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Samsung Galaxy Note 5 can’t get past the setup page after the reset & other firmware related problems

I addressed a few firmware related problems that any Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (#Samsung #GalaxyNote5) owner may encounter. The first problem is about the issue that the phone can’t get past the setup page after the reset. For those who don’t know yet, there’s a security feature that temporarily locks out even the owner. It can be triggered if the account that is associated with the phone got its password reset and then followed by a factory reset on the phone. The phone will be locked out for 72 hours.

Samsung-Galaxy-Note-5-Smart-Network-Switch

Read on to know more of the problems I cited here and how to tackle them. If you were trying to find solutions to a different issue, visit our Galaxy Note 5 troubleshooting page where we list down every problem we address each week. Try to find issues related to yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they won’t work, then you may contact us by filling up this questionnaire.

Here are the problems I addressed in this post…

Galaxy Note 5 asks for owners account info after reset (Verizon)

Problem: My company purchased a Note 5 for a new employee.  He did not last, it did not end well.  We have the device but he added his private google account to the phone and attached to his own phone number to the device.  Because he put a private, not corp, phone number on the device Verizon will not help.  We got the employee to enter his account info once and do a wipe.  The phone now asks for the account again.  I have done multiple wipes/data deletions etc using the home/volume/power keys but the device asks for the account info.  Samsung will not help, this is an expensive paper weight at this point what can I do?

Suggestion: Wait for 72 hours. It’s an added security feature that can be triggered when the user resets his Google password and the phone which the account is associated with is reset. When this occurs, you will be stuck on the screen that asks for the account info or credentials and you can’t get past that until 72 hours (since the reset) have elapsed. There’s no working around it unless you manually flash a firmware to the phone to override the existing one, but that too, is very risky and will surely void the warranty if Knox counter is tripped. So, just wait it out. Your provider can’t help you, Samsung won’t help you and Google will advice you to wait for 72 hours.

Galaxy Note 5 won’t auto-connect to mobile data

Problem: This problem has been going on. Since I bought my phone not two months ago. When I am in a place indoors that has no connection and then come back outside to areas where I do have connection, I still get the greyed out signal bars with the x icon. This issue does not go areas way and the phone does not read text service until I restart my phone which can get very annoying. Any help would be appreciated! I have tried doing a “soft reset” by clicking the mobile data icon off and then on, but this does not help. I have no issues connecting to wifi, but the mobile data just seems to be the issue. When I go to my settings the access point name for Verizon is grayed out. I don’t know if that helps or not.

Troubleshooting: It will take some time for the phone to detect and reconnect to the cellular network and if the coverage is weak, it may not be able to reconnect automatically without rebooting the phone. It may be remedied by changing the Network Mode:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Touch Settings and then Mobile networks.
  3. Tap Network mode and choose GSM/UMTS.

As to the internet that won’t automatically reconnect via mobile data, there’s also a settings for that.

  1. Swipe down from the top of the screen.
  2. Tap and hold the Wi-Fi icon.
  3. Touch More.
  4. Touch Smart Network Switch.
  5. Touch On to enable it.
  6. Your phone will now automatically reconnect to mobile data network if it’s out of range of the Wi-Fi network.

Can’t setup the Note 5 after factory reset

Problem: Hello! I have a huge problem my brother got a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 a month ago and he recently got deployed to Afghanistan. He let me have his phone. He rebooted the phone and everything so when I turn it on its like a brand new phone then it asks me to enter my google email and password that came with the phone and my brother doesn’t remember the email or password is there a way to fix this issue?

Troubleshooting: Your brother didn’t just rebooted it, he did a reset to wipe everything in it. Now, the phone can’t get past the setup page. This problem is the same as the previous issue and the solution to this is to wait for 72 hours before you can successfully set it up. You may enter your own account after that time has elapsed. So, as of now, just let the phone be as there’s no working around it.

Galaxy Note 5 entered boot loop after a restart

Problem: When I press task manager on my Note 5 I restarted my phone and when it boot up. I thought I could finally use it but it’s continuously rebooting and I could not shut it off.

Troubleshooting: First of all, check if the Power key is stuck. Try pressing it many times to see if you can fix it like that. If the problem continues, try to press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys together for 20 seconds to do the simulated battery disconnect. If the issue still persists after that, you need to have it checked.

“Custom Binary Blocked by FRP Lock” error after rooting

Problem: I tried to root my Note 5. After the root, the device keeps shutting down and in the upper-left corner it shows “Custom Binary Blocked by FRB lock.” I can’t boot it up. Please help.

Troubleshooting: I believe you are techie enough to have tried to root your phone. So, here’s what you’re going to do — unroot and restore your Note 5 back to stock.

  1. Boot your phone into Download Mode so Odin can access its partitions.
  2. If you haven’t installed it’s drivers yet, please do.
  3. Install Odin to your computer.
  4. Find and download the stock firmware for your phone from Sammobile.com.
  5. Extract the downloaded firmware file.
  6. Run Odin as administrator on your computer.
  7. Connect your phone to your computer and make sure Odin recognizes it.
  8. Leave every option on Odin as is and click the “AP” button and then navigate to the directory where you extracted the firmware file.
  9. Once you’ve selected the firmware, look at the “Log” tab on Odin and when you see “Leave CS,” you’re ready to flash the firmware.
  10. Hit Start to begin the flash and then wait
  11. Once Odin displays “Pass” it means the flashing was successful and your phone will automatically reboot. Just wait for it to come back up and it should boot up successfully, albeit longer than usual.

Galaxy Note 5 won’t turn on or charge

Problem: Forgot to charge my phone while I slept. Woke up this morning and my Note 5 just refuses to turn on or charge. I plugged into several outlets, used different USB wires, and tried the wireless charging as well. I even went through your page on this problem, and no reboot is happening at all. I don’t know what else to do. Hope you guys can help me out! Thank you for your time.

Troubleshooting: How much battery was left when you went to sleep? An unused Note 5 will drain the batter slower than usual. In fact, 10% of battery can reach up to 10 hours if the phone is left unused but it depends on the apps and services running in the background. There’s a chance the system crashed and rendered your phone unresponsive. So, try pressing and holding both the Volume Down and Power keys together for 20 seconds to simulate the battery disconnect. If it were just a system crash, the phone should reboot. If not, then it could be just a drained battery. Just plug it in using the original USB cable and power adapter. The phone may not respond as soon as you plug it so give it ten minutes and then try turning it on again. If that won’t work either, then have a technician take a look at it.

Galaxy Note 5 got water-damaged

Problem: My brand new Note 5 dropped into water, sent it to the Samsung Service centre and they told me it cannot be repair without even bother to try and clean it first ,they quoted for 5 items that need to be replaced, LCD,  Motherboard , Batt,…etc. (that totaled up cost a brand new Note 5.)

I was frustrated and insist the technician to help me to try clean the motherboard first , they insist it was spoilt.

After they have cleaned it ,they still tell me the same problem and it cannot be power on or charging.

I tried my ways to reboot the unit , dry it and charged it and it seems there’s still a little hope that my phone can be save. It has sound , the LEE indicator light was blinking, and the charging tone got sound too unfortunately the display screen is not working ,it’s completely black and I can’t see a thing. What will be your advise ? Is my phone still can be safe and back alive again? Sad user.

Answer: What do you want us to say? Do you expect us to say that Samsung techs were wrong when they diagnosed your phone’s LCD, motherboard, battery, etc. need replacement due to liquid damage? You’re lucky they even bother to cater on your needs when it was clear water damage isn’t covered by warranty.

There’s no way to tell the extent of the water damage. When it happens though, the first thing that will be affect is the power IC, which is responsible in distributing current to all components. Obviously, the phone’s hardware is messed up. The tech cleaned it as you requested but the problem remained. So, our advice is: listen to the technician or buy a new phone.

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Galaxy S6 turns itself off even when battery is charged, other issues

s6

Good day everyone! Welcome to another post that covers some of the submitted issues for the #GalaxyS6. If you don’t find your own issue here, keep watching for more of the same in the coming weeks.

  1. Galaxy S6 turns itself off even when battery is charged
  2. How to recover photos from wet Galaxy S6 that is stuck in boot loop
  3. Galaxy S6 won’t charge when it’s on
  4. Galaxy S6 screen not responding and speaker making crackling sound
  5. Galaxy S6 Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock error

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

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

Problem #1: Galaxy S6 turns itself off even when battery is charged

I’m inquiring about my husband’s phone. He got it brand new from Verizon six and a half months ago and it has been having charging problems; like he’ll unplug it after it has fully charged and the charge drops rather quickly, even if he has hardly used it. and lately it has started turning itself off with 8% battery remaining; even 5%. I’ve read that this model has a lot of problems but I also think it’s the battery but we haven’t had the money to buy a new battery.

so I’ve been researching and trying various things. like I’ve wiped the cache partition and trying to make sure apps are manually closed. and now I’m stuck cause I don’t know what else to try or if maybe I was trying the wrong things.

The other problem is that his Gmail won’t automatically update and sync is not working for some reason that I’m unaware of. Plus I’ve gone through the settings for it, and this problem is how I even came across wiping the cache partition. Any help is greatly appreciated. — Jenn

Solution: Hi Jenn. The first thing that you want to try in fixing the battery or charging problem is battery calibration. It’s needed to ensure that the device displays the true state of charge of the battery. We think that the battery has lost its reference as far as telling the system what its true state of charge is. That may be the reason why the phone turns off even though it’s still showing 8% on the battery level meter. To calibrate the battery, simply follow the steps below:

  • Charge the phone until the battery level reaches 100%.
  • Drain the battery to 0% by playing some games and doing resource demanding tasks.
  • Charge the battery up to 100% again.
  • Drain the battery to 0% one more time.

If battery calibration won’t change anything, you can also do a more drastic solution by wiping the phone clean via factory reset. This will be the last thing that you can do on your end. Again, our aim here is to check if the issue is being caused by a software glitch. To do it, just do the steps below:

  • Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
  • Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
  • Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
  • The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.
  • Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
  • When the process is complete, use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
  • The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.

Find a way to have the phone replaced if the issues remains after a factory reset.

Problem #2: How to recover photos from wet Galaxy S6 that is stuck in boot loop

Phone got wet and would not show anything. Took 10 days in bag of rice but finally came back on and worked. Battery died, tried plugging in to charge since Fast Wireless pad won’t work (due to phone, not pad) and am stuck in loop showing Boot screen with Reboot System now Reboot to Bootloader, etc. Choose Reboot system now, goes to Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ then Installing system update blue screen with Android guy clockwise spin thing then he rolls sideways with big yellow triangle with exclamation point inside and back to Reboot system now screen.

I would like to get some pictures and video off there from vacation when it got wet so am trying to avoid Wipe data/factory reset. I HAVE DONE the wipe cache partition with same result of loop. — Rob

Solution: Hi Rob. To access photos and other files in a storage device, you first need to ensure that the operating system works normally. That means that if you are stuck in a boot loop, there’s no other way to reach the boot sequence wherein the operating system takes over. Needless to say, you’ll be unable to access the storage device and move files from it. We always keep it a point to say in our posts that if basic software troubleshooting won’t fix issues following water- or liquid-damage, the next best thing to do is factory reset and eventually repair/replacement. This applies to your case as well.

Try booting your phone in safe mode to see if it turns on that way. If you’re lucky and the phone boots in safe mode, you will be able to recover your photos. Otherwise, those files are good as gone. To boot in safe mode, follow the steps below:

  • Turn off the phone completely.
  • Press and hold the Power key.
  • Once ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  • The phone will restart but keep the Volume Down button pressed.
  • Once the phone has finished restarting, ‘Safe mode’ will be display in the lower-left corner of the screen.
  • You may now release the Volume Down button.

Problem #3: Galaxy S6 won’t charge when it’s on

Just recently my phone wouldn’t charge. i plugged my phone in and left it over night. i knew it wasn’t charging at all with 35 % left during the middle of the night. the phone managed to turn off by itself and start charging only when its off. Doesn’t seem to charge anymore when it’s on. i have a feeling it’s to do with the actual port itself where you plug in the cable.

the same thing happened to my old Samsung s4 and now that won’t charge at all. i got a feeling when plugging the cable in it seems little loose not sturdy. apparently speaking to another person it’s a common thing with Samsung. but any help to fix this and not buying new phones cause I’m done with new phones. Haven’t had this phone for a year probably only 6 months if lucky. — Daniel

Solutions: Hi Daniel. Our blog only deals with software issues that can be fixed by basic software troubleshooting. Although many charging-related problems are caused by software bugs, which means that they fixable at a user’s level by doing software solutions, yours may be different. If you think that your S6 has a bad charging port, the best thing that you can do is to have that component or phone replaced. We don’t provide hardware diagnostics and troubleshooting. Obviously, hardware problems cannot be fixed software solutions. If you want to do a hardware solution yourself, do it at your own risk.

As we said, many charging problems are results of software problems. If you haven’t tried anything at your end yet, we suggest that you do the troubleshooting that we recommend in this post. For starters, wiping the cache partition is a good thing to do.

For minor firmware-related issues brought by apps and firmware updates, wiping the cache partition often does the trick. It’s because this procedure will literally delete all cached files in the cache partition, which will force the system to create new ones during the next boot up.

This procedure is also very helpful in fixing issues like random reboots, boot loop, stuck during boot up and random freezes after updates. Here’s how you wipe the cache partition on your S6:

  • Turn off the device.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
  • When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
  • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • 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.

You can also try restarting your phone in safe mode while charging to see if there’s any difference. Finally, a factory reset would be a good last step. If these procedures won’t work, you can assume that the issue is hardware in nature and the only way out is either repair or replacement.

Problem #4: Galaxy S6 screen not responding and speaker making crackling sound

Ok so today (20160607) I was on the way home from the gym and tried restarting my phone. It was playing music at the time and it did some weird flashing stuff on the screen then wouldn’t bring up the menu to restart it yet kept playing music. I stopped the music and looked in the drop down menu hoping to find a way to turn it off and maybe hit the back camera flashlight or something. but all i know is the screen went dark but the two lights in front next to the home button were lit and the flash light was on. I couldn’t get the screen to come on to stop it or reset the phone. it all flickered out soon after and then I plugged it in  and the front key lights came on, the flashlight started flickering again and the red notification light next to the ear speaker started flashing. all the while the main bottom speaker was making crackling noises and the back of the phone to the left of the camera started heating up.

I then unplugged it and let it sit for a bit then tried again and the same thing happened. I then unplugged it and let it sit there. I don’t know f if its water damage as I was careful with it while at the gym.

