Reboot your phone in safe mode so third-party apps will be disabled

It’s always possible that one or some of the third-party apps on your phone is causing this problem. We’ve seen a lot of cases like this that were caused by third-party apps so we have to tackle this possibility first and rule it out. By booting your phone in safe mode, you’re temporarily disabling all third-party apps so if the problem is caused by one of them, your phone should be able to boot up successfully. Here’s how to start your J3 in safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

If the phone successfully booted up in this mode, then it confirms our theory that at least a third-party app is preventing your phone from booting up successfully. So, the next thing you should do is find the app that’s causing the problem, clear its cache and data first, and if that won’t work, uninstall it.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

How to uninstall app from your Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Every after you cleared the cache and data of an app, you have to try to boot your phone normally to see if the problem gets fixed, if not, then you have to boot in safe mode again, uninstall the app and try to normally start your phone. You may have to uninstall more than one app to know which of them is causing the problem.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

You only have to do this if your phone cannot boot if safe mode successfully because it might be a problem with the firmware. Phones that have issues with their firmware can sure boot in recovery mode as it is their fail-safe. However, instead of doing a reset, we have to try to wipe the cache partition first to delete all system caches so they’ll be replaced. It’s an effective method to fix this kind of problem but there’s no guarantee. The good thing when it works is that, you don’t have to go through the hassle of backing up all your files and data as none of them will be delete. Here’s how you do it on your Galaxy J3:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

It will take a little bit longer for the phone to reboot after wiping the cache partition as it will rebuild caches that were deleted. However, if the phone is still stuck on the logo after this, then you have no other option but to reset your phone.

Step 3: Reboot in Recovery Mode and Master Reset your device

Assuming the phone can successfully boot up in safe mode but still gets stuck on the logo if started in normal mode, then you can still backup your files and data and then disable the Factory Reset Protection prior to the reset. To backup your data, simply sync your phone with your Google account and then copy your files to your SD card or computer. The FRP, however, has to be disabled so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset especially if you don’t know what your Google ID and password is. This is how you do it:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap Menu.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

After this, I suggest you reset your phone through the Settings menu to prevent further complications…

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.
From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Backup and restore.
If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset device.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.

However, if your phone cannot boot up in safe mode, then you have to reset your phone via the Recovery mode but sad to say all your files and data will be deleted and can no longer be restored.

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

Connect with us

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

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) that became very slow [Troubleshooting Guide]

Read to understand why a supposedly fast entry-level device like the #Samsung Galaxy #J3 (2016) becomes so slow after a few months of use and what you should do to make it run faster again.

Performance issues are among the things you may experience if you own a smartphone. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy J3, the problem might be due to some factors which may have something to do with its technical specifications and the apps the owner used when the issue occurred. It’s also possible that some of the apps crashed to the point that the operation of the firmware got affected or it could be an issue with the firmware itself.

In this post, I will tackle this issue as we’ve received quite a lot of complaints from Galaxy J3 owners who reportedly experienced having their device run very slow. There could be other performance issues you may encounter and we will have to tackle them in our future posts. Now, for owners who have the problem, continue reading as this post may be able to help you regain the original performance of your device.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 that’s running very slow

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for you to know what the problem is all about, why it occurs and how to get rid of the error message. There’s no guarantee of a fix especially if the problem is caused by a serious firmware or hardware issue, however, don’t let it stop you from doing what you can in bringing your phone back to its original performance. Now, before we go to our troubleshooting, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers…

Problem: Hi guys. My phone is the Galaxy J3 and recently I noticed that it doesn’t load apps as quick as it once was. For instance, before when I open view my text messages, it only takes a second or two to open the app but now it takes forever and when it finally launches, the phone seems to lag. It also happens to other apps like the Gallery and Camera and others. I’m not really sure what the problem really is but my phone annoyingly slow and I just want it to run like before. Can you help? Thanks.

Now that I’ve shown you how this problem happens, it’s time we jumped right into our troubleshooting and here are the steps:

Step 1: Reboot your Galaxy J3 in Safe mode to see if performance improves

Before we actually do some troubleshooting procedures that may have direct impact on your phone’s overall performance, it’s better that we try to see if the third-party apps installed on your phone have something to do with the problem because if they do, then we’re already halfway through solving the problem.

This is how you start your phone up in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

While your device is in this mode, continue using it and compare its performance when it’s in normal mode. If there’s a noticeable difference, that is if it executes commands quicker, then the problem is caused by one or some of the third-party apps.

Find the culprit and then try to clear its cache and data to reset it and if that won’t work, you have no other option but to uninstall it.

This is how you reset an app on the J3:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager
Tap the suspected app.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

To uninstall an app, just follow the same procedure but hit uninstall.

I understand that it’s easier said than done, so if it’s difficult to pinpoint which app is causing the problem and if you think backing up your files and data would be quicker than finding the culprit, then I suggest you do the reset instead. But please note that you only do this if the phone’s performance in safe mode is better than when it’s in normal mode because it’s apparent that it’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem and the reset should fix it.

