‎Galaxy Note 25 Ultra | Samsung Community

Roy3llJell3y

Journeyman

last edited

26/02/2026 06:24 AM

Summary of the issue Multiple types of media and user‑set configurations are disappearing or resetting on Samsung devices without user action. This includes photos, videos, WhatsApp media, voice recordings, downloaded ringtones, and contact‑specific ringtones. The behaviour suggests a deeper system‑level fault affecting file indexing, storage integrity, and media access permissions. --- 📂 What is disappearing or resetting - Camera photos and videos: DCIM folders showing 0 KB despite previously containing thousands of files. - WhatsApp media: Entire media folders (images, videos, voice notes) suddenly empty. - Voice recordings: Missing from their original storage paths. - Downloaded ringtones: Deleted or no longer recognised by the system. - Contact‑specific ringtones: Resetting to the default system ringtone without user action. - Downloaded files: Randomly disappearing from internal storage. These losses occur without any user deletion, and the device’s storage usage does not decrease, indicating the files may still exist but are inaccessible due to corruption or indexing failure. --- ⚠️ Additional symptoms observed - Internal storage “Other” category extremely large (e.g., 50+ GB), suggesting misclassified or orphaned files. - Folders showing 0 KB even though they previously contained large media libraries. - Gallery and My Files unable to read or index existing media. - WhatsApp unable to detect its own media folders. - System behaving unpredictably over several days, with multiple types of data affected simultaneously. - No SD card installed, ruling out SD corruption.

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Daz73r
Hotshot
last edited

26/02/2026 06:55 AM
If your phone is a ²⁵note ultra it's not real I have the S²⁵U and haven't actually seen none of them problems
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Daz73r
Hotshot
26/02/2026 07:46 AM
I'm going on the name of the phone they do not sell notes anymore
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anonymousUser
Samsung Members Star ★★
26/02/2026 07:00 PM
Galaxy Note 25 Ultra does not exist
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
26/02/2026 07:21 PM
Yes, I know Piper123, seems to me that you haven't read previous threads of this discussion. That was a typo on my part. 😂 😂 😂
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
last edited

26/02/2026 07:57 AM
I see, mine is also the S25 Ultra, but I've gotten used to calling it the Note, seeing as it's predecessors were known by that description and I've always had one starting with the Note 1 in the early 2000's.

Meanwhile, may I kindly ask that you do some research as advised in my earlier response and apologies for the misunderstanding.
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Daz73r
Hotshot
26/02/2026 08:00 AM
Have you tried clear cache and factory reset also check apps are upto date
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Daz73r
Hotshot
26/02/2026 08:02 AM
Also no negative vibes here like you said a misunderstanding
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
26/02/2026 08:09 AM
The irony is most of the missing items are actually in the phone's individual directory for the missing items, as I see them when I connect my phone to my laptop, they are just not in the location where they ought to be.

I am a tad bothered about doing a factory reset, but that may eventually be my last resort.

However, please conduct some investigations of your own, just to corroborate my findings and kindly let me know what you find.

Regards buddy.
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MoreiraNote
GrandMaster
last edited

26/02/2026 08:39 AM
I suggest you backup what you can with Smart Switch on a PC and then go to a Samsung authorised repair center - at least, to try and get a copy of your files. Your issues are severe and a factory reset will delete everything you have right now, but without the assurance the issue will be solved.

Just one clarification: the System showing 50GB+ is kind of an Android feature. The phone shows the storage in Gigabytes (GB, which is in base-10), while the Operating System performs it's calculation in Gibibytes (GiB, which is base-2). 256GB = 219GiB. To make up for the storage calculation, Google decided to lump the "missing" 37 G??? into the System category.
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
26/02/2026 08:42 AM
Thanks, I have done a backup already.

I wonder why the issues are only pertinent to the S25 Ultra. I have the S22 Ultra and the Note 8 and all my data are intact on those devices?
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MoreiraNote
GrandMaster
26/02/2026 08:45 AM
You may have a defective unit. Or, simply, a bug that is wrecking havoc on the file system - at least, if it is software-based, the Factory reset will clear it 99,9% of the time.
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
26/02/2026 08:52 AM
Thanks for the input — a defective unit is always possible, but what I’m seeing points much more strongly to media database or file‑system corruption rather than a simple glitch. The key signs are:

- DCIM folders suddenly showing 0 KB despite previously holding thousands of items
- WhatsApp media disappearing at the same time
- Downloaded ringtones and voice recordings no longer recognised
- Contact‑specific ringtones resetting to default
- Internal storage showing 54+ GB under “Other”, which means the files still physically exist but the system can’t access them
- No SD card installed, so SD corruption isn’t a factor

This pattern is consistent with the Media Storage service or file allocation table failing, not normal deletion and not typical hardware failure.

A factory reset can fix software corruption, but it’s not something to recommend as a first step. If the file system is damaged, a reset can permanently wipe data that is still recoverable, which is why Samsung usually advises diagnostics or Remote Service before wiping the device.

Because multiple system components are affected at once, I’m reporting this through Samsung Members so the engineering team can investigate properly.
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Joeeye
SuperStar
last edited

26/02/2026 09:01 AM
Since this doesn't appear to be a common or typical issue, it points to either a faulty/defective or damaged system, a tampered or unique app use, or even potential virus. Without a thorough diagnostics check, it's practically impossible to asses the issue here.
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Roy3llJell3y
Journeyman
last edited

1/03/2026 10:52 PM
I finally got the issue resolved. For reasons that still make no sense, my software became corrupted — not from a virus, not from hardware failure, just… out of nowhere. I opened my Gallery and discovered that a large number of photos had vanished. The same happened to my voice recordings and several other files. The only thing that changed recently was a genuine Samsung update, so I suspect the corruption may have been triggered during that process.

Thankfully, every bit of my data was backed up to both the cloud and an external hard drive. After performing a factory reset, I reinstalled my apps and restored everything that had gone missing and this took all day to complete and I still have to finish off some other bits and pieces.

Thank you to everyone who shared suggestions, advice, and support, it was genuinely appreciated.

For anyone who ever finds themselves in a similar situation, a few precautions can save you a lot of stress:

- Make sure all your important data is securely backed up (cloud + external storage if possible).
- Take a screenshot of your full app list when your phone is connected to your PC or another device — it makes reinstalling far easier.

Wishing you all a great day, wherever in the world 🌍 you’re reading this from.
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Galaxy Note 25 Ultra

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