If there is a way to at least get my files off of the thing I’d appreciate it. It has everything important I need to do my job as a US Marine. — Mitchell

Solution: Hi Mitchell. The things you mentioned like the bottom speaker making crackling sound, flashlight turning on by itself, and LED flashing, and unresponsive screen are classic symptoms of hardware malfunction. That they are present all at the same time is a strong indication that the phone may have been exposed to elements or may have been dropped. Whatever the true cause is, the only thing that you can try right now is connect the phone to a computer and hope that it can still talk to it. If a computer no longer detects the phone, the files you’re trying to recover are gone.

If possible, try bringing the phone to a Samsung repair shop to see if there’s something that they can do.

Problem #5: Galaxy S6 Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock error

I bought 2 Galaxy S6 devices, unlocked by the store I bought them from. 3 days ago my wife’s phone rebooted and came up with the following error:

KERNEL IS NOT SEANDROID ENFORCING

Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock.

I tried doing the smart switch restore, but the app doesn’t like my model/SN combination. I got ODIN and a Lollipop 5.11.1 firmware for my model, flashed it using the ODIN flash procedure, that was successful. Once my phone power cycled it is now stuck on the SAMSUNG logo startup screen and will not boot any further, the error messages have gone away.

I can get it into recovery and download mode, but not sure what else to do to fix this bootup problem. Maybe the bootloader is toast? — Ben

Solution: Hi Ben. If your phone still responds to hardware button combinations to allow you to boot to recovery or download mode, we suggest that you try wiping the cache partition and/or wiping the phone via factory reset first. If that won’t change anything, try flashing another compatible stock firmware. This second procedure is your only hope in making the phone boot normally again. If that fails though, make sure that you flash the original stock firmware before asking for a replacement from the store.

 

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Galaxy S6 constantly shuts down and won’t stay on, other issues

s6

One of the common problems usually submitted to us is that the Galaxy S6 won’t stay on or having boot- or power-related problems. Once again, we publish a post that entertains these #GalaxyS6 issues. Below are the specific topics discussed in this material:

  1. Galaxy S6 constantly shuts down and won’t stay on
  2. Galaxy S6 stuck in download mode after rooting
  3. Google Chrome app in Galaxy S6 does not go back automatically to Google search page
  4. Galaxy S6 “intelligenceservice2 has stopped” error after it got wet | Pre-installed apps on Galaxy S6 keep crashing after water exposure
  5. Galaxy S8 Plus Edge won’t turn back on

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

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

Problem #1: Galaxy S6 won’t stay on and constantly shuts down 

Hi. I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S6 from India. I have been using it for over 10 days now. A couple of days ago, the phone suddenly turned off and wouldn’t turn back on. I connected the charger, and it had a charge of 34% and was charging further, but it wouldn’t turn back on.

I tried the next morning, it turned on, worked for 15mins or so and then turned back off. I tried restarting numerous times, and with all possible combinations: power, power-volume down, power-volume down-home, power-volume up, power-volume up-home, power-volume up-volume down-home. Nothing happened most of the time. Sometimes, some screen would come up and then go right back off. Sometimes I was left with a black screen and a blinking blue light. At times, the power-volume up-home combination shows a fallen android guy connected to a warning sign (exclamation mark within a yellow triangle).

It does get charged however, but doesn’t get detected on the computer. I noticed that something comes up for a short while if I try after a gap of 2-3 hours, i.e. the longer the time gap between attempts, the longer the screen stays on.

I used this to wipe the cache and perform a hard reset, both of which were successful (i.e. the phone didn’t turn off during the process), but it still didn’t solve the issue.

This morning, I tried again after about 8 hours of inactivity, and the phone stayed on for about 12 minutes. I also noticed that it turned abnormally warm during that period. The battery is on full charge, and it doesn’t get drained abnormally.

The Samsung service centre guys here in Manchester say that they do not have expertise in the relevant software for the phones manufactured in India.

Please help! — Lipsa

Solution: Hi Lipsa. Knowing that the phone does not show classic symptoms of battery malfunction effectively eliminates the possible involvement of battery failure in this case. That leaves us with three potential causes:

  • one of the hardware buttons is defective (usually the Power key),
  • a software glitch may have developed or one of the apps is problematic, and
  • an unknown hardware failure (probably a motherboard issue or one of the components)

The first and third involves some hardware troubleshooting and requires opening the phone to check it physically. We don’t recommend that you do these things yourselves as you may complicate problems further. You have to let a professional do the job to avoid damaging the hardware.

What’s left to do at your level is to check if software is to blame. You can start by booting your phone in safe mode. This will help you determine if the failure to boot normally or the system shutdown is initiated by an app you’ve installed. To restart your S6 in safe mode, kindly follow these steps:

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

The other procedure that you can do is boot the device in recovery mode so a factory reset can be done. Here’s how:

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

Now, after doing any of these procedures, you must observe the phone for at least 24 hours (if it stays on that long) so you’ll know the difference. We are aware that you’re having trouble booting the phone to other modes so if you can’t do it, you can safely assume that either the first and third causes is to blame. Call or go back to Samsung so you can file for repair or replacement request.

Problem #2: Galaxy S6 stuck in download mode after rooting

Hey! After quite a bit of persuasion from my friend, i decided to go ahead and root my Galaxy S6 [SM-G920T] but ever since i did (using CF Autoroot), I’ve been stuck on the booting page where it says Samsung Galaxy S6 and powered by Android. however the only thing different from the traditional booting screen is that there are small red letters in the top left which read, “RECOVERY IS NOT SEANDROID ENFORCING”.

At this point, there are only two things that i can do with my phone: Either i press Volume Down + Power + Home and manage to get to the download screen, or i can make it run out of battery and when i charge it back up, it returns to the booting screen.

I can’t access other screens such as the recovery menu. I don’t want to lose all the personal data which is on my phone so how would i go about reverting my phone back to normal and still have everything one it?

Many thanks. — Paul

Solution: Hi Paul. Although a lot of Android users modify the official software on their device in the form of rooting, not everyone enjoys a risk-free experience. Modifying Android has inherent risks due to a lot of factors that can come into play during the procedure. If you’re using a defective USB cable while changing critical files in the OS and some files are not copied properly to the device, it can potentially create a complication. The same can be said if the saving process is accidentally interrupted for some reason. There are other variables that can lead to  boot loop and similar issues. That’s why we don’t usually recommend rooting and flashing.

Well, since you’ve already committed to doing it, and you’re left without much leeway in this case, the only thing that you can do is to flash a stock firmware. This will allow you to boot back normally (and personally swear not to root again, hopefully). We trust you can find your way on how to do it, given the fact that you’ve even already rooted the phone, albeit unsuccessfully. Flashing a new firmware to your S6 will wipe the storage device so forget about file recovery, your files are good as gone now.

Problem #3: Google Chrome app in Galaxy S6 does not go back automatically to Google search page

Hi there! 🙂

Please accept my apologies in advance as I am completely new to the modern day smart phone technology after switching over from an old school flip phone that I’ve had for many years.

When I click on the Google Chrome icon on my Samsung Galaxy S6 cell phone to search on the internet, the screen unfortunately it takes me back to the site (i.e. Ebay, Amazon, IMDB, etc.) that I was just on last. This keeps happening even though I’ve clicked out of the opened search window or pushed the CLOSE ALL tab on the lower left corner of my actual phone. The only way that I can possibly get to a new Google Chrome search engine page is to keep clicking the back arrow on the bottom right corner of my actual phone. It has to go all the way back out of the program before allowing me to do any other searches.

Recently, I’ve called Samsung and spoke to one tech person on the phone and I also spoke to another tech person via the online chat support. They both had me try restarting it in various modes, clearing caches, and clearing data without any luck. Neither tech was able to help me fix the problem and said that I will need to reset everything back to the original factory settings for it to work correctly. I’m very reluctant in doing this as I have several hundred photos (which I have been able save to my desktop) and numerous videos of family events (which I can’t save to my desktop due to having an older computer by choice with basic Windows XP).

I’m extremely frustrated at this point and I honestly just feel like throwing my phone away.  If you could please possibly take the time to help me out with any suggestions, I would be so very grateful.

Thanks for all of your time and consideration in doing this for me. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Sincerely. — Dick

Solution: Hi Dick. We don’t think you need to do the drastic step of factory reset to fix this issue. If you’re running the updated version of Google Chrome app, there’s actually an option under its Settings menu that allows you to enable Home Page. The default home page is set to Google Search page (unless you changed it before). Enabling home page will give you the “home” icon at the top which you can simply tap to immediately go back to Google search page.

You can access Google Chrome settings menu by tapping on the three-dot icon at the top right section.

Problem #4: Galaxy S6 “intelligenceservice2 has stopped” error after it got wet | Pre-installed apps on Galaxy S6 keep crashing after water exposure

My daughter decided it would be a good idea to drop my phone in my drink and my phone has suffered water damage.

I did turn it on straight away and saw the screen had an error. I decided to turn the phone off and attempt to dry it out. 3 days since the phone switches on, however I am having issues with my pre-installed apps.

I have completed a factory reset and also wiped the cache partition numerous times however nothing seems to be fixing the issue of my apps constantly either stopping or saying it has stopped when I haven’t even opened up the app, such as Samsung Health. I also keep getting an error stating “intelligenceservice2 has stopped”.

I am now at a loss as to how to progress as i think the phone has completely dried out and i don’t appear to be having any hardware issues, just software.

Any help would be massively appreciated. — Peter

Solution: Hi Peter. First of all, we don’t want to give you the impression that everything is fine after exposing your S6 in water. Most of the cases wherein an electronic device saw water don’t end well. The curious thing about your situation is the fact that there seems to be only software problems after the incident.

The rule of thumb in dealing with a water-damaged electronic device is to see if software solutions can fix issues. If they don’t, then it can assumed that the software symptoms are being caused by a defective hardware. In your situation, the most effective software solution is factory reset. That it does not work in your case is an indication that the problem is never due to a software glitch in the first place. There is no other “advanced” techniques or troubleshooting that you can do on your level to resolve the issues. It’s likely that a water-damaged hardware component may be sending false signal to the circuit, creating a chain of commands that overwhelm the system, resulting to the errors that keep on popping up.

Call Samsung and see if you can have the phone repaired, or better still replaced.

Problem #5: Galaxy S8 Plus Edge won’t turn back on

I own a Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus Edge and I’ve only had it for a few months. Lately when it’s charging it says that it’s charging slowly and I should use the original charger. I’ve only ever used the original charger with this phone but unplugging and plugging again usually solves that issue.

Last night my phone was at 4% so I charged it and went to bed. When I woke up it was completely dead. The LED light wasn’t red or green and nothing was on the screen.

So I tried to play around with it a little and plugged it back into the wall and the icon with the lightning bolt showed up but it still wasn’t charging. I went through a couple of your suggestions from what I could find off of Google but nothing has worked.

I plugged it into my laptop and the lightning bolt showed up again but still no charging light. I don’t think it’s my charging cable as I’m charging my dead Galaxy S4 and the LED light on that is showing up and it’s charging fine.

Lots of your suggestions included resetting the phone but I can’t really “turn it off” or “reset” as it won’t even turn on!

Please let me know if there’s any other information I can give you. I hope you will be able to help me out with my problem. — Natasha

Solution: Hi Natasha. As discussed above, if you can’t boot your phone in any other mode like safe mode, recovery mode, or Odin mode, then the problem is most probably a failing hardware. It can be the device’s battery no longer holding a charge, or some other components. If leaving it charged for at least an hour won’t power it on, nothing will. Call Samsung or the relevant party so it can be physically checked and repaired if needed.

 

Engage with us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Problem #1: Water-damaged Galaxy S7 won’t charge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Galaxy S6 camera stuck in selfie mode, won’t charge or turn on, other issues

              Here is another post that will teach you how to address some of the common #GalaxyS6 problems. As usual, the problems we cover today are taken from reports we received from our readers over the recent days so we hope you’ll find this one a helpful read.

              Below are the specific topics we are discussing today:

              1. Water damaged Galaxy S6 edge screen won’t work | How to recover files from wet Galaxy S6 edge
              2. Galaxy S6 not charging anymore | Galaxy S6 won’t charge or turn on
              3. Galaxy S6 not dialing the correct contact number
              4. Galaxy S6 keeps showing “Camera failed” error | Galaxy S6 camera stuck in selfie mode
              5. Network services of AT&T Galaxy S6 not fully working when used in Kenya
              6. Galaxy S6 ringtone and notification volume setup

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

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

              Problem #1: Water damaged Galaxy S6 edge screen won’t work | How to recover files from wet Galaxy S6 edge

              I have a Galaxy S6 edge and I cracked the screen and ended up dropping it in water. It was working just fine before I dropped it into water. I can plug the phone up and the screen works but i can’t seem to turn it on. I plug it in and the charging screen appears. I just received a new phone. I just want to be able to get my pictures and all my contacts off. Can you help??

              I’ve tried to try the down load function using the volume down and home screen buttons and nothing happens. i know they are working though because when its charging I can make the screen get brighter with them. — Jesseclements95

              Solution: Hi Jesseclements95. One of the necessary conditions to recover files from a smartphone is to ensure that it powers on. The Nand chip, the storage device where user data such as photos and videos are stored, must be energized so that it can be accessed. This and together with a normally working operating system are the primary requirements that must be fulfilled first. If you can’t interact with the operating system because the screen remains black or unresponsive, there’s no point to attempt to recover your files. Try to have the phone repaired first to see if the screen can work so you can attempt another file recovery.

              You can try to connect to your phone to a PC to see if it can be detected. If a computer can’t detect the storage device, you’re out of luck.

              Problem #2: Galaxy S6 not charging anymore | Galaxy S6 won’t charge or turn on

              Just last night I plugged in my Galaxy S6 but when I woke up it was still at only 60%. I could not get the connection to stay where it was charging. It kept beeping as if starting to charge and then stop. On the way to work it did the same thing in my car charger–it would plug in and say charging and then beep and not be charging. Then at work I have a charger and it did the same thing when I plugged it in–would say charging and then start beeping. It would say charging at work for a while and then when I would check the % charged it was going down. Then it stopped even trying to charge when I plugged it in. No sound or message of charging.

              A lady I work with had her factory Galaxy S6 charger with her that works on her phone, but when I plug it into my S6 nothing happens. No sound or message to indicate it’s charging. — Chuck

              Solution: Hi Chuck. An issue like this can just as easily be caused by software glitch as much as hardware malfunction, so the first thing that you want to know is if the issue can be solved by software solutions. That said, you want to try all relevant software troubleshooting for this case.

