The first one of many to come! Welcome to our first troubleshooting series dedicated to giving you solutions on how to fix connectivity problems on your Samsung Galaxy S4. At the later part of this post, we have included some of the recent issues some of our users have encountered after updating to Android Lollipop. We hope this post continues to be of help to hundreds of thousands of our readers and subscribers out there.
If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply contact us by email at mailbag@thedroidguy.com and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem.
When describing the problem, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start.
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Problem #1: Calls keep on dropping when using Samsung Galaxy S4 of Digicel
Ok. So I’ve had my S4 Active for about 8 months now and all I have are problems. I link them back to when it fell and the screen cracked (which I haven’t fixed so that might really be the issue). So it fell about 2 weeks after I got it. It still worked fine, everything was still great except for the cracks. That is up until recently. I went home for Christmas and I have been having network problems. I thought it was because of my location but anywhere I go it doesn’t change. I can make calls and then couple seconds after it will drop. I can make a call and right after I hang up I see that stop sign where my bars should be. Then I have to wait for it to come up. My phone freezes sometimes when trying to make calls. I see android.com.process (something like that) has stopped working. One time I removed my battery and put it back only to get a black screen with the android mascot lying down with error on it and then I got options to reboot etc. I just selected reboot because I didn’t know what to do. I also tried to get a software update and I got a little message saying “DM initialization not ready. Check network or SIM card”. My battery also drains ridiculously fast. It’ll only last if it’s in airplane mode. Also I can’t access my Gallery. If I use Photos to view my pictures I can but not Gallery no idea why. I really hope you can help me figure this out. Thanks for reading and if I missed anything or there’s something you don’t understand please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Below is just extra information:
I am from Jamaica and my network provider is Digicel. Don’t know how it will help but just in case. — Kerry
Solution: Hi Kerry. If all these troubles started happening after you dropped the device and cracked its screen, they may all well be the side effects of that incident. The severity of the damage can only manifest itself in symptoms like the ones you described afterwards. There’s no telling what might happen after a drop but in your case, we can safely assume that it was bad because it affected multiple functions.
We noticed that the issues you mentioned appears to be not connected to each other, which is a strong indicator that there’s probably a general hardware failure going on. The network issues you have noticed is probably because of a failing antennae while the black screen issue you get after rebooting the phone can be a sign other damaged parts.
The best way to identify whether or not there’s a hardware issue is by performing a factory reset. Also known as a hard reset, doing this procedure ensures that the phone’s firmware is restored to its original state, which is guaranteed to work properly. If problems remain after doing a hard reset, you can safely assume that you have a hardware problem at hand. In this case, it’s best if you can have the phone checked by a professional or have it replaced.
Problem #2: Mobile data doesn’t work and “Currently unable to download. Please try again later” error pops up after restarting the Samsung Galaxy S4
Hi there. I was wondering if you can help me. I cannot make calls or receive them. Messages cannot be sent and or received. Mobile data doesn’t work.
I’m on a plan and the bill has been paid. I called my phone company up and they told me everything is fine. “Currently unable to download. Please try again later” message pops up every time I start up Galaxy S4. I can only make calls and receive messages when I restart my phone, but only for a few minutes and then the connection disappears. When I try to make a call it doesn’t make the connection tone and when i try to hang up it freezes up and will not exit the call screen.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers. — Bao
Solution: Hi Bao. Your issues–unable to make/receive calls, unable to send/receive text messages, mobile data not working — fall within the scope of your carrier’s technical support as they are all linked to their network. The only solution that we can suggest in this case is to do a factory reset. This basically resets the phone to its factory state, which means that all the basic functions like sending and receiving of text messages and sending and receiving of calls should be possible, provided you are linked to a working network. If a factory reset won’t resolve the issue, you have no other choice but to call your carrier and work closely with them again to identify the reason behind all these problems. Alternatively, you can also ask for a replacement unit to save you from the hassles of troubleshooting.
Problem #3: Internet apps not working/Unable to download apps from Google Play Store on Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
Hi. I recently purchased s Samsung S4 Mini. Whenever i install an app from Google Play Store or the internet it cuts off the internet connection. An example is I installed ‘Avast Mobile Security’ and thereafter the internet connection was disconnected. Why would this happen?
That way incoming and outgoing and texting works fine but all internet based applications i.e., Gmail, YouTube, Google, etc. get disconnected.
