Samsung took its midrange game to a completely new level with the revamped A series. The update for their best-selling device, the Samsung Galaxy A50, was introduced not long after. The Samsung Galaxy A51 brings a great AMOLED experience and overall reliability to users who don’t want to break the bank. Additionally, Samsung promised that this device, unlike the A50, will get 3 major OS updates, which is great.
However, we can’t turn our heads away from the numerous emerging issues that bother many Samsung Galaxy A51 users. For that reason, we made certain to bring all major issues to the table along with the applicable solutions. Check them out below.
Note: All the issues mentioned in this article are individually reported cases, which doesn’t mean any of the problems will occur on other devices. If you’re looking to buy this phone, DO NOT consider these problems.
Table of contents:
- Battery draining fast
- Slow Wi-Fi
- 4G issues
- The Galaxy A51 won’t update
- Brightness issues
- Overheating
- Bluetooth issues
- UI freezing and animation lags
- VPN issues
- Spontaneous reboots
- The camera won’t focus, crashes, and Macro mode issues
- Low in-call volume and system sound
- The phone is not charging above 75%
- Troubleshooting steps for Samsung Galaxy A51
1. Battery draining fast
Since the device was introduced and the first purchases were made, many users reported heavy battery drainage on the Samsung Galaxy A51.
Even though the battery capacity paired with the Super AMOLED display should provide a significant Screen-on Time, the battery drains a lot, even when idle. The probable reason for this is the somewhat outdated Exynos 9611 (10nm).
With that in mind, we can suggest a few things to improve the battery life of your Samsung Galaxy A51. At least, to some extent. Follow these steps to reduce battery drainage and extend the Screen-on Time:
- Disable background apps.
- Disable Wi-Fi, Location Services, and Mobile Data overnight.
- Ensure that the network signal is strong. If the device is constantly searching for network coverage, it will deplete the battery quickly.
- Disable Auto-brightness and set the brightness manually.
2. Slow Wi-Fi
Many reports are coming from Samsung Galaxy A51 users concerning Wi-Fi stability and speed on 2.4 GHz networks. Many of them tested several networks with different devices and got much better results than with Samsung’s mid-ranger.
We can’t say with certainty what’s exactly causing this problem or whether it’s a software or hardware issue. Some suspect Bluetooth is interfering with Wi-Fi. On the other hand, there are some troubleshooting steps you can try. Here’s what you can do:
- Enable Airplane mode and disable it.
- Restart your phone and router.
- Reset Network Settings.
- Disable Bluetooth.
On top of all of this, check our article about Wi-Fi issues on Android for even more solutions.
3. 4G issues
Similar to the aforementioned Wi-Fi issues, 4G mobile data issues are also present for some users. However, this one is a software issue. Namely, users are unable to toggle On the mobile data from the notification bar. They have to either reboot their device or navigate to Settings and enable it from there.
To resolve this, we strongly suggest updating your device. Alternatively, you can back up your data and go for the factory reset. The latter option is the last resort as we all know how tedious can be to set up everything from scratch.
You can also check our article about data issues on Android for more info.
4. The Galaxy A51 won’t update
Samsung recently promised 3 years of major updates to 10+ devices. Including the Galaxy A51. That can be a life-changer, especially considering the bad rap Samsung had with its mid-range lineups in the past. However, before the Samsung Galaxy A51 sees Android 11 or Android 12, it needs to be able to install updates in the first place.
Some users reported update issues, as the device won’t start the reboot-flash-boot sequence on the stock ROM. If this bothers you, we recommend ensuring that you have enough storage space first.
After that, navigate to the Updater app and clear its cache and data. If that doesn’t help and the device still won’t update, boot into recovery and wipe the cache partition clean.
5. Brightness issues
The Samsung Galaxy A51, like basically all Samsung handsets, has quite a remarkable Super AMOLED with great viewing angles and exquisite brightness reaching 565 nits outdoors while the Adaptive brightness is enabled. However, some users have encountered a bug with brightness.
Namely, it seems that the display dims on its own even with the adaptive brightness setting being disabled. We recommend restarting your device. In case that doesn’t help, try running the Test code in the dialer. The code is *#0*#. You can test your display there for possible factory errors.
In case you are still running into this system bug, we suggest resetting your device to factory settings.
6. Overheating
This one issue is quite frequently reported on various forums. Exynos chips that are widely used by Samsung are known to be prone to overheat. Especially if you are gaming for an extended period, have poor network coverage, or use the device while it’s charging.
Keeping your device up-to-date firmware-wise should help but, just to get in the clear, make sure to remove the protective casing while charging. Also, we strongly suggest using the included charger solely.
7. Bluetooth issues
Having a stable Bluetooth connection is something many users are expecting in this day and age, considering that wireless headphones (earbuds) are getting prominent. Sadly, some users are reporting scratchy sounds. For some, Bluetooth is frequently disconnecting.
In case you are experiencing any Bluetooth issues, make sure to try all these steps to resolve the problem at hand:
- Restart your device.
- Unpair and pair your handset again with the device.
- Disable Bluetooth A2DP Hardware Offload in Developer Options.
- Reset Network Settings.
8. UI freezing and animation lags
Can the optimized software compensate for the subpar chipset? Sometimes, the answer is yes (Google Pixel 3a is a good example), but that isn’t the case for many Samsung devices. Exynos 9611 paired with 4/6 GB of RAM should be good enough but that’s just not the case for some.