              1. Observe the phone while charging in safe mode. The first thing that you want to try is to boot the phone to safe mode. This is to check if a third party app is causing a conflict somewhere, which results to erratic charging behavior. Safe mode prevents services and apps from loading. This means only pre-installed apps will be running while charging. If the phone charges normally while in safe mode, that’s an indicator that one  of your third party apps is problematic. If you haven’t tried booting to safe mode before, here are the steps:
                • Make sure your phone is powered off
                • Once your device is switched off, press and hold the Volume down key.
                • While continuously holding down the Volume key, press the Power key briefly to power up your device.
                • Your phone will now power up in Safe Mode. By then you can stop pressing the Volume down key.
                • Swipe the screen to show the Safe mode icon. When you see this icon, it denotes you’re in Safe mode and can use your phone as normal but without any third party applications running or available.
              2. Wipe the cache partition. Another good software solution that you can try is to wipe the cache partition. Doing so will help ensure that the phone’s system cache is up-to-date. Here’s how it’s done:
                • Turn off the device.
                • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
                • When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
                • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
                • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
                • 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.
              3. Do a factory reset. As the name suggests, factory reset will restore all software settings to their factory state. If the root of the problem is due to an operating system glitch, factory reset should be able to fix it. Factory reset is the ultimate software solution that you can do so if nothing positive comes out of it, you can assume that there must be bad hardware behind the trouble. Below are the steps on how to factory reset your Galaxy S6:
                • Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
                • Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
                • When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
                • Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
                • Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
                • Press the Volume Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
                • After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
              4. Check the charging port for damage or dirt. If there’s a hardware component that most often fails due to wear and tear, it’s the charging port. The health of this component depends on how careful you are when it comes to plugging and unplugging the charger. If you take plugging and unplugging for granted, wiggling the charger side to side or forcing an inverted charger head into the port, you can not expect this component to last very long. Doing so will most likely result to damaged pin/s inside the port, which can, in turn lead to erratic charging behavior. To check the condition of the port inside, try using a magnifying glass. If you’ll notice that a pin or pins are bent, you must submit the phone for repair so the charging port can be replaced. You also want to check for dirt or debris that might interfere with the charger when you insert it to the port. Try blowing compressed air into the port to remove foreign objects or debris that might lead to an issue.
              5. Have the phone repaired. Sometimes, a bad battery can also manifest in an issue like yours so the next best thing that you want to do is seek the aid of professionals so the hardware can be examined. If battery is fine, there must be other hardware components that have stopped working properly. If the phone is still covered by a Samsung warranty, a much better option for you would be to seek for a replacement.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S6 not dialing the correct contact number

              My husband has a Samsung S6 phone. He has included me as a contact. Problem is when he calls my cell number which does show in his contact list in little numbers, his phone dials instead our home phone number which appears in his contact list in big numbers.

              Also, when I call his number from my cell, in his log my call shows as coming from the home phone and not from the cell phone from which the call was actually made on. Can you tell us if the problem on his Samsung and the way he added me as a contact or is the problem somehow due to my cell phone? — Mahearn

              Solution: Hi Mahearn. The problem must lie on the way your husband created his contacts list. To fix the problem, you can ask him to delete all contact names that has your numbers so he can recreate a SINGLE account with your name and all your numbers. His phone may be confused with what contact to use, especially if he has multiple accounts that has your name. If possible, let him use one account only to prevent the issue from happening in the future again. This can be done by doing the following:

              1. Open the Contacts app.
              2. Tap More.
              3. Tap Settings.
              4. Go to Contacts to display section and select one account only.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S6 keeps showing “Camera failed” error | Galaxy S6 camera stuck in selfie mode

              My 18 month old S6 with no damage has a “Camera Failed” error message when choosing the camera app Icon. It is stuck in “selfie” mode and unusable. However, the camera works fine with any/all other apps that connect with the camera, i.e. text attachment, photo compass, etc.

              I am not ready to do a full factory reset until I have explored “ALL” options since the camera does at time function. Any help and/or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Regards. — Tom

              Solution: Hi Tom. If you haven’t yet, try wiping the cache and data of the camera app. This will force the phone to virtually “reinstall” the app, which should reset all settings of the said app. Here’s how it’s done:

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

              There’s also a chance that a third party app is behind the trouble so before you commit to factory reset, you can try it instead. Safe mode blocks third party apps so want to observe how the camera app works when only pre-installed apps are running. Here’s how to boot to safe mode:

              1. Make sure your phone is powered off
              2. Once your device is switched off, press and hold the Volume down key.
              3. While continuously holding down the Volume key, press the Power key briefly to power up your device.
              4. Your phone will now power up in Safe Mode. By then you can stop pressing the Volume down key.
              5. Swipe the screen to show the Safe mode icon. When you see this icon, it denotes you’re in Safe mode and can use your phone as normal but without any third party applications running or available.

              Should nothing change, do a factory reset.

              Problem #5: Network services of AT&T Galaxy S6 not fully working when used in Kenya

              I was given a present by a friend who currently stays in the USA. A mobile phone Samsung S6 edge plus model number Samsung SM-G928A with a android version 5.1.1. This phone is customised to AT&T carrier and 4G. Am currently using it in Kenya but don’t enjoy using it. The main issue is that most times I am offline and most of my contacts can’t reach me.

              Secondly, when i replace the SIM to Airtel, it doesn’t recognise the SIM. It has no option of regulating networks from 4G,3G 2G. Most apps are customised to AT&T. How do i sort this? Suggestion have been rife that i change the motherboard and it would work. Others suggest i change the firmware and yet others say the unlocking wasn’t complete. What do i do? — Titus

              Solution: Hi Titus. There can be a number of things to consider if you want to fix an issue like the one you’re experiencing so let’s stick to the most important ones.

              1. There’s no such thing as fully compatible phone. You must remember that your phone is not originally designed to work with your current carrier’s network. It was originally manufactured by Samsung to be used by AT&T, which may be using different network protocols/standards. This means that there’s a chance your phone’s hardware and software may not fully compatible with your current carrier’s system. What this translates to your experience is that some functionalities, especially network-related ones may not work as expected. In some cases, SMS may work perfectly while MMS doesn’t. In others, voice calls may not work at all, although SMS and MMS may be working just fine.
              2. Difference between CDMA vs GSM. CDMA and GSM are two most commonly used wireless technology standards in the world today. In the United States, Verizon and Sprint are the major CDMA technology users while AT&T and T-Mobile are using GSM. CDMA phones are significantly different from GSM phones in that they don’t use SIM cards. In a CDMA phone, subscriber information are buried deep in the phone’s software so unlocking it to make it work in other networks can be tricky, if not difficult. In some instances, you can’t even use a CDMA phone to another CDMA network. It’s not uncommon to encounter reports from users with a CDMA phone complaining some network functions are not working on another network. It must also be noted that CDMA phones don’t use SIM cards. In most cases, CDMA phones may have SIM card slots in them but only if the network offers 4G LTE, which is a modified GSM technology. In this case, the SIM card can be used to provide 4G LTE service but nothing more. Voice calls, SMS, and MMS services will only be allowed if the phone is registered in a CDMA network in the first place. On the other hand, GSM phones are relatively easy to use in other networks because such phones are designed to store subscriber information in a SIM card. As long as the phone has been properly network unlocked, you should be able to use a GSM phone in other GSM networks, provided the operating frequency band is compatible with that of the new network.
              3. Even GSM phones may not work in another GSM network. Having a network unlocked GSM phone, which means that the previous carrier has cleared the device from their system after a full payment, is not a guarantee that you can use it to any GSM network around the world. Every smartphone can only work in particular set of radio frequencies. For instance, an AT&T Galaxy S6 may only work on the following frequency bands:

              GSM Mhz band  |    Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900

              2G network         |    GSM 850/900/1800/1900

              3G network         |    UMTS 850/1700/1900/2100

              4G network          |   LTE Cat9 700/800/850/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 (Bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,17,20)


              4. Carriers can have limited coverage. If you notice that you tend to have good signal reception in one place but not in another, that may be due to your carrier’s network coverage limitations. Talk to your carrier’s technical support team to see if that’s the case.If your carrier in Kenya does not operate in any of these 2G frequencies (GSM 850/900/1800/1900), you may experience problems with SMS, MMS, and voice calls. To know if your phone is compatible with your carrier’s frequency bands, do a little Google search to find the exact frequency bands of the said device and compare it with your carrier’s.

              5. Blame the phone. If everything appears to be working as far as your carrier’s services and coverage are concerned, the problem must be phone specific. To save your from headaches, find a phone that’s fully compatible with your network’s requirements.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S6 ringtone and notification volume setup

              Ever since I did a systems update, i can no longer set my ring tone settings and notification settings separate. This has been a HUGE hassle for me when I need to hear a low ringtone for calls without all other notifications. I had been just turning everything on vibrate at work but with that i missed a medical emergency at home with my mom who is now in hospital, because we almost got to hear too late and her condition is still somewhat critical. But going back, I really need this setting to go back to the way it was when I could turn up ringtone without every other notification being turned up too. HELP PLEASE!!! — Rachel

              Solution: Hi Rachel. Two things. First, we want to remind you that Android operating system is not stagnant. It is an ever evolving system and sometimes major changes may be introduced via updates. If you want to revert to the previous operating system version (which we don’t recommend for security reasons), it’s your call. You can do that by flashing the previous version through Odin mode. Use Google to search for instructions.

              Second, we don’t think there’s any way you can set a particular notification or ring tone volume in both Android Lollipop and Android Marshmallow so you must be using older Android version or a third party app. If you want to change the volume of ringtone and notifications in Lollipop and Marshmallow (Android 5.0 and Android 6.0, respectively), you must do so under Settings>Sounds and notifications.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              What to do if your Samsung Galaxy S7 got in contact with water and won’t turn on

              The Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) is water-resistant, not waterproof. The #IP68 (IP stands for Ingress Protection) rating is more like an insurance that your phone may be able to survive accidental water immersion like when you use it under the rain, spilt a glass of water on it, dropped it in a sink or toilet bowl, etc.

              galaxy-s7-water-resistant

              I received an email from a reader seeking assistance because his phone won’t turn on after he took a dive into a pool with it. According to him, the S7 just turned off on its own after being submerged in water. If I were to ask you, what could have gone wrong?

              Here’s the actual message just to give you an idea about this issue…

              “Hey Harold. I hope you have time to help me. I have a Galaxy S7 that I bought 4 months ago. The phone never had any issues until yesterday. My friends and I had a pool party and because of the heat of the moment, I took the dive to take pictures of my friends under water. I actually did snap a few photos then get out of the water. My phone turned as soon as I was out of the water. Tried to turn in back on and it did up to the logo then turned back off again. Tried charging it thinking the battery got drained. No indicators. Now, the phone just won’t turn on. What happened I thought this phone is supposed to be waterproof?”

              One blunder led to another, now the phone won’t respond. So, was it really water that did it? Obviously, yes!

              If this happens to you, there are things you should and should not do so your phone can still survive. But before anything else, if you have other issues with your Galaxy S7, browse through our troubleshooting page to find similar and related problems we already addressed before. Use the solutions and troubleshooting procedures we suggested. If they don’t work, then you can always contact us by completing our questionnaire here.

              What to do if Galaxy S7 got submerged in water and started acting weird

              If the phone started to act weird after being submerged in water, then it’s very much possible water messed it up. Don’t wait any longer and act immediate. Here’s what you need to do:

              Step 1: Turn off your phone immediately

              Why? To prevent further liquid damage. Nowadays, circuit boards have some kind of protection for light water immersion so they don’t get damaged immediately if liquid got in contact with them. That is if there’s no electricity flowing through the components but if there is, then that’s a different story.

              Water, electronic components and electricity don’t mix well and the one that’s in the middle often gets damaged and in this case, it’s your phone that houses those components. As soon as you notice the phone starts to work differently after having in contact with liquid, turn it off to lower the risk of being water-damaged.

              Step 2: Unmount your SIM card and microSD card

              This is to prevent them from being affected. SIM cards and microSD cards can also be easily damaged by water. There’s a big chance liquid can find its way into the slot.

              Step 3: Make sure everything is dry before turning it back on

              It’s actually easier said than done and it’s time consuming. Drying up a “possibly” wet smartphone is a bit complicated than drying any other things. It’s because you can’t just unscrew the screws and open it up. If you do so, your warranty will be voided, although I’m not saying you can claim warranty for liquid damage.

              There are, however, some tricks on how to dry off a smartphone but it’s not really that quick. Here’s what I suggest  you do…

              1. If you see water residue in the USB port and headphone jack, use a hair dryer to blow warm air into those holes. You may be able to make water evaporate from those ports but don’t take any chances.
              2. After using the hair dryer, put your phone in a bowl full of rice and leave it buried for a couple of days. Rice grains are great water absorbent and in that span of time they may able to absorb water particles inside your phone.
              3. After 48 hours, try turning on your phone and observe it closely. If turns on and still acts weird, turn it off immediately. If it doesn’t turn on, plug in the charger to see if it responds to it. If it does, leave it plugged in for 10 minutes then attempt to turn it on again. However, if it doesn’t respond to the charger, unplug it immediately.
              4. Send the phone in for repair. What would happen is that the technician may just open your phone up and give it a blast of warm air to dry off particles of water that remained or a general cleaning might do the trick. Further tests, however, will be done and that’s the deciding factor whether or not the phone be sent it to Samsung for repair.

              Now, let’s go to the real problems our readers sent us that is related to this issue…

              Question: “My S7 got dropped in the sink full water. I immediately picked it up but it turned off as soon as it was out of the water. What must I do? They say it’s waterproof but I doubt it.”

              Answer: Don’t attempt to turn it on…yet. Follow the instructions in the steps above to prevent further damage.

              Question: “I think water has found it’s way into my phone because I answered a call while showering thinking it’s waterproof. It’s still working though but it’s not charging anymore. There’s 10% battery left and I’m afraid it won’t last longer. Is there anything you can do about this? Thanks.”

              Answer: Try turning off your phone and connect the charger. If it responds, let it charge for 5 minutes but continue holding on to your phone to know if it heats up. The moment you notice the phone is heating up, unplug the charger immediately and send your phone in for repair. On the other hand, if the phone won’t respond to the charger, unplug it and have it checked.

