ONGOING CELL SERVICE ACCESS PROBLEMS following Samsung update One UI update: version 6.0 on my S22

jpms22community · ‎01-02-2024

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.

Piper123 · ‎01-02-2024

Hi there

Sorry to hear of your traumas.

Did CS suggest you try to Reset Mobile Network Settings?

jpms22community · ‎02-02-2024

Thank you for your response.

By mobile network setting changes, do you mean changing access point names and network operator selection?

--if yes, no they didn't direct me to make any changes there.

-- if no, what do you specifically mean?

Thank you.

jpms22community · ‎02-02-2024

Oops. Sorry, Piper123-- I may have replied (to your question regarding my recent post) in the wrong section. If so, I am replying again below:

---------------------------------------

Thank you for your response.

By mobile network setting changes, do you mean changing access point names and network operator selection?

--if yes, no they didn't direct me to make any changes there.

-- if no, what do you specifically mean?

Thank you.

Piper123 · ‎02-02-2024

Hi there

Please go to:
Settings
General Management
Reset
Reset Mobile Network Settings

This will briefly disconnect you from your mobile network, then reconnect you, then your network will automatically send updated settings to your device.

In most cases this all happens in a few seconds with no further activity required from you. In some cases you may get an MMS settings message, if you do just follow the instructions, takes seconds.

No data will be lost from your device doing this. Hopefully it will fix the issues.

jpms22community · ‎09-02-2024

Thank you so very much, Piper123! This fixed it. I greatly appreciate your assistance and solution!

jpms22community · ‎14-02-2024

Piper123,

Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. The problem still persists, but has changed somewhat. Previously, I was unable to make or receive texts AND make or receive calls. However, the last two times it's happened, the phone's inability to make/receive calls was still affected, however, I was able to make/receive texts. This new twist adds to my perplexion. Clearly if I can make/receive texts, I must have cell service.

Since my last posting here, I have had another conversation with Consumer Cellular, the result of which is that we replaced the existing e-sim with a new e-sim. [Also, if it is at all relevant, in that call, rep told me that their records show my phone is locked which doesn't make sense because I bought the phone from BBuy unlocked. I also checked the network operators on my phone by clicking: "settings," "connections," "network operators," and I toggled off "select automatically" and 4 networks are shown-- AT & T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and 313100. So I believe this confirms that the phone is NOT locked.]

In addition to the CS call, I also spoke with a Samsung representative and she remotely examined my phone. I have no means of knowing how thorough her assessment was or wasn't. In the end, I asked her if she found anything to explain the problem and she said that she didn't.

I'm really hoping you (or anyone) has additional suggestions to help with this problem; it's extremely frustrating... just when I think it's been fixed, I encounter the problem again. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Piper123 · ‎14-02-2024

Hey there

This is an interesting one.

IF your device is indeed locked, then you will still see other networks like you suggest, but won't be able to lock into them to gain service.

I would suggest you obtain your device IMEI number (Settings, About Device, Status IMEI info) and then search it in one of the free IMEI checkers to see if the device has been locked either by Samsung or the network. If it has, there is your problem.

That said, I would question how you've been able to send an SMS. But check this first.

You said you bought it from BBuy, you are on the UK and EU forum here so many of us won't know the rules in the US or Canada.

jpms22community · ‎16-02-2024

Thank you, Piper123, for your continued assistance and patience with this issue.

Today, the problem of not being able to make a call happened again. I had another conversation with Samsung, as well as one with Consumer Cellular. In the CS call, we ended up changing the APN (access point name). Whether that change will do anything remains to be seen.

In the Samsung conversation (via text), I was trying to ascertain the answer to the locked vs. unlocked question because when I went to a couple of different emei sites, they provided info about the phone (e.g., warranty, blacklist info, etc.), but nothing about locked/unlocked (that I could find/interpret anyway). The Samsung conversation wasn't particularly helpful ("this is happening always to us from Consumer Cellular as well as on iphone user. They keep denying that they cannot unlock the device and saying that you need to contact your manufacturer...") [btw, why is Samsung support talking about iphone users?]. Anyway, the best I got out of him was suggesting that I take it to an IbreakuFix store.

So, I'm going to wait (at least until tomorrow) to see if the new APN helps. In the interim, one more data point I'd like to add to the problem, in case it's relevant, is its sporadic nature. By that, I don't mean: I have the problem, I call CS, and then it's temporarily fixed until the next time. What I do mean, however is that yesterday, I had the problem again (i.e., couldn't make a call) and about an hour later I didn't have the problem. [What happened in the interim is that I got frustrated and decided to set up a google voice number so I could make calls from my PC. I also added the Google Voice app to my phone. Curiously (or maybe not to someone more knowledgeable), after I made the Google Voice calls from my PC, I then re-checked my ability to make a call from my phone... and I was able to (without any intervening call to CS to walk through various steps, etc.)]. Is this evidence of a sporadic problem, or did something about the Google Voice activity fix the issue temporarily?? Again, it may or may not be a relevant data point.

Lastly, one other data point I learned when trying to call my son (who is on our CS plan and also has a Samsung) is that he now also has the mysterious problem of his voicemail message disappearing (i.e., the generic auto message saying user hasn't set up voicemail yet) that I had. I don't know if this points more to a CS or Samsung issue, but thought I'd mention it.

Hopefully, the APN change will do the trick. Fingers crossed.

catchamoon1977 · ‎29-02-2024

I have had this problem since Feb. 14th. Called my provider they thought it was the SIM card gone bad. Got a new SIM card sent to me. It didn't work. Got a 2nd SIM card last night and all appeared to be fixed. This morning intermittent cell service. The crazy thing is when you look at the cell provider name it's jumping ALL OVER THE PLACE. One minute it says ATT the next Verizon, or US Cellular, etc. All settings are correct and phone has been updated, and completely factory reset TWICE. If someone can tell me what to fix I would greatly appreciate it.