27 problems with Samsung’s Galaxy S5, and how to solve them

Samsung Galaxy S5 problems
You pay hundreds of dollars for the latest smartphone tech only to find that it’s not working as expected. We feel your pain. Life’s not fair, but don’t give up on your Samsung Galaxy S5 just yet. With a little tinkering you can probably find a decent workaround or a solution, in fact, that’s why we’re here. Behold our roundup of common Galaxy S5 problems and the fixes you need to get past them.

Added new solutions for contacts and lag issues, and new problems with apps crashing, and MicroSD card.

Problem: No notifications or music controls on lock screen

A lot of people have been frustrated by their notifications, music controls, and other widgets disappearing from the lock screen after the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Thankfully it’s easy to get them back again.
Solution:
  • Go to Settings > Sound & Notification and tap on When device is locked and then choose Show all notification content or Hide sensitive notification content. If your music controls aren’t back straight away, then try restarting the phone. Unfortunately, the music control notification in Lollipop is scaled down compared to some widgets that you may have been using, but Google has ditched lock screen widgets in Lollipop.

Issue: Can’t download apps “Insufficient storage available”

This is a common problem and many people are reporting that they can see available space in the storage, but the S5 keeps returning this error for updates or when they try to install new apps. The first thing to do is go to Settings and find Storage listed under System.
Potential solutions:
  • If the internal storage is full and the space you have is on the microSD card then you need to move some files. Go to Apps > My Files > Local storage > Device storage and select the files and folders you want to move by ticking the boxes next to them then tap the Menu icon at the top right and tap Move then choose SD memory card. Find where you want to put them on the SD card and tap Move here.
  • To stop the problem cropping up as frequently in the future set the SD card as the default for your camera app. Go to Apps > Camera > Settings > Storage and select Memory card. Now photos and videos will go on the memory card by default.
  • If you find that the internal storage isn’t full and you’re still getting the error message about lack of space then it’s time to delete your cache. Turn your S5 off. Now press and hold the Power, Volume up, and Home buttons together. Let go when you see the Samsung logo with blue recovery text at the top. The Recovery menu will come up and you can use the Volume down button to scroll down and choose wipe cache partition then press Power to select it. When it’s done use the Volume buttons to highlight reboot system now and Power to select it and when the S5 restarts your problem should be gone.

Glitch: Echo on the speaker

Quite a few people have encountered an annoying echo on the Galaxy S5 speaker. For some people it’s at their end, for others the echo is bothering the other caller during a call. There are a few possible problems and solutions here.



Potential solutions:
  • The first thing to do is make sure it isn’t being caused by your S5 case, so remove it and see if it makes a difference.
  • Try blowing into the speaker and/or microphone depending what end the problem is on. Ideally use compressed air or a soft brush to make sure there’s nothing stuck in there.
  • Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision and turn Talkback off. If it turns itself back on then go to Settings > Application manager and scroll over to the All tab then find the Talkback app and tap on it then tap Disable and see if that helps.
  • Try using a Bluetooth headset for a call to see if the problem persists. If it does then it’s probably a network issue. Contact your carrier and see what advice they offer.




  • Problem: Not receiving text message Some people have been having trouble receiving text messages on their Galaxy S5. There are a couple of things that could be going on here.

    Skip ►mutedPotential solutions:


Problem: Not receiving text messages

Some people have been having trouble receiving text messages on their Galaxy S5. There are a 


 couple of things that could be going on here.
Potential solutions:

  • If your previous phone was an iPhone then you have to deregister iMessage. That link will take you to
  • the Apple instructions. If you still have your old iPhone then it’s as easy as turning iMessage off in Settings > Messages. If you don’t then you’ll need to enter your number and have Apple send you a code.
  • You should double check that you have storage space available in Settings > Storage.
  • It could be a problem related to the Message center. Open up the Messages app and then tap Settings > Text messages > Message center. You’ll have to check with your carrier what the right number is, but it’s usually listed on their website.
  • If you’re using a different SMS app then you could try uninstalling it and using the default instead to see if that makes any difference. Alternatively you can check by pressing and holding the Power button and then tap and hold on Power off until you see the Reboot to Safe Mode message then lift your finger and tap Restart. The S5 should restart and saysafe mode in the left bottom corner. If it works now then your problem is an app you installed. You can try uninstalling one by one or factory reset and reinstall selectively.
  • If none of this works then it’s time to contact your carrier.

