Samsung Galaxy S4: Problems, Questions, Solutions, Workarounds [Part 2]
This is the second part of our Samsung Galaxy S4 problems series. In this post, there will be 11 problems or questions that will be answered. If you sent us an email about your problem and you can’t find it here, check the first part or wait for another post like this.
For those who have problems with their Galaxy S4 smartphone, do not hesitate to contact us through our mailbag address, I guarantee I read all emails we receive but I cannot promise I could respond to all of them. Posts like this are our way of answering hundreds of emails we receive each week. Please bear with us.
Q1: Dear Sir, I currently use galaxy S4 with android 4.3 (no roots), I’m unable to move any of my applications to SD card. It always shows that apps are moved but my phone memory remains low.. I use a Sandisk UHS-1 card of 64GB. Also I am unable to format my card on phone is reboots every time if I choose to format it. Please help me to resolve this issue. — Jensen
A: Well, if the phone shows apps were moved to the SD card, then they were moved, or at least, data of those apps will be saved into the SD card instead of the internal storage. When you’re inside the application manager and you can see the button ‘Move to phone’ instead of ‘Move to SD card,’ then that app has already been moved to the external storage. In this case, however, the owner is complaining about having low internal memory and I am not sure how low it is. One way to address it is to clear third-party applications’ cache and data or do a factory reset to delete data that were stored in the phone’s built-in storage. As to the formatting issue, if you cannot format an external storage device on your phone, take it out and have your computer do the job. It is also one way of checking whether the SD card still functions the way it should be.
Q2: Hi. So I bought a new computer and am having a tough time getting my phone to connect to Kies. When I connect it, it actually says “connecting” and show the model number to my phone “SCH-I545” so I know its not a connection issue. I’m even able to see everything in Windows Explorer. I’ve tried switching ports, I’ve tried restarting both the phone and the computer, I’ve tried re-installing Kies, I’ve tried the “Troubleshoot connection errors”, all to no avail. If you have any other ideas I’d love to hear them cause I am stumped. Thanks. — Kyle
A: Well, I too believe it’s never about connection issue since your computer can detect the phone without a problem. Honestly, I haven’t encountered a problem like this before. I once experienced not having my phone detected by KIES but the program’s connection troubleshooter always solved the problem. I included this problem in this post even if I can’t provide resolution hoping that someone out there who may have experienced this problem and have solved it may shed light to this issue.
Q3: My problem is that S4 unable to auto pick up cellular data connection once I am out from a weak data and cellular connection spot. Cellular will auto reconnect but not data. Wi-Fi is off. Currently on 4.3. — Allen
A: I understand that when the mobile data is turned on, the phone will automatically search for available networks and connect but there are times when it refuses to do so. If this problem happens ever since you got the phone, then there could be some problem with the phone’s ability to detect mobile data. But if it happens recently or randomly, it could be just a network problem. For that, you need to call your service provider. When the phone refuses to detect mobile network, however, take the battery out of the phone while it’s on and leave it off without it for a minute. The moment you turn it back on, it will search for the network. Also, try updating your data network profile; every carrier has one.
Q4: Hello I have an S4 and a couple similar things I’ve been quite annoyed with are: my playlists keep losing songs in the music player. I’ll have about 200 songs in the favorites playlist then it drops to the most recent 30. then sometimes it comes back with duplicates, but now it’s not coming back at all. the other thing is every time I set a notification tone for a text, it doesn’t make a sound when I get a text after a reboot. the only thing I can think of is maybe if I move the sound file to the internal storage. but still, this shouldn’t be an issue. any thoughts? — Jonathan
A: There were actually a lot of Galaxy S4 owners who have been complaining about this problem before the Android 4.3 update was rolled out. But I believe 4.3 already addresses this issue. If you’re experiencing this problem, however, clear the cache and data of the stock music player. You will need to add songs manually to your playlist but the procedure solves the problem most the time. The workaround is, in case the problem persists, to use a different music player.
Q5: My S4 screen often will not wake after charging or a long period of inactivity. There’s a brief flicker, and then, although the screen remains blank, the device can still be heard functioning ie, screen unlock, home button, back button. After much fiddling around, pressing the power button, continuous swipes, it will finally come on. The only time this is a real pain is when there is a gunfight on my street and I frantically wish to call the police. This has only happened twice, but still. I set it up in Safe mode, uninstalled my apps, reset the device, and all but hit it with a hammer. I still love the shit out of it though. Bad S4! — Erich
A: I once experienced this problem and I was supposed to take a shot of a celebrity passing in front of me when the phone remained idle even after several presses on the power and home buttons. To address the problem, what I did was disable the power saving mode of the phone as well as the smart rotation feature. Basically, my phone now is always awake even when idle, although I cannot escape the fact that the battery does not lasts as long as when I turned the power saving mode on. But at least, I can use it immediately when I need to. Try that and see if that works for you.
