Troubleshooting Tips — Quick Fixes for Common Issues

Don't panic! Most phone problems are easier to fix than you think. Work through each step one at a time and you'll often have things sorted in just a few minutes.

5/3/20264 min read

1. Can't Connect to Wi-Fi

Try these steps in order:

Step 1 — Turn Wi-Fi off and back on

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap the green switch to turn it off, wait 10 seconds, then tap it again to turn it back on

  • Android: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap the switch to turn it off, wait 10 seconds, then turn it back on

Step 2 — Forget the network and reconnect

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap the (i) next to your network name, tap Forget This Network, then reconnect by tapping your network name and entering your Wi-Fi password

  • Android: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap and hold your network name, tap Forget, then tap it again to reconnect and enter your password

Step 3 — Restart your phone

  • Hold the side button until you see the option to slide to power off, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on

Step 4 — Restart your router

  • Unplug your router from the wall, wait 60 seconds, then plug it back in. Wait 2 minutes for it to fully reconnect before trying your phone again

Step 5 — Check other devices

  • If other devices like a tablet or laptop also can't connect, the problem is with your router or internet connection rather than your phone. Contact your broadband provider if this is the case

Still not working? Try moving closer to your router — thick walls can weaken the signal.

2. App Won't Open or Keeps Crashing

Try these steps in order:

Step 1 — Close the app fully and reopen it

  • iPhone: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause — you'll see all your open apps. Swipe the problem app upwards to close it. Then find the app on your home screen and tap it to reopen

  • Android: Tap the square button at the bottom of your screen to see open apps. Swipe the problem app to the side to close it. Then find it on your home screen and tap to reopen

Step 2 — Restart your phone

  • Hold the side button, slide to power off, wait 30 seconds, then turn back on. This clears the phone's memory and fixes many common problems

Step 3 — Check for an app update

  • iPhone: Open the App Store, tap your profile picture in the top right, scroll down to see if the app has an update available, and tap Update

  • Android: Open the Play Store, tap your profile picture in the top right, tap Manage apps and device and update any apps showing as available

Step 4 — Delete and reinstall the app

  • iPhone: Press and hold the app icon, tap Remove App, then Delete App. Go to the App Store, search for the app and reinstall it

  • Android: Press and hold the app icon, tap Uninstall. Go to the Play Store, search for the app and reinstall it

⚠️ Note: Reinstalling won't delete your account or messages — your information is saved online. You'll just need to sign back in.

3. No Sound or Video on Calls

Try these steps in order:

Step 1 — Check your volume

  • Press the volume up button on the side of your phone during the call

  • Make sure your phone isn't on silent — on an iPhone, check the small switch on the left side of the phone. If you can see an orange strip it's on silent — flick it the other way

Step 2 — Check the app has permission to use your microphone and camera

  • iPhone: Go to Settings, scroll down to find the app (e.g. WhatsApp or Zoom), tap it, and make sure Microphone and Camera are switched on

  • Android: Go to Settings → Apps, find the app, tap Permissions, and make sure Microphone and Camera are both allowed

Step 3 — Check you haven't accidentally muted yourself

  • During a call, look for a microphone icon on screen — if it has a line through it, tap it to unmute yourself

  • Look for a camera icon too — if it's crossed out, tap it to turn your camera back on

Step 4 — Close other apps using the microphone or camera

  • Other apps running in the background can sometimes interfere. Close all other apps as described in the previous section, then try your call again

Step 5 — Restart your phone

  • A quick restart often resolves sound and camera issues that other steps don't fix

On a video call and the other person can't hear you? Ask them to check their own volume — the problem may be on their end!

4. Screen and Display Issues

Try these steps in order:

Screen is frozen and won't respond to taps:

  • iPhone (newer models): Quickly press and release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears

  • iPhone (older models with Home button): Hold the Home button and the Side button together for 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears

  • Android: Press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds until the phone restarts

Screen looks dim or too bright:

  • iPhone: Swipe down from the top right corner to open Control Centre and adjust the brightness slider

  • Android: Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification panel and adjust the brightness slider

Text looks too small to read comfortably:

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size and drag the slider to make text bigger. You can also turn on Bold Text

  • Android: Go to Settings → Display → Font Size and increase it to your preference

Screen keeps turning off too quickly:

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock and choose a longer time such as 5 minutes

  • Android: Go to Settings → Display → Screen Timeout and choose a longer time

5. Battery Draining Quickly

Try these steps in order:

Step 1 — Turn down your screen brightness

  • The screen is the biggest drain on your battery. Reducing brightness even slightly makes a big difference

  • iPhone: Swipe down from the top right and drag the brightness slider down

  • Android: Swipe down from the top and drag the brightness slider down

Step 2 — Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you're not using them

  • iPhone: Swipe down from the top right corner and tap the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons to turn them off when out and about

  • Android: Swipe down from the top and tap Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to toggle them off

Step 3 — Close apps you're not using

  • Apps running in the background use battery even when you're not looking at them. Close them as described in the App Crashing section above

Step 4 — Turn on Battery Saver mode

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Battery and turn on Low Power Mode — this reduces background activity to save battery

  • Android: Go to Settings → Battery and turn on Battery Saver

Step 5 — Check which apps are using the most battery

  • iPhone: Go to Settings → Battery and scroll down to see a list of apps using the most power

  • Android: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Usage to see the same

  • If an app you rarely use is near the top of the list, consider closing it or deleting it

Good habit: Try to charge your phone before it drops below 20% — regularly letting it run completely flat can shorten the battery's life over time.

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