Being a #Samsung flagship phablet does not make it immune to problems. Today, we discuss boot and power problems on the relatively new #GalaxyNote5.

These are the specific topics in this post:

1. Galaxy Note 5 and Factory Reset Protection
2. Cannot log in to Galaxy Note 5 due to Factory Reset Protection (FRP)
3. Defective charging port on Galaxy Note 5
4. How to recover contacts on Galaxy Note 5
5. T-Mobile Galaxy Note 5 won’t boot after an update
6. Water damage on Galaxy Note 5

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

Problem #1: Galaxy Note 5 and Factory Reset Protection

I read your previous troubleshooting issues and one in particular that pertains to not being able to sign in through Google. You stated that there may be a 72 hour period that needs to expire before trying to sign back in as needed extra security feature. Well after purchasing my new Galaxy Note 5 and using fingerprint security, I was locked out of my phone for good.  It didn’t read my fingerprint after several attempts and i had to use my secondary security features which was a password. It didn’t take that as I may have inputted the wrong password.

Well after a week of going back and forth with Samsung, Verizon and Google no one could figure it out.  Also I’d like to add that I changed my Google password and was able to log into my account on my phone but never was able to get back into my phone. I also did Factory reset and brought it to Samsung. Consequently I was given a new phone. — Juan

Solution: Hi Juan. Good to hear that you were able to resolve the issue by getting a replacement phone. We do encounter issues like yours from time to time and we know that some of them don’t have a happy ending. We don’t work for Google and Samsung so we really can’t get any deeper to check how the new Factory Data Reset feature is coded. All the information we get about this feature are taken from publicly published information site of Samsung.

We do notice that FRP usually fails for devices that are offline during the log in attempts. FRP seems to work fine when a device is able to authenticate the backup password with Google servers. We know that Samsung and Google’s intention with this feature is good but it obviously can use some improvements at this time.

For the benefit of others reading this post, we recommend that you keep a copy of your Google account credentials somewhere to prevent Juan’s problem in the future. Keep in mind that a Google account does not necessarily need to be a Gmail account. It can be any email from other providers. If you have multiple email accounts, try to make some effort to put a system in place to allow you to remember your Google account. Factory Reset Protection appears to be here to stay as more and more devices are being upgraded to Lollipop so you need your Google account handy more often in the future.

Remember, it’s not Google’s or Samsung’s responsibility to remind you what your credentials are.

Problem #2: Cannot log in to Galaxy Note 5 due to Factory Reset Protection (FRP)

Last night I having some chips and cookies . Then I received a message that my device (which is Note 5 ) was on fingerprint security lock. I quickly tried to unlock it but it didn’t recognized my thumb. Then it asked for backup password which I’ve forgotten. I tried all I had in my mind. So I was still stuck on the lock screen. So the device asked me about Google account which I thankfully remember. And then it asked for net or network  connection. As I was totally out of luck, my 3G data and Wi-Fi were turned off. So the bottom line I’m still stuck on lock screen.

I’m out of options here so i want your help. Please tell me somehow by freaking way how I should connect Internet on my device then i would easily unlock it by myself. As per your instructions.

Otherwise, suppose I’m unable to connect it with net, then how should I unlock it? By the way, not to mention my device is (FRP) protected so I can’t go so hard reset and my previous 9-years worth of data pictures and videos (contacts 1496) will be lost.

Please help me by any means. All I’m able to do with my device is receiving calls  and nothing else.

So dear Sir/Madam I’m desperately waiting for your response. — Aamir

Solution: Hi Aamir. We’re sorry to hear your situation but as what we discussed with Juan’s case above, the only way to gain access to your personal data is by unlocking your phone as per the phone’s direction (which we know is no longer possible because the device is offline). If you have a Samsung store in your area, we recommend that you follow Juan’s lead and ask for a replacement unit instead. This is the best thing that you can do under these circumstances.

Problem #3: Defective charging port on Galaxy Note 5

I purchased this Samsung Galaxy Note 5 a few days ago and when I charged it, there were too many problems with it. PLEASE HELP ME! I don’t know who else to go to anymore.

1) The cable, when plugged into the phone, was really loose-fitting.

2) The light from the cable lights up, but the phone still says, “Connect your charger.”

3) I had to move the cable around a little for the light to even light up.

4) I have been charging this phone for hours and it is still dying.

5) I tried to contact Samsung Customer Support, but the agent told me to just buy an alternative AND to contact the place I purchased this phone from. Even when I asked him how long my phone is supposed to last since it only lasted 3-5 hours, he told me to address my problem to the place that I purchased the tablet from.