The Samsung Galaxy A51 users report a lot of issues with OneUI which freezes while transition animations are lagging, as well. We have a few suggestions that should help you, if not to resolve, then to at least mitigate problems lags.
Here’s what you should do if UI is freezing and animations are lagging on the Samsung Galaxy A51:
- Reboot your device.
- Try booting into Safe Mode and look for improvements. If the device performs better, continue with the steps.
- Lower the Animation scale in Developer options from 1 to 0.5 or disable them altogether.
- Limit the number of background apps in the Developer options.
- Update the firmware.
- Reset the device to factory settings.
9. VPN issues on the Samsung Galaxy A51
These days, many users rely on VPNs for various reasons. Whether due to privacy concerns or removing geo-restrictions, it is a must for many users. Many OEMs (including Samsung) went as far as to give VPN a separate section in the Settings menu, with options like Always-on VPN to ensure that the VPN will work in the background.
However, some Samsung Galaxy A51 users have had a hard time connecting to a VPN. In case you are among the affected users, we can recommend a few things. Firstly, make sure that the VPN app of your choice has the necessary permission. Additionally, try reinstalling the app and forgetting VPN, and re-adding it again.
10. Spontaneous reboots on the Samsung Galaxy A51
This is a serious one. More than a few Samsung Galaxy A51 users reported spontaneous reboots and there was no apparent reason why. Now, chances are that there’s some kind of system corruption at hand, although hardware failure is a more probable scenario.
You can try wiping the cache partition or booting into safe mode to troubleshoot, however, the best thing to do is to go for a factory reset. The problem seemingly started appearing after an OTA update and so a factory reset should be a good next step.
Nonetheless, if the issue continues to bother you despite a clean-slate start, we suggest contacting your carrier or retailer. Asking for a replacement is an obvious step.
11. Camera won’t focus, crashes, and Macro mode issues
The quad-camera setup (48 MP wide, 12 MP ultrawide, Macro, and Depth sensor) on the Samsung Galaxy A51 should bring at least an average photography experience. However, we learned so many times in recent times that it’s not all about hardware when it comes to smartphone cameras.
The camera software on the Samsung Galaxy A51 is far from being optimized. User reports talk about focus issues, Camera app crashes, Macro mode being an unreliable gimmick instead of a useful lens utilization, color smudges in low-light conditions, HDR issues, sound in recordings being muffled, and more.
We can suggest a few steps to try and address the majority of Camera issues on the Samsung Galaxy A51:
- Clear data and cache from the Camera app in Settings > Apps.
- Wipe the cache partition.
- Check the in-app settings and ensure that HDR is disabled if you dislike it.
- Update your firmware.
If you still can’t resolve the camera issues, you should also consider installing a third-party camera app. At least temporarily. Sure, there are a lot of good third-party apps in the Play Store, but I would recommend going the extra mile and installing Google Camera. This one’s not available in the Store, but you can install a port, which works equally well.
Google Camera is probably the best camera app on the market, so you can’t go wrong there. So, you may stick with it even if your default camera starts working as intended again. To learn more about the benefits of installing the Gcam port on your device and how to do it properly, check out this article.
12. Low in-call volume and system sound
A good on-device speaker is a good thing to have but there are many factors when it comes to reproduction. Some users are unable to get the device to play sounds at all when streaming or watching clips on YouTube. Others experience stutters which probably occur due to processor lags (we can’t be sure about that, though).
Additionally, the low in-call volume is another problem reported by numerous users. For the time being, your best bet to address these issues is to update your device to the latest firmware version and hope for the best. Alternatively, you can give the factory reset a go.
13. The phone is not charging above 75%
This problem is scarcely reported but we read a few comments explaining that the battery measuring started going crazy for some users. Now, there’s no need to worry as this, most likely, isn’t a hardware issue.
You can try wiping the cache partition but it’s advisable to calibrate your battery.
14. Troubleshooting steps for Samsung Galaxy A51
Enable Developer options
- Open Settings.
- Open About phone.
- Then tap on the Build number 7 times until the prompt informs you that the Developer options are unlocked. You might need to enter your PIN or Password.
- The Developer options should appear in the main Settings menu.
Reset Network Settings
Note: If you’re not sure what resetting Network Settings does, check our article for more info.
- Open Settings.
- Choose General management.
- Tap Reset.
- Then select Reset Network Settings.
- Confirm the selection.
Boot into Safe Mode
- Press and hold the Power button until the Power menu appears.
- Tap and hold on to the Power Off icon until you see the Safe Mode prompt.
- Tap again to restart your device into Safe Mode.
- To exit the Safe Mode, just reboot your device again.
Reset the device to factory settings
Note: If you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing, check our article about resetting an Android phone to factory settings.
- Back up your data from the internal storage (photos can be saved to Google Photos, and other media can be saved to an external storage or a PC).
- Navigate to Settings > General management > Reset.
- Select Factory data reset.
- Follow the instructions to reset your device to factory values.
And, with that sorted out, we can call it a wrap. Thank you for reading and make sure to tell us about additional issues or alternative solutions for the ones presented in the comments section below. We always look forward to hearing from you.
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in September 2020. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
