In this post, 15 Galaxy S4 problems / questions were addressed and many of them are so common they could happen to you. If you are a Galaxy S4 and currently bugged by a problem or two, skim through this page to find out if your concerns are among the ones I addressed here.
We know it’s difficult to search for problems related to yours so we created an index of all problems we’ve addressed. Visit our Samsung Galaxy S4 Troubleshooting page and go through each part. Don’t worry, problems are well labeled and numbered.
In case you cannot find related issues, feel free to email us at mailbag@thedroidguy.com and we may include your problems in our next posts. You may also post on our Facebook wall and/or Google+ pages as we also use those media to get in touch with our readers. The following are problems addressed in this post, click any of the links to jump to a specific issue.
Galaxy S4 Stuck At Verizon Logo
Galaxy S4 Stuck At Boot Loop
Galaxy S4 With Invalid IMEI
Deleted Messages Come Back On Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 Drops Calls When In Specific Area
Photo Quality Changes On Galaxy S4
Cannot Initiate Text Messaging After an Update
Air View Doesn’t Work With Email App Anymore
How To Revert To QWERTY Keyboard On Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 Can’t Boot Up Successfully
Galaxy S4 WiFi And Bluetooth Don’t Work
SIM Card Not Recognized Error On Galaxy S4
LED Notifications Emit Wrong Colors
Galaxy S4 Screen Stutters While Playing Words With Friends
Can Random Photos Appear In The Gallery?
Galaxy S4 Stuck At Verizon Logo
Problem: Hi. First of all let me start by saying I am not tech savvy in the least. I hope I can explain the problem well enough. 3 days ago I awoke and took my phone off the charger only to find it stuck on the white Verizon screen. I tried to power it off, and it wouldn’t. I removed the battery, put it back in, powered it on and it went from saying the phone type, Samsung, and then stuck again on the white Verizon screen. It wouldn’t power off and started to feel hot. I took the battery out again and repeated the same steps. Same result. So I went to trusty ol Google. I tried going into recovery and wiping the cache, and then even resetting it to factory settings. Nothing worked. It won’t connect to Kies. I found info about Odin, but that just flies so high over my head I start to feel like I’m listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher. 
I don’t have any insurance, and Verizon basically said in so many words, sucks to be you. So basically I’m emailing you with the hope that there is hope, lol. I’m guessing it has corrupted software. I just don’t know if that is fixable, if I can fix it, or if there are even any places that fix it for a reasonable price. I know, I’m asking a lot. Anyway, if you have the time to answer this problem for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings. Have a great evening. — Alicia
Suggestion: I agree with you, Alicia. The firmware may have been corrupted. Reinstalling the firmware on your device may fix this problem but it is risky especially for people who haven’t tried it before. I will not walk you through flashing firmware on your phone, instead, I suggest you bring the phone to a Samsung-authorized shop and have their technicians fix the problem for you. I think Best Buy has Samsung Experience section so you might try that. There’s always hope, Alicia.
Galaxy S4 Stuck At Boot Loop
Problem: Hi, my S4 is stuck in reboot loop. I tried almost everything; removing battery, removing SIM and memory card, the volume up, power and home screen button, the volume up and power button but nothing works.
If I remove and replace battery without pressing the power button it automatically reboots and the reboot loop screen flashes. I am unable to put into safe mode because when holding on the volume up and power button the phone does not vibrate. PLEASE HELP. Thanks, Veshnee.
Suggestion: There’s a lot of reasons why the S4 will be stuck on boot loop and I was hoping you would tell us the reason why this issue happened to your phone, or at least, the behavior of the device prior to this problem. But I take your word for it that all troubleshooting procedures you did weren’t helpful at all. However, I am also interested to know what happens when you boot your phone in safe mode so instead of following the other procedure, try this:
Turn off the phone completely.
Now boot it up normally like you always do.
While the phone boots, keep tapping the soft Menu key (located to the left of the Home button).
If the phone can boot up successfully, you may find the monochrome text at the bottom-left area of the screen saying it’s in safe mode already.
However, if the phone refused to boot in safe mode, then have it checked. It may be helpful to reflash the firmware.
Galaxy S4 With Invalid IMEI
Problem: Greetings, I recently learned of your writings via the Drippler app and am pleased you offer to field questions as I really don’t know who to ask. About two weeks ago, I purchased the Samsung Galaxy s4 from Amazon for $0.01 with a contract renewal through Verizon. My number wasn’t eligible for an upgrade but another on my account was so I swapped them.