I know I may be asking too much from you, but please… PLEASE help me on this. I would really appreciate it! — Lisa

Solution: Hi Lisa. The only thing that we can say right now is that your Note 5 may be a lemon. A newly opened Galaxy Note 5 has a partially charged battery so it should allow you to use it for a couple of hours before dying. That the charging port does not fit well is another evidence that this device may be defective. Frankly, there’s not much that we can do about it either. Just like what Samsung told you, your best option right now is to bring it back to the retailer so you can have it replaced.

Problem #4: How to recover contacts on Galaxy Note 5

Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Crashed. Power won’t come on. Battery was full, then at 49% but now not sure. Sometimes the SAMSUNG screen shows. Sometimes the SAMSUNG screen then the 2nd Samsung Galaxy Note 5 screen shows. Twice, since the issue began, the Home screen showed for seconds up to maybe two minutes. Cell Phone reStore company in Houston looked at it thinking it was some internal component that might not be set correctly so they opened it and applied targeted heat. Nothing.

Since that “service” only the SAMSUNG screen appears – except once the 2nd screen appeared again – but the Home screen has not appeared.  I attempted all the steps your site mentioned even more — nothing.

I tried the button actions – nothing.  Most important is that the phone did not saved photos to my External SD card – only the SIM SD Card.

I’m not tech wise so I had no idea that a recommended practice was to link to Google and Google+…so many of my contacts are on the internal memory of the phone.  I don’t care if the phone can’t be fixed. But I need my contacts and photos.  Can you help or make a specific recommendation which I can do. I am in Houston, Texas. — Carl

Solution: Hi Carl. Frankly, if those contacts were not linked to any cloud service or account (like Facebook or Google+), they are simply good as gone at this time. Your best bet is to have the phone checked for hardware defects (like verifying if the Power and Volume buttons) are working so you can try to boot it in other mode, preferably safe mode. There’s no way to recover a locally saved information that we know.

Problem #5: T-Mobile Galaxy Note 5 won’t boot after an update

For the last week, T-Mobile has been sending me a software update for my phone. On Sunday morning 12/5/15 i clicked to update and it said my phone would be out of commission until the update is completed. After the updated was completed, my phone is no longer a touch screen phone; it has become an only stylist phone.

I took it in to my T-Mobile dealer and they tried rebooting the phone with the old features and the phone will still only work with the stylist. I was there for over an hour. The Galaxy Note 5 is a great phone and it is frustrating that T-Mobile created and caused this problem and now my phone wont function properly.

I am going back to the dealer after work today to see if they can do anything about this problem. Please let me know if you are able to correct this problem. — Anthony

Solution: Hi Anthony. Since your carrier has already checked your unit, they are in the right position to know what the best solution is. Our blog is limited to providing basic software troubleshooting and some guidance. If you haven’t tried booting the phone in recovery mode, we suggest that you do it now (though we think it’s been attempted by T-Mobile staff previously). Recovery mode is a special runtime environment where a user can wipe the phone’s cache partition and perform a master reset. If your Note 5 fails to boot in this mode, there may be a hardware failure behind the trouble. In that case, the only remaining options for you are either warranty repair or replacement.

Problem #6: Water damage on Galaxy Note 5

I dropped my phone in water and immediately pulled it out. There was a case on the phone at the time, but obviously it didn’t protect it. I pulled it out of the case, and powered off the phone. I dried it off and then took off the back cover and the back was wet so i dried that also (with a towel) then took out the SD and SIM cards. I did not have any rice so i just left it on a table for a few hours screen down.

When I put it back together everything was working fine except for one noticeable thing. It seems as though water is stuck under the menu key (i think it is to the left of home button) and when on the home screen, it goes into widget mode back and forth, as if i was pressing the menu key very fast, I can feel rapid vibrations, but when i turned off haptic feedback they disappeared. If I open Messages or Phone the menu pops up very fast and makes it difficult to type or do anything. Also S Finder pops up a lot too in the middle of something. Occasionally, the menu will stop popping up if i put it at an angle but will soon come back.

I am only safe from the Spazzy menu in the settings app. I think that there is just a small amount of water stuck under the menu key.

I would really like some feedback from you. I trust your site, and have used it to aid multiple problems in other phones before. I hope that you can help diagnose the problem and find a solution. I do not want to buy a new screen because I just did that a few months ago (on another phone) and it was expensive. I think that I just need to take this screen off, clean the button, and put it back on. But I would like to leave the help to the professionals. Thanks for your feedback! — Johnny

Solution: Hi Johnny. As much as we would like to help you, there’s simply nothing that you can do on your end to fix this problem unless you can manage to disassemble the phone, clean the internal components, check the integrity of the entire circuitry, and replace damage parts. Even then, doing all these won’t guarantee a fully working system. Water damage is almost always fatal for an electronic device. We don’t know what components have been shorted at this time and checking everything is very demanding. Just like Anthony above, your only options right now are repair or replacement.

Similar reading Things to do when you have a water-damaged Android phone

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