I would be very grateful if anyone could suggest a permanent fix for a vexing problem I am having following a Samsung update and not having cell service. Thank you in advance for any assistance you might offer.
1) About a week ago on the evening of 1/22/24, I attempted to download a Samsung update ("One UI version: 6.0 with security patch level: 1/1/24") on my S22 phone (model SM-S901UZKEXAR; purchased new in July, 2022) following a prompt to do so on my phone. The update cycled for a long time, and then ultimately did not complete, despite attempting it twice.
2) The next morning I noticed I didn't have any cell service. I called our carrier (Consumer Cellular) from another phone and they tried different things and ended up diagnosing the problem to be the presence of a physical sim card in my phone (note: the phone is 1.5 years old and I have never had a prior problem with any Samsung updates and the physical presence of a sim card in my phone). During that CS conversation, I physically removed the sim card and then opted for the e-version of Consumer Cellular's sim card. That seemed to fix the problem ... or so I thought.
3) That same day, I then re-attempted a download of the Samsung update, and this time it downloaded successfully.
4) The following day, I noticed AGAIN that I had no cell service. Another call to CS, and them again walking me through different steps, and ultimately a presumed fix. The customer service rep ended the call by advising me "if it happens again, turn phone on airplane mode for a minute, then turn airplane mode off, and then the phone should reconnect to the strongest available cell signal." [BTW, during that same CS conversation, I had 3 bars on my phone so that should have been an adequate cell signal to make calls].
PROBLEM: Unfortunately, this "no cell connection" problem has persisted on a daily basis. The airplane mode workaround has only temporarily addressed the problem... that is until the problem happens the next time. Bottomline, I do not want to have to (nor should I have to) remember every time I want to use the phone to have to undergo these extra steps beforehand. Plus, if I'm getting an inbound call, there's no way to know, in advance, that I'm about to get a call and therefore need to do these extra steps. Otherwise the call will only go to voicemail. When this has happened with inbound calls, I've only known about the problem if the call sender decides to communicate with me another way (e.g., a whatsapp call, which has not been affected by this problem).
My phone is not old; I bought it new a year and a half ago. The problems I have encountered with no cell service only started occurring AFTER the attempted Samsung update. I have NEVER had a problem like this following other Samsung updates (which I usually wait awhile to install so any lurking bugs can be fixed before I download it; clearly I didn't wait long enough on this one).
Again, thank you for any insights/advice/suggestions you might offer.
