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Samsung Galaxy S3 General Information and Troubleshooting FAQ

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Hi, I accidentally synced all my Gmail contacts to my contact list so now there's 640 unassigned contacts.

I wanted to mass delete by groups but apparently I can't delete anything that's unassigned. Deleting contacts from my Gmail account and resyncing is out of the question because the Gmail account in question is my corporate account (the only reason why I linked up to it in the first place).

How can I delete those 640 contacts from Gmail? Will I be able to delete from Kies?

Thanks!

Accounts & Sync. Then go to your corporate account and uncheck sync contacts. You may have to force a re-sync and reboot to get them to clear.
 
im new and i had a problem with the charger i tried to make a new post but it didnt let me, so ill post it here.

so literally a few minutes ago i plugged in my charger into the wall and smoke came out of the microusb side and then from smoking went to burning, i just wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem and to warn you guys so that you dont plug it in and it burns your phone
 
This is for my brother, he is not a member but is having an issue. Yesterday his keyboard (kb) started freezing up. If he shuts the phone off and turns it back on, it will work again for a short time, but eventually it will lock up again. He showed me, since I was the one to talk him into getting the S3 and I have had multiple android handsets. Everything else seems to work correctly, touchscreen wise. I thought it was just the stock kb, so I had him install SwiftKey. It worked a little bit longer than stock, but still froze eventually. He took it to our local retailer today and they tried to FDR, but he said it wouldn't for some reason. So he had to leave there and go to work, with it still acting a fool. Has anyone else encountered this? If so, is there some kind of fix/workaround?
 
I lost notification bar (the one on the top)
and i got these error:
1 Unfortunately, Factory Test has stopped.
2 Unfortunately, the process android.process.media has stopped.

what can i do :(
 
Just a few issues maybe you guys can help:

1. I have disabled all calendars except for the Gmail account I have setup via Exchange. The phone is showing the same appointments three times. In Google Calendar it only shows once but on the S3 I see 3. Any ideas?

2. When I get into the car, my S3 pairs to the deck, music starts and all is good. If however I switch to an app like Skype or something of sorts where the music gets muted, when I'm finished messing around with the app the music will not turn back on and even if I change to the app it won't give the music back. Any idea what the problem is and how I can fix this?

Thanks in advance!
 
hi guys
i had a problem with galaxy S3 when some one call me i have to first press back button then i can swipe for answer or reject, why???
before, i answered or rejected calls normally with out pressing back button, but now...!!!
i checked Call answering/ending in Call settings and it was correct
 
hi

my text / email icons are showing unread items yet the only way i can find around this is to restart the phone. Googled it and it seems i'm not the only one. (in fact my wife has the same phone and has the same issue)

thoughts?

have you fix your problem with showing unred items on text icon???
 
im new and i had a problem with the charger i tried to make a new post but it didnt let me, so ill post it here.

so literally a few minutes ago i plugged in my charger into the wall and smoke came out of the microusb side and then from smoking went to burning, i just wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem and to warn you guys so that you dont plug it in and it burns your phone

This sounds like a defective component or that there was some debris that caused it to short out. Seek a replacement, this is not normal operation.

This is for my brother, he is not a member but is having an issue. Yesterday his keyboard (kb) started freezing up. If he shuts the phone off and turns it back on, it will work again for a short time, but eventually it will lock up again. He showed me, since I was the one to talk him into getting the S3 and I have had multiple android handsets. Everything else seems to work correctly, touchscreen wise. I thought it was just the stock kb, so I had him install SwiftKey. It worked a little bit longer than stock, but still froze eventually. He took it to our local retailer today and they tried to FDR, but he said it wouldn't for some reason. So he had to leave there and go to work, with it still acting a fool. Has anyone else encountered this? If so, is there some kind of fix/workaround?

Is FDR a factory reset? If so, then it's a defective unit. If not, try a factory reset.

I lost notification bar (the one on the top)
and i got these error:
1 Unfortunately, Factory Test has stopped.
2 Unfortunately, the process android.process.media has stopped.

what can i do :(

Something is severely wrong. Reboot. If that does not help, try factory reset. If that does not fix it either, try to return it. If that doesn't work, you and I need to talk about rooting.

Just a few issues maybe you guys can help:

1. I have disabled all calendars except for the Gmail account I have setup via Exchange. The phone is showing the same appointments three times. In Google Calendar it only shows once but on the S3 I see 3. Any ideas?

2. When I get into the car, my S3 pairs to the deck, music starts and all is good. If however I switch to an app like Skype or something of sorts where the music gets muted, when I'm finished messing around with the app the music will not turn back on and even if I change to the app it won't give the music back. Any idea what the problem is and how I can fix this?

