Some wireless technologies fell behind, some of them are getting better and standing firmly. Bluetooth is, for some users, an essential part of the everyday use. Especially since the 3.5mm jack is slowly getting out of the picture for a lot of OEM’s.
However, the ever-growing Bluetooth standard isn’t of any use if you can’t connect or the connection is unstable. And some Galaxy S7 users experienced a lot of similar issues with their flagship device. Culprits can be different, and we’re not pointing our fingers in any direction, but the latest Android update must be the main suspect. After the update rolled out over over-the-air protocol, a lot of users reported various issues, including the Bluetooth failure.
Because of that, we prepared a few workarounds that should help you resolve Bluetooth-related issues. If you have had a hard time after the update, take into consideration the steps below.
Check the pairing device
First, we’ll need to determine is the pairing device functioning as intended before we move to phone-related steps. Make sure to check all of the devices that you’ve tried to pair with S7 and look for some issues. The best way is to try pairing with several devices in order to confirm that the problem is solely related to the phone rather than a car system, headset, or another phone compatibility.
Moreover, make sure to turn off Wi-Fi or Mobile Data while using Bluetooth since they may stall or even stop the connection. Of course, that can be quite an annoyance, so take that advice with reserve if you’re used to be online all the time, even when using Bluetooth pairing with car system or wireless headphones.
Once you’re sure that the S7 is the main reason for failed connection, especially after the Nougat update, move on to the steps below.
Update your firmware
After the upgrade to Nougat, users experienced various issues, with Bluetooth as one of the emerging problems, as well. Luckily, many problems were resolved with the next update, so make sure that you’re running the latest version of the Android OS on your S7 before we move to more complex steps.
If you’re uncertain how to check for updates on Samsung Galaxy S7, follow the instructions below:
- Open Settings.
- Tap System update.
- If the update is available, tap Install Now.
Once you’ve obtained the latest system version, make sure to check for changes as, hopefully, they should be gone. If not, check additional steps.
Reconnect with the pairing device
The first step you can use to address Bluetooth-related issues is to delete paired devices and connect again. Most of the time, due to the signal corruption of some kind, the problem can be solved with this simple approach. Sadly, you’ll need to reestablish the Bluetooth pairing again, but that’s a small inconvenience compared to the inability to use Bluetooth at all.
Follow the instructions below to delete and reconnect with the paired device:
- Open Settings.
- Locate paired devices.
- Tap Forget.
- Restart your phone and connect again.
- Check for improvements.
In addition, you can decide to reset Network settings and completely restore factory values for all connection-related settings. However, this will erase all custom settings and saved networks, including Mobile Data preferences.
If you want to try it out, follow these instructions:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Backup and Reset.
- Choose Reset Network Settings.
- Tap Reset Settings to confirm the selection.
Wipe cache partition
By wiping the cache partition data, you clear temporary files that are stored to speed up certain apps and features without deleting your data from the internal storage. They are here for a purpose, but albeit, they can cause problems. But why would you do that and how is this related to Bluetooth issue? Well, it’s not advised to perform this recovery procedure is everything is functioning as it should.
But, sometimes, updates like the above-mentioned Nougat can cause corruption in the cache cycles and cause issues with certain apps or features. Bluetooth isn’t an exception, and neither are other connectivity networks, like Wi-Fi, Mobile Data, NFC, and others.
For that purpose, we advise you to try this procedure since it won’t cost you anything except some time and it may help gradually in addressing the issue at hand. Follow the instructions below to wipe cache partition data on your Samsung Galaxy S7:
- Make sure that the battery is at least at 20% and Turn Off the device.
- Press and hold the combination of Volume Up, Home, and Power Keys.
- Wait until the Android System Recovery screen appears and release all keys.
- Use the Volume Down key to scroll down to ”Wipe cache partition”.
- Select ”Wipe cache partition” with the Power button.
- Use the Volume Down key to highlight ‘Yes’ and press the Power button to confirm.
- After the procedure is finished, confirm ‘Reboot system now’ with the Power button.
That should resolve some of the issues that may have emerged due to the latest update. However, in case you’re still unable to use S7 Bluetooth as before, a factory reset may be the only available solution. Of course, if the problems aren’t hardware-related.
Restore factory settings
At the end, if the Bluetooth is of essential value for your everyday use, factory reset is not an unreasonable workaround. Yes, you’ll lose all of your settings and data from the internal storage, but it’s the safest bet to resolve software-related issues. As we have witnessed in the past, developers occasionally make a lot of mistakes and roll out the unprepared and unoptimized update.
Sadly, once you’ve updated your Android OS and the plethora of problems emerged from Pandora box, you have only two choices: to wait for the next patch that should fix things properly or perform a factory reset.
If you decided to perform a factory reset, these steps should inform you how to do it:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Backup & Restore.
- Choose Factory Data Reset.
- Tap Reset Device.
- Tap Erase Everything.
- Confirm selection and insert your passcode or PIN.
After that, your Bluetooth should be work just like before.
With that, we wrap it up. In case you have any questions or suggestion of any kind, we’ll be glad to hear from you. The comments section is below.
Have a Galaxy S7. What finally worked was to go in to the phone settings on my car (Mercedes E class), select options, select Enable External Authorization