Hello SmartAndroWorld community! We bring to you more issues shared by #GalaxyS4 users from the past few weeks. Don’t forget to visit the other S4 troubleshooting posts if you can’t find a similar issue in this article.
- Galaxy S4 boot loop issue after flashing custom ROM
- Galaxy S4 and apps keep freezing
- Poweramp widget buttons not working when on Galaxy S4 lock screen
- Galaxy S4 won’t charge and turn on
- Galaxy S4 reboot issue after updating to Lollipop
- Galaxy S4 camera not working due to insufficient storage
PROBLEM #1: GALAXY S4 BOOT LOOP ISSUE AFTER FLASHING CUSTOM ROM
I’ve a Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 running on stock Lollipop 5.0.1. I’ve been trying to flash a custom rom on the phone for some time now, but I get stuck on a boot loop every single time. I have to revert to my stock firmware either through odin on my pc, or just restoring my backup through recovery.
I’ve tried more than 5 different custom roms to no avail. I’ve also tried different flashing methods. First, I used Philz Touch recovery. Then I used the wonderful Flashfire from Chainfire. And then I tried TWRP. It was on TWRP that I came across: “E: Unable to mount EFS folder”. I did a little research and I found out that my EFS folder is empty (or at least, I can’t see anything in the folder, even using Root Explorer). However, my phone is fine. No issues with network or Wi-Fi. My IMEI also seems untouched.
So, I’m wondering, is it possible that’s the cause of my boot loops? If it is, how can I solve the issue? And if it isn’t, what could be the cause of the boot loops, and how do I solve it? — Emmanuel
Solution: Hi Emmanuel. Any type of software modification can potentially result to boot loop issue but it’s not necessarily due to a corrupted EFS folder. EFS folder contains sensitive information about your phone like configuration and identifying information of its radios, network-critical phone numbers (registered number for a network-locked phone), IMEI, among others. Some custom ROMs intentionally leave this folder untouched but others may modify it to unlock other functions. The problems that follows after EFS folder corruption usually includes phone being unable to connect to Wi-Fi or mobile data, unable to establish a network or cellular connection, and not being able to read a SIM card. Since you are not experiencing these problems, there must be another reason for the boot loop issue on your device. The thing is, there’s no way for us to know what the specific cause of the problem is. Any of the flashing processes you’ve tried may have compounded the initial bug which may have now spread and resulted to a number of glitches. Again, there’s no way to know exactly what went wrong.
If you cannot stop the boot loop issue after flashing a custom ROM, consider sticking to a stock firmware.
We also recommend that you visit XDA Developers website for more information about the custom ROMs you’ve tried. If you’re lucky, you may be able to contact the developer of the custom ROM you’ve used. Make sure that you mention the issues to them so they can see if there are available workarounds or more in-depth troubleshooting and diagnostics.
PROBLEM #2: GALAXY S4 AND APPS KEEP FREEZING
Hello. So i had issues with SIM card not detected, RESTART phone. I managed that problem by stuffing objects under the phone cover or pressing around the SIM card. It would happen only a few times per month so it wasn’t a huge deal.
Those errors started to get more frequent and then my phone would start freezing and then shutting off. I’d have to take the battery out of the phone and then restart it.
All apps and programs experience the freezing. Snapchat, Whatsapp, Twitter, my standard messaging folder.
The phone is basically unusable right now.
Also, I reformatted the phone. Still the same problems. Thank you. — Alex
Solution: Hi Alex. You must address the identified hardware issue first (possible malfunctioning SIM card slot) before doing other stuff. That factory reset (usually what we call the “ultimate” software fix) did not change anything is an indication that this is not a software problem. The SIM card probably keeps connecting and disconnecting from the system due to a faulty SIM card slot. This cycle of connecting and disconnecting can cause the operating system to crash or the cache to get corrupted. With the operating system constantly having to deal with a malfunctioning hardware, it’s also about time when apps start to show problems.
Again, if factory reset did not fix the apparent app problems you have here, there’s no other software troubleshooting that you can do. Make sure to have the phone checked for hardware errors.
PROBLEM #3: POWERAMP WIDGET BUTTONS NOT WORKING WHEN ON GALAXY S4 LOCK SCREEN
Sorry for my poor English in the video. I was a little confused while taking it (smiley) I’ve purchased Power amp long time ago at it works perfectly on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Recently I purchased a Galaxy s4. Very nice phone too. No problems with all the other applications that I use. Just the Poweramp that is doing these strange things in the video. The widget works incorrectly, when I lock the screen and unlock it the buttons became white and not usable. Same for the buttons when I slide the screen down when the phone is unlocked. Sometimes the only way to exit the app is by force stopping it. All the information needed you can find in the video.
Also, when I plug the headphones in the jack the music doesn’t start automatically and doesn’t pause. when unplugged even those options are checked in the settings menu. I will appreciate if I get some help to get rid out of these problems. Thank you in advance (smiley).
Best regards. — Ivo
Solution: Hi Ivo. We appreciate the effort of contacting us and making a video of the problem. Based on your description and the video, there’s no apparent problem on the touchscreen so this must be a bug on the app or widget. We recommend that you try the basic software troubleshooting first like wiping the app’s cache and data, deleting the cache partition, or factory reset. If all of these procedures won’t help, the best party that should be able to help you is the developer team of the app itself. If you paid for their app, you can most likely contact them to get for support. Make sure that you let them see the video so they can easily evaluate their product.
