We’ve covered a lot of Samsung Galaxy S3 problems after the fourth installment of our Galaxy S III Problems and Solutions series. But since we received hundreds of emails from our readers, we will continue publishing posts like this to address their concerns. They spent time writing those emails–many of those are very long–so it is just right for us respond.
For S3 owners who just tuned in, I believe you’re looking for solutions to your problems or answers to your questions. Browse through the post to see if I have already addressed your concerns, or you may want to read first four series:
Samsung Galaxy S3 Problems After Android 4.3 Update [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
For those who are currently having problems with their Galaxy S3, email us at mailbag@thedroidguy.com and tell us everything about your problems. You can also interact with us on our Facebook page; I’m one of the people who answers questions there. We also have a Google+ page you could follow so you would be notified every time a post is published.
#1. Stuck during the update, phone can’t boot
Hi, could you please tell me a solution for my Galaxy S3. After agreeing to install the automatically prompted update to 4.3, the phone got stuck midway. I left it for 4 or so hours but it just didn’t install. Got frozen. Took battery out. After inserting the battery, it kept on restarting on its own without me pressing the power button. Then it gets stuck at the Samsung logo. And stays there. Doesn’t proceed. I rebooted it in recovery, wiped cache’s, did factory reset. Nothing helped. Please suggest me a solution. Thank you! — Jojee
Solution
The update should have been faulty that’s why it didn’t finish installing and the phone is now stuck up during the boot up process. You said you already performed the factory reset via the Recovery Mode and the problem is still there, so the last option I can see here is to flash the previous stock ROM on your phone.
If you could successfully flash to the previous version, you can attempt to download and install the update again. I hope this time it would be successful. Here is a perfect flashing guide for you. Please note that the link will bring you to XDA Developer forums. [How to flash stock ROM via Odin]
#2. MMS download failure
My Samsung S3 from Boost Mobile does not allow me to download and see pictures included as text messages. It annoyingly and repeatedly instructs me to tap the a download MMS message bar to no avail. — Rick
Solution
Rick, you need to enable mobile data so that you can send and receive MMS messages. Go to Settings > Connections > More networks > Mobile networks. If it’s already enabled, you need to check if the APN settings are correct. You may call Boost Mobile and ask for it.
#3. Phone randomly prompts owner to login
After updating my Galaxy s3 to the 4.3 version I keep getting a screen saying to sign into my account for security reasons but it does it randomly sometimes every 5-30 seconds. — Billy
Solution
Billy, I don’t know if it’s Google, Samsung, Facebook, Twitter, etc. that’s telling you to login but I assume you already tried that but it still asking you to login every now and then. If it’s Google, you just have to add account via Settings and all other Google apps will remember your username and password, except for Gmail, of course, which you will also have to setup your account.
If it were Facebook or Twitter, try clearing the cache and data and login again. If it persists, uninstall the app and re-install it, then login using your account. If it were your company email address, it could be that the server is down or your credentials were changed. Call your IT department for it.
#4. Mobile data automatically connects
Hi, I am facing a problem in my S3. Am not able to turn the mobile data connection off when I want to. It automatically turns on n drains my battery.. with Wi-Fi, am able to turn it off and on but not with data connection. Please help. — Srinath
Solution
Try booting the phone to Recovery Mode and wipe the cache partition from there. It’s just a matter of clearing cache that the phone uses whenever a service is called by the system. There are times when the data is corrupt and the system could remember only the service being enabled. If that doesn’t help, the workaround is to change the APN settings to something “incorrect.” But then, of course, the if all else fails, Factory Reset might be needed to fix it.
#5. Gallery stopped working
Hi and thanks for any help you can provide. I have an AT&T Samsung Galaxy S3 running version 4.3. I bought May 2013. I use Nova and haven’t done and “wild” customizing.
Recently the stock Gallery App has stopped working. I can look at photos but cannot share or email them. The email icon is gone, and when I touch the share icon the message “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped.” I touch “OK” and am back on the homescreen. I haven’t recently installed any new apps.
I went to the Radio Shack store where I purchased the phone and they never saw this. They said I need to contact Samsung, but first backup and try a factory reset.
Any thoughts? Again, thanks for any help you can provide. — Jeff
Solution
I hope you meant “Nova Launcher” because there’s no other Nova apps I know about. So, I can sense that you’re suspecting Nova to be the cause of the problem, the first step is to disable it if you still want to use it. This will rule out the possibility of it causing the problem you have now.
When Nova is disabled, observe the phone to see if the problem still persists and if it still does, keep it disabled until you figure out what the problem really is. Since the error message that shows up pertains to the Gallery app, clear its cache and data. If that doesn’t take care of the problem, try rebooting to Safe Mode and observe if the error still pops up.
If it doesn’t, then try to find the app that’s causing it. You can boot to Recovery Mode and wipe the cache partition. If you cannot solve it, you may want to perform factory reset.
