Contributor
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2 Messages
Galaxy S4 randomly drops network connection
My Galaxy S4 is driving me crazy. I bought it 5/29/13. It worked flawlessly for almost a year. On or about 5/20/14, it started losing the network connection with no warning. I could not make or receive calls or texts. I mean NO warning. One second, it worked fine then the next - nothing. I would have to restart the phone to get it to connect. I started missing calls and texts, which makes the phone basically useless. I would have to restart the phone to get it to connect to the mobile network.
The phone began intermittantly showing an error message that the sim card was missing. Since the sim card was an old one from my previous phone, I went to the AT&T store and a nice Rep replaced it at no cost. This was on 5/22/14, a week before the warranty ran out. The rep told me that if the problem persisted, then it would be the device, not the sim card. She gave me the address of the AT&T Device Support Center and told me that I should take it there if the phone kept malfunctioning. She also suggested that I just warranty the phone out and get a new one. I stepped outside and called my wife who informed me that she had just called and it went straight to voicemail. The phone had malfunctioned again right in front of the AT&T store!.
The next day. 5/23/14, I took the phone to the Device Support center and they replaced it. So, I have a new phone with a new sim card. A few days later, it did it again ; the phone lost the network connection and could not make or receive calls. The wi-fi worked fine so, hours went by before I realized that the phone could not receive calls or texts. On 6/19/14, I took the phone back to the Device support Center and explained the problem. They referred me to Samsung and gave me a map to the Samsung Repair Center, RSI Inc.
At RSI, I was told that they have seen this before and they would have to reformat my phone and reinstall the OS. They also told me that they are only having this problem with AT&T phones. I backed up my data and let them proceed. So, I have a new phone with a new sim card and a fresh flash of the OS. IT IS STILL MALFUNCTIONING!!! The phone will silently and randomly drop from the network with no error message or anything. The one thing I have found is that I can make it reconnect by toggling on and off "airplane mode", which is faster than rebooting the phone.
I had a chat session with a Samsung technician who basically tried to walk mw through reseting my phone. How much more "reset" could it be than refomatted and flashed with the latest software? The "technician was useless and wasted my time. I think the problem is related to the last Android update. The problem started a few weeks after the update.
Does anyone else have any ideas?
billsite34
Guru
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321 Messages
9 years ago
I had the same problem with my S4.
ATT gave me a new sim card and that didn't fix the problem.
I did a factory reset as instructed by ATT and still the same problem.
I called Samsung and spoke to the tech department. They e-mailed me a shipping label and I had to send my phone in. They replaced the "PBA", which I presume is the main board in the phone and updated the software
Got the phone back in a week and it has been fine since.
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mooncatx
Contributor
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2 Messages
9 years ago
That sounds like what I have to do. Thanks for the help.
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mendoza90
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
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mendoza90
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
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vdugar
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
I've been having the same sort of problem with my S4 -- which is actually a replacement device. Replaced because my previous phone (purchased in June, 2014) started dropping calls -- but not totally -- I could hear them but they couldn't hear me. So on 9/15/14 the folks at the Westminster Device Support Center replaced the first phone with a 'new' one. Now this one will randomly drop network connection -- zero bars (not a circle with a line through it). The only way to re-connect is to restart the phone. So the phone is not reliable at all -- what, I'm supposed to checn every 10 minutes to see if I have service?
I watch the 'bars' (received signal strength) and notice it randomly jumping from one bar to 5 bars -- probably another indication of a flaky receiver.
The nice lady at 877-971-5016 told me that Samsung had just (9/17/14) released an update to the Android 4.4.2 OS -- Build # KOT49H.I337UCUFNI1 -- because of a known problem like the one I've been having. When this phone started dropping network, I took it to the same Device Support Center (~9/23/14) and they re-flashed the phone. I have the latest Build number, just referenced. So Samsung has NOT fixed the problem.
Next steps, per the nice lady, are to swap SIM cards (my wife has an S4 on our other AT&T line) and see if the problem follows the device or the SIM.
I have to tell you that my confidence in this sort of tact is less than 10%. Apparently it's Samsung's problem. They need to fix this (not holding breath). I think I'll probably end up requiring a different phone model.
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vdugar
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
It's not the network. Same stuff going on withT-Mobile. See this thread. Jump to the end of page 2 for some recent posts. New phones and SIMs don't help (surprise, surprise). My guess is that Samsung has dropped the ball with 4.4.2 OS. Slow down, Samsung, and fix your stuff (being nice).
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vdugar
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
Hmmm. Is this up to Samsung or Google? I'm guessing Samsung since they have to control their own hardware (radios etc) via the OS. Here's an interesting article on the whole Android ecosystem.
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vdugar
Tutor
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4 Messages
9 years ago
Just got off the phone with customer svc at 877-971-5016. The good news is that everybody (AT&T, Samsung) acknowledges the problem. Samsung is working on a solution. The nice man that took my call said that a number of people in his office with S4s are experiencing the same problem!! That's "good" in that it's a pressure point on Samsung (yes it's up to Samsung to fix their firmware). Stay tuned.
PS -- Looking for a decoder for 'baseband version' -- found this dated post but it basically tells me that each manufacturer has their own version(s) of the 4.4.2 Android OS (or at least supporting hardware drivers).
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mike798
Contributor
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3 Messages
9 years ago
This all sounds similar to the problems I've had with mutiple S4's. And now all I want is to get a different model. Three phones in 9 months is ridiculous! (It would have been 4 by now, but I was waiting for a response from a "network engineer" to decide if the problem was the towers or my phone.) Now I keep getting the "we only send like-for-like as warranty replacements" line. Someone must have the ability to either swap out the phone for another model, or allow an early upgrade to help me switch phones. It's not like I'm unwilling to pay for the new device!
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chanceisham
Contributor
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1 Message
9 years ago
Ok so I have been experiencing the same issue as well. The phone started saying that it could not detect SIM card. Took it to the AT&T store and they replaced the SIM card. It still has that issue occassionally. It will also drop the signal for no reason and especially when switching towers. My wife also has AT&T and has an iPhone. I will have no signal what so ever in a place where I should have 4G LTE and she has 3-5 bars.
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