How To Fix Common HTC One M8 Problems and Errors [Part 30]

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M8 Sending Duplicate Text Messages

Problem: Hello, I’m hoping you have a solution to this problem as I haven’t been able to find a fix. Any time I am sending text messages using the built-in messaging app, duplicates sometimes triplicates of the text are being sent, and this happens with every single person I text to. When I send the text, the little message symbol has a clock on it as if it’s “buffering” or waiting to be sent, and while that’s “buffering” a second duplicate text pops up and is sent, finally followed by the original message text. It’s very frustrating. I’ve tried rebooting and clearing the cache but to no avail. I don’t know what else I could do. Thank you for your input!!

Solution: Do you have access to another phone? If you have then take out the SIM from your M8 and insert it in this other phone. Try to send a text message and see if it send out normally without any duplicates. This allows us to determine if the problem is with the SIM or with the phone.

If the problem does not exist while your SIM is inserted in another phone then place it back on your M8 then start it in Safe Mode. This will verify if the issue is caused by certain third party apps installed in your phone.

• Press and hold the Power key.
• On the screen, touch and hold Power off under Phone Options.
• When the ‘Reboot to safe mode’ message appears, tap RESTART.
• When the phone restarts it will be in safe mode.

Try sending a message. If the problem does not occur then it is likely caused by a third party app. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

If the issue persists even in Safe Mode then you should consider doing a factory reset. Make sure to back up your data before proceeding.

• Press and hold the Power button
• Tap Power off.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Press and release the Power key to turn the phone on.
• Continue holding the Volume Down key.
• Release the Volume Down key when the three Android images appear on the bottom of the screen.
• Press the Volume Down key twice to move the cursor from FASTBOOT to FACTORY RESET.
• Press the Power key to perform the master reset.

M8 Stuck At Boot Logo

Problem: Hi I have been reading your site and hope you can help me with my problem with my M8. I have had my M8 for about 9 months and I absolutely love it I am a huge HTC fan, I had the the HTC One X before this one and I don’t think I would ever go to a different device, but any way, while out working my horses my phone randomly turned off while in my pocket, my phone had a full charge but I put it on the charger just in case it may have depleted since the last time I looked. After several hours I was still unable to turn my phone on so I tried two different chargers and finally got my phone to flash the big battery telling me it was at 100% and now I have done several reboots on it holding the power button and the volume up button but it will not go past the HTC ONE screen that comes up after the AT&T symbol. I have tried to do multiple reboots to try to get it to fully restart but still nothing it just stops at that screen and then freezes from there…..any suggestions???

Solution: Try wiping the cache partition of your phone and see if this resolves the issue. Unlike a factory reset that deletes all data on your device this procedure just clears out the temporary data in your phone.

• Turn off the device.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Press and release the Power key to turn the phone on.
• Continue holding the Volume Down.
• Release the Volume Down key when the three Android images appear on the bottom of the screen.
• Press the Volume Down key once to move the cursor from FASTBOOT to RECOVERY.
• Press the Power key to begin the wipe.
• The device displays the bootup screen followed by a phone with a red triangle.
• Press the Up Volume key and Power key at the same time.
• Press the Down Volume key three times to select Wipe cache partition.
• Press the Power key to initiate the wipe.
• Wait until the phone displays Cache wipe complete.
• Press the Power key to select Reboot system now.

M8 Keypad Issues After Lollipop Update

Problem: I downloaded an update today to my HTC one. I’m really not sure if it was the lollipop update or not, but since the update my messages are completely screwed. It is almost as though the keypad is set to another type of phone. I can’t send a text message. I can’t comment on Facebook nor can I message on Facebook Immediately after the update, it took a while for certain apps to start and it changed my ring tones etc. My carrier is C-Spire in Mississippi and I cont acted them this afternoon about this issue. They attempted to do a reset on their end but it didn’t work. I was told I would need to come into C-Spire to fix the issue. Please help!

Solution: I suggest doing a factory reset on your phone since it seems like there are a lot of issues after the update. This may be caused by data from the previous software version that has not been completely removed on your device. Before proceeding make sure to backup all your phone data (photos, contacts, music, messages, etc.).

• Press and hold the Power button
• Tap Power off.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Press and release the Power key to turn the phone on.
• Continue holding the Volume Down key.
• Release the Volume Down key when the three Android images appear on the bottom of the screen.
• Press the Volume Down key twice to move the cursor from FASTBOOT to FACTORY RESET.
• Press the Power key to perform the master reset.

