Why can't I establish a data connection after Marshmallow update (Galaxy s6)?

[Abi Morrison]

So far Marshmallow is a disaster for me. Drains my battery, can't get a data connection, apps shut down on their own. Is anyone else having these same issues? I already cleared my cashed data.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome back! Do you mean that you wiped the system cache partition, or that you cleared cache/data from apps in the App Manager?

Have you also tried Safe Mode, to see if the problem is due to 3rd party apps? https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-21007

 

[H3aTeRzz]

Hi Abi Morrison!

I would highly recommend doing a full Factory Reset of your device. I always do, no matter if problems occur or not. There are many who have no issues after major updates, but then there are folks like you & me, who aren't that lucky!

Please be sure to backup your important data, before resetting!

Hope this helps!

Chris


NOTE: PLEASE LOOK INTO WHAT B DIDDY SAID ABOUT SAFE MODE!

 

[Abi Morrison]

Hello,
Thank you to both for your advice. Safe mode didn't help as I really don't know how to look for an isolated problem. That said, I did do a system cache partition wipe and almost everything seems to be working better now. Battery life is still not nearly as good as it was before the Marshmallow update. And, at least one app (the WNYC radio app) cuts out about every 90 seconds. Maddening while trying to listen on my walk to work!

 

[B. Diddy]

Since Safe Mode disables all 3rd party apps, it's a general way to narrow things down to something you installed vs something inherent to the system (i.e., the firmware) or the hardware. If problems go away in Safe Mode, then you know it's something you installed--however, the challenge is to figure out what the culprit is, and may involve uninstalling apps one by one until the behavior goes away. If problems persist in Safe Mode, then it may be a glitch in the firmware, a corrupt firmware, or problems with the motherboard. Hardware problems require attention from the manufacturer. Firmware problems might be fixed by re-flashing the firmware, but we can discuss that later, if necessary.

 

[H3aTeRzz]

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I still do recommend a full factory reset. Especially if you're still having battery drain issues.

 

[bbtkd]

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I still do recommend a full factory reset. Especially if you're still having battery drain issues.

And if your car ever stalls, you should overhaul the engine!

Don't be so quick to factory reset without FULLY understanding the ramifications. Just saying to be sure to back up your files does not take into account that most folks have no idea how to do that or what they will lose when they don't. They also do not realize that it will take days or weeks to get their phone back the way they want it since they'll have to figure out all of their settings, reload ringtones, etc, etc, etc. Yes - a factory reset will quickly resolve many problems, but should not be taken lightly and done without first exhausting all other alternatives. In most cases, clearing system cache does it.

 

[B. Diddy]

And if your car ever stalls, you should overhaul the engine!

Don't be so quick to factory reset without FULLY understanding the ramifications. Just saying to be sure to back up your files does not take into account that most folks have no idea how to do that or what they will lose when they don't. They also do not realize that it will take days or weeks to get their phone back the way they want it since they'll have to figure out all of their settings, reload ringtones, etc, etc, etc. Yes - a factory reset will quickly resolve many problems, but should not be taken lightly and done without first exhausting all other alternatives. In most cases, clearing system cache does it.

Your points are well-taken, but in situations like this where multiple things are going haywire, a factory reset might be the better approach. If there were only one issue, I agree that a factory reset could be overkill, but multiple issues can be really tricky (and tedious) to troubleshoot. If things do seem to calm down in Safe Mode, then you're still stuck with booting back into normal mode and then uninstalling apps one by one until problems go away (and this may be even harder to tell if the problems are only intermittent). Sometimes you end up uninstalling everything, which is almost the same as doing a factory reset and then reinstalling apps one by one.

 

[H3aTeRzz]

Well said B Diddy.

 

[bbtkd]

Your points are well-taken, but in situations like this where multiple things are going haywire, a factory reset might be the better approach. If there were only one issue, I agree that a factory reset could be overkill, but multiple issues can be really tricky (and tedious) to troubleshoot. If things do seem to calm down in Safe Mode, then you're still stuck with booting back into normal mode and then uninstalling apps one by one until problems go away (and this may be even harder to tell if the problems are only intermittent). Sometimes you end up uninstalling everything, which is almost the same as doing a factory reset and then reinstalling apps one by one.

Among those experienced enough to decide, it is certainly an option. My concern is the neophytes coming here for a quick answer and having them jump right into a factory reset without understanding that the backups they thought they had only covers their contacts and calendar, and even then only if set up correctly. I wonder how many lose pictures, password vaults, etc that have not been synced anywhere. The lack of built-in backup mechanism is a gaping hole in an operating system that billions of people depend on. It is about time Android have a built-in backup mechanism that would make a factory reset simple and safe.