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

After the reset, don’t install anything yet and continue your observation to know if the phone works properly now. After which, restore your data and files but continue to observe the performance of your device.

However, if the performance of your phone still sucks while in safe mode, then it’s possible that it’s experiencing a firmware issue, so move on to the next step.

Step 2: Delete the system caches as they may have been corrupted

There are always times when system caches get corrupted and when the firmware continues to use them, there would be adverse effects on your phone’s performance. A system cache is a temporary file created by the system for each service or app that runs. It helps to make everything buttery smooth but when it gets corrupted, errors may occur or your phone may suffer from freezing, lagging, slowing down, rebooting or even shutting down without apparent reason.

It’s better that you have to delete the caches from time to time so that the system will replace them with new files but since you don’t have access to individual caches, you would have to delete the entire content of the cache partition and you can do that by booting your phone in Recovery mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

It may take a little longer for your phone to reboot after clearing the cache partition but just wait for it to become active and then continue your observation if there’s an improvement in the performance. If it’s still slow, then the last step should take care of the problem.

Step 3: Master reset your Galaxy J3

At this point, it’s better to resort to a more general troubleshooting procedure as you’ve already done the basic but to no avail. This procedure will reformat the cache and data partitions as well as delete all your files and data and bring the phone back to its default factory settings. So, make sure you make a backup of your important files, pictures, music, etc. as they will be deleted and can no longer be recovered after this:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

I hope this guide can help you make your phone run faster again.

CONNECT WITH US

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

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) that keeps showing “Unfortunately, Google App has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

We received quite a lot of messages from our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy J3 complaining about the error message “Unfortunately, Google App has stopped” which according to them, keeps on showing without apparent reason or cause. Obviously, the error message is notifying you about a certain Google App that stopped working but the funny thing is, “Google App” cover a group of apps and services that run in the background.

One of the most common effects of this error message is a non functioning keyboard. Others said their phones became really slow before and after the error showed up. Whatever the signs maybe, the error remains the same and we may be able to fix it and that’s the very purpose of this post. If you’re one of the owners of the J3 and are currently experiencing the same issue, then continue reading as this article may be able to help you.

For owners who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting guide for we have already addressed many of the problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you still need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J3 with “Google App has stopped” error

Problem: Hi guys. My Galaxy J3 seems to have a serious problem right now. It started showing the error message “Unfortunately, Google App has stopped” since around 3 days ago. I’m not really sure what happened then or what triggered it but my keyboard no longer functions now that this error keeps showing. I also noticed that the phone no longer opens apps as fast as before so there must be something wrong with it I just don’t know where and how to fix it. Can you guys help me?

Troubleshooting: There’s no denying that Google App is one of the core services necessary to make your phone work flawlessly. When it crashes, a lot of thing could be affected so it’s just fitting to do something about it. With that being said, here’s what I suggest you do to fix it:

Step 1: Force Restart your Galaxy J3

It’s possible that Google App stopped working due to a glitch. So, the first thing I want you to do is to refresh your phone’s memory by doing the Forced Restart procedure, which is equivalent to the battery pull procedure we often do to phones with removable batteries.

What it does is reboot your phone like it usually does but before that, the device’s memory is refreshed as it will simulate battery disconnect. To do this, press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys together for 10 seconds. Your phone will reboot normally so continue observing it for the same error. If it still shows after this procedure, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Use the phone in Safe mode

We will now try to isolate the problem to know if third-party apps have something to do with it. Reboot your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. If the cause of the problem is one of the apps you downloaded, then the error shouldn’t show up while in this mode.

Here’s how you boot your J3 in Safe mode…

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ 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’.

Assuming the error doesn’t show up in safe mode, find the app that’s causing the problem and then uninstall it.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If the error still shows up in this mode, however, then you have to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Clear cache and data of Google App

This procedure will delete all possible corrupt caches and data of Google App. When it comes to app-related concerns, clearing an app’s cache and data is the most effective procedure to fix them that’s why I want you to do this after you’ve done the first two steps.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Swipe left a few times to display apps under All tab, then tap Google App.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

You may have to reboot your phone after this and continue your observation to know if the error still shows up. If it does, then do the next steps.

Step 4: Wipe the cache partition

Wiping the cache partition will delete all system caches and eliminates the possibility that this problem is caused by some caches that have been corrupted or became obsolete. It’s a very effective procedure when it comes to dealing with firmware related problems but safe for your data and files as none of them will be deleted.

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Your phone will take a little more time booting up as it will rebuild the caches. Continue your observation to know if the error still pops up after this and if it does, then you have no other choice but to do the next step.

Step 5: Backup your files and reset your phone

This is your last resort and it should fix this problem. The reason why it comes at the end is because of the hassle you will have to go through backing up your files and data and restoring them after the reset. With that being said, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data, then follow these steps to reset your phone:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
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).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope this helps.

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