The phone has been working fine but yesterday I went on the Samsung site to add it to my account and was told the IMEI was invalid. I had a lengthy online chat with a Samsung rep which later included a call with an Amazon cellphone rep. Amazon told me they could find nothing wrong and that Verizon shouldn’t have activated the phone if it, in fact, had an invalid IMEI. The Samsung rep, however, maintained there is no record of this phone in their database, suggesting the phone may have been a refurb or a non-US model. (AMZ insists it is a new US phone.) Once the calls were over, I Googled IMEI verification and attempted it on a couple of sites – one returned the details of the phone, the other said it couldn’t process the request.
Amazon offered to swap the phone – for free if I send the phone first, or at cost if I want them to send first with eventual refund when the original phone is returned. Samsung suggested I visit a Samsung Experience Center @ BestBuy to have the phone wiped and reflashed. Both sides agree that as the phone is operational and working fine I could also just continue as I am. Technically, the phone shouldn’t work, but as it does. Thoughts? — Dr. Stephen
Suggestion: In layman’s terms, the IMEI is the phone’s real identity. The manufacturer and the provider have records of it so if Samsung guys told you they couldn’t find any record of the IMEI that’s on your phone, then it doesn’t sound quite right.
There’s nothing we can do, at least legally, about it. Yes, the phone is working fine today, you have your service, etc., but what if it would stop functioning properly in the future? The first very annoying problem you will surely encounter is the verification process with your provider. You can easily verify your account but it would be difficult to verify a device that has a different IMEI.
Yes, you may continue using the phone as it works perfectly. But if I were you, I would take Amazon’s offer; have the phone replaced and let your provider activate the replacement unit. I think that’s the most logical step you can take to make sure you wouldn’t encounter troubles in the future.
Deleted Messages Come Back On Galaxy S4
Glitch: Hi, I keep deleting the same things over and over. I read emails on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and delete them, when I go to empty the trash, it empties and then comes back. Any suggestions on what I can do to permanently delete these messages. — Maria
Solution: Maria, it could have been better if you included the app you’re using with your emails but I assume it’s the stock application. Your problem is a minor glitch and can easily be solved by deleting your email account and setting it up again. Before you actually do that, try to clear the cache and the data of the app to make sure corrupt data, if there are, will be deleted.
Galaxy S4 Drops Calls When In Specific Area
Question: I’ve got a recurring problem that has been very frustrating. Let me start by saying my service provider is Metro PCS which shares the T-Moblie network. When I’m on regular phone calls, my phone tends to drop the call after about 5-10 minutes of conversation. I end up calling the person I was speaking to back, or they call me depending upon who gets through to the other first. In multiple attempts to trouble shoot the issue, Metro PCS has replaced my phone 3 times now and the same thing continues to happen. It only happens when I’m home, which I find odd. Metro PCS says it’s not a coverage issue, and I have a good signal strength there. Any ideas you may have to help resolve this would be greatly appreciated as both I and Metro PCS seem to be stumped. We’ve also tried replacement of my Sim Card as well. I don’t really want to end up getting a 4th phone since that hasn’t changed anything so far. What can I do? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. — Kevin
Answer: Three phones under the same provider have exactly the same problem that happens when you’re in a specific area. That’s not coincidence, I’m sure you’ve already thought of that. What do you think, is it a phone issue or not? No, it’s not. But if you think otherwise, let your provider give you another replacement.
If it wasn’t a coverage problem, then there must be some issues with the tower you’re getting your signal from. These things aren’t revealed to customers and you know the reason why. When a rep says a certain area has good coverage, that’s not entirely true because all they could see is a map with shades indicating areas “reachable” by the service. But provided you have good signal, it’s not a guarantee data are relayed as fast as when you’re near a tower.
My point is, if there’s someone who can help you better with this issue, it’s your provider. If they can’t, they find another provider that can.
Photo Quality Changes On Galaxy S4
Problem: Mr. Droid Guy, when I take a photo on my S4 it looks great when I review it, but when I go back to view it a few days later, some or all of the photo viewing area is grayed out or pixelated to the point of non recognizably (for some reason the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen are not affected). My wife has the same model and does not experience this problem. I end up deleting photos that were important to me. Any idea how I can fix this problem? It happens at least 50% of the time. Regards and thank you for your time and service. — R.D. Williams
Suggestion: Mr. Williams, I don’t know how your phone is setup or where the phone saves the photos taken by its camera. But based on your description of the problem, I believe what you’re viewing are thumbnails and not the actual photos that is why the pictures are pixelated beyond recognition. When thumbnails are viewed when they’re in their original size, you can easily recognize the picture but when they’re enlarged and viewed full screen, they’re pixelated.