M8 How To Prevent Text Message From Being Sent

Problem: hi, can you tell me how to stop a text immediately after pushing send because you realize that you were sending to the wrong person after pushing send? with my old phone- I just had to push the end/hang up button to stop the text from going through. thanks. I have the HTC ONE M8.

Solution: You must be quick enough to pull this off. While the message is attempting to send immediately enable airplane mode. Force stop the messaging app then cl ear its data. You can also go back to the Messaging app and check if the message you attempted to send is still there. If it is then delete it.

M8 Won’t Charge If USB Plug Is Moved

Problem: I have an HTC One M8 which is about a year old. A few days ago my phone started charging erratically.  If the micro USB plug is moved even a little where it plugs into the phone it won’t charge. Any idea what’s wrong?

Solution:  The charger USB cord may be faulty. Usually, the wires inside it gets cut when the cord is constantly bent. Try changing the USB cord and see if the issue still persists.

Another possible cause is that there may be dirt in your phone charging port. If you spot any then clean it out usi ng a toothpick.

M8 Can’t Access Text Messages After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hello, I’ve just done the 5.0 upgrade on my HTC One M8 and now I can no longer access my text messages. The “Text” messages app opens and I can see all the different people who have texted me, along with the first few words of each text. However, when I attempt to open any one text I can’t. It begins the open process, and you can see the loading wheel spinning, but the text message(s) never load.

Solution: Try clearing the cache of your messaging app and see if this helps.

• From any Home sc reen, tap Apps.
• Tap Settings.
• Scroll to ‘PHONE,’ then tap Apps.
• Scroll left to the ALL tab.
• Tap the Messages application.
• Tap Clear Cache.

M8 Stock Email App Lags

Problem: Hi, I hope you can help. Two weeks ago I bought my first HTC One M8. I am running the default mail app. Currently I am only using one mail account on this handset, however I would hope to be able to load my other accounts at some point providing I can resolve this glitch; that is, the phone is lagging really badly in the mail app. At times it can take me over a minute to simply scroll and select mail, or to open particular messages or do a simple search; the app simply ceases up completely. I have also noticed that moving from one mail folder to another (say, from sent items to inbox) can take many minutes. I completely rely on mobile email. This is enough to make me yearn for my trusty blackberry! I have checked software and it is up to date. Restating the phone makes no difference. I am running a straightforward IMAP account. Any help greatly appreciated!

Solution: Clearing the cache of the stock email app usually helps in this case.

• From any Home screen, tap Apps.
• Tap Settings.
• Scroll to ‘PHONE,’ then tap Apps.
• Scroll left to the ALL tab.
• Tap the Email application.
• Tap Clear Cache.

M8 Cracking Sound In Speaker

Problem: Hi, whenever I play a song or a video at maximum volume, I hear a crackling noise from the top speaker… But when I press my thumb over the top speaker the crackling sound is not there and returns back as soon as I remove my thumb… Please help…

Solution: This is caused by the volume of your phone being placed in maximum and is also experienced by most M8 owner. Updating the software of your phone generally resolves this issue (the updated software may have a lower maximum volume level).

M8 Music Files Disappear

Problem: Hello, i hope you can help me i have a HTC one M8 version 4.4.4 when i use the htc sync manager to install music on my sd card. My first attempt was just mass  clicking all the music i wanted on my phone once i had it on my phone i would try to listen to it  and it says it was unable to play that music file which i made sure all the music was mp3 format. Then i tried installing an album at a time since i was installing a lot of music that seemed to work fine for a few days, today i wanted to listen to some tunes and its back to the same thing unable to play this music format then when i go back all the music is gone from my music file on my phone lol its like there is a gremlin living inside it. PLEASE H ELP

Solution: Are the music files saved in the microSD card of your phone? If so, then this may have developed some bad sectors causing the music files to be unreadable. Try saving the music in the internal storage of your phone and see if the problem still persists. If it does then wipe the cache partition of your phone.

• Turn off the device.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Press and release the Power key to turn the phone on.
• Continue holding the Volume Down.
• Release the Volume Down key when the three Android images appear on the bottom of the screen.
• Press the Volume Down key once to move the cursor from FASTBOOT to RECOVERY.
• Press the Power key to begin the wipe.
• The device displays the bootup screen followed by a phone with a red triangle.
• Press the Up Volume key and Power key at the same time.
• Press the Down Volume key three times to select Wipe cache partition.
• Press the Power key to initiate the wipe.
• Wait until the phone displays Cache wipe complete.
• Press the Power key to select Reboot system now.

