Welcome once again to the new segment of our Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Problems series, one of the longest running series here on TDG. I have addressed or answered several problems and questions in this post so I urge you to read it or, at least, skim through to see if I’ve included your concerns in this post.
For those who have just tuned in, we are offering FREE support to Android problems so feel free to contact us through mailbag@thedroidguy.com. However, before you do that, I strongly urge you to visit our Galaxy Note 3 Troubleshooting page, which contains links to all parts of the series. All problems were duly itemized for easy browsing.
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Galaxy Note 3 S Health App Problem
Problem: Hello I have the international model of Galaxy Note 3 and I have a problem with S Health. I had recently read on xda developers about Galaxy Note 4 S Health apk. In my excitement, I downloaded and installed the s health apk. S health no longer loads and just crashes. No icon appears anymore. Can you help me somehow downgrade or download the older version? Thanks!
Solution: I have high respect for our friends over at XDA Dev especially those who often devote their time tweaking firmware and apps to make things better for us average users. But let’s face it, not everything they post on their threads works for everyone and your case is an evidence of that.
The thing is, the new apk may have altered the original files that are compatible with your phone that is why it won’t run or just crashes during initialization. Try clearing the app’s cache and data (because you can neither uninstall it nor disable) to see if that makes a difference, if not, try to find the stock S Health apk online and install it. If you can’t find one, then it’s time you performed factory reset to bring everything back to default. If that, however, didn’t fix the problem, re-flash the firmware on your phone using Odin.
Clearing Cache & Data
From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
Tap Settings.
Tap the General tab.
Tap Application manager.
Swipe to All tab.
Tap the desired application
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Factory Reset
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key and Power key.
When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, 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 data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
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 turn the restart the device.
Galaxy Note 3 Screen Randomly Goes Blank, Phone Won’t Respond
Problem: My Note 3 is just two months old and in that span of time, I already experienced at least 5 times that the screen goes blank while I’m in the middle of something. Once the screen goes black, it seems that my device would stop responding and all I gotta do is remove its battery and boot the device up again. I do this every single instance that my screen goes blank and it always resolved the problem. But I hope you could provide a permanent solution to this problem. Thanks.
Solution: It’s possible that an app crashed or a service stopped working when this problem occurred. The question is which app or service has a problem? You need to be very attentive to your phone because you don’t know when the screen goes blank. Also, it would be helpful to remember the app you were using when the problem happened. As of now there’s nothing you can do about your problem except to observe the phone closely because the problem doesn’t happen often.
Galaxy Note 3 Asks For Default Launcher
Problem: Hey buddy, This is Anshul here. I’m facing problem with the basic launcher of the phone. Whenever I turn the phone on or press the home key my phone always asks me to choose from easy version or normal launcher. Even after selecting the use always option the phones asks me to choose. If my phone is restarting again it never starts unless I select the launcher. I have not installed any other launcher in my phone. Please guide me if possible.
Solution: If this problem started after a recent update, it must be the Google Search update that messed the phone up a bit. Uninstall it and the device should work fine now. However, if you don’t have a clue what happened to the phone, then reset app preferences.
From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
Tap Settings.
Tap the General tab.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the Menu key.
Choose Reset app preferences.
That should do it.
Galaxy Note 3 Camera Error When Using Viber
Problem: Dear Team, I m using Samsung Galaxy Note 3. I was doing video calling on Viber and then on Skype suddenly during call error appeared on screen failed to initialize camera. I hard reset my phone clear all cache then it started working again but after some time same error occurred and then again I restart phone and it was working fine. I have installed latest Version 5.0.2 of Viber. Someone told me to uninstall it then error will be fixed I did the same and till now it’s working. Kindly confirm is this the issue in my hardware or my camera has some conflicts with new version of Viber. Kindly suggest should I reinstall Viber after some days. Regards. — Sid
Suggestion: No, I cannot confirm any of those speculations simply because I haven’t observed the phone personally. But what you should do is use the camera with other apps to see if there would be instances wherein the camera failed to initialize. You do this easily as there are so many apps that uses the sensor; Facebook, Instagram, Hangouts to name a few.
Now, if the same problem showed up in all these apps, then it must be a hardware issue. However, if it only happened to Viber or Skype, then the problem is with the apps. I hope you get my point here.