I suggest you try to find the actual photos. They’re usually located inside DCIM folder. If you cannot find them anywhere in your phone, then I think the problem is not with the quality of the picture. Just try to find your photos first and email us back for the development.
Cannot Initiate Text Messaging After an Update
Glitch: Hello, and thanks for this great service. Since Verizon pushed the latest Kit Kat update for the S4, to 4.4.2 (Sept. 22?), I can’t initiate a text. I can respond to texts as long as I don’t close the conversation. Also, when I long press the period/question-mark key, it gets stuck on the question mark and I have to “go back” to return to the keyboard. A reboot or removing battery/SIM card fixes it temporarily. I am reading that others have the same problem. Someone suggested using ProMessaging app…also only worked temporarily. Appears (?) limited to updates from Verizon, which is giving the runaround. Any other tricks that may be permanent or advice in lobbying for a patch? (grrr-stupid question mark key!) Because texts are necessary for quick communication, having to reboot goes beyond inconvenient to causing big problems. Much appreciated, Lillian.
Potential Solution: Hi Lillian, I understand your frustration. What you’re experiencing right now is just a glitch and it can be solved by following some simple troubleshooting procedures. Based on your description, there are two things I can see; either the problem is caused solely by the messaging app you’re using or the keyboard has something to do with it.
Now, in order to confirm that, observe to find out if the problem happens when you’re using other apps that require the use of keyboard. If so, then the problem is with the keyboard, otherwise it’s all with the messaging app you use.
For keyboard problems, try clearing the data of the keyboard you use. Please note that you may lose words you added to the dictionary but it’s worth trying. Of course, if the problem is with the messaging app, clear its cache and data.
If those procedures didn’t work, then boot the phone in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition. That should take care of it knowing it’s an update-related problem. The reason why I had to let you perform app-specific troubleshooting procedures is because more often they can be fixed by bringing them to their original settings.
Air View Doesn’t Work With Email App Anymore
Problem: Good morning, for awhile now I’ve been experiencing a problem with air view. When I “hover” over text in webpages it works fine. However, it no longer works in e-mail. When I hover over an e-mail message I get a little square (with nothing in it) that pops up but my text doesn’t enlarge. I’ve checked my settings, under device, to ensure that the air view feature is turned on & it is. Can you help? Thanks in advance! — Larry
Solution: Just the other day I had to deal this kind of problem–exactly the same. Luckily the Air View service has nothing to do with it as the email app is at fault here. You don’t have to do complicated troubleshooting to fix this; just clear the cache and data of your email app and that’s it.
How To Revert To QWERTY Keyboard On Galaxy S4
Question: I have a S4 that and recently I stupidly changed how I compose my text messages. I use the default messages that uses the keyboard that looks like a typewriter. Recently I was on a setting that gave an option to make my keyboard look a telephone keypad. I remember it saying something 3 X 4 and I selected that. I hope you can help me find that setting again so I can change from the telephone keypad back to a typewriter looking keypad. I would like to learn how to use the telephone keypad but I rather use the old fashion typewriter keypad. And I love the drips I get daily! Here is information “about my device”
Samsung Model number I337
Android Version 4.4.2
Baseband version I337UCUFNC!
Kernel version 3.4.0-1125940 dpi@SWDD5916 #1
Thank you! — Sara
Answer: Hi Sara! Aside from Swype, there are only two options you can choose from on how you would like your keyboard to appear. The first is the typical QWERTY keyboard and the second is the 3 X 4, the one you currently use. Follow the steps below to change the setting of your keyboard:
From the Home screen, tap the Menu key.
Choose Settings and tap My device tab.
Scroll to ‘Input and control’ section and then tap Language and input.
Tap Default then Samsung keyboard.
Tap the Settings icon next to Samsung keyboard.
Choose English (US).
Now tap Qwerty keyboard.
That’s it!
Galaxy S4 Can’t Boot Up Successfully
Problem: Hi there, hope you guys have some time and patience to assist me. My fiend’s Galaxy S4 is behaving very strange. I have no idea what lead to this but I am trying to assist him to resolve his issues. This is what happens at the moment.
When I insert the battery in the phone, it immediately begin to boot and displays the boot initialization logos. After 3 seconds the screen goes blank for 6 seconds and then the boot logo appears again for 3 seconds. This boot loop continues until the battery is flat or I remove it.
I have tried to start it in Save mode but doesn’t get a response when do the Volume Up + Home + power key It just continue with the loop. However, when press the Volume down + home + power buttons the custom OS message pops up, but then disappear again after 3 seconds regardless of the up or down volume keys are pressed.
