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Constant "sign in to wi-fi network" messages since recent Android update on Galaxy S6

kmwmtd
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Sorry for the length of this - as I type, I keep finding new things that puzzle me 😉 The actual issue I'm asking about starts in the 3rd paragraph below - the rest is background info.

 

My Galaxy S6 informed me around 1st Nov 2018 that there was an OS update available. After the update, the build number is NRD90M, which the internet tells me is Nougat 7.0.0_r1. Little confused by that as I'm pretty sure I had Nougat before the update but the fact that an update has occurred and the build is now 7.0.0_r1 seems to suggest that the update installed Nougat for the first time. As I'm not knowledgeable about the inner workings of Android build numbers and how they relate to ISPs (in this case O2), maybe it's possible to have an update without the build number changing?

 

Regardless of whether Nougat has just been installed or not (still certain I had Nougat before the update), I'm also not sure why the phone would only be at 7.0.0_r1 when Nougat is up to 7.1.2_r36. I realise that devices will often lag behind OS releases due to a number of factors, that not all versions of Nougat are likely to be available for a device as relatively old as an S6, and that not all versions will be supported on all devices by all ISPs, but 7.0.0_r1!? ... the first release of Nougat!?

 

Anyway, since the update I have been getting an annoying new behaviour from the phone, and I wondered if anyone else had experienced it and if so, knew a fix/workaround that doesn't involve waiting for the next update which will likely reverse it. I haven't been able to find anything relevant on the internet so far.

 

I use my phone with a number of routers - work, home, sister's house, mother's house etc. Before the update, if I moved within range of one of these routers, the phone would automatically connect to that router. Since the update, the phone now displays a notification reading "Sign in to wi-fi network" for all of these routers. Fortunately this message seems to have no impact on the ability of the phone to actually connect to the network - I have mobile data turned off, so the router connection is the only connection available - except for the BBC News app, which will not get updates until I click on the "Sign in" notification. All other apps are quite happy to work as normal while the "Sign in" notification is displayed.

 

So, apart from the BBC News app, the notification doesn't seem to cause any connection issues, but it is annoying having the notification there all the time. Yes, I can click the notification which causes it to disappear, at least until the next time the phone thinks it needs to reconnect to the router, but I don't see the reason for this change in behaviour. The only change seems to be the Android update - the routers are *not* all the same make and are connected to different ISPs, and it is highly unlikely that some change has been made to at least 4 unconnected routers at the same time. The evidence points to a change on the phone.

 

Anyway, enough waffle. My default stance is to wait for the next update (whenever that will be), but in the meantime, has anyone else started getting this behaviour?

 

FYI, CSC is G9208ZZT2ERI1. This is, technically, the Taiwan rather than UK firmware, and might be a factor ..?

 

Thanks in advance for any info,

 

Kev.

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kmwmtd
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Just a quick update. I haven't tried anything like flashing a new BIOS - been too busy recently to think about that - but yesterday, a new update appeared. After installing that, the "sign-in" problem has gone away. So I guess it was an issue for many users (presumably those with the Taiwan BIOS), and a fix was rushed out for it.

 

C'est la vie, as they say in Taiwan 😉

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MI5
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Not sure why you aren't on UK or O2 firmware but maybe to do with where the phone came from?
Anyway, I'll check your build number later when I'm on my pc but a couple of things you could try first.
Check the permissions for your various apps that use wi-fi to see if they are granted access but the most likely fix for you would be a factory reset after you back up your personal data.
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

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MI5
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I've checked your firmware and phone and it's only sold in Taiwan or China. The wifi firmware is most likely not compatible with our hardware over here. You would be advised to purchase a UK / EU phone in all honesty.
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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kmwmtd
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Thanks for the info. I bought an unlocked S6 from the internet not long after they were available. I realised almost immediately that it was a 'foreign' phone when all the regional settings and pre-installed manual were Taiwanese (well, Chinese, I thought at the time), though it wasn't until later that I realised this was a firmware rather than configuration issue.

 

I've never had any problems with it, and I seem to get updates regularly. TBH, this is the first time that I've had anything that I would call a problem, and even this isn't that big a deal as most apps don't seem to care, and there is a workaround for the BBC News app - click the "sign in" notification and all is well ... at least until the next time it tries to connect to a different router.

 

Interestingly, despite what I said in my original post, when it connects to the router at work, I don't get the "sign in" notification, but I do for all the other routers mentioned - an assumption on my part based on 100% of routers causing the notification up to that point.

 

I have been umming and ahhing about maybe getting an S9, this time making sure it's a UK model, but that will probably have to wait until after Christmas.

 

Another option in the meantime might be to flash the UK firmware - I have since found a post by you referring to a Swiss phone with links to Odin and such - https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Android/Android-6-0-Samsung-galaxy-s6/td-p/962951/page/4. Maybe a project for me to attempt one weekend.

 

Thanks again.

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MI5
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Be careful with that as there isn't any EU firmware for a G9208 and I don't know what would happen if you flashed G935 firmware. Maybe nothing bad will happen but I'm not going to suggest you do it at all.
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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kmwmtd
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Hmmm, maybe I'll leave it as a last resort. I assumed I could just flash the O2 G920F firmware (G920FXXU6ERG1), but now I'm not so sure.
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MI5
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Let us know if you try it......
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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kmwmtd
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Just a quick update. I haven't tried anything like flashing a new BIOS - been too busy recently to think about that - but yesterday, a new update appeared. After installing that, the "sign-in" problem has gone away. So I guess it was an issue for many users (presumably those with the Taiwan BIOS), and a fix was rushed out for it.

 

C'est la vie, as they say in Taiwan 😉

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MI5
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Good news mate.
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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