Why won't my S4 make calls on the first try?

[MissMercury12]

S4 wont make calls on first try

My phone is driving me crazy. Since the last update a few months ago, it refuses to make calls on the first dial. I put the number in and it says dialling for a second, and then nothing and dial screen empties. Sometimes I have to type number and press call button over 5 times before it finally places the call. It's extremely annoying. Anyone find a fix for this? I imagine I'm not the only one.
-Galaxy S4 Android Version 5.0.1

 

[nenu18]

Re: S4 wont make calls on first try

Try the following:

- Go into settings-app-and force close the phone app
- try hard rebooting (hold power and menu button at same time
- Try to find a new dialer app on the play store

 

[theoneandonlyBA]

You are not the only one. This has been driving me crazy for about a month now on Kit Kat 4.4.4. Nothing new has changed (aka- phone has not "needed" an update- we are not getting lollipop on T-mobile). It also freezes if I am doing literally anything else at the same time as I have received a text message. The battery also heats up unexpectedly, and sometimes rapidly drains (I have been through 3 different batteries on this one phone, and I always have to carry a spare on me, or my charger. This so called "smart phone" can't make calls properly, and spends most of it's time plugged into the wall.)
I've tried clearing everything I can find to clear to no avail. I am on my FOURTH actual physical handset. I think it is just the worst phone in the Galaxy series (I LOVED my S3, and never had any of these problems with it), and I literally cannot wait until this one is paid off so that I can go get something else that actually works.

In the meantime, T-Mobile Reps gave me a way to reset the cache on the whole phone that is temporarily seeming to fix the dialer problem (the battery issue still stands), and keep my files and information:

"Wipe cache partition

If the phone is not working correctly, you may need to master reset it and also clear the cache partition. These two resets clear different parts of the phone storage. Unlike a master reset, wiping the cache partition does not delete your personal data.

To wipe the cache partition, follow these steps:

1.Turn off the device.
2.Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time:
Volume Up key
Home key
Power key
3.When the phone vibrates, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and theHome key.
4.When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
5.Press the Volume Down key to highlight 'wipe cache partition.'
6.Press the Power key to select.
7.After the the cache wipe is complete, press the Power key to select reboot system now.
8.Press the Power key to select. The phone will automatically restart after the cache is wiped."

The last two instructions from them are a little confusing, but I only wound up having to select reboot once.
It has been working for the last 2 calls I have made. The guy said it would help with the lag on text messages too... I don't know how long it will last, but I'm hoping I can make these cache wipes work for me until the phone is paid off in Feb.

Hope that helps people.