What to do if Galaxy S8 keeps saying No Service or Emergency calls only error

Some #GalaxyS8 users have reported networking troubles including the one that keeps showing the No Service or Emergency calls only error. If you’re one of these unlucky S8 owners, this troubleshooting article should help.

Solutions to S8 No Service or Emergency calls only error

There’s a number of possible reasons why a Galaxy S8 may show persistent S8 No Service or Emergency calls only error. If you don’t know where to start in troubleshooting this issue, read on.

Solution #1: Restart your S8

When dealing with an Android issue, the first thing that you must do is to refresh the system. This is done by restarting your S8. In your situation, doing the normal restart can be set aside. Instead, you want to do a soft reset. This is usually done when an S8 freezes or becomes unresponsive. To see if this will help, follow these steps:

Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Note: Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. Note: Utilize the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Also, allow up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Solution #2: Toggle Airplane Mode

Airplane Mode is handy feature when it comes to turning off all network functionalities by tapping a single button. In some cases, it can also be an effective way to fix network issues, including the No Service or Emergency calls only error. If restarting your S8 won’t fix the problem, be sure to toggle Airplane Mode on. Here’s how to do that:

On the Home screen or any screen, pull down the notification bar.
Look for the Airplane Mode button and tap it to activate.
Wait for 30 seconds before turning Airplane Mode back off.

Solution #3: Change network mode manually

Sometimes, network issues are fixed by forcing the phone to use another network temporarily. If restart and toggling of Airplane Mode won’t work, be sure to do this troubleshooting step. Here’s how:

Open Settings app.
Tap Connections.
Tap Mobile networks.
Tap Network operators.
Tap Search networks.
Wait for your S8 to search for networks.
Once it’s done searching,, select another network to connect to. For example, if you’re on T-Mobile, pick AT&T or any other network.
Your phone will be forced to return with an error because it won’t be able to register successfully.
Afterwards, select your own network again and see if your S8 will now be able to re-register.

Solution #4: Reseat SIM card

Removing and re-inserting the SIM card is one of the useful tricks that any user can do in this situation. If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to do so. Before you remove the SIM card, ensure that your S8 is off. Not doing so may correct network settings and/or the operating system. If you’re doing something important on your phone and you can’t turn it off at this time, like when you’re creating a backup, consider unmounting the SIM card.

Solution #5: Clear cache partition

Android uses a system cache in order to load apps and services faster. At times, this cache gets corrupted resulting to poor performance and other unexplained issues. System cache corruption usually happens after installing an Android update or a new app/s. If the No Service or Emergency calls only error occurs after you’ve installed an app, or after updating Android, there’s a chance the problem is due to a bad system cache. In order to ensure that the system cache is refreshed, you want to clear the cache partition where it’s stored. To do that, follow these steps:

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

Solution #6: Check IMEI

Devices with nulled or blocked IMEI won’t be able to register to a network. If you recently purchased a pre-owned S8, there’s a chance that it may be blacklisted or blocked. This usually occurs for phones reported as stolen. Unfortunately, devices with blocked IMEI can’t reconnect to a network unless the block is lifted. This rarely happens though and in majority of cases, the block can’t be removed simply because the second owner who purchased the phone does not have the proof necessary to provide to the network.

To check if your S8’s IMEI has been blocked, follow these steps:

Open the dialer (Phone) app.
Enter the code: (*#06#).
If the IMEI says Null, that means that the EFS folder may be corrupted, or may had been blocked. In this case, you can try to reflash the firmware and see if that will restore the default EFS folder. If that won’t work, your S8 will never be able to connect to any network.

Some carriers may block users from accessing advanced menus thru the dialer app. If nothing happens after you enter (*#06#), that means your S8 can’t open advanced menus.

Alternatively, you can check your S8’s IMEI by going to http://www.imei.info/.

Solution #7: Reset network settings

Because you’re obviously dealing with a network issue here, it’s only logical that you reset your S8 network settings. To do that, follow these steps:

Open Settings app.
Tap General management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Reset Network Settings.
Tap RESET SETTINGS button.

The steps above will reset wifi, mobile data, and bluetooth settings. This means that you’ll have to enter wifi passwords, re-pair Bluetooth devices, or re-enter VPN credentials again.

Solution #8 Replace SIM card

In other cases, No Service or Emergency calls only error can occur when there’s a problem with the SIM card itself. To see if that’s the case, contact your carrier and ask for another SIM card. If that work either, consider wiping your phone thru factory reset.

Solution #9: Factory reset

As the name suggests, this procedure will wipe your phone and restore all software settings to their factory versions. Before you do this step, be sure to back your personal data up.

To factory reset your S8, follow these steps:

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

Solution #10: Try flashing Stock Firmware

If you are the more adventurous type and the No Service or Emergency calls only error coincidentally happened after flashing a custom ROM, it’s possible that it may have accidentally deleted or corrupted the EFS folder. To fix the issue, try flashing a stock firmware. This usually restores a corrupted EFS folder. Keep in mind that the EFS folder is a critical repository of information such as MEID, IMEI, serial number, config, diag settings and radio settings, etc. Just like any other folder and files, it can be deleted during flashing, especially when not done properly. Flashing stock firmware to your S8 is not a guaranteed solution for this issue but it’s the last, desperate attempt that you can do before eventually accepting the fact that your S8 may not be able to connect to any cellular network at all.

Solution #11: Let your carrier know

It’s possible that the problem you’re having is being caused by a network bug or outage. If you’re on a GSM network, try to insert your SIM card to another compatible device from the same network and see if the SIM card works. If it doesn’t call your carrier and ask for assistance.

Solution #12: Contact Samsung support

If No Service or Emergency calls only error happened all of a sudden and you never tried to do anything drastic to the software like rooting or flashing, it’s possible that there may be a system glitch behind it. In this case, we suggest that you contact Samsung so they can replace the phone.