              There you have it! I hope this article can help you understand the risk of having the phone submerged in water even for a short period of time as well as give you an idea what to do if everything went south the moment you fish it out of the water.

              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.

              Water damaged Galaxy S6 showing overheating icon when charging, drains battery fast, other issues

              Good day Android community and welcome to another article that covers 8 other S6 issues. As usual, all issues in this post are taken from reports from some of our readers. Keep watching for similar posts in the coming days if you don’t see your own issue here, or if there’s no solution that can fix your own S6 issue.

              Below are the specific topics we discuss in this post:

              1. Galaxy S6 won’t turn on after leaving the phone charged overnight
              2. Water damaged Galaxy S6 showing overheating icon when charging
              3. Galaxy S6 won’t charge and won’t turn on
              4. Galaxy S6 edge turns itself off and on
              5. How to recover pictures from wet Galaxy S6 edge
              6. Galaxy S6 drains battery fast, won’t turn on
              7. Galaxy S6 screen stays black but won’t turn back on
              8. Galaxy S6 edge screen keeps flickering after it got wet

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S6 won’t turn on after leaving the phone charged overnight

              Good evening! I purchased my phone Samsung Galaxy S6 edge in Ukraine in February 2016. It worked ok all the time. At 4 of April i put it for a night-long charging as usually, it never turned on again. I tried all kind of troubleshooting that can be found on Youtube and on Android forums (pressing volume/power/home buttons at one, pressing all different combinations of those buttons) nothing helped. It didn’t react on any charger. Dead is dead. I went to the Samsung Service Center in Cairo (I live in Cairo), they told me it’s a problem with motherboard and to fix it will cost me $300, the price of the new phone. Can something be done? Thank you very much in advance! — Olga

              Solution: Hi Olga. If a professional has checked your phone and declared that the only way to fix it would be to replace the motherboard, then there’s nothing more that you can do about it. A motherboard replacement is the most drastic solution a technician must do to fix a hardware problem. This means that a number of components may be damaged, or that the board itself is beyond repair.

              Problem #2: Water damaged Galaxy S6 showing overheating icon when charging

              I dropped my Samsung S6 in water. It was only in for 5 seconds approximately and when i grabbed it, it was working fine.. as in screen was still visible etc.. i immediately put it into a bag of rice but due to being a sealed phone couldn’t remove battery… phone since went flat and now when i try to charge it it gives me the thermometer and overheating warning. It’s been 5 days since and still showing this warning. I’ve checked inside SIM tray and can see a white sticker thing. I’ve called a repair place and they are not to keen on fixing it as they tend to think all water damaged phones are non repairable. I only just got this phone. Please tell me if it can be fixed. — Tania

              Solution: Hi Tania. Unlike its successors, the Galaxy S7 and S8, your Galaxy S6 does not enjoy water resistance protection. This means that even just a second of immersing it in water, there’s a very big chance that water can seep into the insides of the device. If your phone was working normally before you dropped it in water, then it might already be too late to do anything at this time. In some cases, dismantling the device right away and removing the battery can save it from permanent damage. We understand you were not able to do this important “first aid” step because a Galaxy S6 has a non-removable battery pack so all you can do right now is to hope that damage is isolated to few components only. A full hardware check is still needed to be conducted though so you must find another service that can do this task for you. Stop whatever you’re doing and stop looking for software solutions. There’s no amount of troubleshooting that you can do on your end to fix a water-damaged phone. Otherwise, simply have it replaced.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S6 won’t charge and won’t turn on

              Hello! I am experiencing some charging issues with my Samsung S6. The phone shut down with 2 to 3% of battery, just before I arrive home. And then I put it into charger, and started to do my things, without paying attention on it. The problem is, after some minutes I tried to power it on, and it did not work! Nothing! Then I found your guide, and got some “advances”, but without a solution. Here it was what I tried:

              • When I put it into a different charger, the lightning bolt icon appears once, and disappears. The phone doesn’t charge and the charger does not warm up. (Sometimes I’m able to power the phone on, but it shuts down again when the lockscreen appears).
              • I tried to put it into PC USB port. Same as different charger. (With the original charger, NOTHING HAPPENS! Not even the lightning bolt icon).
              • Tried to press Volume Down + Lock while “charging”. The lightning bolt flicks on… (appear/disappear). But it still do not charge.
              • Tried to press Volume Up + lock + home, and the Android management screen appeared. (Installing System Update, and after it appeared an image of the android mascot and a warning icon).
              • Tried the “reboot system” option… reboot, but nothing.
              • Tried V.UP + LOCK + HOME again, and left it there to see if it would charge. I considered to try “Reboot to bootloader” option, but as I don’t know what it means, I thought it was better to contact you.

              (PS: This menu only appears with the smartphone plugged into USB port of my computer of with an alternate charger. With the original one, or without a power cord, nothing happens). As I have some really important data that I was about to back up, I’m really against a wipe reset. Any ideas? 🙁 — Tiago

              Solution: Hi Tiago. Since you’ve already tried almost everything that can be done on your end, you should really try a factory reset first to see if the cause of the problem is software related or not. If that won’t fix it, the cause of the problem may be bad hardware such as a malfunctioning charging port or battery. Consider sending the phone in for repair.

              Unfortunately, file recovery or transfer is only possible if the phone powers on first. If you can’t turn it back on, no external device can access your phone’s internal storage device.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S6 edge turns itself off and on

              Hi. Recently i have factory reset my Samsung Galaxy S6 edge. Since doing so whenever i open specific apps or randomly the phone switches off and no longer switches on. i will click on the power on button the Samsung sign will show up but then it was fall powerless again. to switch it on again it needs to be plugged into a charger. this happens even if I’ve let the phone charge to 100% or whatever the charge % is. once iv switched it on no matter what the % charge it was on, the charging icon will show a much lower % than it was before it switched off. as soon as i unplug the charge the phone will again switch off and no longer turn on. — Ayishasadiq

              Solution: Hi Ayishasadiq. Try recalibrating the battery first and see what happens afterwards. Sometimes, Android can lose track of the actual battery level for some reason so it’s good if you can recalibrate it. Here’s how it’s done:

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

              Once you’ve recalibrated the battery, you can follow it up with a cache partition wipe to ensure the system cache is refreshed. Here’s how to do it:

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

              Problem #5: How to recover pictures from wet Galaxy S6 edge

              Need your immediate and expert advice in seeking a solution on my Samsung S6 Edge phone. Here is what happened:

              My phone had accidentally fallen in the swimming pool and all we did was take the phone from the swimming pool, kept it on the table over a towel and began swimming again.

              After almost 30 minutes we came back to our room and tried drying it using a blow-dry but it would just not switch on. We tried doing this 3-4 times and then switched off & tried charging the phone as well – with no luck! We then took it to a local repair shop who opened up the entire phone and said the IC wasn’t working and he would try his best – and then later informed us that even the mother board of the phone was spoiled.

              By the way, this is still under warranty until the 12th May 2017. Now we need your help with 2 things:

              Can this phone be fixed at all? How do we get this started ? How can I retrieve all my pictures? Is there a way?

              Looking forward to your kind reply. — VARSHA

              Solution: Hi Varsha. If a trained technician who examined your phone said that that power IC or motherboard are toast, that’s like saying the phone is completely dead. A key “first aid” step that you’re supposed to take in an ideal situation would be to immediately remove the power source from the phone to prevent shorting components. We know this is not possible with your S6 as the battery is non-removable so we can assume that a number of core hardware components are fried. So, in terms of a fix, we don’t think there’s anything that can be done at this point.

              Retrieving files is obviously out of the question because you need to have a good working system to access the internal storage device. The Nand chip must be powered so an external device like a computer can reach the files. The touchscreen needs to be working as well so you can input commands to the operating system.

              Unfortunate as this is for you, we’re almost certain that your phone is dead, especially that the power IC had been confirmed to be toast.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S6 drains battery fast, won’t turn on

              Hello. Recently my phone’s battery has been depleted much more quickly than normal. I didn’t think much of this, just thought that it was part of the designed obsolescence because I’ve had it about a year and a half now. Today, however, when I went to charge it, it would show the charging icon as normal, and the red light would appear in the upper left hand corner, but when I went to check it the battery percentage had decreased, not increased. It still showed that it was charging. Then, later, I noticed that it kept switching back and forth between charging and not charging. I am not sure if this was an issue regarding my handling of it at the time or not. I tried plugging it into a computer via USB, thinking the wall adapter may be to blame. Everything behaved as normal when I plugged the phone in the computer. The computer recognized it and my phone asked if it wanted me to allow the computer to access it. Again it gave the charging signal but it died soon after. When I got home I plugged it into my charger at home (the original charger) and I initially saw the red light, but have not since. It has been plugged in for about two hours now and it will not turn on. I’m sorry, I don’t know the version I have, so I just put other. I would check it on the phone but it’s dead. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. — Jeremy

              Solution: Hi Jeremy. There’s a chance that the problem is only isolated to the battery so if you’ve already tried different chargers before contacting us, you should consider sending it in for repair. Android troubleshooting is mostly software in nature but since the phone does not even turn at all, there’s nothing much that you can do. If you haven’t tried it though, you can also check if your phone will boot to alternate modes so you can then perform follow up troubleshooting.

              Below are the steps that you can do:

              Boot in Recovery mode:

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

              Boot in Download Mode:

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

              Boot in safe mode:

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

              Problem #7: Galaxy S6 screen stays black but won’t turn back on

              While trying to start up the phone, all it does is play the start up music over and over and sometimes it cuts the sound off like it won’t start up all the way. It doesn’t vibrate and the screen remains black. I’ve tried all the other sequence of buttons to push but nothing is working. When it’s trying to start up there is a steady blue light showing and when I push the up volume and power button I think it shuts off because the blue light will go off. When I plug it in to charge the little light is orange then it turns green, but screen still remains black. I do not know what android version it is. — Toni

              Solution: Hi Toni. Your phone actually still turns back on so the issue must lie with the screen only. If you dropped the phone or got it wet before, stop wasting time in looking for software solutions. Contact Samsung, your carrier, or any relevant party so it can be repaired or replaced.

              Problem #8: Galaxy S6 edge screen keeps flickering after it got wet

              Hi. My Samsung S6 edge fell in the sink while water was running and I thought it was a small amount of water entered my phone. My phone went blank (black screen) so I was not sure if it was off or on. So I then took out my sim card tray and left my phone in rice for the day. I took it by my friend after work for him to have a look at it and when he opened it I saw part of the inside was corroded so he clean the board and stuff. However about 3-5 of the ICs (as he called it) were missing from the board near the sim card section, but he was not sure what they were for. He evened changed the battery for me. Everything was working fine as if nothing happened. But the only problem is that my phone battery runs down veryyyy quick and my screen keeps flickering while charging so I am not sure what to do now. Is it possible my phone can still be saved? Thank you in advance for all the help! Many Thanks. — Kerri

              Solution: Hi Kerri. Kindly refer to our suggestions for Tania and Varsha above.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Things you need to do if your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge fell in water and won’t turn on after that

              First off, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (and S7) is water-resistant, not waterproof. While the IP68 rating is one of the selling points of the device, it’s more of an insurance assuring users the device may still work if it accidentally got submerged in water for a short period of time. That’s a fact, otherwise we won’t be receiving issues of water-damaged S7 Edge.

              Galaxy-S7-Edge-fell-in-water

              Just for the information of those who own this phone, when the device got wet and turned off on its own NEVER attempt to turn it on as that might make things worse. Somehow, circuit boards have minimal protection against moist but it’s very minimal that a drop of water may damage some chips, which can lead to more serious hardware issues including permanent hard bricking.

              Water damage is also very unpredictable. The device may have gotten wet today and it may take a week before the small amount of moist can cause damage. Such is the case for some of the users who reported their devices just turned off and won’t turn back on or the so-called “black screen of death.”

              As owners of expensive phones, it is imperative that you know what to do–and what not–in case your device gets wet, starts to act crazy and turned off after snapping underwater pictures. Liquid damage isn’t usually covered by warranty and it’s the kind of problem you don’t want to take lightly. Read on as I will explain concisely why you have or don’t have to do the things below.

              Before we go any further, if you have other concerns with your device, make sure you visit our S7 Edge troubleshooting page for we have addressed a lot of problems with this phone since its release. You may also contact us through our Android issues questionnaire if you need further assistance. It’s a free service but we’re asking you to give us as much information about the problem as possible so we can give you more accurate solutions.

              Step 1: Turn off your phone immediately / do not turn your phone back on

              Once your phone gets wet or submerged in water, three things could happen; it might not be affected especially if all the ports are secured, it might stay on with screen randomly dims out or flickers, it might turn off the moment the water gets into it.

              If the phone continues to work without having any issues, you’re lucky but closely observe it for a week to see if it will start to do unusual things like random reboots or shutdowns. If so, then somehow the liquid has gotten inside. Have the device cleaned up immediately to prevent it from getting worse.

              Should the phone start to show some signs of possible liquid damage like flickering screen, random dimming of the display, random reboots and shutdowns, etc., turn it off immediately. It is common knowledge that electricity and water don’t mix well but when they do, your phone will be caught in a crossfire and it should be the one that gets damaged.

              If your Galaxy S7 Edge, however, turned off the moment it got in contact with water, DO NOT turn it back on. Normally, if there is a short circuit, the phone will automatically turn off as the flow of current got disrupted. If you force it to turn back on, some components may be damaged and there’s no easy way to determine which chip got busted and that’s the easy part. The difficult part is to determine whether it can be fixed or not. The worst part is to replace it, which can only be done by expert technicians and sadly, there’s only a few techs that can do that.

              Step 2: Never ever attempt to charge your water-damaged Galaxy S7 Edge

              If we are discouraging you to turn off your phone that you just fished out of the water, then we strongly recommend you don’t charge it as you may damage both your charger and your phone due to short circuit and that’s a very bad situation to be in.

              Personally, I saw a battery explode due to overcharging and I know it could happen if the battery is charging and there’s a short circuit somewhere. Typically, when this happens, the phone may heat up and so is the charger. If you’ve already plugged in the wet phone, immediately unplug it for safety.

              Step 3: Do not shake the device instead unmount both SIM and microSD cards

              Shaking the device isn’t the best way to get rid of the water from within as it goes both outwards and inwards. So, it might even makes things worse. The best thing to do at this point is to remove your SIM card and your SD card and leave the tray unmounted. Both the SIM and the SD cards can easily be damaged even by little water.

