After a few years, Rich needs to get a new battery for his S5 and he can only find used ones. Leo says it sounds like nobody is making them anymore. Beltran and IFixIt both offer new batteries for the Galaxy S5. You can also go to the Samsung Factory Outlet.
Larry's Samsung Galaxy S5 is rebooting all the time. What can he do? Leo says his mobile phone company wants him to upgrade, but before he does, he should perform a backup and reset. It will erase the phone and reset it to the day he bought it. He should make sure he backs up his photos and videos before he does it. For that, Leo recommends Google Photos. That will likely solve the problem. If it doesn't, then it's time to get a new phone.
Joel has an older Samsung Galaxy S5 and it's just fine. But he isn't sure if he should wipe it and start over. Is that necessary like it is with a PC every once in awhile? Leo says that it's good housekeeping for a computer. It puts it back to the day it first came and gets rid of all the "cruft" he doesn't need. With a phone, it's a bigger challenge because of music, pictures, text messages, etc. Music and Pictures can be backed up to the cloud, or a PC, pretty easily. Text messages, though, is another challenge.
Milian wants to know why he can't use his maps app on his Samsung Galaxy S5. Leo says that Milian may have not given the app permission to use his location and as such, it won't access the GPS. But if it used to work, then there may be a hardware issue, like a flakey antenna. It may have a lose connection. He may want to go to the store and ask them to check it. If it's out of warranty, then it may be time to get a new phone and the timing is perfect since the Samsung Galaxy S8 is coming out this week. That will drop the price of the S7 as well.
Pamela got a replacement Galaxy S5 phone from Samsung, but it came with no battery. Where can she find one? There are reputable third party battery makers out there. Leo says that she can look to Amazon for it. Pam is also due for an upgrade. Should she get an Samsung Galaxy S7? Leo says that the S7 is much better than the S5, but it doesn't have a removable battery. The camera is remarkable, though. Another option is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, but the Galaxy S7 is the phone of the year.
Chip has a Samsung Galaxy S5 & S3 and his images are disappearing, in lieu of so called "no media" files. Leo says that usually indicates that the internal storage is failing. Leo says he's not supposed to see the no media files at all. So if they're appearing, there's definitely an issue. He could try clearing the phone's cache. He should also make sure he accepts the updates. Leo's also suspecting that there's an app on the phones that is causing bad behavior. Bringing the OS up to date can often fix issues like this.
Alan is having an issue with his new phone where he tries to use OK Google and he can only do it once, then it ignores him. Leo says that's an odd behavior. If he sees a wavy line, the phone is listening. But if it doesn't hear him to begin with, it may be a conflict between OK Google and Samsung's S Voice feature. Leo recommends going into settings to disable it or make it not active. It's likely that the Google Voice recognition and Samsung voice recognition are in conflict.
Earl's daughter lives in China and wants to get a new Android phone. She wants a Samsung Galaxy S5. Leo says that she should probably wait and get the Xiao Mi Note 4 in China. There's a different Galaxy S5 for every region, and if she gets an S5 in the US, it may not work in China. So if she wants an S5, she needs to get the G9009D version to be supported in China. The iPhone would also work.
Steven needs to upgrade his Android phone. For him, the Note is too big, and the Galaxy 5 has too short of battery life. What about the Droid Turbo? Leo says that at 5", it's a nice size. It's essentially a Moto X with a giant battery and supurb screen. It's very crisp and has many of the Moto X features. If he's on Verizon, the Droid Turbo is among the best.
Andy has to replace his old flip phone, and he wants a smart phone with a good camera. Leo says that the smartphones have gotten really good, especially with cameras, but they don't have an optical zoom. Is there one as good as a DSLR? Leo says no, he won't get one as good as a Nikon, for sure.
