Hi Guys! Welcome to another post of Samsung Galaxy S5 troubleshooter series. This one covers an emerging issue for AT&T users who are unable to send a reply to a text message because the network appears to add an additional digit to the recipient’s number, rendering it invalid.
If you have other concerns regarding your Samsung Galaxy S4, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at mailbag@thedroidguy.com and we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can. We will appreciate it very much if you can provide as many details as possible. If you are getting error messages on the screen, or have observed unusual phone behaviors, kindly include them in your email. The more information you can provide, the easier for us to assist you.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 getting a black screen when pulling down notification bar after Lollipop update
Problem: Hello. I came across your site with an issue and could not find mine. It is minor but could use help. Since the Lollipop update, which was about a day or so ago, I started getting a black screen or unresponsive screen when I pull the notification panel down. I’ve looked through settings and cannot find anything to do with that. Thanks. — Tyler
Troubleshooting: Hi Tyler. The reason why you cannot find any settings that may change the experience you have with your phone’s user interface is because such setting does not exist. Your issue appears unique as we cannot find anything similar to it among thousands of issues your fellow readers ask us about. Since you mentioned that this happened right after a major update, please do a factory reset to ensure that your phone runs a “clean” version of Lollipop operating system.
Getting a black screen is usually a by-product on an on-going software or hardware issue so it’s best if we can identify what the exact cause of the problem is. For this matter, a factory reset is still the best course of action for you to aid us in isolating the root cause. If you haven’t done a factory reset before, please follow our tutorial in this page.
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AT&T network adding extra number, “+11″, when responding to text message,error “Error Invalid Number. Please re-send using a valid 10 digit mobile number or valid short code.”
Problems: My boyfriend has an Android Galaxy S5. We have never had any issues sending and receiving messages with each other but this morning when we began texting my messages in his phone showed up as my phone number but with a “+11″ at the beginning of it. If he tries to text back the “+11″ number it tells him it’s an invalid number. We’ve tried turning his phone off and I even turned my iPhone 5s off and it did nothing. And my number is the only number doing it so far. I have Verizon and he has AT&T. Neither of us have changed carriers within the last 5 years. So not a changed carrier error. — Ashley
Hello. Downloaded an update. After a phone restart, I am having trouble responding to ANY new text message that comes in. I click reply and get “Error Invalid Number. Please re-send using a valid 10 digit mobile number or valid short code.” It is adding “+11″ to every reply. If I delete the thread and compose a new message it will send out, but if they reply and I try to reply the cycle continues. SOOOO Frustrating! Please help. Thanks! — Kim
Hi. I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S5 and thus far have been happy with the purchase. But this morning a issue developed where 1’s are being added to contacts via text messages. This issue seems to only happen while responding to a text. Once I empty my messages I am able to send messages out. This seems to only happen to texts that I receive from people with iPhones but this is a new issue, I have had the phone for just over a month and never experienced this before.
Any input/help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. — Tim
Every time I text some, it pulls up another message thing of what they said and I can’t text them back off of that message. I was wondering how to fix this situation. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5. — Hannah
Hi. I’m having an issue with my messaging app. I’m texting my friend and I’m getting two contacts from her. One contact is the one in my phone and I can only send messages to this contact. The other contact is her phone number and I can only receive from this contact. If I try sending to the second contact it tells me her number is not valid but she can reply to my messages no problem. I’ve tried googling him to fix it but nothings given me an answer. Please reply back asap. Thank you. — Wesley
I have the S5 active and when I woke up this morning I was receiving texts from a different number than I was texting and when I went to text that number back it said it was an invalid, so I have to use the original number and it’s been reoccurring all morning. — Kyle
I just updated this morning to the new Lolipop, and I have yet to find this issue in your forums. Whenever I get a new message from any of my contacts my phone is adding two 1s to the start of the number. For example, “Xxx-xxx-xxxx” becomes “11xxx-xxx-xxxx” and then I cannot reply to said message unless if I write a new message and re-type in the number manually. After I do that I can send texts to them fine until they reply and it adds the 1s again. Do you have any way to fix this? — Jasin
I received a text message from a friend that I text frequently. I received a text this morning and at first thought the previous messages had been deleted. I looked closer and noticed it started a new text screen. I sent a message back to them and got an invalid number text back. I looked and the contact name was the same but it had an extra 1 before the area code, 11(404) xxx-xxxx instead of 1(404) xxx-xxxx. The original text screen with all the messages is still there but I thought it odd that a new text screen with the contact name and same number would appear when they sent me a message today. I have AT&T and the friend has an iPhone. Thanks! — Alex
Troubleshooting: Hi Guys! We realize this is an AT&T problem after doing some research. What is happening is that AT&T network adds an extra digit to a number
when you try to send text response to an existing thread only, NOT when creating a new message. This is an emerging issue and it’s best if you can contact AT&T so they’ll know that this is happening all throughout their network.
