Help My wifi and Google Play just freaked out

[thecarlsoncrew]

Today my GS5 started freaking out. I cannot install or update any apps from the Google Play store - they all get stuck at a certain percentage of the way through the download. Each app has a different sticking point (22%, 39%, 75%, etc.), but each app sticks at precisely the same percentage every time. At the same time, my wifi has gone completely bonkers. If I turn on wifi, it will connect to my home network like normal, then drop off without warning, then get back on, then drop back off, etc. every few seconds. If I go into the wifi settings and observe while this happens, I see the message that the phone will connect when the signal is stronger...but if I look at the details, my wifi signal shows as Excellent strength and 100+Mbps speed! The phone is warmer than usual (though not hot) and battery is draining faster than usual, but that's probably to be expected given what else is going on. The wifi network itself isn't having any noticeable issues with any of my other devices or laptops.

Both of these things began happening at the same time, but I'm not sure what triggered it. Everything was working correctly this morning, but sometime this evening everything blew up. I uninstalled all apps that have been installed in the past few days anyway, but the behavior persists. I am not rooted, and I have not yet upgraded to Lollipop. I have rebooted and cleaned the app cache several times, and there is at least 3GB of free space on the internal partition (and far more on the SD card).

I don't even know how to trouble shoot this! I would be most grateful if someone could give me some guidance on how to resolve this. Thanks!

 

[shanny871]

My WiFi as of yesterday sometime has also freaked out. It connects, disconnects, searches, and connects constantly. I even reset my modem at home to make sure it is the phone.

 

[ironass]

Hi thecarlsoncrew!

Thank you for your post.

There are currently 35 different models of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and over 3,000 different stock Samsung firmware versions, worldwide, covering 3 different Android platforms, Android 4.4.2, Android 4.4.4 and Android 5.0.0. Not all issues will affect all models or firmware releases and your answers to the following questions will help in the forum's answers to your specific query.

#1 Could you post your Model number and Android version...

To locate these, go to...

Settings > More > About device > Model number and Android version

This will give you the model of Samsung Galaxy S5 that you have and which Android version you are on.


#2. Your current Firmware, (not just Baseband), version .

To locate your current firmware version, go to the stock, Samsung, dial pad and type in...

*#1234#

This will give you your, "Version", details in full, usually 3 lines of information, AP: CP: CSC:, which may all be relevant.

*** If code *#1234# has been disabled on your firmware, you can download and install, free from the Play Store, Phone Info and it will give you, under Firmware Info... PDA, Baseband, CSC, versions.


#3. Also helpful would be your carrier, (service provider), location, (UK, India, Russia, USA, etc: ), and if your phone is rooted or not and running a custom ROM, (give details).


Thanks. The above helps us to help you and hopefully someone will be able to reply to you shortly.


For more information, see, 35 Galaxy S5 models - know yours???

(TIP If you are a poster it is a good idea to mention your model number and firmware version in case this has a bearing on your problem.

Better still, if you have 25+ posts to your name, you can go to the black bar at the top of this forum and click on your Username, which will show a drop down menu. Just select, "Signature", and you can enter in the signature box the details of your phone, i.e. - "Galaxy S5 G900F".This ensures that your device details are shown in every post you make. You can update this as often as you like and will help other users immediately identify your phone and firmware.)

 

[shanny871]

Model- SM-G900V

Android version- 5.0

Firmware info is the same for all categories except CSC- G900VVRU1BOA8

CSC version- G900VVZW1BOA8

Verizon, USA, Not rooted

 

[ironass]

I am not rooted, and I have not yet upgraded to Lollipop.

Oh, yes you have upgraded to Lollipop...

Model- SM-G900V

Android version- 5.0

Firmware info is the same for all categories except CSC- G900VVRU1BOA8

CSC version- G900VVZW1BOA8

Verizon, USA, Not rooted

Try wiping your cache partition as per #1.3 of S5 Lollipop Update Problems - Dummies Guide to see if that resolves your issue.

Failing that, you will need to do a Factory data Reset as per post #2 of the Dummies Guide.

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

Hi thecarlsoncrew!

Thank you for your post.

There are currently 35 different models of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and over 3,000 different stock Samsung firmware versions, worldwide, covering 3 different Android platforms, Android 4.4.2, Android 4.4.4 and Android 5.0.0. Not all issues will affect all models or firmware releases and your answers to the following questions will help in the forum's answers to your specific query.

#1 Could you post your Model number and Android version...

