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Nasty Bug Makes Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Almost Unusable

Caution with Factory Reset! A Mistake Can Cripple the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Caution with Factory Reset! A Mistake Can Disable the Galaxy S26 Ultra Photo: picture alliance / Wolfgang Maria Weber | Wolfgang Maria Weber
Rita Deutschbein
Managing Editor

October 23, 2026, 11:34 am | Read time: 3 minutes

A bug in One UI 9 can render the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra practically unusable after a factory reset. Affected devices get stuck during reconfiguration and cannot connect to a Samsung account page. Samsung has confirmed the issue and suggests several possible solutions. When a permanent fix will be available is currently unknown.

Samsung began rolling out One UI 9 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra in mid-September. However, after installation, a factory reset may prevent the smartphone from being fully configured during the initial setup.

Error Occurs After a Factory Reset

Affected devices cannot open a necessary account page on the Samsung website. Instead, an error message appears stating that the website is unavailable. Since the issue arises during setup, users cannot complete the process and cannot use the smartphone normally.

The error was reported by users in the Samsung Community Forum. A Samsung employee confirmed that the issue is related to the user interface update to version 9.0. The development team has already investigated the cause.

The disruption occurs when an unstable Android System WebView is used in certain networks. This system component allows apps and parts of the operating system to display web content directly on the smartphone.

More on the topic

Update WebView and Switch Networks

Samsung recommends that affected users first update the Android System WebView. If there is no separate WebView app on the device, Google Chrome should be updated instead. Afterward, another setup attempt can be made.

As another measure, Samsung suggests switching from a mobile network over 4G or 5G to Wi-Fi. Conversely, a report also describes switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data as a possible workaround. Whether the network switch helps can depend on the specific device and network.

Users should also log in to their Samsung account again. If this is not possible on the affected smartphone, they can access the Samsung account website on another device. After logging in, they may need to accept the current terms of use.

After that, the setup on the Galaxy S26 Ultra should be restarted. However, the steps mentioned do not guarantee that the setup can be successfully completed.

Also of interest: Samsung Galaxy S26, Plus, and Ultra–which is suitable for whom?

Samsung Refers to Customer Service

If the error persists, Samsung recommends contacting the customer center. A chat support service is also available there, 24/7. For the inquiry, users should have a screenshot of the error message and a detailed description of the problem ready so that support can review the case more quickly.

Customer service may request additional user information to verify the account holder’s identity. Samsung has not yet provided a timeline or specific firmware version for the fix. It is also unclear whether a device update will be necessary or if a change on the servers will suffice.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.

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