For easy reference, here are the basic software troubleshooting steps that you can try first:
How to delete an app’s cache and data
- Go to Settings.
- Proceed to Applications.
- Select Manage Applications.
- Tap the All tab.
- Choose the name of the app that has been going rogue.
- From there, you will see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.
Clear Cache clears out the temporary files of an app that are possibly causing its erratic behavior. It is very safe to do since it retains your app settings.
If clearing the cache fails to solve the problem that you are encountering in an application, the next thing that you have to consider is to clear the data of your app. Accessing the Clear Data button involves steps similar to finding the Clear Cache button.
How to delete S4’s cache partition
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
- When the phone vibrates, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Press the Power key to select. The phone will automatically restart after the cache is wiped.
How to Factory Reset a Galaxy S4
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
PROBLEM #4: GALAXY S4 WON’T CHARGE AND TURN ON
Phone is around 2 years old. A few months ago it started switching off if I pressed the back key and I would have to keep pressing it to get it switched back on.
It stopped charging in December. I got a new battery and charger and it worked again. Happened again 3 weeks ago. I got another new battery and worked again although takes ages to charge. It happened again on Monday. Battery works in different phone, charger works. Phone just won’t go on. It goes to the Samsung Galaxy Screen then just cuts back off as though battery is dead. Tried a different battery and that doesn’t work either. I’ve backed up my pictures but I’ll lose everything else if I can’t get it on. — Roseann
Solution: Hi Roseann. The daily wear and tear for 2 years may have finally taken its toll on some components. The first thing that you can do is to try to see if your phone can be booted to other modes (recovery, download/Odin, safe mode). If the remains unresponsive, you can assume that there’s a hardware failure. Make sure that you have it checked or repaired.
To boot in recovery mode, simply follow these steps:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Restarting the phone in download mode is similar to booting in recovery mode. Simply press and hold Power, Home and Volume Down buttons.
Now, safe mode is a special boot environment that allows a user to do some diagnostics. It is in fact a diagnostic environment to see if the phone is having some software issues. It’s a good way to see if your phone will still respond to hardware button combinations. Booting in Safe mode can be done by doing the following:
- 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.
PROBLEM #5: GALAXY S4 REBOOT ISSUE AFTER UPDATING TO LOLLIPOP
I have just upgraded my OS from Kit Kat to Lollipop. The installation process went well and the phone seemed to be working fine for about half an hour and then it randomly just switched off without warning and when I try to turn it back on it will show the black Samsung GT screen for 2 seconds then turn off again repeatedly. The only way to get it switch back on for good is to wait for approximately 5 minutes before turning it back on and then it will work well for a few minutes and turn off and then its a repeat of the cycle.
I have tried another battery but it makes no difference. While this is all happening, the phone still charges normally, just won’t turn on when its switched off by itself even whilst charging. Please help. — Shauna
Solution: Hi Shauna. App- and firmware-related problems following an OS upgrade may be fixed by wiping the cache partition and doing a factory reset. Make sure that you do both in that order. If wiping the cache won’t fix the reboot issue, don’t hesitate to do a factory reset. Be sure not to forget to create a backup of your personal data before you proceed.
PROBLEM #6: GALAXY S4 CAMERA NOT WORKING DUE TO INSUFFICIENT STORAGE
Good afternoon saw your article – How To Fix Common Samsung Galaxy S4 Problems and Errors- online. It’s very informative. But I was not able to find solution to my problem. I am using a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. I just bought it. The phone has internal storage of 32Gb and RAM of 1.5Gb.
The issue am having with it is that whenever am trying to use camera or receive files it will say “The phone storage does not have enough space.” I was surprised and confused. When I checked the “storage” under “settings” it showed “Total internal storage: 32.00GB.”
“Available 31.99GB.” So I don’t know why it is saying not enough space when I still have 31.99GB free in the internal storage. But, I discovered something when I checked under “My Files” it showed “Phone Storage” as “Total Space: 12.15MB” and “Available: 1.7MB.” This shows that truly “The phone storage does not have enough space.” My further check made me to realize that all of my few media are under “My Files” which is a folder inside “RAM”. My problem is that how can I move my files to the “Internal Storage” of 32GB, that is still 31.99GB free. I anticipate your informative response sir. Please try to understand and help me to fix my issue. — Akinola
Solution: Hi Akinola. Let’s make things clearer first. A Galaxy S4 mini can have two memory devices — the primary storage and the secondary storage. The primary storage is the internal Nandroid storage device that comes with the phone. According to official Samsung technical specification page for this device, the primary storage can only have either a maximum capacity of either 8GB or 16 GB. This total internal memory capacity can further be reduced after the operating system and apps are installed. Depending on your carrier’s firmware version, the volume of your personal data (photos, videos, etc) and the number of apps installed, your phone’s current primary storage may no longer be enough to allow the camera to operate.
The “internal storage of 32Gb” you’re talking about must be the secondary storage device you inserted, also known as SD card. We suggest that you try to move the files and some apps from your primary storage to the SD card to allow the camera to work. Keep in mind that some camera features like Burst Shots will only be saved to the primary storage device. If you are fond of taking burst shots, make sure that you have plenty of primary storage device space left.
Now, if you want to use the secondary storage device for photos taken by your phone’s camera, you must first change a setting to do that. Here’s how:
- Open the Camera app.
- Tap Settings (the little gear icon)
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Settings tab.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Memory card
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