Although not considered a Samsung Galaxy flagship, the #GalaxyJ5 is a decent smartphone that can do all network functions flawlessly and more. With millions of this device in circulation around the world today, it’s not surprising that there are many users asking us for support. Today’s troubleshooting article will answer some common J5 issues. As usual, the cases mentioned below are taken from reports we receive everyday. We hope that you’ll find this post helpful in fixing your own J5 issue.
Problem #1: What to do if your Galaxy J5 loses battery power fast, or if battery is not working properly
Hello! I’ve had this problem with my battery for sometime now, and I’m asking if there is anything that I can personally do without spending money on someone else to fix it. So, as said, I have the Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 version. So, whenever it gets to 39% percent of battery my phone starts doing things on it’s own, like if I’m on Youtube it clicks on another video by itself and the screen scrolls by itself. But it all happens in like 30 seconds and my phone shuts off. And then I put it to charge and it says I have 13% battery and not those 39%.
And there have been many times where I would take my battery out for any reason and if I had like 80% battery level when I put the battery back in, it would say 50%. I also tried calibrating my battery, but it works for like 2 hours and it’s back to the problem. I did factory data reset, didn’t do anything except I lost most of my pictures lol. And my battery has also been draining a lot more and I’ve tried putting apps to sleep and uninstalling what I don’t use but it didn’t do much. There are no visible damages on the battery but maybe it’s just worn out since I’ve had this phone since January 2017. I’m planning to just go buy a new battery, but if there is anything that you could tell me to do, it would mean a lot. Thank you for taking your time to read this 🙂
Solution: The most that you can do in your situation is factory reset and since that did not make any difference at all, battery replacement is probably necessary. Lithium-based batteries naturally loses capacity and depending on your usage habit, degradation of your phone’s capacity may happen in a matter of several months only. There’s no more software trick that you can do if your battery’s capacity has already reached critical levels. We suggest that you go ahead with the plan to replace it.
Problem #2: What to do if Galaxy J5 won’t boot up after flashing
Hello there. I am having an issue with my Samsung Galaxy SM-J500F (2015 model). When turn my phone on this message displays “An error has Occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency recovery function in the Smart Switch PC software” on the screen. I have tried using the Emergency recovery function in the Samsung Smart Switch app and it says unsupported device. I have also tried the Emergency Recovery function in the Samsung Kies 3 Software and the same thing happens. When I try the “Firmware upgrade and initialization” it asks for my phones model number, then my devices serial number, which I enter correctly. It then asks me to check the devices model name and serial number and enter it correctly. I can’t get past this part.
Some more information on how this problem occured on my device:
I installed a custom OS on my device a few months ago then a few days ago I wanted to install the Stock OS. This is how I tried to install the stock OS.
- I powered off my device and entered the TWRP recovery function using the home + lock + volume up buttons and I wiped everything including software, data, cache etc.
- I the connected my device to my computer and attempted to flash the stock OS using the Odin software and it failed. I do remember that I did not turn on USB Debugging in the developer options before wiping my phone. If you know of a way to fix my device please help and if you need more info please fell free to contact me on my email [email protected] Thank you.
Solution: Flashing a Samsung device is not without risks. Even a sudden USB error in a computer can potentially brick a phone being flashed for good. There are other factors that can contribute to flashing failure and we’re not here to enumerate them. Unfortunately, your case may be more severe as Smart Switch can’t seem to fix the problem as well. This means that your device’s memory may have corrupted partitions. Odin Mode can only work with functioning partitions. For instance, if the /boot partition was damaged or corrupted for some reason, this means that the kernel or ramdisk may not work properly during boot up, or when Odin tries to load. When the /boot partition is corrupted, your phone will not boot at all, causing the common and dreaded boot loop issue. Amateurs may sometimes wipe this partition from recovery without installing a new one, causing the phone to become permanently unbootable.
In case this is the reason why your phone fails to boot up at this time, we suggest that you try to reflash the bootloader. Below are the general steps on how to flash a Samsung bootloader. Exact steps may vary slightly for your particular phone model so be sure to consult other flashing guides on how to do it. Remember, there’s no guarantee that your phone may work even after flashing the bootloader successfully. This is worth trying though so be sure not to skip it.
To flash the bootloader of your J5:
- Look for the correct firmware for your phone model and download it. Make sure that you select the right one. It should be the same exact firmware that ran previously on your device. We assume that you list down the firmware version somewhere. If you did not take note of it before, there’s a chance that you may pick the wrong one. As you may know now, using an incorrect firmware can cause complications so good luck with that.
- Let’s now say that you have identified the correct firmware. You then want to download it to your computer. The firmware file should have a bunch of files in it like AP_, BL_, CSC_, etc.
- Look for the file that starts with a label BL; this should be the corresponding bootloader file for this firmware. Once you’ve identified the bootloader file, copy it to your computer’s desktop or to any other folder that you can easily access.
- Proceed with the rest of the flashing procedure using the Odin program.
- In Odin, click on the BL tab and make sure to use the bootloader file you’ve identified earlier.
- Now, make sure that the “Device Added” status and its “ID:COM box” has turned blue before hitting the START button. This will initiate the flashing of your phone’s bootloader.
- Restart the phone once the procedure is finished.
Problem #3: What to do if your unlocked Galaxy J5 won’t install latest Android update
G’day In Nov 16 I had a friend purchase a brand new Galaxy j5 unlocked in Singapore. To date it is still running Android 6.01and will not update to the latest Android. When I first tried to update the phone I was told I had to wait for the software from the country of origin to be released. I had no idea but I have found by the IMEI number it was originally sold for use in Iran & I am in Australia. I waited and have found that the latest software had been released in Iran but my phone won’t update. I have been told by the Australian Samsung support and others I have managed to contact within Samsung. There is nothing I can do except send the phone to a service centre or Samsung in Iran for it to be looked at. In the software update section when i try to update it says my system is fully updated which I know it’s not.I have been in contact with support in several countries including Iran and all tell me I have to take it either to a service centre or Samsung here. As stated they tell me here that I have to send or take the phone to Iran. For a global company this seems pretty ordinary that it can’t even be looked at here but I am told each phone manufactured for different countries have different hardware and software and it can render the phone totally useless if software is forced to install. Any information would be very much appreciated as I have no idea to what else I can try.
Solution: Samsung devices are not universal. Every carrier has specific network requirements and often develop their own firmware. It is for these reasons that a Galaxy J5 from, say, Iran, will not receive an update, even when unlocked, if used in Australia. Your Australian carrier cannot push an update to an Iran-version J5 because their firmware version is not compatible with the phone’s hardware and software specifications. That’s the reality you’re facing now and unfortunately, you won’t be able to update the device via regular over-the-air method. If you really want to run an upgraded Android version for this device, you can take the risky route by manually installing it (flashing). Flashing can potentially break the device so you should be ready to accept whatever happens to your phone when flashing fails, or if you’ll encounter an error you won’t be able to resolve doing it.
If you want to go ahead and flash your device, use Google to find a good flashing guide. Use your phone’s model number and be sure to download the right firmware for it. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with general flashing steps first by watching YouTube videos or reading articles about it. Make sure that you know what you’re doing to prevent bricking your device. Again, flashing can lead to more problems if not done properly, or if there’s an unforeseen error while doing it. Do it at your own risk.