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Help samsung s3 text messaging problem

B

bungalow111

Newbie
could anyone please help, i am a pensioner with a samsung s3 mobile phone. i don`t know much about mobile`s so please try and keep answer`s as simple as poss please. my problem is that my phone STOPS sending text`s. the phone is using 4.1.1 with the stock app it came with. i have taken the battery out and the sim card numerous times to no avail. the only way i can find to restore it is by doing a hard reset to factory settings, then start over again. i like the phone but this is driving me crazy.

thank you in advance.
 
Hello - we will try to help.

I doubt that this is an issue with the messaging app, but may be triggered by it.

I recommend letting the phone upgrade its operating system to at least version 4.1.2. There were some issues with android 4.1.1 with the S3 which were corrected in later versions. Have you ever received any prompts to upgrade the android version? If not, have you had the phone from new?

Roger
 
hi roger,
thank you for your reply. i bought this phone a few months ago as a refurbished phone. i do get prompts asking me to update the software. but i leave well alone if things are working okay because i don`t really know what i am doing. can i be selective which updates to install? ie, 4.1.2 if so is their a website where i can see what i am updating my phone to?

please advise. thank you, john.
 
Hi

The updates are sent to your phone over the air i.e. by data or preferably wifi. If you do not have wifi available, its best not to update until you are somewhere which has (you need to be there for an hour or so). With data it could take a very long time.

Normally if you accept the invitation, the update will be downloaded to your phone as a big file (in the background as and when you have wifi connectivity). You should then get another prompt to actually install the update. At that stage (if not before) you would be advised which version the update is for. If you say yes, you need to plug the phone into its charger and be prepared to leave it alone for maybe 2 hours. (You must not interrupt an update).

I am not sure which update you would get. (It depends upon which service provider you are using and whether the phone is "branded" ie preloaded with say O2 or EE applications) There have been several updates since 4.1.1 (the first version the S3 had when first released a few years ago.) All of your data and apps should be safe, but if you have any very valuable information (photos, documents etc) you should back them up off the phone before doing the update. It it usually fine but murphy's law applies.

Do post back if you are unsure.
 
hi. girolez.
thank you very much.
i do have wifi, my provider is TESCO 02 . is it possible to uninstall updates after they have been put on my phone?
 
Hi

Updates cannot be reversed unless you root (gain administrator access to) your phone. Even then, it is not a simple procedure. Unless you are a "techie" person this is not a realistic option.

You could try phoning Tesco and seeing if they know which update you would get. (someone must know but whether you can get to the right person is another matter!). In my view an update would be a good idea if you are regularly having to do a factory reset. It may not solve it but there is a good chance.
 
girolez said:
Hi

Updates cannot be reversed unless you root (gain administrator access to) your phone. Even then, it is not a simple procedure. Unless you are a "techie" person this is not a realistic option.

You could try phoning Tesco and seeing if they know which update you would get. (someone must know but whether you can get to the right person is another matter!). In my view an update would be a good idea if you are regularly having to do a factory reset. It may not solve it but there is a good chance.
Click to expand...


hi, i don`t think i am anywhere near clever enough to do that, is their another easy to use app available to put on my phone that will work on my sending my text`s. because this problem of my phone NOT sending text`s happens time and time again. i am ready to go back to my iphone because of it.
any help would be most welcome.
 
girolez said:
Try Textra in the playstore. I prefer it to the samsung standard app.

Roger
Click to expand...


hi roger, thank you for your reply. when i download this app to my phone do i have to go through this app to send text`s, or will it work in the background when i am using the stock app. cos i find the stock app very clear to use with my aging eyes.
john.
 
Hi

Its instead of the stock app, but I think you will find it very clear and simple to use (I too have failing eyes, but that's what big phone screens are for!) - try it, it can always be uninstalled. Your texts are stored in the same place on your phone whichever sms app you use, so you won't lose any. (You can have lots of sms apps installed and use whichever one takes your fancy at the time if you want to!)

As I said before, I'm not sure that changing which app you use will solve the issue, but its worth a try.

Roger
 
girolez said:
Hi

Its instead of the stock app, but I think you will find it very clear and simple to use (I too have failing eyes, but that's what big phone screens are for!) - try it, it can always be uninstalled. Your texts are stored in the same place on your phone whichever sms app you use, so you won't lose any. (You can have lots of sms apps installed and use whichever one takes your fancy at the time if you want to!)

As I said before, I'm not sure that changing which app you use will solve the issue, but its worth a try.

Roger
Click to expand...



hi roger,
have found a problem, i decided to do the updates on my samsung s3 . but when i tried it came up on screen that,
YOUR DEVICE HAS BEEN MODIFIED, UPDATES ARE NOT AVAILABLE . i bought this phone from ebay as a refurbished phone is there anything that i can do to update it?
any help would be welcome from anyone who has any ideas on this matter.
please advise, john.
 
That means the previous owner has modified the OS or system apps on the phone (they should really have told you that)
It means you can't recieved ota (over the air) updates and you have to "flash" them manually using software called Odin on a PC.
Since you say you're not very tech-savvy, that may or may not be something you want to try.
I'd give the seller a bad review though because they should really have returned the phone back to stock firmware before selling it
 
Hi, John, unless you want to learn about device hacking and other techy things, there's not much you can do with it, except taking it up with the vendor and/or Ebay.

Frankly unless you know your stuff, buying second hand phones from places like Ebay, Gumtree or Craigslist can be a mugs game.
 
hi, thank you all for your help, i took my phone to my local repair shop. he somehow updated it too new firmware 4.4.1 which took some time, but everything seem`s to be working okay as yet.
 
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