Software update has broken my phone

[andi_smithe]

Hi everyone, 

My phone prompted me to do an urgent update yesterday morning, and since then it has developed some major problems. The biggest issue is that it thinks there is no SIM card inserted, so I can't make calls/send texts/use mobile data.

However, there also appears to be bugs elsewhere - for example, if I try to check for new software updates in Settings', it does nothing for about 10 seconds and then says "An unknown error has occurred. If this problem persists, restart the device". Under 'Last Update', it's greyed out and says "There's no information about this update" - so I don't even know what was changed. I also keep getting sporadic and different warnings when using e.g. Facebook messenger.

I am really frustrated, as I have tried restarting, rebooting in safe mode, clearing various caches etc. but I still have no network signal. I'm worried I've permanently broken my phone. 

Please may I ask for any suggestions about what to do? Would a factory reset help with a software problem? I really regret updating, I have been so happy with the phone until now. 

The phone model number is SM-G975F, One UI version 2.0, Android version 10.

[Mitzzz999]

A factory reset is normally recommended for the issues you're describing... I've done tonnes of software updates on various different phones... From different manufacturers and 99% of them went through without a glitch but my Samsung Note 10+ had a serious headache and the phone kept bootlooping and heating up. I was pretty much ready to go down the warranty route as there was no damage to my device but eventually I managed to hard reset it during the bootloop (which I couldn't do for hours and attempted like 60 or 70 times) and the phone just worked well after that.

It was just a bad update, not the actual software update, I always do updates with high amount of battery left too...

Nowadays I definitely backup my device before any update... Big or small.

If you know about software flashing you can go down that route too but if it's under any warranty at all, that could be an option to go for.

[N1NJATH3ORY]

Downgrade your firmware via Odin patched and SamFirm to download firmware.

[andi_smithe]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I eventually solved this without needing to resort to factory resetting - I downloaded Smart Switch and when I connected my phone, it prompted me to do another software update. It took three hours to download and install, but I now have phone signal again! I guess something went wrong during the previous update and a fresh installation has helped. 

[Dilraj Singh]

The smart switch method was a life saver! Got into a similar situation of flight mode stuck between on and off states and no cellular connectivity. Upgrading the phone through smart switch did the trick. Thanks for this suggestion.

[domino27]

The new update is draining my battery in my A12 very quickly

[Derange]

I updated my phone yesterday because it kept on bugging me in the notifications for a couple of weeks. Then it just went on to a boot loop! No choice but to reset my phone, no backup.  After resetting, the phone still wants me to UPDATE!!! WTF!!! To anyone reading this, NEVER, ever update your Samsung phone. Especially old models. It will mess up your phone because they wan't you to buy a new one!!! I can't believe South Koreans could be extremely capitalists!!

[Derange]

I updated my phone yesterday because it kept on bugging me in the notifications for a couple of weeks. Then it just went on to a boot loop! No choice but to reset my phone, no backup.  After resetting, the phone still wants me to UPDATE!!! WTF!!! To anyone reading this, NEVER, ever update your Samsung phone. Especially old models. It will mess up your phone because they wan't you to buy a new one!!! I can't believe South Koreans could be extremely capitalists!!

[JulFT]

How do we get this info onto the front page of Google??? Thank you so much for posting this. Samsung service centre said the only way was to wipe my device, for a hefty fee. Very annoying. Just extremely grateful I found this thread.