M8 Can’t Go Online When On Mobile Data Connection

Problem: Good day! I have a question I just got the HTC one m8  six mont h ago I now Im having a problem regarding the subject above I cant open google playstore or facebook apps using my mobile data even is on and full of signal its still says Please check your network connection. When I switch to Wi-Fi its normarlly running, and doesn’t have a problem, can you help me to solve this problem. 

Solution: Are you able to access the Internet using your mobile data connection? If not then you should first check if your data subscription is active. If it is then the next step is to check the APN settings of your phone and see if it matches that of your carrier. If there are any differences then make the necessary changes.

To access the APN settings of your phone

• From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
• Tap Settings.
• Tap the Conn ections tab.
• Tap More networks.
• Tap Mobile networks.
• Tap Access Point Names.

From here just tap on the APN of your carrier then make the necessary changes. You can get the correct APN settings of your carrier from their website.

M8 “error retrieving information from server [DF-DFERH-01]” Error

Problem: Hello The Droid Guy, I use the HTC M8,for about two days now i haven’t been able to access my playstore from my phone. It shows me “error retrieving information from server [DF-DFERH-01]”. Any help on how i should go about it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Solution: This error message appears to be triggered by different conditions. What you should do first is to try to reset your router and modem if you are connected to your own Wi-Fi connection. If that does not work then try using your mobile data connection when accessing the Google Play Store.

If the issue persists do the following

• Go to Settings â†' Applications â†' Manage Applications
• Select the “ALL” tab, Search for “Google Play Store” and press it to open.
• Press “Force stop”
• Press “Clear cache”
• Press “Clear Data”
• Open Play Store

You should also try to delete the Google account from your phone then add it again if the above troubleshooting steps fail.

M8 SMS Lagging After Lollipop Update

Problem: I recently upgraded my htc One m8 to lollipop. Now, in the few contacts that I message heavily, the device appears to lag as it populates the screen. There is a noticeable delay when I press a key for the letter to appear. This does not happen with contacts that I have only texted a few times. However, I like having all of the texts from a particular contact, and do not want to delete those simply to make the device run more quickly. I know there is third party software that allows you to upload messages off your device for storage, but again, this is an inelegant solution to a problem that did not exist before the lollipop upgrade. Any help you can give is appreciated.

Solution: This seems to be a common issue of the phone after the Lollipop update. What you should do is to try to clear the cache of the messaging app and see if this does the trick.

• From any Home screen, tap Apps.
• Tap Settings.
• Scroll to ‘PHONE,’ then tap Apps.
• Scroll left to the ALL tab.
• Tap the Messages application.
• Tap Clear Cache.

M8 Can’t Open MMS Photos

Problem: Ok, I am completely out of options. I purchased this phone through AT&T so its not an unlocked phone. I went to HTC for help they told me to contact AT&T to have my issue resolved. I spoke to AT&T they said to call HTC. I am attaching photos to this email of screenshots of the issues that my phone is having as well as model information. Before the update to 4.4.4. I was having the same issue. It only occurs when using MMS. I originally thought that it was only messages sent from iPhones. However, it turns out it is all manufacturers. The main reason why this is such an issue, I’m a police officer and occasionally, almost daily, I receive photos of potential suspects sent to my phone for identification. However I cannot get those photos which obviously causes an issue and a safety concern. Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated.  Not to m ention, I hate Apple…. Thank you!

Solution: I suggest you try to delete the AT&T APN setting of your phone then add it back again. To do this go to

• From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
• Tap Setting s.
• Tap the Connections tab.
• Tap More networks.
• Tap Mobile networks.
• Tap Access Point Names.

Find the AT&T APN and delete it. Tap the Menu key, and then tap New APN. Try the following settings listed below.

• Name: AT&T
• APN: pta
• Proxy: <Not set>
• Port: <Not set>
• Username: <Not set>
• Password: <Not set>
• Server: <Not set>
• MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net/
• MMS proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
• MMS port: 80
• MCC:
• MNC:
• Authentication type: <Not set>
• APN type: default,admin,fota,mms,supl,hipri

Try sending yourself an MMS. If you can’t send or receive one then contact AT&T and have them confirm the correct APN for your account.