Glitch: Can’t delete photos

A lot of people have been annoyed by the fact they are deleting photos in the Gallery app on their Galaxy S5, but they just keep returning.

:
  • Solution
  • This is likely to be because they’re backed up on Google+ via Google’s Photos app. If you start up the Photos app and choose a photo you want rid of and then tap the trashcan to delete you should get an option to Delete everywhere.
  • If you don’t want them backed up through Google then you can tap Settings at the top right in the Photos app and turn Auto-Backup off. You can also do this in the Google+ app. Alternatively you can go to Settings > Accounts > Google, tap on your account and see a complete list of everything that is being synced. Scroll down and uncheck Google+ Photos. You may also need to go to Settings > Application manager > Gallery and tap Clear cache.

Bug: Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped
If you’ve been getting this pop-up on your Galaxy S5 pretty frequently and apparently randomly, then you are not alone. There are a couple of workarounds that have worked for some people, and Samsung has released an update that seemed to fix the issue for some people.

Workarounds:
Go to Settings > Application manager and scroll down to Google+ and then tap Disable. Unfortunately you won’t be able to use Google+, but this has stopped the pop-up for some people so it you don’t use it much or at all anyway, then it might be worth trying.
Potential solutions:
Some people report temporary success by going to Settings > Application manager > Contacts and tapping Clear cache.
It might be a good idea to wipe your whole cache partition. Hold down the Power button and tap Power off. Now hold down Power, Home, and Volume up together. When the S5 vibrates, let go of Power, but keep holding down the other two. You should see the Android System Recovery screen and you can let go of Home and Volume up. Use Volume down to highlight wipe cache partition and then press the Power button to select it. Once it’s done, tap Power to select Reboot system now.

Problem: Overheating
Your Galaxy S5 will get hot if you play a first-person shooter for a couple of hours, or you use it for hours on end in a hot environment, but if you’re getting serious overheating without an obvious cause then it’s time to try a fix. A lot of people have run into overheating issues after the Lollipop update.

Potential solutions:
It’s pretty likely that a third-party app is causing the problem. You can check by holding down the Power button and then tap and hold on Power off until you see Reboot to Safe Mode and then tap Restart. It should say safe mode in the lower left corner. If the problem is gone then you know it’s being caused by a third-party app. You can try uninstalling one by one to track it down or go for a factory reset.
Before you factory reset you may as well try wiping the cache partition. Turn your S5 off and then press and hold the Power, Volume up, and Home buttons together. When you see the Samsung logo with blue recovery text at the top, let go. In the Recovery menu you can use the Volume down button to scroll and highlight wipe cache partition then press Power to select it. When it’s done use the Volume buttons to highlight reboot system now and Power to select it.
If you’re using a microSD card then try removing it and see if the problem persists. If that solves the problem then backup the data that’s on it and reformat the card before reinserting it.
Try out the Vitamins for Samsung Mobile app and see if it can offer any further advice
Problem: Won’t charge or charges slowly

A number of owners have reported problems getting their S5 to charge up properly. It may be refusing to charge at all, or it might be charging extremely slowly.
Potential solutions:
The first thing to do is make sure that you are using the Samsung charger and cable that came with the S5. Other chargers may have different voltage ratings and they won’t always work with the S5. Give the phone a good 30 minutes plugged in before you try to turn it on.
Try changing the wall socket and using the cable and charger on a different device to make sure there are no faults there. Try a different charger and cable with the same rating.
Try plugging the S5 into a USB port on your PC or laptop. Bear in mind that it will charge more slowly from a USB port than from the charger plugged into the wall.
Take a look at the charging port, blow into it or use compressed air to make sure there’s nothing blocking it.
If it still isn’t working then you may have a dead battery or a broken charging port. Contact your retailer, carrier, or Samsung and find out what your options are. If you’re out of warranty then you can try buying a replacement battery, or even replace the charging port yourself. Here’s an iFixit guide, but it’s a complex procedure.
Glitch: Touchscreen unresponsive or ghost touches
Some people have found that the touchscreen occasionally glitches and becomes unresponsive or registers ghost touches that they haven’t made. It seems to be an intermittent issue with no obvious trigger.