              Step 4: Hold the phone upright to let the water out

              There are no ports on the sides of your phone and the 3.5mm headphone jack has a little opening from the inside. It is more likely that the water will enter through the USB or utility port and that’s also the best way to let it flow out.

              DO NOT use a hair blower to attempt to dry the phone out as water is trapped inside so it can’t really escape even if you’ve successfully evaporated it. The device has to be disassembled before using hot air to dry out its components.

              Step 5: Put the phone in a bowl of rice

              In case you can’t have the device checked by a technician yet, remove any third-party cases if any and then bury it in a bowl of rice.

              For those who don’t know yet, rice grains are a good water absorbent. In fact, it absorbs water faster than a piece of cloth. Depending on when you can have the device checked, it’s recommended you leave the device buried for a day or two.

              After this, you can try to turn the phone on and see if it does or if it shows signs of water damage and depending on how your device works, you can decide whether or not to send it in for repair.

              Wrapping it up

              For minor water damage cases, these steps will surely work. In fact, we technicians follow these simple ways to fix similar issues. The only difference is that we have tools that can make the drying quicker like blowing hot air. Besides, we are authorized to open the phone and closely inspect the components that might have been affected.

              Therefore, if your Galaxy S7 Edge suffered liquid damage, try the steps above and then seek assistance from authorized technicians.

              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 transfer files from Galaxy S7 to a PC, other issues

              S7 edge

              For those of you who sent us requests for assistance regarding #GalaxyS7 and #GalaxyS7edge, check this article out to see if we have a resolution for you. We plan on posting more materials about Galaxy S7 issues in the coming weeks so watch out for them.

              Below are the specific topics addressed here today:

              1. How to transfer files from Galaxy S7 to a PC
              2. Galaxy S7 Messages app crashes when making attachment menu full screen
              3. Work email not working on Galaxy S7 edge
              4. Galaxy S7 keeps showing message not sent message when sending text with over 160 characters
              5. Galaxy S7 won’t charge after it got dropped in pool
              6. Galaxy S7 charges on and off and drains battery power fast | Galaxy S7 randomly reboots, shuts down on its own

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

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

              Problem #1: How to transfer files from Galaxy S7 to a PC

              Using the USB cable that came with the phone, I still cannot download my photos onto my computer. I saw on some forums that I need to unlock my phone in order to do this.  It appears, however, after looking around, that Verizon simultaneously says:  All 4LTE items are sold unlocked out of the box but then below it, I read that you can’t unlock your phone until your contract expires. 

              I can’t make head nor tails out of any of this. Even if I got Verizon to cooperate, how do I “insert” my new sim code (that I’ll have to pay for) into my phone? 

              All I want is to free up space on my phone so I can take more photos. 

              Help! — Tina

              Solution: Hi Tina. “Unlocking” your Galaxy S7 means changing some aspects in the software so it can be used with other networks other than Verizon. Doing so has nothing to do with the first thing that you want, which is to move some of your files to a computer so you can free up some space. Unlocked or not, you should be able to transfer files from your S7 to a computer via USB cable.

              As a reference, these are the things that you need to do, assuming that you have a Windows computer. If you have a Mac, the steps should be slightly similar but the general steps should still be the same.

              1. The first step is to connect your S7 again to your PC via USB cable. Once your phone is recognized by the computer, you can already start moving your files such as music, pictures, and other contents. To easily restore contents after the reset, you can create new folders specific for each type of file on your computer. For example, you can create a music folder for storing music (audio) files copied from your phone to your PC.
                • Insert one end of the USB cable to the charger/accessory port located at the bottom of your phone.
                • Insert the other end of the USB cable into an available USB port on your computer.
                • Remove the USB cable from the charging head to access it when necessary. (The device driver software will then automatically install on the computer the first time you connect your phone to it.)
              2. On your phone, drag the status bar down to show to notification panel.
              3. Select a file transfer option. (An indication that your phone is already accessible through your computer is a message prompt that says “Connected as a media device” or “Connected as a camera.”)
              4. Tap “Connected as a media device,” and then check the box next to Media device (MTP). By then you may begin moving contents from your phone. Hint: Generally, “Connected as a media device” is an option used for most file transfers. If you want to change this option, simply tap the Notification in the Notification Panel. Doing so will open the USB computer connection screen wherein you can tap to select any of your preferred option.
              5. To start copying contents, click the option to “Open device to view files” on your computer.
              6. Navigate to the desired contents on your phone.
              7. Drag and drop the files into the selected folder to your computer.
              8. When you are finished copying all important files, safely disconnect your phone from the computer.

              Problem #2: Galaxy S7 Messages app crashes when making attachment menu full screen

              When I try to add an attachment through Messages (the regular text app, not Facebook), it works fine until I try to make the attachment menu full screen.  If I swipe up to enlarge it or rotate the screen sideways, it crashes and I get “Unfortunately Messages has stopped.”  It does this if I try to make Camera, Galley, or Other full screen. The normal camera app works fine, as does gallery. It only happens if I try to take make one of the attachment options full screen through Messages. I tried forcing the app to stop, clearing its data, doing a soft reset, wiping the cache partition, and finally doing a factory reset.  The problem is still there and it hadn’t been a few weeks ago. I thought the for sure the factory reset would fix it.  Any thoughts? — John

              Solution: Hi John. This can be a firmware-specific bug, which means that it only exists for the Android specific version released by your carrier. We have not heard of this issue in the wild so we think that it may either isolated to your device, or to devices running the same Android build.

              Try wiping the cache partition first and see what happens. If nothing changes, we don’t think doing a factory reset will hurt.

              Here are the steps on how to wipe the cache partition on a Note 5:

              • Turn off the phone.
              • Once the phone has completely shut down, press and hold Volume, Home, and Power buttons at the same time.
              • Wait until the Samsung logo appears before releasing the Power button.
              • Once the Android logo shows up, release the two other buttons.
              • Wait for the Recovery menu to appear (may take up to a minute).
              • Go to wipe cache partition option using the Volume buttons, then press Power button to confirm.
              • Wait for the device to wipe the cache partition
              • Once the cache has been deleted, Reboot system now option will then be highlighted.
              • Press Power button again to confirm the reboot.

              Problem #3: Work email not working on Galaxy S7 edge

              Thanks for all you do for the community. That said, I have yet to find any helpful hints for this issue. With both my S6 Edge, and now with my S7 Edge, I have the same issue – I cannot get the Android (or maybe Samsung) mail app to sync with my workplace email at all.

              I put in the information manually, and it accepts it and seems to go into the inbox, yet it will not receive any emails, nor will it send them. I’ve enabled the sync settings within the app, as well as the master sync. I’ve removed and recreated the account, cleared the email app cache, and at this point I traded my S6 Edge in for the S7 Edge..still, I cannot get my company email on my phone. The closest I can get is opening up OWA. But, as a systems administrator for my company, I need to have immediate alerts and access to the email. Other users on other Android and iPhone devices have no problems adding their email accounts…Any thoughts about other configuration issues that might be causing my problem? — Kent

              Solution: Hi Kent. An issue like this requires that you work with your IT department or Exchange administrators (assuming you’re having trouble with an Exchange account here) and not with us. We don’t have access to your corporate network configurations s so the best that we can do is speculate. With such a very general problem description, we can’t really pinpoint where the problem may lie.

              If this is the first time that you’ve tried to configure your email account on a smartphone, there may be some settings that must be enabled by your corporate IT guys in order for the setup to work.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S7 keeps showing message not sent message when sending text with over 160 characters

              When I send a message longer than 160 characters, it says message failed yet the message is still received by the recipient. Also, if somebody sends me a message and I’m in the middle of using the phone and so reply using the pop up window that appears when the message arrives, I can only send a message of 160 characters. Yet if I open the messaging app fully and reply to the message that way, I can send any size message I want?

              Also sometimes messages are being sent two or three times. I get an alert from giffgaff saying “that message was free…” every time I send a message and I am still receiving these even when a message is apparently failed. — Phil

              Solution: Hi Phil. This can be an app or firmware bug so the first thing that you want to do is clear the cache and data of the messaging app. Here’s how:

              • Go to phone Settings.
              • Tap Device tab.
              • Look for Applications and tap it.
              • Once you’re inside Applications menu, look for Applications Manager and tap it.
              • Inside Applications Manager, tap All apps.
              • Look for the email app you’re using and tap it.
              • From there, you should see  a page that list app-specific information and options. Tap Storage.
              • Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

              If nothing will change, delete the cache partition (steps provided above). Still, if the issue remains, consider doing a factory reset to ensure that the firmware is refreshed.

              Finally, call your wireless carrier first so they can offer you direct assistance in this matter regarding the message that keeps appearing after sending a text message.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S7 won’t charge after it got dropped in pool

              Good morning. I came across your article online and I was wondering if you could help me. I fell into my father’s pool with my S7 Edge + in my pocket 4 days ago. I was in the water a total of 5-10 seconds.

              I made the mistake of drying it and trying to power it on and got the blue light then blank screen. So I tossed it into a bag of minute rice (only rice he had) and let it sit in that bag for 3 days. I also left it on a dry transformer to heat it up in the bag.

              After all of the rice and heat and etc…. The phone actually began charging. It got to 2% charge (VERY slowly) and I tried to power it on.

              The phone booted up, but died immediately due to low battery. Now when I plug it in, it registers the charge and even says fast charging and say “1hr19min until fully charged” which is the normal time for this phone at 0%. The phone does not charge though, just stays at 0%.

              I really only want to get some pictures off this phone.

              What are your thoughts? Thanks. — Chris

              Solution: Hi Chris. Thoughts? Well, first of all, you must condition yourself with the idea that the phone may be gone. If the symptom you’ve described here was not present prior to exposing the phone in water, you can safely assume that the inside components of your device has been damaged. Whether or not the damage is extensive depends on the exposed components. If water is limited in the charging port area only, there’s a chance that replacement of micro-USB port may work. However, if water damaged has spread to other parts, or if it may have corroded the metallic components of the motherboard, the only resolution that you can hope for is unit replacement.

              That you turn on your phone without making sure that there’s no more moisture or water inside may have also amplified the initial damage. In an ideal world, you’re supposed to immediately cut the power by physically removing the battery, which is not readily available in your case. Leaving the battery connected to a water damaged electronic device does not ends up well. Turning on the phone may have shorted some components at this time, complicating the situation further.

              Since water damage automatically voids the warranty, you can’t count on Samsung to replace the phone free of charge at this time. If phone replacement is not an option for you, have the device checked by a competent technician so it can be cleaned and fixed if necessary. This route won’t guarantee that you’ll get the phone back to its previous working state fully, but it’s the only remaining option for you.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S7 charges on and off and drains battery power fast | Galaxy S7 randomly reboots, shuts down on its own

              A couple or issues that may or may not be related (IT idiot here).

              Sometimes (and tonight has been especially horrible) the phone will be connected into the charger, and will not charge, or will continuously alternate between charging and not charging. I’ve tried cleaning out the port and have checked to see if the prongs are damaged but they appear to be okay. I’ve noticed that the battery is draining a lot quicker as well with the charger plugged in…like it’s sucking power out instead. I’ve tried a car charger, USB into computer and car jack, and also a wall charger (the wall has worked the best and kept it charging for the longer time).

              Another issue, I don’t know if related or not, is the phone will keep shutting itself off when in my pocket. This only happens occasionally, but will do it several times in a row. And I never know that the phone has turned itself off until I go to press the main button on the bottom (not the power buttom), and it will turn back on and go throw the opening welcome pages.

              This is all getting really irritating. I work a job that can be dangerous and I need to have this phone charged and working at all times. Also not looking forward to the prospect of having to replace it, can’t really afford it. Any help you can give is much appreciated! — Racheal

              Solution: Hi Racheal. The general rule of thumb when troubleshooting an Android device issue like this is do software solutions first. We recommend that you do that as well.

              That said, the first thing that you want to do is to see if a third party you’ve installed is causing it. Boot your phone in safe mode and let the phone run in this mode for at least 48 hours. This will give you ample time to observe the difference. Safe mode will prevent third party apps from running and only the basic ones will work. To boot your phone in safe mode, just follow these steps:

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

              If the issue remains after observing the phone for a couple of days, do a factory reset so you can eliminate possible bugs that may have developed over time. Just like in safe mode, observe the phone for another 2 days to see for any changes. If that won’t change either, that’s an indication there may be a hardware error behind the trouble. Call Samsung and have the phone repaired or replaced.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Fixing battery drain issue on Galaxy Note 5, more power-related issues

              Note 5

              Samsung’s decision to make the new Galaxy Note 5’s battery non-removable, just like with the Galaxy S6 series, is one of biggest turn offs for this otherwise fine smartphone. Many long-time Samsung users found this deal breaker design unfavorable. The fact that nothing much was done to improve battery capacity and fix the perennial battery drain issue only makes matters worse. Our post today shares some of the power problems sent to us by some members of our TheDroidGuy community.

              1. Battery drain issue on brand new Galaxy Note 5
              2. Water-damaged Galaxy Note 5
              3. Galaxy Note 5 randomly restarts
              4. Galaxy Note 5 keeps getting Power Sharing and Samsung Gear VR pop ups
              5. What affects fast battery consumption 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: Battery drain issue on brand new Galaxy Note 5

              I have had my Note 5 for under a month now. The battery life was great. I would only charge it one time per day and am very conscious of removing it from the charger when it hits 100%. I usually charge it before bed, then unplug it and put it in airplane mode while sleeping. When i wake up 7-8 hours later the phone has only lost about 4% battery life. Well out of nowhere, a few days ago, i did my normal routine, put the phone in airplane mode and went to bed. When i woke up my phone had lost about 50% battery life. I thought maybe it was a one time thing, but then it happened again last night.

              I don’t install many apps. i have no games or even social media apps. And, why the change out of nowhere especially in airplane mode! The only thing is four days prior to this occuring, i downloaded the Hobby Lobby app. But i have since uninstalled it, yet the battery seems to still drain rather quickly. Should i go back to Verizon, as i said i barely got this phone on 11/22 and today is 12/17. — Mary

              Solution: Hi Mary. We think that there might still another app that causes battery drain issue on your Note 5. Instead of turning on Airplane mode, try to reboot the phone in safe mode before going to sleep and observe it for 2 nights. If the battery works fine, then that’s an indication that one of your apps is to blame. Here are the steps to restart your phone in safe mode:

              • Turn off the phone completely.
              • Press and hold the Power key.
              • Once ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
              • The phone will restart but keep the Vol Down button pressed.
              • Once the phone has finished restarting, ‘Safe mode’ will be display in the lower-left corner of the screen.
              • You may now release the Volume Down button.

