There’s no denying the fact that Android is a great operating system. But as great as it is, it’s not perfect. There are still multiple problems that you could face when running on Android. Luckily for you, though, not all these problems are unfixable. In fact, most of them can be fixed easily.
While there is no doubt that Android offers the most stability, reliability, and malware protection among any smartphone operating system, there are going to be times when you face problems.
But, Android is one of the leading smartphone OS’ in the world, and it would be a crime if you stayed away from one just because you were worried about problems. While there are tons of problems which you may face while using Android, there are also easy solutions on offer for each of the problems. We are going to take a look at a few of them here.
Before you get irritated and throw your Android device in the trash or head to the service center, there are a few things you could try on your own to fix most problems on your Android device. Who wants to go through the extra pain and effort of visiting a service center when you can fix it yourself, right? So give this article a read before you give up all hope and start thinking Android is the worst operating system in the world. It is not the end of the world yet, and hopefully, after reading this article, you will agree too.
There are just a few steps you need to follow in order to keep your smartphone in excellent running condition. Here are some of the problems you may face on your Android device along with easy fixes for each of them:
Google Play Store Crash
If your Google Play Store crashes once you launch it, you may just be dealing with a corrupt cache. Usually, a simple ‘clear cache’ will fix this problem. You can follow the below steps on most Android devices today:
– Go to settings > apps > the “all” tab
– Then find Google Play Store and select “wipe cache & data”
– Restart your phone, and you’re done.
If this doesn’t work then perhaps you should also consider wiping the cache for the below services:
– Google Play Services
– Google Services Framework
Don’t forget to restart your phone after both wipes.
Insufficient space
The Android OS allocates fixed storage space for each of its apps. Users are not able to expand this. So, you may just get this error even if your device shows that there is a ton of storage capacity remaining.
The easiest way of freeing up space on your device is by uninstalling the apps you don’t use. But, if you’re using music apps such as Spotify, you may find it difficult to locate exactly where they are being stored. The easiest way to free up space is with the help of a cleaner app like CCleaner. If you are trying to get a visual display of where all of your memory is being consumed, you could consider using DiskUsage. It will visually display all the locations and sizes of your files for easy viewing.
Not downloading apps
There are times when the Google Play store doesn’t let you install or download apps. There are a couple of very popular fixes for this problem. The first one involves wiping the cache for Google Play. The second is to simply erase its history.
Wiping the cache seems to be the best fix for this problem. Here’s how you do it:
– Go to settings > apps > the “all” tab
– Then find Google Play Store and select “wipe cache & data”
– Restart your phone, and you’re done.
You can also give the wiping history option a shot if you want:
– Go to the Play Store > Settings > Selection “Clear History”
Reinstalling Google Play Store
There is no way you are going to be able to uninstall the Google Play Store unless you have root access. This is not something a normal Android user will know about. So while most people think they’ve deleted Play Store, what they’ve actually done is just disabled it. There are many tutorials on the internet which can teach you how to enable it. A simple Google search will suffice here. Nonetheless, here are the steps:
– Go to Settings > Apps and then swipe right till you find the “disabled” tab.
– Find Google Play Store
– Click on “Reenable.”
Installing Google Play
If you get your hands on an imported tablet or smartphone, chances are it won’t have Google Play. Users will have to find an APK from third party sources if they want to install it on their devices. Before getting started, they will have to enable third party sources. Here’s how:
– Go to Settings > Security > Check the “Unknown Sources” box
– Once this is done, you will be able to install the store.
There are videos detailing this process on the internet as well. You can look at them if you want to make the process easier.
Older version of Play Store
Sometimes, the latest version of the Google Play Store might not work on your smartphone or tablet. In such cases, you could try installing older versions instead. You can find links for APK downloads of just about every major Play Store version on the internet. Just download one of them and use the above steps to install a compatible one instead.
Freeing up memory on Android
This is most probably RAM that you’re referring to. The Android OS works best when there are minimal applications installed. This is because there are some apps which run in the background even though you aren’t actually using them. The more the number of apps you have installed, the more the chances of some of them running in the background and eating up RAM. The easiest way of fixing this is by uninstalling all the apps you don’t use.
You shouldn’t consider using app killers as they can negatively impact the way many of your apps function. RAM boosters are just as bad. At first glance, they may seem like the most useful tool ever, but on closer inspection, you will notice that they’re actually harming your phone.
System UI unresponsive
Sometimes, the UI (User Interface) may stop working. If you can’t fix this issue with a simple restart, then you should try wiping the cache for the System UI. Here are the steps to get that done:
– Go to settings > apps > swipe to the “All” tab and choose “System UI”
– Wipe the cache.
– Restart your device.
Downloads aren’t working
There are times when downloads may just fail. Android has a dedicated download manager to take care of this, and sometimes its cache may get corrupted. In such cases, all you need to do is wipe it. Here’s how:
– Go to Settings > Apps > and then swipe to the “all” tab and choose “Download Manager.”