M8 Won’t Go Into Sleep Mode After Lollipop Update

Problem: Hello, about two days ago I had updated my Verizon HTC One M8 to Lollipop 5.0.1 and in doing so I put the screen timeout to 30 minutes. After it was successfully done installing the update and the phone restarted, I switched the timeout back to 2 minutes. But now it won’t even go into sleep mode at all and because of it, the battery gets drained more than usual. Only way to make it sleep is by pressing the power button. I’ve tried setting it to auto sleep and at 15 seconds to see if it wasn’t just me that was tripping, but again it won’t go into sleep mode. Before, normally if I haven’t used the phone and left it for the period of time the screen timeout it is set to, it will automatically go into sleep. Can you help with this? Thank you in advance.

Solution: If the setting the auto sleep feature of the phone does not work then a factory reset is highly recommended. Make sure to back up your phone data before proceeding.

• Press and hold the Power button
• Tap Power off.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key.
• Press and release the Power key to turn the phone on.
• Continue holding the Volume Down key.
• Release the Volume Down key when the three Android images appear on the bottom of the screen.
• Press the Volume Down key twice to move the cursor from FASTBOOT to FACTORY RESET.
• Press the Power key to perform the master reset.

Fix Unfortunately Google Play Services has stopped

Some Android users are getting “Unfortunately Google Play Services has stopped” error after installing a software update on their smartphones. This error message is mostly seen on custom ROMs like Cyanogenmod and some devices running Chinese UI like MIUI and EMUI on Xiaomi and Huawei phones. Recently, many devices got the Marshmallow update and due to some incompatibility issue these devices are experiencing many Google Play store related errors.



There are many methods to fix Google Play Services has stopped error and the most effective methods are mentioned below.

Method 1: Clear Data Cache of Google Play Services & Play store

• Go to Settings >> Apps >> All
• (On LG phones, settings >> General >> All)
• From the list, Scroll down and select “Google Play Services” >> Tap “Clear Data”
• Again, Scroll down and select “Google Play Store” >> Tap “Clear Data”
• Again, Scroll down and select “Google Services Framework” >> Tap “Clear Data”

Note: In some devices running Android Marshmallow 6.0, you will have to first make system apps visible. To do this, go to settings >> Apps >> All. Now tap menu button (top right) and select “show system”. Then for clearing data like in step 3, you will need to go to Apps >> All >> Google Play Services >> Storage >> Manage Space >> Clear All Data. Repeat the same step for “Google Play Store” and “Google Services Framework”. Additionally, you can also “clear cache” for each.

Method 2: Uninstall Google Play Services updates

This method is useful if you are running Android 5.0 Lollipop and earlier operating system. Before you uninstall Google Play Service updates, you will need to remove your Google account from Settings.

• Go to settings >> Accounts >> Google >> Tap on you Gmail Address
• Tap Menu button (icon) and then select “remove account”
• Again, go to settings >> Apps >> All >> Google Play S ervices >> Uninstall updates
• (In case of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Apps >> All >> Google Play Services >> Permissions >> enable all)
• Again, go to settings >> Apps >> All >> Google Play Store >> Uninstall updates
• (In case of Marshmallow, Apps >> All >> Google Play Store >> Permissions >> Enable all)

Method 3 (For Custom ROM users):

If you have a rooted device with a custom Android ROM installed with custom recovery, first try wiping cache partition from recovery. Reboot and see if the problem persists. If you still get the error check your GAPPs zip file and make sure it is compatible with your custom ROM. Re-flash the Gapps package and reboot system. If you still get the error, the problem may be caused by a buggy OS. So, it’s time re-flashing another custom ROM. While you may not have to completely wipe data or factory reset your device, it is recommended that you perform a clean installation.

Method 4: Sideloading Google Play Services and Play Store

Here will download an APK file of the latest Google Play Services compatible with the Android OS installed on your phone. First you will need to allow installation from unknown sources. Go to Settings >> Security >> Enable “Unknown Sources”. Now you can download the Google Play Services apk file and then install it. For clear instructions on how to sideload or install Google Play Services apk file, refer to the comment section of this post: Fix Google Play Services update error

Do you have any other solution for Unfortunately Google Play Services has stopped error? Drop a comment with your fix and recommendation.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Screen Blank After Replacing Digitizer

Samsung Galaxy S4 Screen Blank After Replacing Digitizer

Problem: My phone screen was damaged so I bought a new digitizer. I tried it before installing and it worked. Now after installation the screen is blank. Can you help me Thanks

Solution: Something may have gone wrong during the installation of the digitizer. Try to start your phone in recovery mode first. If you are able to access this mode then the issue could be caused by a glitch in the phone software. I suggest you do a factory reset in this mode. Take note that your phone data will be deleted when you do this so make sure to have a backup before performing this procedure.