Workaround:
Hold down the Power key for a few seconds until it vibrates and turns off and then turn it back on. This might temporarily relieve the problem.
Potential solutions:
It may be worth mentioning that the S5 screen is not designed to work underwater, it’s a water resistant phone, but the touchscreen won’t work properly when wet, so if that’s when you encounter the glitch then dry it off first.
There’s a chance that your case or screen protector is causing the problem. If you’re using either then try removing them and see if that resolves it.
You could check in Settings > Display and see if enabling Increase touch sensitivity
It may be caused by an app or widget that’s misbehaving. You could try uninstalling apps and testing to see if the problem is gone, or you could factory reset and selectively install.
If you’ve done a factory reset as a last resort and it’s happening without any new apps installed then you might have a hardware fault. It’s time to go to your retailer, carrier, or Samsung.

Problem: Wi-Fi won’t connect or is very slow
We see a lot of Wi-Fi issues with smartphones and the Galaxy S5 is no exception. There are loads of possible causes. Make sure that your Wi-Fi is working with another device before you begin to work on a Galaxy S5 related solution.

Potential solutions:
Always start by turning your S5 and your router off and on again. Sometimes that does the trick.
Make sure that you haven’t set Wi-Fi restrictions related to the power saving mode in Settings > Power saving mode.
Head into Settings > Wi-Fi and choose your router, then tap Forget and set up the connection again from scratch.
You can also choose your router in Settings > Wi-Fi and scroll down to tap Edit > Show advanced options and try changing IP settings to Static.
Take a look in Wi-Fi > Settings > Advanced and make sure Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep is set to Always and that Always allow scanning is checked.
Download the free Wifi Analyzer app and take a look at how busy your channels are. Too many devices on one channel can impact on speeds, so switch to a less crowded channel.
Check MAC filtering on your router and make sure it’s off or that the S5 is listed (you’ll find the S5 MAC address listed in Wi-Fi > Settings > Advanced).
You could also try updating the firmware on your router.
Issue: Bluetooth won’t connect
A lot of people have run into issues trying to get the Galaxy S5 to connect with their cars and sometimes other devices via Bluetooth. The solution is liable to be slightly different for different cars and devices, but there are some obvious starting places.

Potential solutions:
Try resetting your Bluetooth car system or device so it forgets all pairings. Do the same thing on the S5 via Settings > Bluetooth. Refer to your car or device manual or look for instructions online, you may have to enter a pairing mode to get it to work, sometimes there’s a button for this. Make sure you read the dialog box that pops up on the Galaxy S5 and check the box to automatically connect in future.
If you’re having trouble with it partially working, check the profile for your device in Settings > Bluetooth by tapping on the gear icon next to it and make sure that the boxes next to Call audio and Media audio are ticked.
Bug: Screen won’t turn on
Quite a few people have been having issues with the Galaxy S5 screen refusing to turn on. The capacitive buttons light up as expected, but the screen remains black. This seems to occur at different times for different people, but the common issue is that the screen fails to wake up, even though you might be able to hear that the phone is working and feel vibrations. There are lots of things you can try to solve this issue.
Workarounds:
To begin with, try turning it off by holding down the Power key for at least seven seconds until you feel a vibration, then let go, and press the Power key again to turn it back on.
If the screen doesn’t come back, then try removing the back and taking the battery out. Wait for ten seconds, then put the battery back in, and try turning the S5 on again.
Some people found that going to Settings > Device > Lock screen > Additional information and turning it off seemed to help.
A few people have reported success after disabling the S Health app and/or the Smart remote app.
Potential solutions:
Try going to Settings > Accessibility > Vision > Dark screen and make sure this is turned off.
This issue might be related to your case or cover. Try removing it and see if the problem still occurs.
It could be your microSD card that’s causing the problem. Try removing it for a while and see if that makes a difference.
It’s possible an app is causing the problem, so try booting into safe mode. Turn the S5 off, then tap the Power key to turn it back on. When you see the Samsung logo press and hold the Volume down key. The S5 should start up and it will say Safe mode at the bottom right. If you don’t have the problem anymore, then it must be an app that’s causing it, you can try uninstalling apps one by one to identify the culprit, or do a factory reset and be selective about your reinstall. You can turn Safe mode off again via the notification shade.
Back up your files and go to Settings > Backup and reset > Factory data reset.
If you’re still having issues, then it’s time to contact your retailer, carrier, or Samsung and try to get a replacement handset.


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