#6. Settings stopped working
Hello, since the update, I have been getting the message “ Unfortunately, Settings has stopped”. Immediately after I pressed the “Ok” button, the same message pops up again. I have been getting this message and haven’t been able to get pass the lock screen. Phone just shows up with a black screen. I have tried a factory reset, on and off my phone multiple times as well as taking out the battery but to no avail. Any solutions for this? Hope to hear from you soon. — Shan
Solution
I take your word for it… so Factory Reset didn’t solve the problem. If that’s the case, the update package you downloaded and installed was corrupt and since it’s already running on your device, the best way to fix this problem is to flash the previous version of stock firmware on your device. You can follow this guide: Please note that the link will bring you to XDA Developer forums. [How to flash stock ROM via Odin]
#7. Can’t remember frequently used words
After updating to 4.3, typing in key board becomes harder than earlier. Keyboard will remember my used or typed words earlier. But after 4.3 update it is not working. I need to type everything again and again. Thanks & Regards. — Dhinahar
I can no longer dictate text message on my Galaxy S3 Android version 4.3. It was working fine and suddenly stopped working. I still have the icon on the Samsung keyboard and when I talk the mic flashes like it’s working, but the words no longer show up on the screen. I’ve tried everything to get it back without success. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.
Thank you. — JJ
Solution
I can see two possibilities here; first, the predictive text feature was turned off and second, phone’s dictionary was reset with all custom words lost. Based on these, I would like you to go to Settings > Language and Input > Samsung Keyboard settings > enable Predictive Text. If the feature has already been enabled, then it means your dictionary was gone. You need to enter those words again so the phone could remember them the next time you type a message.
#8. Multiple apps stopped working
Hi I got an S3 and after 4.3 upgrade it drains battery in 3 hours. TouchWiz and Google Play Store stopped working. Camera not focusing most of the time, Wi-Fi connectivity problem and as well as network loss . Call drops sometimes can’t received the calls . Smart stay not working and so on I can’t remember all indeed. I sent my phone 5 times to the Samsung repair center but no progress. Thanks.
Solution
The last time I had this problem, resetting the app preferences solved every single one of them. I understand you felt the need to send the phone in for repair but haven’t you tried performing the Factory Reset before you sent your phone away? If it were a firmware issue, flashing the previous firmware will solved it. And if this really was the case, no Samsung technician could help you because they don’t do downgrade. If you got the phone back and the problem still persists, do email us back.
#9. Hands free, S Voice turns on automatically
Hello, after updating my galaxy s3 to 4.3 the first issue is my phone not charging. I fixed this with the “wipe cache partition” then after that it seems to work. After a day another issue came out, “hands free enable” and “s-voice” are automatically turning on without pressing or activating it. I always turn it off manually. Then another issue came out my battery is draining even if I don’t use it. — Joseph
Solution
Try booting to Safe Mode first to see if both the hands free function and S Voice turn on automatically, if not, then find the third-party app that may be causing this. As to the battery problem, there seems to be a bug since majority of those who updated to 4.3 experienced rapid battery drain. Others made compromise by disabling a lot of features just to save up power but then again, the phone would handicapped if you disable many of its features that made it unique. But it’s your call.
#10. Can’t establish reliable connection
Dear sir, I have updated my Samsung Galaxy S3 to 4.3 Jellybean. My Google account is not working on it and the Play Store is not working without Google account. What I must do to resolve my issue. I am waiting for your reply. When I add new account, I couldn’t sign in and there’s a error message, “Can’t establish a reliable connection to the server. This could be a temporary problem or your Android device may not provisioned for data service. If it continues, call customer care.” — Waseem
Solution
It seems to me you have trouble connecting to the internet through the mobile data network. It could be that you have incorrect APN settings or your phone needs to be provisioned by your carrier. I’m not too sure about this but it seems like something has been totally messed up during the update that it cannot be recognized by the network.
If your concern was you can’t sign in to your Google account or cannot setup your phone, you can do so by connecting to any Wi-Fi hotspot. However, you may still not be able to make or receive calls and send or receive text messages. As what the error message tells you, you need to contact your carrier to be able to use the service.
#11. No problems with his phone
Here’s a statement from on Galaxy S3 owner who haven’t encountered issues with his phone after the 4.3 update. I just feel like sharing this message to the community.
I just want to say that ever since I got the new 4.3 update my phone has had no issues and the battery works better and the apps work better and the overall phone is just awesome. I have not done anything to boost performance or speed. I’m with Sprint and my phone works great. Don’t want a new S4 or 5 because I love this phone so much. I have though, installed the Google now launcher and noticed my phone’s apps along with the updates respond quite well to the launcher. So I’m confused by all these complaints but I guess everyone’s phone is different. I can’t wait for the last update my phone can get which is the new 4.4. I’m sure it will be just as awesome. — Brandon
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