If this is a hardware problem then I suggest you open your phone again then retrace the steps that you performed. There may be a loose connection somewhere or the digitizer/ screen may be damaged.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Can’t Access Wi Fi

Samsung Galaxy S4 Can’t Access Wi-Fi

Problem: I have 2 of these phones. They are currently locked until I pay off the bill. I was told that I can still use these phones as wifi only. I plan to use them for music or podcast downloads. However…no matter what I do…I can’t access any wifi services. How can I use these phones? I can’t find anything on the internet that helps me. Thank you.

Solution: Make sure to turn on the Wi-Fi switch of the phone then let it scan for any available network. If you see your network in the list then connect to it. You may need to enter the network password. Once connected the phone should be able to go online.

How to activate driving mode on a Samsung Galaxy S2

One of the useful in built features of the Samsung Galaxy S2 are the voice commands and driving mode options. To access these you need to press the "Home" button twice in quick succession and this should bring up a screen like the one on the land hand side.

From this you can easily give the phone a number of vocal commands, for example you can make a call or "write" a text by telling your phone what to do. You can also make the phone "talk" to you by turning on "Driving mode".

When "Driving mode" has been turned on you will see a green light underneath the car (like in the picture on the right of th is page). After pressing on "Driving mode" you will notified by a computerised female voice of things like texts and phones calls.

To turn these vocalised alerts off you merely need to open the "Voice talk" screen (the one in the screen captures) and turn off driving mode by pressing the icon again. Obviously we advise using the "Driving mode" option if youre driving rather than physically looking at your phone (which we do not advocate) though of course if the phone is just sat in your pocket you really wont need driving mode to be activated.

How to use the Dual camera feature on a Samsung Galaxy S4

One of the big selling points (or gimmicks, depending on how you see things) with the Samsung Galaxy S4 was the ability to take a picture with both the front camera and the main camera at the same time.

The idea was that the photographer could be included in photographs and videos or could be at a party on Skype and be included in a video conversation along with others in the room.Sadly beause were pretty much doing this guide on the fly were unable to truly show off how useful the feature is, but we can show you how to do.


Firstly you will need top open the camera app. From the Camera app you will notice 3 symbols on the top right hand side of the screen. The top of those 3 options allows you to switch from the front camera to main camera (and vice versa). The bottom of the 3 options opens up t he camera menu. So instead of clicking on either of those two you need to select the middle option.

When youve pressed that icon you will notice a stamp like shape taken up by whatever is in the view of the other camera (as you can see in the image on the left, its my hand!)

Of course this feature was made with certain purposes in mind though I could imagine a number of other scenarios including for example, taking a photograph of yourself somewhere rather unique (i.e. the top of a mountain) or with someone special (for example a celebrity) though it can, of course be used for various humorous pictures if youve the creativity to think of things.

How to use the lock screen shortcuts on a Samsung Galaxy S3

If youve recently got yourself a Samsung Galaxy S3 Android powered smartphone you may have noticed that the lock screen typically features some icons at the bottom of the screen. On most other (older) Androids these icons arent present however they act as easy to access shortcuts which allow you to jump immediately from a lock screen to the app in question. What this effectively means is that you dont need to unlock your phone, scroll to the app you want to use and select it instead you just need to use the shortcut.

So the next question is "How do I use them?" Well that is an easy qu estion to answer. To use the "Shortcuts" on the lock screen you simply need to hold your finger on the relevant icon (for this example Ill be using the "Camera" icon) then swipe, or drag, the icon for a second or two into the middle of the screen.

After swiping the shortcut icon you will instantly be taken to the app you wanted to open. As you can see in the image to the right I dragged the Camera icon which then
opened up the Camera app (as seen on the left).

You are actually able to select which icons appear as shortcuts, allowing you to have shortcuts to any app thats on your phone. If you wish to change the shortcuts then give this guide a read.