To locate these, go to...

Settings > More > About device > Model number and Android version

This will give you the model of Samsung Galaxy S5 that you have and which Android version you are on.


#2. Your current Firmware, (not just Baseband), version .

To locate your current firmware version, go to the stock, Samsung, dial pad and type in...

*#1234#

This will give you your, "Version", details in full, usually 3 lines of information, AP: CP: CSC:, which may all be relevant.

*** If code *#1234# has been disabled on your firmware, you can download and install, free from the Play Store, Phone Info and it will give you, under Firmware Info... PDA, Baseband, CSC, versions.


#3. Also helpful would be your carrier, (service provider), location, (UK, India, Russia, USA, etc: ), and if your phone is rooted or not and running a custom ROM, (give details).


Thanks. The above helps us to help you and hopefully someone will be able to reply to you shortly.


For more information, see, 35 Galaxy S5 models - know yours???

(TIP If you are a poster it is a good idea to mention your model number and firmware version in case this has a bearing on your problem.

Better still, if you have 25+ posts to your name, you can go to the black bar at the top of this forum and click on your Username, which will show a drop down menu. Just select, "Signature", and you can enter in the signature box the details of your phone, i.e. - "Galaxy S5 G900F".This ensures that your device details are shown in every post you make. You can update this as often as you like and will help other users immediately identify your phone and firmware.)

I've uploaded a screenshot of my About Phone info, which provides most of what you mentioned. Unfortunately, I cannot get the firmware info because the code doesn't work from the dialer and the Phone Info *Samsung* app won't download (stuck at 82% on a 1.78MB file size). I got the following error: "Unknown error code during application install: 961". Is there another way to get this info? I am on Verizon in the U.S. Phone is not rooted and running stock 4.4.4.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[ironass]

I've uploaded a screenshot of my About Phone info, which provides most of what you mentioned. Unfortunately, I cannot get the firmware info because the code doesn't work from the dialer and the Phone Info *Samsung* app won't download (stuck at 82% on a 1.78MB file size). I got the following error: "Unknown error code during application install: 961". Is there another way to get this info? I am on Verizon in the U.S. Phone is not rooted and running stock 4.4.4.

THANK YOU!!!

That isn't the same information that you gave me in post #5!!!

You can still do the wipe cache partition.

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

If each app is stopping at a precise percentage for that app, it is likely that they are all stopping at a specific maximum download size that is the same megabyte level for each app. That might help in defining the problem. Try downloading a very small sized application to see if it falls below this bizarre maximum download size.

I've attempted to download apps ranging from just under 2MB to over 40MB. For example, a 1.78MB app stopped at 82%, but a 14.04MB file stopped at 35%.

That isn't the same information that you gave me in post #5!!!

You can still do the wipe cache partition.

Post 5 is someone else.

 

[shanny871]

I never said I didn't upgrade to lolipop.

 

[ironass]

I've attempted to download apps ranging from just under 2MB to over 40MB. For example, a 1.78MB app stopped at 82%, but a 14.04MB file stopped at 35%.


Post 5 is someone else.

My apologies... I did not expect anyone else to pointlessly reply to my post addressed to you.

 

[shanny871]

Hey man, I replied to his post before you did.

 

[shanny871]

I was just putting it out there that he is not the only one with wifi issues. So when you replied AFTER me. I assumed you were here to help us all. But so far all you've been able to do is show you're all talk and no help.

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

My apologies... I did not expect anyone else to pointlessly reply to my post addressed to you.

LOL No worries.

Crazy thing...the updates that were queued up suddenly pushed through, and I was able to install the Samsung INFO app. Here are the firmware details:

G900VVRU1B0A8
Date: 2015 February
CSC: G900VVRU1B0A8
MODEM: G900VVRU1B0A8
Version: 5.0

Does this mean they pushed the firmware on my phone despite me deliberately not taking the 5.0 upgrade?

 

[ironass]

LOL No worries.

Crazy thing...the updates that were queued up suddenly pushed through, and I was able to install the Samsung INFO app. Here are the firmware details:

G900VVRU1B0A8
Date: 2015 February
CSC: G900VVRU1B0A8
MODEM: G900VVRU1B0A8
Version: 5.0

Does this mean they pushed the firmware on my phone despite me deliberately not taking the 5.0 upgrade?

It would appear so!

This is weird as it does not happen on the stock Samsung TouchWiz firmware which allows you to NOT check for updates and NOT download them or install them. This is, I guess, another Verizon, "feature"!