Q6: Hi, I tried to connect my S4 with Nokia Bluetooth headset but it just wouldn’t pair, it’s not even scanning the headset, I was wondering if it is even possible to connect s4 with Nokia headset, thanks. — Saket
A: I know there were brands of Bluetooth headsets and headphones that cannot be detected by the Samsung Galaxy S4 but I think Nokia wasn’t one of them. I probably cannot provide resolution to this problem but here’s what you can do: if you can, test a different BT headset or headphone with your Galaxy S4, if the phone can detect it just right then there’s no problem with your device. Now, using the Nokia BT headset, try to pair with other devices, if it can be detected then it’s a compatibility issue and we can’t do a thing about that. If other devices, on the other hand, cannot detect the headset, then it has problems.
Q7: Umm hello. I’m guessing you’re quite busy and won’t have time to read this e-mail but I thought it was worth a shot. So I can’t update my S4 to Android 4.3 over the air or using the USB cable and KIES. When I try using it with KIES but it won’t connect with it and even though the USB cable is plugged it says please connect a device. Please if you have time help me in anyway possible. — Raul
A: Make sure all necessary USB drivers for your computer and installed as well as the Samsung KIES. If both your computer and KIES cannot detect your device, there’s a problem with the USB cable. If only your computer can detect the phone (i.e. you can see it under My Computer as an external drive), the use Kies connection troubleshooter. Otherwise, re-install KIES and use a different USB port.
Q8: Lots of Wi-Fi problems encountered after upgrading to 4.3. And now AT&T has stopped downloading the upgrade. There was a drip outlining some of the issues encountered but seems to have been removed. My problem is with Wi-Fi cutting in and out although signal meter shows strong signal. Any ideas other than reset to factory settings? — Imcintosh
A: Yeah, there was a time when AT&T rolled out a buggy update so I guess that’s the Android version you have on your phone right now. And probably, those bugs are causing these problems. Best thing to do is to update the phone. Android 4.4 KitKat is coming so you might want to wait for that to be rolled out. Or, let the phone search for new updates from AT&T’s servers to see if it can find one. If you’re savvy enough, manually flash custom ROMs on your phone to resolve this issue.
Q9: I dropped my Samsung S4 on a tile floor and the screen cracked and no information is visible. When I connect to pc I will get “The last USB port connected malfunctioned.’ error. I will unplug and plug back in and I am asked to tap to determine what to do with devise and I will attempt to load pictures and videos to Windows, but the message states No photos or videos are found on device. Is there any way to get the information from the computer once the screen has cracked and no longer visible? — Kathy
A: Try using KIES, you may be able to extract information from your phone. If not, then remove the SD card and copy every bit of information from there. You may want to have the screen replaced, by the way. Also, have the USB port of your phone checked because it might have been misaligned when it fell.
Q10: Dear DroidGuy, I am writing this mail with a lots of hope to get the help for this big issue I am facing. I own a Galaxy S4 i9500 the Exynos model. My problem is that none of the widgets I put on the home screen is refreshing. Even if any widgets get refreshed, either it takes lot of time like 5-6 days or a reboot. All the widgets like weather apps, timely, news app like Flipboard, Feedly, Power toogles, etc nothing gets updated or refreshed. Please tell me any solution for this. I am really hoping to get a favorable reply from your side. Thank you. — Dev
A: Okay, these apps need steady internet connection either through mobile data network or Wi-Fi to pull information from their respective servers. You probably have known that already. Now, if you’re using a mobile data to connect to the internet, try to check if you’re getting your MMS message in a timely manner. If you do and these apps act differently, do a factory reset on your phone.
Q11: Hello, I believe I read an article on Drippler that Samsung acknowledged a battery drainage problem and that anyone is experienced that problem they could bring their battery to a Samsung store and exchange it. I bought my S4 within the first month that it was released, had this issue and reported it but was told it was because it was a powerful phone and no other issues were reported. A replacement battery was never offered so I have to carry my charger everywhere I go. Universal non Samsung specific charges damage the phone. Do you know anything about this charger issue?
A: One thing why we always recommend using OEM chargers is because generic and cheap chargers don’t actually come as advertised. More often, Samsung chargers get 2 Amps of output to make charging faster for its devices. Generic chargers often have 1 to 1.5 Amps of power output that’s why they usually cannot charge the battery or would take a long time to do the job. They too could cause damage to the battery itself. You see, most of the original chargers won’t continue charging when the battery is full. One explanation of this is because batteries will explode when overcharged; I personally tried this so I know. As to the problem, well, retailers are obliged to replace accessories as long as they are within warranty period. But if your battery was damaged because you used a third-party charger, you voided your warranty already.
No comments:
Post a Comment