We are also monitoring any official announcement from this carrier regarding this issue and will update this thread once a solution becomes available. An open forum thread about this problem can be found here: https://forums.att.com/t5/Data-Messaging-Features-Internet/my-phone-is-adding-an-extra-1-before-phone-numbers/td-p/4240971.
In the meantime, please do the following workarounds if you are in a desperate situation to text someone:
Delete old thread and create a new message by manually entering the correct number. Alternatively, you can leave the old thread and simply create a new one each time you want to send your replies again. This can potentially become annoying especially if you are in a long conversation with someone but until AT&T fixes this, we really don’t have much choice.
Use third party messaging app like Google Hangouts or WhatsApp to avoid doing the remedy above. This can save you from the hassle of deleting a long list of messages in your inbox in the next few days or until this glitch is patched up.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 showing “Can’t download MMS. Check APN settings and tap to retry.” error
Problem: Hi. i just got the Galaxy S5 and am trying to use Chomp for my text messaging. However, i consistently get an error message “Can’t download MMS. Check APN settings and tap to retry.” (it seems to be in receiving and not sending). I’ve Googled and have tried updating my APN setting. The first issue is that when i go to my APN settings I cannot add a new APN!! argh. Everyone in Google land simply says…go here and here and add a new one…and I cannot find an answer as to WHY i cannot add one. seems simple enough, but not when you don’t even have the ability to add one! I am on Verizon network and have found a page that tells me the APN settings to use (which does in fact differ from what the default is…where there are key fields left blank). Can you please help me??
P.S. Additionally, i just updated to Lollipop BEFORE reading how horrible this update is! L — Kim
Troubleshooting: Hi Kim. A lot of people have found Lollipop performing below expectations at this time so it’s no surprise for us if you feel the same way. As regards your main issue about being unable to add a new APN, we recommend that you call Verizon technical support for it. Some carriers disable configuration settings for some devices to prevent users from changing critical network information. We know though that Verizon S5 should allow a user to add a new APN because this option has never been restricted by them ever since.
Keep in mind that there may be limitations set in place by Verizon on their device as to how many APN settings are allowed so it’s always a good thing to consult them firsthand about any network configuration changes you want to do on your S5.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 has issues with apps after updating to Lollipop
Problem: Hello. My name is Simon and I started having problems with my Galaxy S5 right after the Lollipop update (my provider is Virgin Mobile and I am from Canada). I have 2 problems currently with the phone. The first one is that the moment the Lollipop update finished, i started to constantly get the error message “Touchwiz Home stopped working” back to back. I was told by Samsung customer support to “force stop” Touchwiz Home from the application menu and to clear its data, which solved the problem for a little time but it comes back randomly (mostly after i restart the phone). It also puts the home screen back to the default one so i need to redo my app and widget placement every time it happens. I have tried to run the phone in safe mode and the problem is not present in that mode, i also tried to take out the battery and try to start the phone to make sure it is completely drained to no avail.
The second problem is that around a week ago, all the widgets I use (Gmail, S Health, Calendar, and alarm which come with the phone to begin with) would not refresh at all unless I am connected to the Wi-Fi.
I am wondering if both of those issues could have something to do with parts of the update not installing correctly or something similar to that.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. — Simon
Troubleshooting: Hi Simon. These issues usually happen if there is an on-going problem with your phone’s operating system in general. That several apps do not work normally is a clear indicator of an operating system problem. Please perform the factory reset procedure to ensure that Android Lollipop is working as expected. This is the same solution we suggest for the first problem in this post above so just follow the link in our tutorial page on how to do a factory reset.
We believe that these issues with your apps will go away once you have reset the phone to its defaults.
Don’t forget to keep copies of your personal files in a separate device so you can recover them at a later time. Helium – App Sync and Backup is a good tool to use if you don’t have much time to individually sort through your apps and files. Just install it from Google Play Store, sync everything using it and you’re good to go!
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Unable to access websites using a new Samsung Galaxy S5
Problem: Hi. My Samsung Galaxy S5 is new as I got it about a week ago. I am unable to put my email address into various different website as it says format incorrect? This has happened more than once and means I can’t purchase items from a new website or login to a website where my email address is my username?