Any help will be most appreciated. Thanks. — Caroline
Solution: Hi Caroline. Are trying to use your mobile data connection or Wi-Fi when trying to connect to the internet? Try switching to either Wi-Fi or mobile data to identify if your phone has a possible issue with any of its radios.
If you’re having trouble connecting using your mobile data, verify that your phone is properly connected to your network. You can do this by either calling your carrier or checking your phone’s settings. You can also try to perform a soft reset on your device by shutting it down and removing the battery for at least 30 seconds.
If you know someone who has the same network service as yours, ask them if they have the same problem so you can report it to your provider.
Problem #4: Samsung Galaxy S4 randomly changing networks (1X, 3G, and 4G)
Hello. My US Cellular Galaxy S4 began having 4G problems about 2 weeks ago. It began randomly switching between 1X, 3G, and 4G. When on 4G the upload arrow will light up, but the download arrow will not. If I turn off the LTE network settings it will function on 3G just fine, if a little slow. I took it to a US Cellular store and replaced the SIM card and re-activated the phone. I replaced both the red and white external antennae, and performed a factory reset. None of these things have corrected the problem. I also have the latest software updates. Is there anything else it could be before I take it to a repair shop for potentially costly repairs, or trade it in? Thanks for your time. — Joshua
Solution: Hi Joshua. We think you have already done what we are supposed to tell users with the same problems like you. Please proceed to have the phone replaced or repaired instead. We don’t think the issue has something to do with the firmware here. However, you can try to boot up the phone in safe mode to see if that will make any difference.
Problem #5: Samsung Galaxy S4’s Wi-Fi connection does not work
Hi there. I just followed your instructions at http://thedroidguy.com/2014/01/4-samsung-galaxy-s4-wifi-internet-connection-problems-83593#LJw6l2ewx6sSlBkS.97 regarding issues people have been having with accessing Wi-Fi on their Samsung Galaxy S4, but it is still not connecting. Oddly, it just started this a few days ago but was fine until then (I got this phone about 6 months ago).
The signal is strong, the password is correct, I cannot see any other setting that would have changed. Might you be able to help?! Thank you! — Linda
Solution: Hi Linda. Have you downloaded any update before this problem started happening? Please try the solutions below on how to fix issues after updating to Lollipop to see if they’ll help.
Also, try checking for any router-specific restriction that may come at play here. If you were able to connect to this router previously, somebody may have changed its settings to prevent your device from connecting to the internet. If you don’t know how to do MAC filtering, IP filtering, hardware firewall configuration, make sure to reset the router to its factory defaults to ensure that all of these restrictions are taken off.
Problem #6: Samsung Galaxy S4 unable to connect to mobile network after display replacement
Hi. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active that loses connection to my mobile network every time I turn on my Wi-Fi, have it on, or if am around any Wi-Fi signal. This all started for days ago after I changed my screen and LCD. The Wi-Fi works perfectly though. Any ideas to my problem? — Jmeadows
Solution: Hi Jmeadows. Please disable your phone’s Smart Network Switch. When this is ON, this feature will try to find the most favorable connection for the device, automatically switching you either to a compatible Wi-Fi or mobile data network. In theory, this advanced setting is designed to preserve consistent internet connection but we know that it doesn’t always work that way. Here are the steps on how to disable it:
Go to Settings.
Tap Wi-Fi.
Tap the menu icon located on the bottom-left hand side of the screen.
Tap Advanced.
Tap Smart network switch and turn it OFF.
Problem #7: AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4 not detecting 4G LTE/carrier network
My Samsung Galaxy S4 I337 (thru AT&T) is not picking up the data (4G LTE). Wi-Fi works fine, data IS turned on, if I take out SIM card it picks it up fine on any other phone, but when I have data on and Wi-Fi off on my Galaxy it will not connect to internet. I had AT&T look at it, they said I need new phone, and Samsung wants me to send it in to them. Have you seen this problem before? At first my phone was not reading SIM card all the time. Out of nowhere it would say “no SIM” until I reset or wiggled SIM card around. so I ordered a new SIM/SD card reader, 2 days before I switched hardware I noticed when it was reading SIM that it didn’t say 4G LTE on top. Now SIM works fine, but phone will not connect to carrier data. Please help? What internal part could cause this? — Benjamin
Solution: Hi Benjamin. Either the SIM card slot may be defective or the phone in general is having a hardware problem. It’s really difficult to pinpoint what might the exact problem be because we cannot physically check the device but if Samsung requested that it be sent for repair, please do so. Assuming that there’s no AT&T account or network problem, your best chance at getting a good working again is by getting it replaced or repaired.