Stock Browser Used Up Data Even If Not Used
Question: My mother in law just got a Note 3, and it’s showing in her data usage in a weeks time that her default Samsung browser has used almost 2GB of data but she doesn’t use this browser at all. She uses Google chrome. Chrome has a usage in the same time frame of about 200mb. Is the Samsung browser running in sync with chrome or possibly is chrome feeding off of the Samsung browser somehow? I’m pretty competent with electronics and, I know the bloatware saps small amounts of data in the background, but this has me baffled. Force stopping apps doesn’t permanently keep them from running in the background either so why have to bloatware browsers? Thanks for any Input you may have. — Tim
Answer: Tim, I’m glad you’re techie, I don’t have to explain things and jargons. I never encountered this kind of problem before but if it shows that an app has used that amount of data over time, we have no reason to believe otherwise. But let’s assume your mother in law hasn’t used the stock browser, there is still a possibility that other apps may have used it and considering the amount of data it has used up, it is logical to think the browser may have streamed media files. Your mother in law may not have manually launched the stock browser but there is a big chance it was launched by other apps like when opening in-app links. After all, it’s the default browser. One of the best examples is Facebook; when you tap on a link, the app will call any browser set as default to open the page.
I don’t know your mother in law’s habit in using her phone so I really cannot speculate what caused the app to use up that amount of data. Try to restrict the stock browser from using background data to find out if other browsers will do, too. Of course, it would be a lot helpful if you knew how your mother in law uses her phone.
Restrict Browser From Using Background Data
From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
Tap Settings.
On the Connections tab, tap Data usage.
Scroll to and tap the stock browser.
Put a check mark in the box next to Restrict background data.
Cannot Add APN On Galaxy Note 3
Question: Hi! I have a problem with my Note 3 (Kitkat). Its WIFI is working but MOBILE data when turned on, doesn’t work at all. I tried adding the APN I saw in the forum but after I fill-up and save it, nothing is saved. Why is this so? Can you help me with this? Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Anne.
Answer: If you can neither add nor edit APN on your phone, it means it’s locked. If your carrier or service provider recently changed its APN, then you’ll have to call tech support as it can only be updated if the rep would send the APN from their end. You’ve tried it yourself, a new APN can’t be added and I’m not sure if you’ve tried editing the existing one but I think you can’t edit that either. So, there’s nothing you can do about it but call your provider.
Galaxy Note 3 not registered on network
Problem: Hi I am having a nightmare with this Note 3. T-Mobile jumped me to my second phone another Note 3 an same problem. They are sending me my 3rd phone today. The problem is poor signal an phone switching to a message when sending call, it says (not a registered network?) they have done everything but have no idea what is going on today the store manager said other stores are having many customers with same problem. Do you know of this problem. Thanks, Alan.
Related Problem: Hi, I bought my Samsung Note 3 neo 3 months back today since morning my phone shows no registered net work though the sim is perfectly fit in its slot and also the home screen shows full signal on it . So please suggest me whether to factory reset my phone and see or should i replace my phone set as it is still in warranty period or any valuable suggestions to get back my phone into working condition. Thanks in advance, Anupama.
Answer: Alan, if what the store manager said was true, then this problem is with the network and not on the phone. I mean, it’s no coincidence that many are experiencing the same problem under the same network. But just so you know, the “Not registered on network” error message has something to do with the phone’s identity more specifically the IMEI.
I’m not sure how T-Mobile works when it comes to provisioning and reactivating customers’ accounts but the company I worked before, we had a tool that could fix IMEI-related problems. So, I suggest you call tech support, not just the tech from the store. And oh, one more thing, if you have read some suggestions online that guide you how to manipulate the IMEI, don’t. It’s too risky.
Verizon WiFi Texting Problem and Sync Error
Question: I have a Galaxy Note 3 but I have stop the phone line service ( the sim card is still in). I tried to use the phone to send and receive message via the WIFI only, but failed at many time. I downloaded the Verizon Message application but still can not make it work (The VZW message works perfect for MY I phone which happen also having no phone line service connected.)
I also found I could not sync Google account with my Note 3. It displayed a sync error message. Thank you in advance for answering these questions. — Peter
Answer: Peter, Verizon reps can definitely help you with your WiFi texting problem. They know their services and network better than we do. It is obvious that it’s not the phone that’s at fault here; perhaps, a little adjustment from VZW’s end will enable the service.
As to the sync error, try to remove the account and just add it back. It works every time.
Samsung Galaxy Apps Question
Question: I’m using a Note 3 via Verizon: SM-N900V. Everything works fine, including many installed apps downloaded, except one from Samsung. I wrote to Samsung but still no answer… except to try to update which does not work.