              You also want to factory reset the phone prior to asking for a replacement. Keep in mind that the replacement phone is no longer brand new and may have its own problems as well. Fixing this issue on your brand new phone is better than getting a refurbished unit. As long as there’s no hardware issue involved, factory reset should easily take care of the battery drain issue. Here’s how to do it:

              • Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
              • Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
              • Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
              • Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
              • The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.
              • Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
              • When the process is complete, use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
              • The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.

              Problem #2: Water-damaged Galaxy Note 5

              I accidentally dropped my Note 5 into a bucket of water. After the first few minutes after I dried it, when I turned it on the screen was flashing with different colors. Then after I gave it a couple of hours, everything works fine but with a few problems. These problems are that both cameras front and back are foggy, the fingerprint scanner doesn’t work, and the home button (on the side) won’t work anymore so it’s difficult to shut off the phone, and also the touch screen won’t work unless I use the S-Pen.

              Is there anyway I can fix these myself, or do I have to go to a repair shop? Would the repair shop even be able to fix the camera and the button? The back is unremoveable which could complicate things.– Jack

              Solution: Hi Jack. We don’t recommend that you open the phone itself, especially if you don’t fix electronics for a living. Right now, there’s no telling what component is damaged. It’s also not recommended to power on a water-soaked electronics as that can only amplify the initial damage.

              Your best option right now is to bring the device to a repair shop and let professionals check and handle the situation. Keep in mind that if damage is extensive and has affected a lot of components in the logic board, the phone is likely good as gone.

               

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

               

              Problem #3: Galaxy Note 5 randomly restarts

              My Galaxy Note 5 (with Verizon wireless) sometimes (but rarely) suddenly turns off from up to 60% battery and when turned back on, battery life is as low as 20%. Another issue is, every time (unless I put it to charge immediately) battery gets down to 20%, it drops to 10% then 3% then dies within 1-3 minutes.

              Every time on either of those occasions, phone begins to heat up on just below and slightly to the left (if you’re looking at the phone’s backside) of the camera and again, I must remove and reinstall the battery or put it to charge in order to turn it on.

              Also, whenever I take pictures (whether it’s saving to device or to external memory) and battery is  <31%,  it’s guaranteed to turn off. Sometimes but rarely, it turns off after a taking a picture, with more charge. I have done all the solutions and has factory reset the phone. Before I downloaded any apps after the factory reset I wanted to see if it still did this and it did. I have tried recalibrating the battery and nothing. I’m running stock Verizon software.

              I have noticed a substantial difference in battery life after the 5.0.1 update. The only thing I have left to do is run a different rom but I have not done so because I’m unsure of the process of installing it.

              Thank you for your help in advance. — Pedro

              Solution: Hi Pedro. Your phone may have a rare power management issue wherein a system in an electronic device no longer works as intended causing it to randomly restart. Since you have already tried to do a factory reset, the next best thing to do is to just ask for a replacement from Verizon.

              Problem #4: Galaxy Note 5 keeps getting Power Sharing and Samsung Gear VR pop ups

              Hello. So today while I was at work I kept getting this screen on my phone saying welcome to Samsung Gear VR. I thought maybe somebody at my job was trying to connect their phone and maybe it was picking up mine. So couple hours later as I’m at home I keep getting this pop up saying power sharing (i believe that’s it) and I don’t know where that is coming from. Do you have any idea how to get rid of it? Please help I don’t want to have to get a new phone I only had this one since the summertime. — Patricia

              Solution: Hi Patricia. The pop up you’re getting is due to a persistent Samsung app that keeps on notifying users of new flagship phones to install their own Power Sharing App and to use Samsung Gear VR. What you can do in this case, since you cannot uninstall first party applications, is to force stop or disable all Samsung Gear VR- or Samsung-related apps. To do that, just follow these steps:

              • Go to Settings.
              • Proceed to Applications.
              • Select Manage Applications.
              • Tap the All tab.
              • Look for the app in question and tap it.
              • From there, you will see the Force Stop or Disable buttons.

              Problem #5: What affects fast battery consumption on Galaxy Note 5

              Battery percenage: 49% 6:42pm. I purchased my Galaxy Note 5 understanding that the battery life was better than a Galaxy Note 3 (my previous device). Either I was misinformed or there’s something wrong. I’m 100% certain I was told the battery life granted at least another hour idle on the later Galaxy. I can’t go through one day without needing to charge my phone twice. 43% 6:50pm. This is the only app running on my phone at the moment. When I took my phone in I was told that the newer phone grants more hours, but sacrifices those hours for performance. I’m frustrated because I cannot use my phone at all, (not even to check the time) if I leave in the morning and aim to go through an entire day without charging.

              This has been my situation since my purchase in May of 2015. Newly downloaded apps haven’t changed anything for me, for better or worse. — Robert

              Solution: Hi Robert. Battery consumption on devices vary depending on screen settings, running apps, usage habits, etc. Battery endurance-wise, the Note 5 is rated higher than the older Note 3, but again, there are many factors that can affect the rate of battery drain of a certain device at a certain time. Even on the same device, battery consumption can sometimes change significantly faster due to some software changes. Assuming that your battery is fine at this time, the first good thing to do is factory reset (steps provided above). Then you have to wait for at least 24 hours before you install your other apps so you’ll know if the issue persists.

              Outdated apps can sometimes cause battery drain issue by forcing the phone’s processor to run for longer periods of time. Even ordinary, official apps can also do that. E-commerce, social networking, shopping, and similar other apps can drain battery power faster than you may realize so make sure you check their settings, especially on how often they sync to remote servers.

              Email apps can also cause fast battery drain if its sync feature is not managed well.

               

              Related reading: Best tips to extend battery life on your Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5

               

               

              Engage with us

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

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

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

              Galaxy S6 won’t turn off after Android update, other issues

              It’s been over a year now since the #GalaxyS6 series was first released so it can be expected that many users are starting to experience issues with it.

              s6

              Below are some of the common problems reported  by some of our S6 users during the past few days:

              1. Galaxy S6 charging port not working | Galaxy S6 power button is defective
              2. Wet Galaxy S6 won’t hold a charge | water damaged Galaxy S6 won’t stay on
              3. Galaxy S6 won’t turn off after Android update
              4. Galaxy S6 keeps on rebooting on its own
              5. Galaxy S6 won’t charge | Galaxy S6 won’t turn on

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S6 charging port not working | Galaxy S6 power button is defective

              So I’m having some troubles with my Galaxy S6. it started last night when my phone went into a reset mode or something where a blue screen comes up and says downloading. It was locked up and unresponsive. I looked it up and got that fixed by holding the power and volume down key. However, after that, now the charging port will not work. I have to use a wireless charger, and my phone is now just going crazy. Sometimes I can’t turn off my phone off. Pressing the power key just doesn’t work. it gets very glitchy, and the Google page comes up out of random and when I try to close it, Google just comes back up again. I don’t know if you can help I’m afraid the whole system is damaged, hope you can help! — Drew

              Solution: Hi Drew. We haven’t noticed you mention doing a factory reset so we suggest that you try that first. Afterwards, observe the phone for at least 24 hours without installing any app so you’ll know if one of your third party apps is to blame. To do a factory reset, kindly do the following steps:

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

              If your phone continues to show abnormal behaviors after a factory reset (and without any third party apps), it’s time that you consider getting a replacement unit.

              Problem #2: Wet Galaxy S6  won’t hold a charge | water damaged Galaxy S6 won’t stay on

              About 2 months ago my phone was accidentally dropped into a pool and suffered a bit of water damage. I kept it in rice for about a week and then tried plugging it into a charger before turning it on. It recognized the charger and showed it was 96% charged, I let it get to 100% and then tried turning the device on but nothing happened, it just refreshed and the battery level went back to 96% charged (it was still plugged in).

              I tried doing some damage control with the help of Samsung and even sent it in for repair, and tracking the whole process they sent the phone back almost immediately after receiving it labeling it as “beyond economic repair.” I returned from a trip abroad, and checked the phone and now it turns on when plugged into the charger. Everything on the device works perfectly fine, including the display, audio, etc. The only issue is that it won’t hold a charge, everytime i unplug it from the charger it turns off.

              I spoke to Samsung again and they say they wont repair it because it had damage to the motherboard but I get the feeling they never even opened up the phone to check it out. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? — Rima

              Solution: Hi Rima. If Samsung won’t repair your water-damaged phone, your only option is to let a third party shop do it instead. As far as resolution on your end is concerned, we doubt that. Unless you have advanced electronic knowledge, can fix a specific Samsung device, and the special kit to do the job, there’s really nothing much that you can do. Software troubleshooting won’t help you obviously so simply let a professional check the phone.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S6 won’t turn off after Android update

              I think i gave you the right system. After the last update my phone randomly started rebooting itself. If i open a photo and hit share, it reboots itself. If i try to send an attachment it reboots itself. I cannot shut it down either. When you hit the power button, the shutdown/restart menu no longer exists. It just reboots itself when you hit the power button. The update before this it randomly froze and stayed that way for long periods of time in the reboot mode. Frozen, that stopped. Now it reboots randomly.

              Also if i have set a background, when it reboots it erases that and puts it back to factory picture. I have not added any aps to my phone in a very very long time. The issues started at the same time as the update and i had also applied a different back ground in text from the theme store. Which came with the phone. I had just used it at that time coincidentally. I was afraid it was that so uninstalled it. I have read tips here but they require you to shut down the phone which I can’t do. — Rebecca

              Solution: Hi Rebecca. The first thing that you want to do is to reset your phone. This can be done by pressing and holding the Power and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds. After doing a soft reset, you can attempt to shut the phone down again. If it’s successful, you then want to wipe the cache partition.

              For minor firmware-related issues brought by apps and firmware updates, wiping the cache partition often does the trick. It’s because this procedure will literally delete all cached files in the cache partition, which will force the system to create new ones during the next boot up.

              This procedure is also very helpful in fixing issues like random reboots, boot loop, stuck during boot up and random freezes after updates. Here’s how you wipe the cache partition on your S6:

              • Turn off the device.
              • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
              • When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
              • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
              • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
              • 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 wiping the cache partition won’t work, the next thing that you can do is factory reset. Please refer to the steps below on how to do it.

              In case soft reset won’t resolve your difficulty in shutting down the phone, consider getting a replacement phone as the Power button may have become stuck.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S6 keeps on rebooting on its own

              I want to ask for your help about my smartphone.

              In this recent days, my phone keep rebooting by itself especially when I restart my phone (sometimes it can happen without restart my phone). After I restart my phone, It is absolutely keep rebooting by itself and I don’t know when it will stop, so I just leave it until it is finish.

              I already tried 2 methods to solve that, the first one is wipe cache partition and the last one is factory reset. However none of that method work up on my phone.

              Can you help me to solve this problem? Please I don’t know already what should I do, I just bought it 6 months ago and this phone already has kind of this problem. Is it possible the source of the problem is the newest OS?

              And by the way, I don’t understand the meaning of carrier in your form

              Thank you. — Anthony

              Solution: Hi Anthony. There’s only so much that you can do when it comes to an issue like this. If factory reset did not change anything, consider installing another firmware, in case the cause of the problem is due to the poor quality of firmware running on the device. If you rely on your carrier to receive updates (OTA update),  you want to manually install the firmware instead via Odin mode. Now, manual firmware installation has its risks and does not guarantee a resolution. This is, however, the only thing that you can do on your end before you consider having the phone replaced. If you want to flash a new ROM or firmware to your device, use Google to search for a guide.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S6 won’t charge | Galaxy S6 won’t turn on

              It was on charge the other night, woke up and and went to go on the phone but it seemed to drain itself and then switch off? So I tried charging it but it would vibrate and go onto the grey battery icon with the lightening bolt in and nothing else. I would try to turn it on and it would switch off as soon as my homescreen loaded.

              I tried several different cables and plugs etc, ones that i knew worked with family but still nothing. I tried clearing out the charging port as best as I could and still nothing. I then tried using a wireless charger from a friend and the same thing happens where it just appears with a grey battery icon and doesn’t actually charge. It’s been two days and now the phone won’t turn on at all and it wont let me boot into safe mode or do a hard reset. The only thing i can get up on the screen is the grey battery icon when the phone is on the wireless charging pad. — Charlotte

              Solution: Hi Charlotte. There’s obviously nothing much that you can do about this problem on your own. Looks like you have a hardware issue right now. We know that Samsung Galaxy S6 phones are very reliable and we don’t think these issues just came out of the blue. Either the phone has been dropped or exposed to elements like water or heat. If none of these things happen to your device, there’s a chance that there’s a problem with the battery. Unless you have the required electronics skills and tools, there’s no way you can examine the phone’s hardware. So, your best course of action right now is to call Samsung so they can check the hardware or even replace the device. If your S6 is no longer in warranty, be sure to prepare to pay for the service required.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              How to fix a water-damaged or wet Galaxy S7, other issues

              wet S7

              Smartphone owners usually wonders what’s the best way of fixing a water-damaged or wet device, particularly the #GalaxyS7, so we think publishing a brief guide about it is necessary. This issue and four others will be discussed below. We hope you’ll find this material useful in your own search for answers.

              1. Galaxy S7 no sound issue during calls
              2. Galaxy S7 screen remains black and showing colored horizontal lines
              3. How to fix a water-damaged or wet Galaxy S7
              4. Calendar not restored after Galaxy S7 was factory reset
              5. Galaxy S7 lower screen stutter and turns white randomly after Marshmallow update

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

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

              Problem #1: Galaxy S7 no sound issue during calls

              Thank you so much for offering this service.

              When I make or receive calls, I cannot hear the other person on the other end of the call and vice versa. Outgoing calls, I can hear through the earpiece speaker the “ring” sound that the call is being made. When the other person picks up, there is no sound. I’ve switched to speaker and used the speaker phone, still no avail. When someone calls me, even if I’m not currently using the phone, i get a message that asks if I want to put the current call on hold to pick up the person calling in. Very strange. Software is up-to-date and the phone works great in all other functions, except this. I’ve done a soft reset, but not a factory reset. I’m hoping there is another option and that be my last resort.  Please, please help. — Samantha

              Solution: Hi Samantha. Are you using a third party dialer? If yes, try using the stock dialer app or simply uninstall the third party one to see the difference.