Problem #8: Samsung Galaxy S4 won’t connect to Verizon LTE when old battery is inserted
Greetings! I have decided to take you up on your offer. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that is about 1.5 years old. It recently developed a problem with connecting to Verizon LTE.
It appears that when I fully charge it overnight it loses all connection bars. This can be corrected if I remove and replace the battery. This was discovered when I was filling out an insurance claim to get a new phone and needed serial numbers. The problem went away. But when I charged the phone over night I again lost all the bars until I disconnected the battery. My wife’s phone which was acquired at the same time but has less stuff (programs, apps, files) on it does not have this problem.
Is this a problem with a software program or should I file an insurance claim and get a new phone because there is a hardware problem?
Thanks for your assistance. — Dan
Solution: We can’t see the logic of a battery affecting the function of your phone’s 4G LTE radio but it’s foolhardy to argue with a fact. Have you considered getting another battery instead of having the phone replaced? Doing so would save a lot of trouble as you can skip re-downloading all your apps again as well as setting up the entire phone to how you want it to work.
Because you have already isolated the problem to the battery, we don’t think there’s any firmware or hardware issue here.
HOW TO FIX ANDROID LOLLIPOP TROUBLES
There has been a noticeable spike in connectivity problems after Samsung Galaxy S4 devices were updated to Android Lollipop beginning a few weeks ago. Below are the common solutions that you can try if you encounter any problem right after the firmware update:
Wiping the phone’s cache partition. A big operating system update like switching from KitKat to Lollipop can create a huge mess in your phone’s directory and cache. Although there’s a mechanism in place to clean this mess up, it usually only works on paper and does not actually happen resulting a range of problems. These troubles usually manifest once the phone starts behaving oddly, apps loading noticeably slower, and some functions suddenly acting weird or plainly stops working. If this happens, it’s recommended that a user delete the cache partition by following the steps below:
Turn the phone off completely.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
Release the Power button when the phone vibrates but continue holding on to the Volume Up and Home buttons.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release both the Home and Volume Up buttons.
Using the Volume Down key, highlight wipe cache partition.
Press the Power button to select the option.
The phone will automatically restart once cache data are wiped out.
Power up the phone in Safe Mode. Also known as the diagnostic mode, Safe Mode prevents third party applications and settings from running so it’s a great tool to use when one is not sure whether or not the new firmware is to blame. If you cannot replicate the issue while in this mode, that’s a telltale sign that one of the installed third party apps is the culprit. You need to confirm this by uninstalling each of them starting from the most recently installed. There’s no faster way than this so if you have tons of installed apps, this process may take you a long time to finish until you can isolate where the problem lies. If you haven’t tried booting up in Safe mode before, here’s how:
Turn the device off completely.
Press and hold the Power button.
Once the Samsung Galaxy S4 logo appears on the screen, release the Power button.
As soon as you release the Power button, press and hold the Volume Down key.
Continue holding the Volume Down key until the phone has completed the reboot process.
If you can read ‘Safe Mode‘ at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down key. Otherwise, repeat the process until you can boot the phone to Safe Mode.
Remove bloatware from your phone. The number of bloatware–unnecessary, redundant, or even useless apps–depend on how many of these apps your carrier is willing to give to its subscribers. Almost all carriers tend to force their way into their subscriber’s devices by introducing bloatware right after an operating system update. The problem for users is that these apps cannot be uninstalled unless a phone is rooted. That definitely sucks but that doesn’t mean you cannot stop them from running. Bloatware are often designed to run in the background thereby draining the battery faster and reducing the phone’s RAM that may result to slow performance. Other apps may even eat up data without the user’s knowledge! Anyway, if you think you have an unhealthy share of bloatware after the Lollipop update, kindly go to Settings>Applications>Application manager>Running tab. If you can see apps in the Running tab that you are not using, it’s most likely a bloatware so you can go ahead and disable them by tapping on each one first.