Thanks in advance!

I would clear data on calendar and make it resync. Drag the Calendar app from the app tray to "App Info" and clear data. Then re open.

As for the second thing. Which app are you using? I've had no problem with the stock music app, pandora, and gmusic switching back after phone calls. I don't use skype, though, and the problem may be due to skype.

hi guys
i had a problem with galaxy S3 when some one call me i have to first press back button then i can swipe for answer or reject, why???
before, i answered or rejected calls normally with out pressing back button, but now...!!!
i checked Call answering/ending in Call settings and it was correct

Did you install anything that adds to, or changes the lockscreen? If so, remove those apps and use the stock lockscreen and see if that fixes it. Also, if you do use a custom lockscreen, some have an option to auto-hide when there's an incoming call.
 
Hi

My text / email icons are showing unread items yet the only way i can find around this is to restart the phone. Googled it and it seems i'm not the only one. (in fact my wife has the same phone and has the same issue)

Thoughts?

I had this same issue and could not find any fix, clearing the data, force close, etc... the only thing that removed it was to restart. BUT then I was reading another question about changing icons with Desktop Visualizer. I installed it from Play store and was monkeying around with it and switched all the standard dock icons to pictures from my gallery. Then switched the dock icons with my newly created ones and no more hanging notifications. I did not try the email as I rarely use it and was not having issues with it, but it sure fixed the stock message app. :D
 
Hi. I have recently puchased the samsung galaxy s3 and i'm having a few problems with it..
1. I have noticed that my phone tends to turn off the screen (and goes back to the locked homepage. I can't turn the screen on with the home button, it has to be turned on from the off button) when i'm on apps or even using the internet. And,
2. My phone turns off when i'm sleeping.

Can someone please tell me whats going on with it.
 
Hi. I have recently puchased the samsung galaxy s3 and i'm having a few problems with it..
1. I have noticed that my phone tends to turn off the screen (and goes back to the locked homepage. I can't turn the screen on with the home button, it has to be turned on from the off button) when i'm on apps or even using the internet. And,
2. My phone turns off when i'm sleeping.

Can someone please tell me whats going on with it.

For problem number one: Have you adjusted the screen turn off timer under display? Or activated Smart Stay? The default time-out for the screen is 30 seconds. Which can be quite short if you're not actively touching the screen.

For problem number two: Like...all the way off? Even with your battery with enough charge to last over night?

I would recommend a factory reset and install only your absolutely necessary apps. If the problem still occurs, you may have a defective unit and I recommend you get it replaced.
 
Hello again, everybody. I was last here over a year ago... and then a year before that, while waiting for my HTC Incredible to arrive. (I wrote only in haiku during the *long* wait. I promise not to do that again.) It did eventually arrive, I was thrilled, but recently it has gotten more than a little flaky so I've moved on to a GS3.

I've had my new phone for less than a day, so I have hardly found out everything about it. I do have a concern that I hope someone can help with:

I have a boomer of a home WiFi network. (This is not entirely a good thing, but I've come to the conclusion that it may be the only thing that's saving me here.) My old Incredible had four bars all the time. However, both my GS3 and my Galaxy Tab 2 only have one bar, and if I move a little farther away, it drops WiFi entirely. Do Samsung devices in general have weak WiFi reception, or is there something I can do to help this out a bit?

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I have done an extensive search on here, and so far have come up basically empty.
 
Hello All,

I got my GS3 3 months ago and it was working fine till yesterday. I have a .edu account and my personal gmail on the stock GS3 email app. While the .edu account works fine, the gmail is not updating every 15 minutes as it used to. Only when I open the app and specifically click on the gmail account does it sync. I don't remember changing any other settings. I have deleted and re-added the account with no luck. The gmail is being received on my outlook just fine - only my phone is not updating automatically as it should.

Appreciate any help!
 
Hello All,

I got my GS3 3 months ago and it was working fine till yesterday. I have a .edu account and my personal gmail on the stock GS3 email app. While the .edu account works fine, the gmail is not updating every 15 minutes as it used to. Only when I open the app and specifically click on the gmail account does it sync. I don't remember changing any other settings. I have deleted and re-added the account with no luck. The gmail is being received on my outlook just fine - only my phone is not updating automatically as it should.

Appreciate any help!
You should be able to change the settings in your Gmail app. Try and go to the options/settings...whatever it's called and look at the syncing time. You should be able to change it to 15mins
 
Hello again, everybody. I was last here over a year ago... and then a year before that, while waiting for my HTC Incredible to arrive. (I wrote only in haiku during the *long* wait. I promise not to do that again.) It did eventually arrive, I was thrilled, but recently it has gotten more than a little flaky so I've moved on to a GS3.