 

[B. Diddy]

It is about time Android have a built-in backup mechanism that would make a factory reset simple and safe.

No disagreement here. At least some OEMs and carriers offer their own backup solutions. My usual recommendation to people is to take full advantage of the Google cloud (i.e., use Google Photos Auto Backup, Google Drive, make sure contacts and calendar events are associated with the Google account and not the Phone account, etc.). This does make it much easier to restore a lot after a factory reset.

 

[H3aTeRzz]

bbtkd,

Your opinion matters, and I thank you for it! Have a great day Sir/Ma'am.

 

[H3aTeRzz]

Back on my original opinion, that a Full Reset is in order....

Abi, please be sure, if that's the route you take, to let us know and we'll be sure to minimize the chance of you losing your important data! Thanks!

Here's a couple of great links to assist you with making sure you don't lose any data.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmVTND6bO0

http://www.androidauthority.com/android-customization-how-to-factory-reset-595347/

 

[Abi Morrison]

I see this conversation digressed for a moment! I'm happy to say that the battery life is now back to what I came to expect before Marshmallow. However, my apps that stream content still cut out after about 60-90 seconds. I can immediately press play to have it resume. But, that gets very frustrating when you're trying to run, or walk or do anything other than wait for your phone to cut out. I have not yet performed a factory reset. Yes, I do know how to back up my data (as a chronic machine washer of my phone - not intentionally of course, I've come to both regularly back up important data and also bought one of those water tight cases). But, as someone here already said, it's not ideal.

So, any other suggestions?

 

[lucianus_luciferus]

I see this conversation digressed for a moment! I'm happy to say that the battery life is now back to what I came to expect before Marshmallow. However, my apps that stream content still cut out after about 60-90 seconds. I can immediately press play to have it resume. But, that gets very frustrating when you're trying to run, or walk or do anything other than wait for your phone to cut out. I have not yet performed a factory reset. Yes, I do know how to back up my data (as a chronic machine washer of my phone - not intentionally of course, I've come to both regularly back up important data and also bought one of those water tight cases). But, as someone here already said, it's not ideal.

So, any other suggestions?

make sure you disable app optimisation or task killers for those streaming apps.
make sure that these streaming apps do not have background data disabled.
also if you are using power saving mode that will disable the internet connection as well when the screen turns off.
one way to test it is to keep the screen on for about 5 min and see if the streaming still stops.
usually if an app goes crazy after an os update that means it is either poorly coded or not optimized to work with the new os
Or maybe just simply does not know how to use the new os libraries and keeps trying to use the old libraries but obviously that results in crashes and errors me thinks.
A good fix would be uninstall and reinstall the app but you would not want to do that because it takes too much time hence the factory reset option is the best route to go since this will also delete all the unnecessary files left over from the old os.
I have done a factory reset on all my previous devices before and after an os update and I have had zero issues with apps misbehaving.
We are not trying to convince you to do a factory reset we are just saying what worked for us
Everyone will use their device how they please and hopefully will enjoy it and get the most out of it
Wow I just realized how long the post is and I'm going to stop.

 

[bbtkd]

I see this conversation digressed for a moment! I'm happy to say that the battery life is now back to what I came to expect before Marshmallow. However, my apps that stream content still cut out after about 60-90 seconds. I can immediately press play to have it resume. But, that gets very frustrating when you're trying to run, or walk or do anything other than wait for your phone to cut out. I have not yet performed a factory reset. Yes, I do know how to back up my data (as a chronic machine washer of my phone - not intentionally of course, I've come to both regularly back up important data and also bought one of those water tight cases). But, as someone here already said, it's not ideal.

So, any other suggestions?

Time how long between events and see if it is exactly some multiple of 15 or 30 seconds, which would indicate some type of timed system event. Also download the app OS Monitor, and after having noted the times of some of the events, look for log entries corresponding with those times.

 

[Abi Morrison]

I reached out to the Stitcher folks who solved the problem. Here is what they said, which has fixed this problem.

We have confirmed reports from users of Samsung S6 and S7 devices running Android OS 6.0 that the device's Power Savings Mode toggle, when enabled, interferes with the media player's ability to buffer incoming audio data by shutting down the active network interface upon power saver activation. Try disabling this setting and let us know if the problem persists. If it does, try downloading the episode for Offline Listening (green Listen button) and let us now if the problem persists there also. This will help us to eliminate the network as a source of playback interference.