IMS Service or IP Multimedia Subsystem Service a general-purpose industry standard for voice and multimedia communication over an IP network. It allows your device to work hand-in-hand with a carrier-provided communication application.
Samsung mobiles use this open industry standard to exchange multimedia data over packet-based IP networks, which makes this service of paramount importance. Sadly, many Galaxy S9 users have been facing difficulty accessing the service, reporting “IMS service stopped working” pop-up error after downloading and installing the September update.
The South Korean OEM is yet to address this issue, so, we are not sure whether they are working on a solution right now. At this point, rolling back your device to a former, stable firmware seems to be the best course of action. It seems the issue is with the September update build CSH2, thus going back to the previous build, CSG8, should help.
We have provided download link below of a CSG8 firmware each for the S9 and S9 Plus, but be aware that this is for the unlocked Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus handsets, not the carrier tied variants (Vodafone, Optus, Telstra, etc.). You can install the firmware for unlocked device on your carrier device, but you may lose out on some carrier-specific features if you do that.
The annoying IMS Service error is largely prevalent in Australia, but other regions could also be affected.
How to fix IMS service stopped working pop-up issue on Galaxy S9
Method 1: Well, wait for Samsung to fix the issue via a software update. It may take a while, anything between a few weeks (most probably) to even a few months. But once Samsung realizes this, they should fic the issue.
Method 2: Download and install the previous update (CSG8, August security update) yourself. Here’s how to do this.
First, download the CSG8 firmware for your S9 form here:
- Galaxy S9 CSG8 (unlocked Australia) — download link
- Galaxy S9 Plus CSG8 (unlocked Australia) — download link
Now, install the firmware you just downloaded by using our firmware installation guide here.
That’s all.