Thanks for your help. — Dawn
Troubleshooting: Hi Dawn. Can you email us again what websites you are trying to access? It would also be helpful if you can provide more information like the full error message you are getting. Unless we have this, there’s really nothing that we can do to help you effectively.
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Storage space comparison between Samsung Galaxy S5 and S5 Active and S2 Skyrocket
Problem: I am doing research on phones, and happened upon your article from several months ago that states to email this address. I currently have an S2 Skyrocket, and want to upgrade to the S5 Active. The reason is because the S2 Skyrocket has a very very small space for apps. It states that only 2GB is available for it! Since the S5 and the S5 active are both very similar internally, how much room is there for applications? Thank you for taking the time for reading this! Sincerely. — Matthew
Troubleshooting: Hi Matthew. You’re right that both Samsung S5 and Samsung S5 Active are almost the same. Actually, there are only a handful of differences between the two which includes their cosmetic design and resistance to elements. The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active is designed to be more robust than the regular S5 so it is also MIL-STD-810G certified, which means that it can withstand reasonable amount of salt, humidity, dust, vibration, rain, solar radiation, and thermal shock. Of course the Samsung S5 Active is also IP67 certified, which means that you can submerge it to up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes without it losing a step.
Storage-wise, both devices pack similar internal memory of either 16 or 32GB depending on the model. This internal storage alone can keep over 50 lightweight apps (apps that don’t require large storage space) and still gives you a fair amount to store your photos and videos. Both S5s come with an expandable memory slot of up to 128GB, giving you more than enough storage space to add more apps if needed.
In a word, both devices is way superior than your S2 Skyrocket in terms of storage space as well as hardware in general.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 black screen after Lollipop update
Problem: Dear Droid Guy. I received the 5.0 update today from Verizon on my Galaxy S5. Since the install, I’m having trouble with the screen staying black after the phone has been woken up. For instance, when the screen has gone to sleep and I press the power button, my notification LED turns off (as if the screen has been turned on), and if I run my finger over the screen I get some haptic feedback (from hitting some of the dots on my lock screen), but the screen remains black. I received a text earlier, an event that would normally wake the screen briefly, and the same thing happened. The phone was “awake” but the screen only showed black. So the issue seems to happen whether the “wake up” request is internal or external. After a lot of power button pushing and waiting, or after a battery pull, the screen eventually comes back to life, but it’s very frustrating in the meantime. Thanks in advance for any ideas you can toss my way! — Amy
Troubleshooting: Hi Amy. We noticed this issue right after some users reportedly updated to Lollipop. However, we believe that the problem may be caused by third party app you installed before the update and may have lost full compatibility with Lollipop because it was designed to work with KitKat only. Try to boot your phone in Safe Mode so no third party apps run. Afterwards, try to open your third party apps one by one. Make sure to observe how the phone behaves before you run another app. If the problem comes back after opening a particular app, that may be the culprit.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 heart rate monitor keeps on getting activated
Problem: Hi DroidGuy. Weird issue with my S5 that I’ve had for a year, and just upgraded to Android 5.0.0 about three weeks ago. To clarify, there are three activity levels for my phone: Live, where I can use apps, make phone calls, etc.; Lock screen, where the screen is lit up but not live for apps, etc.; and dark, where I hit the power button on the right, but not “Power Off”‘d.
What I’ve recently noticed is that the red heart-rate monitor on the back of the phone becomes engaged, glowing red, when I brush my fingers against it. It is constant, hurting battery life. It is not testing my heart rate, just lighting up, and is constant when live, and also locked, but not dark.
It is haptic, meaning my flesh has to touch it to light up. This occurs on the live screen and the lock screen, but not on the dark screen. There’s more. Not just haptic, but color based. If I lay it on a dark surface, it does not engage, but on a light surface, it does light up. I’ve turned off the activity detector on Google Fit with no success. I can’t find any other setting that affects the heart rate monitor.
I would appreciate any help. It’s not a dire situation, but would like to save any battery cycles as I can. Please advise as time allows. Thank you. — D.A. Cluett
Troubleshooting: Hi D.A. Cluett! We don’t have exact information why your Samsung Galaxy S5’s pulse oximeter or the small red light at the back of your device works as it does now. We do know that it is supposed to work by illuminating your skin with infra-red light to measure changing reflection under the skin. If it keeps getting triggered by a lit background or surface, the hardware itself may be defective or not working right. As far as we know, skin contact is the only main trigger of this detector.
Please call Samsung and let them know about it so they can offer you professional support for their product.
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