Whatsapp Connection problems, please help me!

Hey everyone!!

I own a Samsung J7 that runs Android 5.1.1.

I am dealing with the following issues:

1. Notifications don't work. Unless I start whatsapp manually, i dont get any messages. If someone messages me, they can see that the message has not been delievered (so I can only assume whatsap is not connected to the internet while running in the background). I've tried all the approaches i can find online (clearing cache, disabling all battery saving apps, restarting phone, reinstalling whatsapp).

2. When making a phone call, its going into "reconnecting" mode. Even though i cannot hear the person on the other side(i can only hear the reconnecting sound), the person on the other side can still hear me. Therefore i can only assume the phone is sending information but not receiving, again, connection problems. I tried reinstalling the app aswell, it solves the problem for a day or two but then, the problem returns.

Please help me for this is very frustrating and I am highly dependant on whatsapp to contact my family.

Thank you very much!