              Alternatively, you can try to boot your phone in safe mode during calls so you can compare how calling function works. With Safe mode on, all third party applications and services will be prevented from running. If one of them is the reason for the trouble, the issue should not happen while safe mode is enabled. To restart your phone in safe mode, simply follow these steps:

              • Turn the phone off completely.
              • Press and hold the Power key.
              • As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
              • Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
              • You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

              If your phone successfully booted up in safe mode and there’s no calling issue whatsoever, try to uninstall suspected apps until the issue is gone. Or, you can proceed with Factory reset through Settings or Master reset by booting up your phone in recovery mode again. Either way, the problem will be fixed.

              Problem #2: Galaxy S7 screen remains black and showing colored horizontal lines

              I was out for a walk and had my phone in my back pocket. I didn’t sit down anywhere or bend it. However, sometimes I can hear it constantly trying to do something, the screen seems to be touchy at times and I will pull it out of my back pocket and discover it has “popped” to all these other apps or tried to go to the internet, etc. The screen suddenly went black and I kept hearing all these notifications. I didn’t get it wet or drop it. I could still hear notifications and receive phone calls, but I couldn’t see or send a text or dial.

              I went to the Verizon store in my home town (I had only purchased the phone about 3 months ago) and the lady at the counter said it was probably a software issue with the screen. She tried turning it off and on but nothing. She said that I could send it in for a warranty but that if they discovered internal damage, I might have to pay upwards of $300 for the phone.

              I am still paying off the phone for about $200 some dollars. Or she said I could make an insurance claim but I have a deductible and it may cost me an extra $150. Both these alternatives upset me and they sounded expensive.

              I have never cracked the screen or gotten the phone wet, but they did transfer all my phone numbers and photos from my Tracfone to this phone, and it has been very full, and I cannot put any other apps on it. I have kids and I have tried to erase the many photos I have of them, but it’s difficult. So the phone is loaded to the max. I even had to take Candy Crush off of it. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it.

              I then tried to fix it myself by resetting the battery a couple of times and now it had multi colored horizontal lines and when I call it from my house phone, it won’t ring now.

              Please help! If I send it into Verizon, what’s stopping them from lying and saying it does have internal damage when they can make some money off of me? I haven’t been happy with this company but they are the only ones that work the best in this limited service area that I live in. Thanks. — Susan

              Solution: Hi Susan. The problems you describe here appears hardware in nature rather than software ones so your best chance at having a working phone again is to either have it repaired or replaced. If your phone continues to boot up but the screen remains black or showing colored horizontal lines, that’s an indication that the screen assembly may have failed. Discoloration of the screen can be caused by a malfunctioning LCD, one of the major components of a screen assembly. Sadly, a problem like this can’t be resolved by doing some software troubleshooting like the ones we usually provide. You must have the phone checked physically so a complete hardware diagnostics can be conducted.

              Problem #3: How to fix a water-damaged Galaxy S7

              I dropped my phone in water and dried it off. I then took off the back cover to make sure water didn’t get into it but it did. I quickly dried it. At that point my phone was still working properly however it was being slow and lagging. It didn’t look like water got anywhere into my phone but my phone was being weird. It goes to the Galaxy S7 loading screen then in the top corner it says rebooting system and then goes to this programmer looking screen, the Android System Recovery. No matter what I do or press I always get that screen where I have options of rebooting system, apply updates from ADB, external storage, and from cache. I can wipe data and factory reset and that didn’t work.

              I’m giving the option to wipe cache partition, reboot to boot loader, power down, view recovery logs, enable cp logging, and disable cp logging. I’m in desperate need of help and I put my phone in rice for about a week now, just to make sure its dry and whenever I turn it on I get this screen. Please help. — Alexis

              Solution: Hi Alexis. If your phone started acting up after it got wet, that’s probably because water has seeped into the motherboard, causing problems. In a perfect world, you should have removed the battery right after pulling out the phone from water, cleaned it properly using alcohol, and left it to dry thoroughly for days or weeks. Not doing any of these can lead to problems later on, like what is happening to your device right now.

              Leaving the battery connected to a wet motherboard is a perfect recipe for disaster. Current can reach places of the board where it’s not supposed to go. This means that some components can get shorted, which can lead to hardware problems. Electrolysis can also develop after some time, causing metal components of the motherboard to stick to another. Water can cause corrosion of parts which is the last thing you want to happen on a motherboard.

              The worst thing that you can do to a wet smartphone though is by turning it on. Doing so will not only hasten the destructive chemical processes that happens when a motherboard is exposed to water, but that will also be a certain death sentence for your device. There’s no faster way of frying electronic components than by turning on a wet phone. You can bid those components goodbye right away.

              Whatever the exact reason why something triggered the phone to boot in recovery mode, making it technically unusable, one thing is for sure — your S7 is gone. To be frank, unless you are amenable to replacing the motherboard entirely by yourself, there’s little to nothing that you can do. Either you let a professional take a look at it, or you get a replacement. We know these may be unacceptable for you right now but just like what we said to Susan above, hardware failures cannot be fixed by software solutions.

              If you think you can still salvage your phone by doing something on your end, below are the steps that you can try.

              Tear the phone down

              Find a way to open up the phone so you can clean the inside parts completely. This procedure requires special kits so a complete teardown is achieved. Remember, you don’t know what component is exposed to water at this time so you will have to inspect every removable part inside. This first step requires tools and skills so if you don’t have both, don’t even think of doing it. You can research for ways how to achieve a complete teardown of your Galaxy S7.

              A word of caution: doing this step will obviously void the warranty and may brick the phone for good so do it at your own risk.

              Clean the parts

              Once you’ve managed to separate the components from each other (and we hope you can manage to put them back together later), get a large pan so you can pour about a quart of alcohol to it. You can use old 70%-90% rubbing alcohol depending on what you have. Don’t use drinking alcohol! You can use ethyl or isopropyl alcohol instead.

              Now put the components in the pan (including the case and everything) and clean them thoroughly. Don’t forget to disconnect the battery before immersing it in the pan. Then make sure that you remove any dirt or minerals from the components. Swish them in alcohol for 5 minutes. Alcohol will then do its job of absorbing the water from the phone. After 5 minutes, remove the phone and parts from the pan, drain the alcohol from them, and dump the alcohol. Do the same process once to ensure that no dirt, water, or minerals remain.

              Dry the phone

              Dry the components with clean soft cloth and re-assemble the phone. Be sure to dry each part before the reassembly by putting them into a ziplock or container with uncooked rice or silica gel. Make sure the container is sealed. Then you have to wait for at least a week. The rice or silica gel will absorb the alcohol so make sure to dispose them properly afterwards.

              After a week, open up container, wipe the components with clean soft cloth, and begin the reassembly. Hopefully, your first aid procedure will work and the phone will run normally again.

              Problem #4: Calendar not restored after Galaxy S7 was factory reset

              Please help! I’ve tried everything and have been up for hours.

              Today my Samsung S7 just went dead although I knew I had 64% charge…it was like it had no charge. Someone told me to hold down both volume buttons and home and power button at same time.

              The phone came back on and we hit restore and it updated system.

              After several hours I had everything back except for the calendar. And I’ve tried everything for the last few hours. Soooo frustrated since my life is in that calendar. Can you help me please??? — Sarah

              Solution: Hi Sarah. If you did a factory reset and restored everything except the Calendar, that means that the events were not saved in Google cloud or to any other cloud services. You can only restore the things that were saved somewhere else (like in another device or in the cloud) before the reset. If your Calendar information were not synced with your Google account or Samsung account, there’s no way for you to get them back again.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S7 lower screen stutter and turns white randomly after Marshmallow update

              Just downloaded the software update for 6.0.1. Almost immediately the lower half of the screen started to stutter (and turns white) when the power or home key is pressed to unlock. This also occurs seemingly randomly and regardless of which apps are open. It also happens during start up as the Samsung logo is displayed. I have performed factory reset and partition cache but still no joy. Concerned this is a bug with the update. 9.3 GB of storage available on phone so don’t think it is a space issue. Phone worked perfectly beforehand. — Scott

              Solution: Hi Scott. We suspect that a third party app is to blame for this problem. Although you can try to check if our suspicion is true by booting the phone in safe mode (steps provided above) for a few days, other third party application or service may continue to run. We recommend that you do another round of factory reset instead and observe how the phone’s screen works for 48 hours without installing any third party app. This will help you determine if one of your apps is to blame.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Galaxy S6 keeps making beeping sounds randomly, other issues

              Hello guys! Here’s another post that covers 6 more #GalaxyS6 issues. As usual, these issues are taken from reports submitted by some members of our Android community. If you are yet to see your own question published here, make sure to keep watching for similar posts in the near future.

              s6

              Below are the specific topics covered in this post:

              1. Hardware buttons on water-damaged Galaxy S6 not working properly
              2. Transferring photos from a randomly rebooting Galaxy S6
              3. Galaxy S6 draining battery even while charging
              4. Galaxy S6 keeps making beeping sounds randomly
              5. Galaxy S6 Edge gets stuck in Samsung logo page after flashing stock ROM
              6. Galaxy S6 Edge+ screen keeps flickering

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

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

              Problem #1: Hardware buttons on water-damaged Galaxy S6 not working properly

              I was out in a vacation one day doing island hopping when I brought my Samsung Galaxy S6 in the water with me, which I also secured in a waterproof pouch so to avoid being wet/soaked. However, few minutes later, I noticed that the pouch started to form moisture inside and I realized that the water was able to get in the pouch. I immediately get out in the water and took my phone to the boat and immediately wrap it in a thick cloth (that was about 2-3 pm when it happened).

              Later at around 6pm, I transferred it to a rice container as advised by my friends. That was Thursday and after 58 hours (Sunday at 1am) I turned it on to check if it will work and eventually it did. However when I charged it, it doesn’t charged normally (after 30 minutes it was still at 11%). So I turned it off again (Sunday at around 8am until Monday 6am) and put inside the rice container again for another 24 hours (Monday 6am until Tuesday 6am). I charged it and it charged up to 100% and I was really happy. I started using it until I noticed that GOOGLE SEARCH and CAMERA would suddenly appear (even if I didn’t open it) while I do texting or scanning through my phone.

              So I tried to check the settings and was able to found the settings for the camera which prevent it from suddenly appearing even if I don’t really open it and I also disabled the google search. However, google search still appears but not as often as the first time. Few days later, I also noticed that the POWER ON/OFF BUTTON and HOME KEY would SOMETIMES malfunctions. Like it functions during daytime, then at night it goes off (but not simultaneously though and not at all times). I tried to search for troubleshooting these concerns in the internet and I found this way through the accessibility > dexterity and interaction > assistant menu which I found really helpful as to avoid using the home key/power on/off key.

              Is my unit okay or do I still need to have it checked for any possible defects? I am afraid to use the factory reset for fear that I won’t be able to use it with a sim afterwards. and maybe having it configured would cost much also. My unit is a Dual SIM one and it’s open line too. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you so much! — Maan

              Solution: Hi Maan. If these issues were not there before you took your phone for a dive, then you can bet your S6 was indeed water damaged. We know you would want to hear good news on this situation but we’re afraid you really have to look for an effective resolution. And that resolution is phone replacement. An exhaustive hardware repair may have a small chance of fixing whatever problem there may be, but we won’t bet on it. Majority of the time, water-damaged electronic device eventually breaks down after repair so there’s really nothing much that you can do. Doing a factory reset won’t help in this case either as the main cause is hardware malfunction. If the phone is still within warranty, try bringing it to a Samsung store for replacement.

              Problem #2: Transferring photos from a randomly rebooting Galaxy S6

              On the “Thedroidguy” page the explanation about these phones shutting down randomly says “if the phone still shut itself down in safe mode, then the problem must be in the firmware or the hardware. You need to backup all your important data, especially ones that are stored in your phone’s internal storage, and perform the master reset.” Do you have a magic way to backup all your important data if the phone is constantly turning off?

              My cloud has everything except for the last 3 months. Verizon decreased my cloud size causing my automatic updates to stop working. I have all my pics since June and would love to have the last 3 months. I have tried safe mode and even tried wiping the cache partition. Nothing works so I’m guessing it’s the firmware or hardware but I really don’t want to lose those pics. Help! — Denise

              Solution: Hi Denise. There’s no magic way to create a backup of your files if there’s a very short time in between reboots. You need to have at least a full minute between reboots in order to move a few MBs of files from your defective phone to another device. A shorter time than 1 minute between reboots may not be enough to let your S6 initialize and establish a good connection with, say, a PC and transfer files. And remember, regularly interrupting a device while it’s trying to access its memory or saving something can also lead to file corruption. That said, there’s really nothing much that you can do in this case. Unless you can stabilize the phone long enough to move files, those important pictures are gone.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S6 draining battery even while charging

              I usually need to charge my S6 every night. No big deal. However, sometimes after charging all night (with the provided charger) it still does not completely charge. Sometimes on 50-60%, but sometimes completely. Last night, it didn’t charge at all and powered down during the night. Luckily, it went ahead and charged at that point. Unluckily, I was late to work because my phone is my alarm. What can I do to make it charge consistently? Secondly, it’s as if the phone goes “brain dead” sometimes. It seems to be overwhelmed when I ask it to do complex things like activate, or wake up. I’ll turn the screen on, touch a button and then it acts like it isn’t sure what to do. So I’ll try something else and maybe even a third time on something else at which point the phone does the first thing that I’d wanted. It’s very frustrating. I’ve cleared most photos out, and uninstalled any apps that I didn’t truly need hoping for better performance, but sometimes it still feels like my smartphone didn’t graduate smartphone class. — Darrinswait

              Solution: Hi Darrinswait. The two issues may be related or not at all. In order to hit 2 birds with one stone here, we strongly recommend that you do a factory reset first so you can observe how charging works when all software settings are set to default. Make sure that you don’t install any app while observing the phone to see a difference. Try to observe the device for at least 2 days. For reference, below are the steps on how to do a factory reset:

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

              If your phone charges fine during the observation period (at least 2 days and no apps installed), then the battery drain issue during charging must be caused by an app/s. Only install apps that are compatible and updated. Because there’s no specific way to know what may be causing battery drain  (other than by going under phone settings and checking battery usage), you must do a trial-by-error isolation yourself.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S6 keeps making beeping sounds randomly

              First off, I have a Galaxy S6. My phone keeps beeping at random but there’s no message or notification given. I have followed so many tips on line, shut off every notification i could find, and it still beeps like every 5 minutes or so. This just started. I did recently switch my emails on the phone (wicked annoying task to do) and maybe that did something? I have downloaded just two apps ever, and that was a long time ago, i hardly use them.