When I plug the USB cable in, the boot logo doesn’t appear but an empty battery image appear and disappear at the same 3 seconds on, 6 seconds off interval, but the battery doesn’t seem to charge. It also doesn’t get picked-up by the computer when I plug it into the laptop.
Any ideas or suggestions what I can try next? Kind regards, Ben.
Troubleshooting: Hi Ben! When you said that when you “insert the battery in the phone, it immediately begins to boot and displays the boot initialization logos,” I am almost certain that the issue is caused by a pressed Power button. I could be wrong but please check the Power button first and make sure it’s not pressed. If it’s impossible to check the button, please have a tech take a look at it. For any development or if the problem persists, email us back and make this post a reference so you won’t have to explain yourself all over again.
Galaxy S4 WiFi And Bluetooth Don’t Work
Problem: Hello, my S4 does not allow me to use wifi or bluetooth option. I will turn it on and it will not work. I have tuned it off and on and did factory reset and I continue to have this problem. Please help! Thanks. — Karla
Suggestion: Karla, we’ve already addressed a lot of problems for this phone and among them were WiFi and Bluetooth issues. Unless it is a hardware issue, problems associated with the device’s radio functions are easy to fix. What made your concern complicated for us is the lack of details. Yes, you said these functions don’t work but in what sense? Are you getting error messages? How does the phone behave? Find out if your problem included in the short list below:
Switch is greyed out – boot in safe mode and see if the switch is fine. If not, wipe cache partition.
WiFi / Bluetooth doesn’t turn on – boot in safe mode and turn it on from there.
Phone slows down when WiFi / BT is turned on – factory reset
Now, you said you already did the factory reset but the problem remained, well I suggest you try doing the reset via recovery mode. If the problem remained, then it’s a hardware issue. Bring the phone to a tech and have it repaired.
SIM Card Not Recognized Error On Galaxy S4
Error: Hello, my device Samsung S4 i9505 bought in U.A.EMIRATES. Used for more than six months in Sri Lanka without any problems. Suddenly no network sign shown in notification bar and SIM card not recognised. Please help.
Solution: The error “SIM card not recognized” is actually telling you what the problem is–SIM card. And the no network sign is just a result of this problem. I don’t know if you can just buy a new SIM card in Sri Lanka and mount in your phone but if that’s how it works, then that’s the best thing to do. If you want to retain your phone number, however, you may need to call your provider for that.
LED Notifications Emit Wrong Colors
Problem: Hello and congratulations for your amazing help! I have solved many of my problems with your Galaxy S4 Q&A Parts. I found your e-mail on Drippler.
Yesterday, I plugged in my S4 to charge it, and the LED lit up green insted of red (charing). I rebooted the device without difference. After a while, I receive a SMS and LED lit up green instead of yellow. I have changed LED settings using Light Manager from MC Koo on Play Store, and for the last 9 months it was working perfectly. I reinstalled the Light Manager without difference. Even when I completely uninstalled it, when the battery is low, LED lights up blue than red! Maybe there’s a problem with the service that manages LED and it has assigned hex color codes with wrong colors. Or maybe something else. Could you give me a solution, please? Thanks in advance. — Manos
Suggestion: I agree, Light Manager may have messed up your phone’s settings but if uninstalling the app didn’t fix the problem, try to boot in safe mode and see if the phone will emit the correct LED color when charging. If the problem remained, boot in normal mode, install Light Manager again and clear its cache and data then uninstall it again. There are apps that leave their data folder even if they’re uninstalled. If the problem remained, then you should consider factory reset to bring the phone back to its default settings.
Galaxy S4 Screen Stutters While Playing Words With Friends
Question: Sometimes after I’ve entered a word and completed my turn, and pushed the “back” button (lower right button) to skip past the ad that always follows a play, my Galaxy S4 rapidly flashes the game board until I touch the screen. Is this a phone hand set issue or the game causing the problem? — Randy
Answer: If the screen stutters while you’re using other apps, then it’s a phone problem and probably a hardware issue. There’s nothing you can do about it except bring the phone to a shop and have it checked by a technician.
However, if the screen stutters only when you’re using Words with Friends, then it’s an app issue and it can be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Can Random Photos Appear In The Gallery?
Question: Hi, I have a Samsung S4 for work and was wondering if u could answer a question for me. If a picture is not actually taken by way of the phone can a random picture pop up on photo gallery or anywhere else on the phone? Is this possible if not physically taken by someone? Ty, Tonya.
Answer: Yes, especially if that photo is saved somewhere in the phone’s memory or the SD card because the Gallery app can detect videos and photos automatically. Also, if you have online accounts synced with your phone like Facebook, Instagram or Google+, pictures may be downloaded to your phone.
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