I've had my new phone for less than a day, so I have hardly found out everything about it. I do have a concern that I hope someone can help with:

I have a boomer of a home WiFi network. (This is not entirely a good thing, but I've come to the conclusion that it may be the only thing that's saving me here.) My old Incredible had four bars all the time. However, both my GS3 and my Galaxy Tab 2 only have one bar, and if I move a little farther away, it drops WiFi entirely. Do Samsung devices in general have weak WiFi reception, or is there something I can do to help this out a bit?

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I have done an extensive search on here, and so far have come up basically empty.

I'm not aware of Samsung having wifi reception problems. I've seen this problem with tablets, but not phones.

I would recommend you try changing the channel of your wifi. Also, check out Wifi Analyzer. It may help you sort out your wifi issues (like if there is a new neighbor who is insisting on using the same wifi channel as you).

Any Idea how to stop the ringer from turning off ?

Make sure the volume settings are correct. Make sure your sound profile isn't on mute or vibrate. Make sure you have a ringtone that you can hear selected as your ring tone.
 
I can not view video links on most web sites including this one. I use the stock browser. I have flash and smartswf. Thank you.
 
Hi, i bought a phone and i had it for a week and i pluged it into samsung kies and was downloading an update, when it got to around 60% my phone cut off and went into revovery mode, i turned off the phone and it kept going into recovery mode and lately when i try to start the phone the samsung logo comes up and in the top left hand it says recovery mode but then the phone goes blank again,im away from home and i wont be home until next month and i need my phone for important calls about work. i was woundering if there was anything you can do to help?
 
I can not view video links on most web sites including this one. I use the stock browser. I have flash and smartswf. Thank you.

Most of the video links from here are YouTube links. Make sure you have YouTube installed.

Great post @jerofld
Maybe maybe you include a link to galaxy s3 apps as well ?

What links to GS3 apps? I get all my apps from Google Play.

Hi, i bought a phone and i had it for a week and i pluged it into samsung kies and was downloading an update, when it got to around 60% my phone cut off and went into revovery mode, i turned off the phone and it kept going into recovery mode and lately when i try to start the phone the samsung logo comes up and in the top left hand it says recovery mode but then the phone goes blank again,im away from home and i wont be home until next month and i need my phone for important calls about work. i was woundering if there was anything you can do to help?

It sounds like your update screwed up while downloading. You'll need to get a hold of a PC and download the update image and Odin, then flash the phone. If you have no solid internet connection, this may not be possible. Contact Samsung customer support and they may be able to help you out if you can't get to a PC.
 
I'm having some issues with my S3 camera led flashlight.
It lights up for about 1sec when powering up the phone.
It lights up for about 1 sec when switching from regular camera to facecam.
It lights up for about 1sec when exiting the camera mode.
It lights up sproradically when battery is really low.

It seems to have something to do with power obviously, but how and why and is there anything to do about it? Anyone experienced anything like this.
I bought the phone used, so i don't know anything about its history other than it was all reset when i got it.
 
Google Nav has always been my go-to for navigation on my Nexus and now of course on the SGS3. And it's always worked just fine on my SGS3 until the latest google maps update. Now there is no more 3D/view as you drive mode. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but now the map just always points north. It doesn't have a dynamic driving view, and it's very difficult to navigate now using the map, whether on bike or driving. I just have to listen to the voice, which is tough on freeways with multiple exits.

Any suggestions? I checked settings, reinstalled app, cleared cache, and still can't figure it out.
 
I am having an issue with my car's bluetooth connection. It connects fine, but I can only dial a person's phone manually - the only thing that syncs with the car is the area code of each phone number. Are there any settings I can change or is this a known issue w/o a fix [yet]?
 
Hi Everyone!

I've had a lot of success troubleshooting small problems thanks to these forums, so a general "Thank you!" to everyone who provides helpful information.

OK, so I got a Galaxy S3 a few weeks ago and it's working very well. However, there's a very annoying issue when I search within my Contacts. As soon as I begin typing someone's name in the search bar, hundreds of (Unknown) contacts pop up. The thing is, they're not there until I begin searching for a name. Also, when I click on any of the (Unknown)s, the only information is that my "Connection" is through Google. In case this is important to note, my Google contacts are all cleaned up and there are no (Unknown) people there. Also, I've tried to cancel the Sync within Accounts, but that didn't fix the issue.

Does anyone know how to get rid of these (Unknown) people??

Thanks so much!
 
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