              Also, I have noticed my Gmail and my EMAIL app no longer is syncing, sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly. both things are super annoying. — Lionettes

              Solution: Hi Lionettes. There are a lot of things that can cause an S6 to make a sound notification so we can’t really tell where to start looking. The best thing that you can do right now is to try to remember what you did or changed differently prior to noticing the notification issue. If you can’t do that, consider wiping the cache partition to see if that will change anything. Here’s how to do that:

              • Turn off the device.
              • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
              • When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
              • When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
              • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
              • 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 nothing will change after wiping the cache partition, you can also try to boot your device in safe mode. If the beeping sound is due to a bad third party app, the issue should not occur in safe mode. That should help you then further narrow down on the third party apps you’ve installed recently. To boot in safe mode, follow these steps:

              • Turn off your Galaxy S6.
              • Press and hold the Power key.
              • When ‘Samsung Galaxy S6’ appears, immediately release the Power key and then press and hold the Volume Down button.
              • Continue holding the Volume Down button until the phone finishes the restart.
              • When you see Safe Mode on the lower left corner of the screen, release the button.

              Of course, if nothing will change further, you must do a factory reset. Refer to the steps provided above. Doing a factory reset should also help you fix your email syncing issue.

              Problem #5: Galaxy S6 Edge gets stuck in Samsung logo page after flashing stock ROM

              Please help me!!! I bought a Galaxy S6 Edge 925F off the aliexpress site for 02 months. it came in version 5.0.2 of Android, and updated via OTA to version 6.0.1. A month after installing, the phone restarted alone without reason, and was repeatedly restarting the logo “Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge” until after a few times alone system started.

              After that every day was the same. To try to resolve, I reinstalled via Odin the most current stock ROM site SamMobile for the model, did the factory reset and also the cache cleaning as directed in site tutorials. At the beginning everything went well, but one week after cell did the same thing, restarted, was running several times the initial logo, to enter the system, and after a few minutes did the same thing. I do not know what to do, can you help me? Mobile is out of the company’s warranty period. Thank you very much in advance. — Allan

              Solution: Hi Allan. If your phone starts working fine after flashing a stock ROM but then reverts to a problematic state afterwards, you should really question yourself what you did differently. There must be something you installed or changed that causes the issue. If you can’t figure out what may be causing the issue, flash a stock ROM again and observe the phone for long as you can, (at least a week perhaps) without installing any app or update. This will help you determine if something you’re adding later is causing the problem.

              Problem #6: Galaxy S6 Edge+ screen keeps flickering

              My Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ had a screen flicker – then black screen, but I could still answer incoming calls – not much else. I did a soft reset and the display came back, but only for about 20 minutes. Tried again and now only a black screen, but sounds and vibrations when buttons are pushed. Even on start up the screen stays black – therefore, it does no good to do a hard reset because I can’t see where to scroll to wipe the device. I tried doing a factory reset from my laptop in Google Play, but it can’t find the device. Verizon was no help. Samsung tried but couldn’t help in the store. They said mail it back and maybe there is a fix, maybe there isn’t. No clue which operating system is running – been trying to update for over a month but got an error message every time.  — Round

              Solution: Hi Round. If the phone boots up fine (because it still makes sound notifications, receives calls, the LED light continues to flash), then you have a screen assembly problem. To fix that, you must submit the device to a hardware check so the screen or unit can be replaced. Our blog does not provide guides on how to replace parts so if you want to do the replacement yourself, try to look for instructions somewhere.

               

              Engage with us

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

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

              Photos taken by Galaxy S7 camera app do not show in Gallery, other issues

              Hello guys! Welcome to another #GalaxyS7 article! As usual, we bring you more S7 issues by publishing the experiences of some of our readers when using their S7. We hope that this material will help not only the users mentioned here but also those who may be experiencing the same problem.

              Below are the specific topics we cover for you:

              1. Galaxy S7 won’t power back on
              2. Accidentally dropped Galaxy S7 won’t boot back up
              3. Galaxy S7 screen is unresponsive and flickering
              4. Galaxy S7 apps stop responding | Galaxy S7 keeps vibrating in quick succession
              5. Water-damaged Galaxy S7 won’t turn on
              6. How to unlock Galaxy S7 edge when PIN fails
              7. Photos taken by Galaxy S7 camera app do not show in Gallery

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

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

              Problem#1: Galaxy S7 won’t power back on

              Hi there. As of this afternoon, I’m having problems with my Samsung Galaxy S7. I’ve been using the Phone for a few months now, and I have to say it’s been quite a disappointment because of a variety of issues that have plagued me. The significant being that since the latest update my phone will do random restarts every 2 or 3 days. When it does, it seldom boots up successfully in one go. Usually it’ll freeze in the middle of loading the Samsung logo and then just reboot by itself starting all over again. After about 10 – 15 times it will boot up successfully and I’m able to use to phone without any issues. I have to say that even doing a factory reset has not solved this problem. While this is annoying, it’s not something I’m willing to bring my phone to a technician over, since that would be quite a hassle for me.

              The real problem I’m facing is what happened today. This afternoon I was using my phone without any problems, and when I was done I pressed the button that locks the screen and put it on my desk. About 10 minutes later I wanted to check the time and the phone is just dead. No response to anything. I’ve tried troubleshooting it with help of this website, but I haven’t been able to get the phone to boot. It’s very cold, much colder than it usually is so I assume it’s turned off. The battery isn’t the problem because it was freshly charged, 90%+ when I was using it. Connecting it to the charger also doesn’t do anything. No screen, no LEDs, nothing at all. Neither does connecting it to my PC. The phone also stays cold, while usually when it charges it warms up quite a bit. I’ve tried the Power + Volume Down button, Volume Up + Power + Home button, All buttons at once, all to no avail. I also probably have to note that a few days ago my phone fell for the first time, on a tile bathroom floor, cracking the backside glass but it seemed to function fine until today. Is there anything else I can do or should I just go to a technician? Thanks in advance. — Tony

              Solution: Hi Tony. The only thing that you can do in this situation is try to restart the phone to other modes by doing the steps below. If the phone remains unresponsive and continue to fail to boot in any way, your only option is to send it in. there may be a hardware problem that causes the phone to fail to start normally, or to accept a charge.

              And just to be sure, try to use another USB cable and charger to see if that will change anything. You can also check the charging port for any debris or lint that may prevent good contact with the charger. There may be a damaged pin in the charging port as well so if you can, try to do a closer inspection of the port.

              For the benefit of other readers, here are the steps on how to boot your phone to other modes:

              Boot in Recovery mode:

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

              Boot in Download Mode:

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

              Boot in safe mode:

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

              Problem #2: Accidentally dropped Galaxy S7 won’t boot back up

              My S7 edge turned crashed and then auto-restarted. Then it got stuck on the Samsung logo for a while after which it completely shut down out of the blue. Now it’s refusing to turn on no matter what i do. I’ve tried all the combinations mentioned in the posts but it just won’t turn on in any mode. I’m originally from India and here in USA for 2 weeks. I just wanted to check if there’s any other troubleshooting I can do on my own before I go searching for a nearby Samsung service center. — Mayur

              Solution: Hi Mayur. As mentioned above, if you can’t get the phone going after attempting to boot it to alternate modes, you need to ask assistance from a professional. The accidental drop must have damaged a component/s in the logic board or affected the battery so a thorough hardware check is necessary. If the problem started right after the phone was dropped, that’s an obvious indication that there’s now a hardware problem.

              Even when enclosed in a “shockproof” case, an accidental drop can still cause severe damage to an electronic device like an S7 because most internal components are made of fragile materials can only absorb so much shock.

              We highly recommend that you send it to a Samsung service center but if that’s not possible, you can always try the services of an independent service center as well.

              Problem #3: Galaxy S7 screen is unresponsive and flickering

              I have Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge purchased this year. It has flickering only at the bottom 1/3 of screen so nothing can be read in that area. I have tried the resets and rebooting, however, I’m unable to complete. The touchscreen is not responsive most of the time. This just started happening about 4 days ago.

              Also on the reboot, when the little Android man appears, he falls down with an exclamation point in a yellow triangle.        — Croberts

              Solution: Hi Croberts. Flickering and unresponsive screen are two of the common symptoms of a malfunctioning screen assembly. If you damaged the phone before either by exposing it to liquid or water or by dropping it, stop looking for solutions unless you are capable of fixing phone hardware problems (but we bet you’ll not contact us if you are). There’s no software tweak that you can do to fix hardware problems. Stop wasting your time and bring the phone directly to Samsung so it can be checked and repaired.

              However, if your phone was never dropped nor exposed to water before noticing the problem, try doing a factory reset to see if there’s a difference. If nothing changes after resetting the phone, send it to a repair center.

              Here’s how to factory reset your S7:

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

              NOTE: Factory reset will delete all user data so make sure to back up your important files before doing it.

              Problem #4: Galaxy S7 apps stop responding | Galaxy S7 keeps vibrating in quick succession

              Hey guys.  Firstly, I left my Galaxy S7 on charge overnight and it was working perfectly. When I woke up most of my apps stopped working. I got loads of pop ups saying; ‘Facebook is not responding,’ Twitter is not responding’ and so on. I tried to restart my phone and after I typed in my password for verification it is now stuck on a screen with an unlocked padlock with two half circles rotating around it.

              It also vibrates on and then twice in quick succession every 4 seconds or so. Please let me know if you can help I’ve only had this phone for a week.

              Also I selected Marshmallow on the Android Version but I’m not completely sure. Thanks for your time! — Zach

              Solution: Hi Zach. Although smartphones are designed to automatically shut off charging functionality once the battery is fully charged, leaving a phone connected to a charger long after full charging has been attained may result to problems. We’ve encountered sporadic cases of phones failing to boot up after leaving connected to a charger overnight. For some reason, some smartphones can encounter problems when constantly left connected to a power outlet for long durations. Unfortunately, there’s not enough data that’s been collected to see a pattern to identify the cause of the problems in these cases. Our suggestion is to do your best to unplug the device from a power outlet when charging is done to avoid problems. We suspect that fluctuations in voltage is the culprit but other factors such as overheating or faulty chargers can be just as destructive. Investigating the cause in this case is beyond the scope of this article so let’s discuss some concrete solutions that you can try instead.

              The first thing that you want to do is see if the problem is being caused by a bad system cache. To do that, you want to clear the cache partition. Here’s how:

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

              Because you’re having problems with multiple apps at once, it’s very unlikely that the issue is on an app’s level. It must be something higher than that. It can also be due to some third party app so you also want to observe how the phone would work if it’s booted to safe mode. Safe mode blocks third party apps and services so if the errors won’t show and the phone will work normally, a third party app must be to blame. To boot your phone to safe mode, follow these steps:

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

              If nothing will change when your phone is booted to safe mode, you should consider doing a factory reset to check if there’s a software-level glitch causing the problem.

              The vibration issue may or may not be due to hardware malfunction so if factory reset won’t eliminate it, contact Samsung or the store and have the phone replaced.

              Problem #5: Water-damaged Galaxy S7 won’t turn on

              Phone fell in water and was completely submerged in 6-8 inches of water for about 15 seconds. I was not there when the phone fell in. I do not know what the person did with the phone after getting it out of the water. I was given the phone shortly after and I stood it up on end (charge port down) on a towel. It appeared to be dry and has been about 6 days. I could not discern any water coming from the phone after I got it. It will not power on. Plugging the charger in today = nothing. Wireless charger indicates charging. I have not attempted to disassemble the phone other than to remove the SIM card. Unfortunately I was unable to do the rice or 99% isopropyl alcohol things and decided I would like as much a chance as possible to recover my phone from certain doom. Look forward to hearing from you, thank you for your time and consideration. — Daniel

              Solution: Hi Daniel. Although the Galaxy S7 is a  water-resistant device, the protection may fail and allow some moisture to enter exposed areas. We’ve seen this happen a few times before, with the speaker the mostly affected component. We’ve heard of some S7s suffering from total boot failure after it was dropped in water or to high pressure liquid source like a faucet. Whatever the circumstances surrounding your case, the most pressing thing that you want to do now is to ensure that you have the hardware checked so it can be assessed if the phone has been permanently damaged or not. Because the Galaxy S7 is more difficult to disassemble compared to its predecessors, we recommend that you let a professional do the job for you.

              Problem #6: How to unlock Galaxy S7 edge when PIN fails

              Hey. I have a Galaxy S7 edge which belonged to my sister who recently passed away. We think there is some vital information on the phone due to the circumstances around her death.

              We can’t get into her phone because of the PIN number lock. We have tried too many times now and every attempt locks you out for 1 hour. Hope there is some way you can advise or help us.

              Many thanks.  — One stop

              Solution: Hi One stop. The only way to unlock a Samsung Galaxy S7’s screen is to enter the correct PIN, pattern, password, or registered fingerprint. Even Samsung can’t help you unlock a phone if you forget your own screen unlock code.

              If the previous owner enabled Smart Lock feature on the phone, you may be able to unlock by doing the necessary Smart Lock actions. Smart Lock options include:

              • On-body detection
              • Trusted places
              • Trusted devices
              • Trusted voice

              On-body detection keeps the phone unlocked if it detects that you’re carrying or holding it. It requires that you unlock it once though so this is definitely not enabled.

              Trusted places prevents the device from locking itself up if it detects that it is a place previously registered such as the home of the original owner. This feature must be set up first in order to work. Try bringing the phone to the owner’s house, office, or favorite place to see if it works.

              Lastly, Trusted voice feature, as its name suggests, only works if the phone hears the voice command set by the original owner.

              If you think there may be something important on the phone that can help you shed light on the original owner’s death, we recommend that seek help from your government. Law enforcement agencies can use special software to help you unlock the phone after the legality of doing so will be established.

              Problem #7: Photos taken by Galaxy S7 camera app do not show in Gallery

              This been happening a lot and I can’t seem to find the cause. When i take a picture it’ll show in the little window my picture but when i go to the gallery to get a full view of the picture it’s not there. So, I’ll go back to my camera and still see it in the little window and try to open to view the picture but it won’t show it to me. It’ll just show the picture previous to that one. This is been happening quite frequently. I don’t take a lot of pictures but this seems to happen every other other picture. Any help would be greatly appreciated. — A.J.

              Solution: Hi A.J. We don’t think we fully understood what you’re saying here but if you have a problem with the camera app, consider resetting its settings to return them to default. If that won’t work, delete the app’s cache and data by doing the steps below:

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

               

              Engage with us

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

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