After more than 2 years of supporting #GalaxyS4 users, we are yet to say that we’ve encountered every problem on this device. While this post addresses some common problems of the Galaxy S4 as well, the first and fifth items in this article come as a surprise for us. If you have a rare issue with your Galaxy S4 as well, don’t hesitate to contact us so we can also help you.
- Galaxy S4 sounds off even if all audio settings are disabled
- Galaxy S4 unable to make/receive calls and texts
- Galaxy S4 won’t boot up
- Galaxy S4 unable to make or receive calls
- Galaxy S4 push notifications not working properly on mobile data
PROBLEM #1: GALAXY S4 SOUNDS OFF EVEN IF ALL AUDIO SETTINGS ARE DISABLED
I always put my phone on silent at night because I have certain health issues that mean that once I’m woken I find it really hard to get back to sleep. I also put it on silent if I’m in a meeting at work where I need my phone with me, but don’t want to be disturbed. I’m telling you this to explain why this issue is more than just an annoyance.
I’ve been using GoSMS Pro as my default SMS app for about a year & find it works fine & there’s no sound If I set the phone to silent.
A few weeks ago my phone started giving audio alerts even when it was on silent. This isn’t the alert tone I’ve set in Go SMS, I think it’s the android default tone.
I’ve tried everything I can think of:
– setting the phone to silent
– hold the volume key > go into settings > set all 4 to silent
– main phone setting > my device > sound > set volume to silent
The only thing that seems to work is to change notifications & ringtones to ‘none’ & then try to remember to change them back to the sounds I want later…not ideal & not the way the phone’s meant to work!
I suppose I could turn the phone off or leave it in another room, but then I’m not able to use it at all. I’d really appreciate any help with this…as I explained this is more than just an annoyance. Thanks in advance. — Jeff
Solution: Hi Jeff. For any software- or app-related issues, wiping the cache partition is a highly recommended first step towards resolution. We suggest that you try it first to see the difference. Here’s how it’s done:
- 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.
If refreshing the system cache won’t help, you can also restore all phone settings to default via factory reset. Here’s how:
- 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.
Make sure to make a copy of your personal data like photos, videos, contacts, etc., before you proceed.
PROBLEM #2: GALAXY S4 UNABLE TO MAKE/RECEIVE CALLS AND TEXTS
I need help with my newly purchased Galaxy s4. Currently I do not receive any incoming phone calls or text messages; my calls go straight to voicemail. Incoming texts never arrive in my inbox. Why not?
My Wifi/internet-based communication (Gmail, Facebook, etc) works fine, but not the regular phone calls and texting. I talked to my service provider and they don’t seem to know what to suggest other than a factory reset. We did a reset yesterday, but it didn’t resolve this issue.
What I have tried today: Checked to confirm that it is not in Airplane Mode. Powered off and on several times.
Finally, I went to your website to try the suggestion regarding turning off Call Divert—however, when I clicked ‘Turn Off” (under the “forward when busy”– which had an unknown phone number in the box), I received an error message: “Unexpected response from the network”. Clicked “OK”; next message says: “Unable to deactivate call diverting when busy. Unsupported by operator.”
Please help me solve this issue, if possible! Thank you. — Tamara
Solution: Hi Tamara. This issue is best resolved by your wireless carrier than by us. If your phone came from them, they should provide you full support especially that the issue appears to be network- or account-related. There’s only so much that you can do on your phone. It won’t hurt though if you try a factory reset. Doing so will eliminate bugs responsible for the issue. It will also bring back all default settings of the operating system and pre-installed apps. If an update messed up some call settings in your phone, factory reset will also take care of that.
Keep in mind that if a downloaded app is responsible, the issue may return after re-installing it. Be sure to observe the phone for 24 hours after a factory reset without any third party app.
PROBLEM #3: GALAXY S4 WON’T BOOT UP
When the problem started, I didn’t do or notice anything different. First of all, I got the popup error message related to ‘gapps’, after that, the popup related to ‘acore’. Even the removal of battery wasn’t a possible solution.
After the restart, the popup persisted one more time. I tried a reboot again and after that, only the screen showing the model GALAXY S4 MINI DUOS appeared and the smartphone turned off automatically.
Finally, after some attempts, the model’s screen stopped showing and now I can only see something on the screen when the smartphone is charging on plug.
I don’t care about my data. I’m focusing on the access to reset all. That’s my plan A.
My plan B consists of installing a ROM from XDA Developers.
I hope you can help me; otherwise, I may have to buy a new smartphone…
Best regards. — Gustavo
Solution: Hi Gustavo. There are many reasons why an Android phone fails to boot up properly. If the phone did not get wet or dropped prior to noticing the symptoms, then most probably the reason is software in nature.
