UPDATE: We have recently published an article regarding a common Galaxy S4 problem: Samsung Galaxy S4 Has No Signal / NoService [How To Fix]
Several months after the Samsung Galaxy S4 was released in the U.S. and the global market, thousands of owners were already complaining about the problems they've encountered with the device. Since we opened our inbox to questions from our readers, we've also received thousands of questions regarding some issues with Samsung's newest flagship smartphone. We categorized those questions and now we have a list of the most common problems Galaxy S4 owners experienced.
Several months after the Samsung Galaxy S4 was released in the U.S. and the global market, thousands of owners were already complaining about the problems they've encountered with the device. Since we opened our inbox to questions from our readers, we've also received thousands of questions regarding some issues with Samsung's newest flagship smartphone. We categorized those questions and now we have a list of the most common problems Galaxy S4 owners experienced.
But
before anything else, please note that the solutions or fixes we provided here
only serve as recommendations. You may or may not follow them if you find
procedures hassling or troublesome on your part.
#1. Galaxy S4 Drains Battery Faster
Yes,
it does! And the monster battery (2600 mAh) we thought was huge enough for a
mobile phone wasn't enough to power the device the entire day. Samsung's effort
to make its flagship 'smarter' than its competitors was good enough but its
engineers should have given the phone a bigger battery than it already has.
There
are, however, some owners who complained having to experience even faster
battery drain. Others say they could only use their phone for four hours or
less. In cases like this, we advise owners to do the following:
Close
Apps Running in the Background - press the Home button to return to the home
screen. Then hold it until recently used apps appear. Swipe each app left or
right to close them.
Adjust
Screen Brightness - while the Super AMOLED display is one of the best displays
out there right now, it is a power hog. One way to minimize its power
consumption is to display the brightness
to a lower level and to use darker background.
Let
The Phone Rest - heat also drains battery faster so if you feel like your
Galaxy S4 is considerably hot after hours of use, give it minutes to rest or
let it cool down before using it again.
#2. Galaxy S4 Can't Connect To WiFi Networks
While
connecting to WiFi networks is easy to do on Galaxy S4, the problems early
adopters were facing seemed to have made things a little complicated.
We've
actually received a lot of emails regarding this problem. The thing is, the
issue is so vague that it covers authentication error and other connectivity
problems. Then came a confirmation from Samsung saying the S4 had some kind of
a bug that hinders it from connecting to networks transmitted by select routers
like a specific model of D-Link. The problem has already been resolved, though.
Some
minor WiFi problems can be fixed by simply changing the security type of a
network, well that is if you have access to the settings.
Other
owners who might just be sharing their connection via adhoc (computer to
computer) should not expect their Galaxy S4 to detect or connect to the network
since Samsung's flagships (or even the company's mid-range devices) don't
support that kind of connection.
#3. Galaxy S4 Emails Deleted After Reading
Provided
that the email account was properly setup on the phone, the problem is
triggered remotely. For users who use corporate emails and have set them up via
Exchange, a setting to leave a copy of messages on the server should be
enabled.
While
it is understandable that network administrators disable the option by default
to minimize the use of server resources, the emails should be allowed to stay
on the server for, at least, 7 days.
To
double check if this option has been enabled, users should edit account
settings. The option should be found under Advanced settings. You can also set
how many days you want your emails to remain on the server before they get
deleted automatically.
#4. Galaxy S4 Freezes and Lags
Being
one of the most powerful smartphones available in the market today, it is
disheartening to see the Galaxy S4 lags and freezes randomly. But the thing is,
the phone comes with a lot of bloatware and useless services that's taking up
RAM more than any normal application. Included in the situation is the TouchWiz
UI that also causes the same issues.
So
the first thing you have to do is to make the TW faster by disabling some if
not all bloatware.
Second
is disabling the smart features that you don't usually use.
Third
is by closing apps running in the background.
Fourth
is by rebooting the phone at least once a day.
Fifth
is clearing cache and data of heavy apps.
If
the freezes and lags persist, you might want to do a factory reset after you've
backed up everything in your phone.
#5. Galaxy S4 Apps Hanging
Some
apps may have already been updated by their developers and some may not. At
least, this is the primary reason why some applications keep hanging or
freezing on the Galaxy S4. It is always advised to check on updates for each
app installed on the phone by going to the Play Store.
Apps
that keep on hanging even after update should be reinstalled to see if the
problem would be solved. Clearing app data and cache could also solve the
problem. Otherwise, you have to say goodbye to it for good.
You
should know, malfunctioning apps could interfere with the phone's normal
processes that may result to freezes and random reboots.
#6. Galaxy S4 Home Button Unresponsive
It
is like that by default since the Home button is bound to the S Voice feature.
If you want the home button to be more responsive, you have to uncheck the
'Open via the home key' option. To do this, do the following:
1.
Double-press the Home button to launch S Voice.
2.
Once S Voice is up, tap the Menu key.
3.
Tap Settings.
4.
Now, find 'Open via the home key' option and
uncheck it.
5.
After doing this, press the Home button and you
will see it's more responsive than before.
#7. Galaxy S4 Storage Not Enough
Yes,
it is because of the bloatware that come with the device. The 16GB variant is
taking all the criticisms considering almost 50% of its storage was occupied by
the operating system, which is too large in first place, and factory installed
apps that keep smart features running on the phone.
One
way to remedy this problem is uninstall some bloatware especially the ones you
don't need. Second is to clear cache and data of large apps or even uninstall
them if you're not using them anymore. Third is to copy all your pictures to
your computer and delete them from your phone. Fourth is to minimize music,
videos and other multimedia files on Galaxy S4.
But
you know what Samsung advised its customers about this problem? "Buy a
bigger SD Card!"
Yes,
if you can afford one why not buy one?
At
the end of the day, it's proper management of your files that would give you a
peace of mind.
#8. Galaxy S4 Headphones Crackle
We've
tried to replicate this problem with the original Samsung headphone but to no
avail. We, however, experienced the problem when we tried to use other brands
of headphones (yes, the cheaper ones).
So,
the best advice we could give is to use the original headphones that come with
the device because they were rated to handle the wattage that comes from the
Galaxy S4. Also, if you want to use equalizer apps, only install that ones that
have good feedback and minimize on the bass.
Do you have other Galaxy S4 problems?
Email
us at sebertech@gmail.com and we will find solutions to your problems. You can
ask us question, suggest a solution to a problem or give us feedback. Don't
worry, everything we offer here is free.
1 comments:
I have none of the problems mentioned above with my S4. However my phone constantly kills music equalizers when the screen turns off or a song changes. I see many posts about it on the web but no solutions yet. Other than that great phone.
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