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

It would appear so!

This is weird as it does not happen on the stock Samsung TouchWiz firmware which allows you to NOT check for updates and NOT download them or install them. This is, I guess, another Verizon, "feature"!

Those bastards! Even if the apps are downloading correctly now, the wifi is still freaking out. If I am reading things right, the date of the firmware update was 1/27, but I didn't notice the weirdness until yesterday, so the equation isn't quite adding up right yet. Still...I'm generally pretty careful with this thing, so it seems like a good bet for conflicts, especially if I haven't done the full upgrade yet. Do you know if there is any way to back out the firmware update, or will I need to call Verizon tech support?

 

[ironass]

Those bastards! Even if the apps are downloading correctly now, the wifi is still freaking out. If I am reading things right, the date of the firmware update was 1/27, but I didn't notice the weirdness until yesterday, so the equation isn't quite adding up right yet. Still...I'm generally pretty careful with this thing, so it seems like a good bet for conflicts, especially if I haven't done the full upgrade yet. Do you know if there is any way to back out the firmware update, or will I need to call Verizon tech support?

I am given to understand that Verizon do a phased roll-out unlike Samsung who release a particular CSC codes firmware all at once. Possibly, something to do with their server capacity. The Verizon update was first launched this Monday, 2nd Feb; see, here. Since the Verizon firmware is so heavily modified and different to the normal Samsung TouchWiz releases and the way that they are pushed to your phone, I cannot comment on avoiding or cancelling it. Once the process or should I say, processes, as their are 2 updates involved with the Verizon version of Lollipop, has started, I would be inclined to leave well alone.

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

I am given to understand that Verizon do a phased roll-out unlike Samsung who release a particular CSC codes firmware all at once. Possibly, something to do with their server capacity. The Verizon update was first launched this Monday, 2nd Feb; see, here. Since the Verizon firmware is so heavily modified and different to the normal Samsung TouchWiz releases and the way that they are pushed to your phone, I cannot comment on avoiding or cancelling it. Once the process or should I say, processes, as their are 2 updates involved with the Verizon version of Lollipop, has started, I would be inclined to leave well alone.

Understood. I'll give them a call and see what happens. Thanks a bunch for your help!

 

[ironass]

Very dumb suggestion. But could users having intermittent Wi-Fi connection problems try switching off the smart network switch in Wi-Fi settings. Longshot, but easy to test.

On the stock Samsung Lollipop firmware, going into Settings > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi menu (3 dots at the top of the screen) > Advanced > Passpoint... tick this... has been shown to help with Lollipop Wi-Fi connection problems.

 

[AZgl1500]

For those wanting to go backwards, you will have to learn how to use Odin.

 

[thecarlsoncrew]

Very dumb suggestion. But could users having intermittent Wi-Fi connection problems try switching off the smart network switch in Wi-Fi settings. Longshot, but easy to test.

I think you're onto something. My wifi has behaved since I saw your post this morning and gave it a try. I don't know if it's because I haven't taken the Lollipop upgrade yet, but for whatever reason, it really didn't like the Smart Network Switch. Thanks!

 

[afh3]

You've described the same issue with my Verizon Galaxy S5, after upgrading to 5.0, perfectly. Same "stuck" upgrades. Same constant Wi-Fi disconnects. Turning off the apparently errantly-named "Smart Network" feature returned my phone to proper operation.

 

[buylow12]

I was having similar wifi problems since the update and was about to do a factory reset. Switching the smart switch off seems to have fixed it. It appears that was causing the battery to drain, the lag, and keyboard issues.

Thanks and hopefully that'll be it, no factory reset for me.

 

[EarlyMon]

If y'all go back and vote his post and ironass' post after that as Best Answer it'll help others in the future to find the fix.

I think that you need 3 more votes.

 

[afh3]

As an additional note on this subject, not only was my Wi-Fi dropping and reconnecting roughly every 10-30 seconds, but the phone was heating up and the battery was dead in < 4-5 hours with the Smart Network Switch selected.

 

[nickdalzell]

It would appear so!

This is weird as it does not happen on the stock Samsung TouchWiz firmware which allows you to NOT check for updates and NOT download them or install them. This is, I guess, another Verizon, "feature"!

Verizon has 'sdm.apk' to take the place of the standard, user-controlled 'software updates' option. you can't stop an OTA (you can delay it but it will eventually force it to install) without root access.