One of the most effective ways to force a phone to boot up is by doing a master reset. This means that a user must first access recovery mode, which can be done by pressing Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons together. the last option you have is to flash a custom or stock ROM.
We don’t have a handy guide for flashing a Galaxy S4 so we recommend that you go ahead with your plan to visit XDA Developers website. Just be sure to use the correct firmware to avoid bricking your phone.
PROBLEM #4: GALAXY S4 UNABLE TO MAKE OR RECEIVE CALLS
I am not able to make or receive calls. I noticed this issue on Sunday morning when I went to make a call. After restarting, removing battery and restarting again (a total of five times), I was able to make a phone call.
Monday morning I received a call and when I went to answer, I could hear nothing. I tried making a call and it was the same. I can dial a number or call a contact (i.e. voicemail) and hear nothing. The other caller cannot hear me either. I have tried several times to restart my phone, take battery out, remove and reinsert SIM card all with no luck.
At this point, the only trigger I can figure is possibly daylight savings time, which really does not make sense but I did not have any issues trying to make a call before Sunday. I have not been able to switch to a different call or answer an incoming call if I am on a call either.
Do you have any suggestions? After reading several different things and trying to reboot, restart, power off and back on my phone, I am writing to see if you can provide any possible solution. Many thanks for any information and/or assistance that could be forwarded. — Suzi
Solution: Hi Suzi. The best suggestion that we can provide is to tell you to contact your wireless carrier first. Networks do not work 100% all the time so there’s a chance that there’s an on-going outage in your area. If that’s not the issue, calling your carrier is still worth the time as they can also double check if there are any provisioning issues on your account. Devices in a network are given permission to be able to use services like calling and texting. Sometimes, provisioning problems can occur without your carrier knowing so it’s always a good practice to let them know first.
Plus, they can also walk you through some troubleshooting if the problem is technical in nature.
If you want to troubleshoot your phone though, the first thing that you must do is to know what changes were made before the issue appeared. Did the issue start after installing an app, installing an update, or changing some settings? Once you have identified the possible causes, you can narrow them down until you know the culprit.
If the issue, for example, happened after you installed an app, it would be good to try uninstall it to see the difference. You can also follow the steps below on how to boot the safe mode to see if any of your third party applications is responsible.
- 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.
If the issue fails to occur while safe mode is enabled, that’s an indicator that one of your apps is to messing up with the system.
Wiping the cache and partition and doing a factory reset (steps provided above) may also help. Otherwise, call your wireless carrier and ask for direct assistance.
PROBLEM #5: GALAXY S4 PUSH NOTIFICATIONS NOT WORKING PROPERLY ON MOBILE DATA
My Galaxy S4 runs on version 5.0.1, and my Push Notifications worked for about a month until they quit working. I got all my notifications as soon as I was connected to Wi-Fi (I have never had any trouble connecting to Wi-Fi). It just seems that my Mobile Data quit working.
I have had this problem once before, and I talked to a few people, and my problem was solved by resetting the system settings. Now (once again, a month later) my notifications have quit working, and this time resetting the system settings did not work. I have tried it repeatedly. I tried deleting my AVG app because that had some power saving quirks that you had described in your other solutions.
I am running out of patience with this phone, and I am wondering how I can fix it because for the majority of my day, I am not on WiFi, and I can’t afford to spend all my time opening and closing apps just to get their notifications (especially when I am talking to people on Google Hangouts – I have to be constantly refreshing the chat, and even then I usually don’t see some messages until I have sent one of my own, often making me look foolish). I don’t know if you will be able to help, but it is worth a shot.
Thank you very much! — Ben
Solution: Hi Ben. Push notification in Android devices does not depend on the type of internet connection you have on the device. Whether you are using Wi-Fi or mobile data, notifications should still be “pushed” to your phone as long as there’s an open communication between your device and the app server. If push notification worked before, something must have changed the settings of your phone that now prevents it from receiving said notifications when on cellular connection mode. It can be a third party application or an operating system glitch. The best thing that you can do is to do a factory reset, install the app you’re having a problem with (like Google Hangouts), and observe for 24 hours. Make sure not to install anything else during the observation period so you’ll know if one of your other apps is to blame.
If you don’t want to do a factory reset right away, we suggest that you try setting Google Hangouts as Priority Application notifications settings. Here’s how to do that:
- From the Home screen, touch Apps button.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap the My Device tab (tap the menu button to switch to Tab view).
- Tap Sounds and notifications.
- Scroll down to Application notifications.
- Tap Google Hangouts.
- Move the slider to turn on Set as priority option.
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