Phone came with ‘Samsung Apps’ app installed (icon looks like a gray padlock on a red bkgd) and it worked fine. A couple months ago the app acted funny….works to download and find apps at Samsung, but hit settings and the only thing that shows is “payment methods”. No way to update any Samsung store apps. Further, the app is not listed in apps manager in any column. There is no icon in the apps list to install an icon on my home or other page (used to be in the default Samsung folder). I do have two instances of the app icon on 2 different pages that work as described above. No error messages.
Most of this seems to have happened around the time Samsung changed to a new Samsung Galaxy apps website. If I go there, my phone will not open the Galaxy Apps app that replaces the old Samsung Apps app….says to download but nothing happens. Other apps download OK.
So I can’t uninstall or try to update the original Samsung Apps app. Wife uses an S4 and it uses Samsung Apps app OK. I tried to NFC it to me but my phone says it will not work and cancels the copy.
I also use Andy.exe and BlueStacks on my PC. Using Andy I was able to download and install Galaxy Apps app on Andy and it works there. I tried to mail the .apk to my Note 3 but email says the file is too large. I don’t know how to find the .apk in Andy to drag/drop to Note3 via AirDroid.
So I am looking for a fix for my Note 3 to properly use the new Galaxy Apps app. I do regular back-ups using Kies on my PC.
Do you think a factory reset or other re-start will work and reset Samsung Apps and not destroy my setup….or if I save a backup first it will restore OK? I have not found a way to restore Samsung Apps from any old backup.
Since there are few apps from Samsung that I really need, this is not critical enough to apply much effort unless it is easy and low risk of ruining anything else I have setup in current config. I have not rooted the phone.
Wonder if many others have same problem with new Samsung website and Galaxy Apps app or old Samsung Apps app?Help please? — Doug.S
Answer: There were a lot of users who encountered what you’re experiencing now. Some were fixed by an update and other were fixed by factory reset. Samsung changed Samsung Apps to Galaxy Apps but I don’t know if yours was altered via the firmware update or any other way. But either way, a factory reset may be able to fix it but the risk is always there. I suggest you backup your data using Samsung KIES so they can easily be restored later. Once finished, try to trigger a manual search for updates and if there’s none, then proceed with factory reset.
I suggest you you reset the phone in recovery mode as it is always effective:
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key and Power key.
When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, 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 data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
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 turn the restart the device.
Galaxy Note 3 Chrome Problem
Question: Hi there, I have been experiencing difficulty using the Chrome browser on my Note 3. It simply will not load pages. My fix is, I go into settings, application manager, and delete the files and cache. This will normally allow me to use the browser for a period of time, then I have to do it again. One thing I did notice, is that if I switch to an incognito tab, pages will load from there, without having to delete. Have you heard of this problem? Thanks, Norm.
Answer: It’s apparently an app issue. I suggest you uninstall Chrome and just install it back; works every time. But just in case you use mobile data to browse, I suggest you check data usage, open Chrome and make sure it’s not restricted in using mobile data.
Galaxy Note 3 Freezes When Front Camera Is Used
Problem: Hello. I’ve had the galaxy note 3 since October of last year.. recently I tried using my front camera and it just goes back and freezes.. I try to use the back camera and it works perfectly. Can you please respond to this to help me it would be greatly appreciated.
Solution: Try to user other applications that can use the camera like Facebook and Instagram. Try to use the front camera while using any of these apps. If the problem persists then you’re looking at a hardware problem. However, if the problem happens only when you’re using the stock camera app, clearing the cache and data of the app may make a difference.
Galaxy Note 3 Messed Up the Emails
Problem: I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3. On September 17th my phone performed a large Samsung update. Immediately afterwards and ever since the default email app for the phone that combines all my accounts crashes every time I attempt to open it. Also every few minutes an error pops up letting me know that email is not working. Thank you, Andrew in Buffalo.
Solution: I hope you have copies of those emails left in the server because there’s no other way to address this problem but to clear the cache and data of the email app you’re using. If that wouldn’t fix the problem, it’s time you performed factory reset as some data and caches may have been messed up during the update.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key and Power key.
When ‘GALAXY Note 3′ appears on the screen, 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 data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘delete all user data.’
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 turn the restart the device.
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The post How to Fix Common Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Problems and Errors [Part 33] appeared first on The Droid Guy.