– Wipe the cache.
– Restart your device.
Can’t locate downloads
By default, Android stores all of your downloaded files in a folder labeled “Download.” In order to find this directory, the first thing you need to do is install one of the many file managers you find on the app store. Once you have installed one, go the “SD Card/Download” folder, and you should see a list of all the files you have downloaded till date.
Can’t play downloaded videos
You can start by trying to use the MX player or VLC player. They are capable of playing just about any file you can think of. Sometimes, videos which are in proprietary formats won’t play though. There isn’t a solution for such issues apart from installing the video player which supports the proprietary format.
Accidentally installed malware
You should never install cracked apps or games onto your Android device. In most cases, it will come with malware. But if your phone already has malware, all you need to do is uninstall the app it came with. If you aren’t sure which app it is that is wreaking havoc on your smartphone, try using a malware scanner. Lookout is one of the best Malware scanners out there and should easily be able to find the untrustworthy app. It is lightweight, free, and great at what it does.
Internet not working
One of the main causes of your mobile internet not working is having poorly configured APN settings. If you are using prepaid plans for internet access, chances are you will need to set up an APN before you can use mobile data. If the settings aren’t configured properly, you will need to set them manually. If you have signed up for an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) which leases spectrum, you will have to configure the APN settings of your phone as well.
Can’t connect to WiFi
The chances are your router is to blame in this instance. There are a whole lot of problems that you could be facing with your WiFi router and the easiest solution at times is to simply restart your phone and your router. If this doesn’t work, troubleshooting the router is your best bet.
Breaking Android password
If you have set a password on your Android device and subsequently forgotten it, you are going to need to perform a factory reset using the bootloader. The bootloader is a preboot environment which lets you restore your operating system to the way it was when you got the phone. There are multiple tutorials on breaking Android passwords offered on the internet too, but you shouldn’t count on them.
The first thing you will have to do is get into the bootloader. The method will vary depending on the type of phone you use. For most phones, you can access it by powering the device down completely. Once you power off the device, hold down your volume down and power button to boot the device. Once you are inside the bootloader, you can easily factory reset the device.
Just remember not to try this if you have a custom ROM. It will render the device unbootable.
Android crashes on boot
If your phone isn’t booting, you can use “safe mode” to recover your device. Safe mode will let you disable all your startup apps, one of which will be the one crashing your phone. Once you have booted in safe mode, you can remove the app which is misbehaving. If you are not being able to start your phone, this is one way you may just be able to.
Android device doesn’t come on
The first thing you should do is try to take out the battery. If the battery cannot be removed, hold the power button down for 15 seconds. If this fails, plug the device into power and then hold it down for 15 seconds. If this fails as well, you will need to go to a service center.
There is only one way of turning your phone on, and that is with the power button. If that doesn’t work, you are fresh out of options.
Android doesn’t read microSD card
This happens on many occasions. Formatting the SD card is the easiest solution here. But, this solves only a part of the issue with SD cards. If you haven’t tried this solution yet, give it a shot:
– Go to settings > storage > choose “Format SD card.”
– Select “Format SD card” again from the list of options.
If this doesn’t work, you will have to connect the SD card with a card reader to recover your data. If your files can’t be read even after you connect it to a PC, you will need to use one of the data recovery software available today. There are many effective software available for free. Just pick up any one of them.
Can’t connect Android to Windows PC
There are a couple of ways in which Android devices can connect with a computer. ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is one of them, and the other is MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). ADB allows users to interact with the operating system of Android while MTP just lets you access specially designated storage directories. ADB causes the maximum amount of problems. But, it is quite useful when it comes to sending commands to the Android device from a PC. For beginners, there are many guides on the internet that will help them learn how to use ADB.
If nothing else is working and you have run out of ideas and suggestions, the last resort is to perform a factory reset. This is the Android equivalent of a nuclear option. Here’s how it’s done:
– Go to settings > “Backup & Reset”
– Choose reset from the bottom of this window
Conclusion
Android is supposed to be one of the most robust operating systems in the world right now. As compared to Windows, it is more or less immune to any sort of malicious software. Don’t misunderstand though as it still has a ton of malware for you to watch out for. It is also very easy to recover from almost any software fault as you would have noticed above.
All you really need to do is press a few buttons, and your problems will be solved. It doesn’t get easier than that, does it? So if you were wondering whether you should buy an Android phone or if you are facing trouble with your Android phone, the tips and suggestions provided here should satisfy any problems/doubts that you may have. However, if you still find yourself scratching your head, bring your phone to a Samsung Melbourne dealer near you.
TelcoWorld Corp. - Known as Beltz's Mobile Phones & Repairs Moorabbin
source https://www.telcoworld.com.au/news-blog/common-android-problems-fix/
No comments:
Post a Comment