Do a factory reset/hard reset/master reset. As the name suggests, this solution brings the phone back to its original factory state, thereby effectively deleting personal data, third party apps and settings, bloatware, and even malware. As some of you may have already known, this should only be done as a final, desperate move after exhausting all possible troubleshooting steps. Do not forget to create a backup copy of all your photos, videos, music, contacts, etc before proceeding.
Turn the phone off completely.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
Release the Power button when the phone vibrates but continue holding on to the Volume Up and Home buttons.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release both the Home and Volume Up buttons.
Using the Volume Down key, highlight wipe data / factory reset.
Press the Power button to select it.
Using the Volume Down button again, highlight Delete all user data.
Press the Power key to select it.
Once the reset is complete, choose Reboot system now.
Press the Power button to restart the phone.
Problem #9: Samsung Galaxy S4 stops receiving messages and calls and mobile data no longer working after updating to Lollipop
Hi DroidGuy. I downloaded the update today pushed on me, and now it will only connect via Wi-Fi and no calls or messages. Rewind to KitKat maybe? All the best — Andy
PS: If you can help me fix it tonight, £10 via PayPal my friend.
Hi there. My S4 will not connect to my service provider; can’t get calls or texts. FYI: Just downloaded Lollipop. — Raiden
Solution: Hi Andy and Raiden. First of all, we offer our service for free for our readers so thank you for letting us know of your intention to pay, Andy.
As regards your problems, the first thing that you should do to try and fix it is by wiping the cache partition. This is a standard troubleshooting step after a major operating system overhaul to delete any rubbish left from KitKat.
You can then proceed to boot up the phone in Safe Mode to determine if the new firmware is to blame or the third party apps and settings. While in Safe mode, the phone won’t load the downloaded apps so it’s a neat way of isolating where the trouble stems from. This is a safe procedure to do as it will not affect your personal data so you can do so without creating a back up…yet.
You might need to do a factory reset if the problems continue after wiping the cache and booting up in safe mode.
Now, if you continue to be unable to make calls or receive them after doing a master reset, kindly call your service provider and let them know about a possible problem in your area. If there’s no network coverage issue in your location, some other factors on their side may be to blame.
Problem #10: Intermittent Wi-Fi connection after updating Samsung Galaxy S4 to Lollipop
Hi. I really hope you can help and any advice will be greatly appreciated. The problem is that the Wi-Fi networks keep repeatedly appearing and disappearing.
Problem: It started with the Lollipop upgrade. It didn’t do this using KitKat. Go into Wi-Fi and it lists the available networks. It connects to the home network for a few seconds up to a minute. It says ‘scanning’ and the list of networks disappear, it disconnects from Wi-Fi. Then sometime later it says ‘scanning’ again they appear again and it connects. It repeatedly sees then loses the Wi-Fi networks. It does this with other routers although some seem to stay connected for much longer.
I have tried many suggestions from the internet but none helped.
Finally I did a factory reset and before restoring anything or entering the home Wi-Fi code I saw the networks repeatedly appearing and disappearing
So I suspect it is either Lollipop or hardware.
Device:
Samsung Galaxy S4 GT19505
Andriod 5.0.1
Baseband I9505XXUHOD7
Kernel 3.4.0-4760392 dpi@SWDD5815 #1
Build LRX22C.I9505_5.0.1_0011
Smart network switch is off (tried both on and off)
Network Mode LTE/WCDMA/GCM (Auto connect)
Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep – Always
Many thanks for any help in advance. — Los
Solution: Hi Los. If you will follow all the suggested solutions above on how to fix problems after updating to Lollipop, we think you can eliminate this trouble. It appears that something is tripping the Wi-Fi switch to turn on and off by itself. While we cannot totally eliminate the chance of a possible hardware problem, the most likely culprit may be a corrupted firmware. If our suggestions above will not work though, kindly find a way to have the phone replaced.
Problem #11: How to enable 4G connection in Samsung Galaxy S4
Dear Sir. My phone works fine but when connecting to the internet it uses 3G. Before I did the last update it used 4G. How can I get to using 4G? — Bob
Solution: Hi Bob. To enable 4G connectivity on your phone, please follow these steps:
Go to Settings.
Tap More Networks.
Go to Network Mode and select 4G/LTE.
Tap OK to confirm the change.
If 4G/LTE is not available under Network mode, please work with your carrier why this is so. There’s a chance that they may be doing some maintenance on their end so make sure to consult them first.
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