Samsung phone or tablet freezes and crashes

When your Galaxy phone or tablet freezes or crashes, it can be really nerve-wracking. The good news is that this can probably be fixed without having to send it in for service. Performing simple actions like rebooting and updating the software are just a couple of the things you can do to prevent freezes and crashes in the future.

Volume Up and Down buttons, along with the Side button, on a Galaxy S24 Ultra showing the Power off screen

Samsung phone or tablet freezes and crashes

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How to update your Galaxy phone or tablet

Note

The phone or tablet will show the last date that it checked for updates. To download an update, you must be connected to the internet.

Download updates manually.

On your device, navigate to and open Settings.
Swipe to and tap Software update or System updates. It will vary between models.
Tap Download and install or Check for software updates. If an update is available it will begin downloading, though you may need to tap Download now on some devices.
When the download is complete, follow the on-screen instructions to install the update.

You can also check for updates using Smart Switch.

Make sure your device has enough space.

Make sure the phone or tablet is connected to the internet and charged to at least 50% before installing a software update.
Some carriers require a Wi-Fi network connection and will not allow you to update using mobile data.
If an error occurs during a software update and your phone or tablet keeps restarting, learn how to get out of a boot loop.
If your phone or tablet doesn't have enough storage space, you can clean up your storage with Device care. You can also back up extra files using Smart Switch or your Samsung or Google account.

Check your phone or tablet after the update.

If you were having issues before the software update, use the phone or tablet normally to check if the problem has been solved.

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Force a reboot on the phone or tablet

Make sure your device has enough battery.

Make sure your battery is charged to at least 5 percent. If your battery is below 5 percent, the phone may not turn on after the reboot.

If the battery is completely drained, it should be charged for a minimum of 15 minutes using an appropriate Samsung charger.

Reboot the device.

Rebooting will be a little different depending on what model you have.

Devices with a Power button: Press and hold the Volume down and Power buttons simultaneously for approximately 10 seconds.
Devices with a Side button: Press and hold the Volume down and Side buttons simultaneously for approximately 10 seconds.

The Power menu may appear; just continue pressing the buttons until the Samsung logo appears.

Select Normal Boot.

The device should boot up normally. However, if the Maintenance mode screen appears, use the Volume buttons to cycle through the options. Then, press the Power button or Side button to select Normal Boot.

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Boot the device into Safe mode

Learn about Safe mode.

Certain downloaded apps can make your phone or tablet freeze, crash, or lag. Some apps can even affect camera functionality, cause audio issues, and affect network connectivity.

Using Safe mode disables all downloaded apps and loads only the original software that came with your phone or tablet, allowing you to determine if the issue is caused by an app or with the device itself.

If the issues do not appear while in Safe mode, the problem is caused by a downloaded app, and it should be uninstalled.

Important

If you have a security feature set up on the phone or tablet, you'll be required to enter your credentials once the phone or tablet reboots.

Reboot the phone or tablet in Safe mode.

First, open the Power menu:

On devices with a regular Power button, press and hold the Power button until the Power menu is displayed.
On devices without a dedicated Power button, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to open the Quick settings panel. Tap the Power icon at the top of the screen.

Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode icon is displayed. Tap Safe mode to start your device in Safe mode. If you've entered Safe mode successfully, you'll see “Safe mode” displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Check if the phone or tablet is still having the same problem.

Use the phone or tablet normally to see if the issue has been resolved. If the phone or tablet is operating normally, a recently installed app was most likely causing the issue.

If the issue is gone in Safe mode: One of your recently downloaded apps was likely the cause of the problem. Proceed to Step 4.
If the issue still exists: Downloaded apps may not be the cause of the problem. You may need to reset the phone or tablet to its factory setting.

Uninstall apps.

One by one, uninstall any apps you downloaded just before your phone or tablet began having the issue.

From your Home screen, swipe up to open the App drawer. Find the app you want to remove, and then touch and hold the app's icon until a popup menu appears. Tap Uninstall, and then tap OK to confirm.

After uninstalling each app, exit safe mode and check for normal operation.

After you uninstall the app that caused the issue, you can reinstall the other safe apps you just deleted.

Exit Safe mode.

First, open the Power menu:

On devices with a regular Power button, press and hold the Power button until the Power menu is displayed.
On devices without a dedicated Power button, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to open the Quick settings panel. Tap the Power icon at the top of the screen.

Tap Power off to turn off the device. Wait until the phone or tablet completely turns off, and then press the Power button again to turn it on. Check if the issue has been resolved.

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Perform a factory data reset on your phone or tablet

Warning

You may need your Samsung account password or Lock screen password when resetting your phone or tablet. All your data will be erased. However, before resetting your device, you can use Smart Switch or a cloud account to back up your data onto an SD card or USB drive. If you have encrypted your SD card, it must be decrypted before resetting your device.

Prepare your phone or tablet for reset.

Make sure to back up your phone or tablet. All data and settings will be erased.
Write down the username and password for the account that you used to back up your data.
We recommend having your phone or tablet plugged into the wall charger during the reset process because it may take up to an hour.
If you have encrypted the SD Card inserted in to your phone or tablet, make sure to decrypt it before the reset. Navigate to Settings, search for and select SD, and then tap Decrypt SD card.

Perform the reset.

Navigate to Settings. Search for and select Factory data reset. Tap Factory data reset again, and then tap Reset. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the reset. You may need to enter your Samsung account password or Lock screen password. The phone or tablet will reboot.

Set up the device.

When the phone or tablet reboots, it will have its original factory settings. Now you will need to go through the initial setup to finish setting up the phone or tablet. The phone may require you to enter your Samsung or Google account information to complete the setup.

Test the device.

Before installing any apps, make sure that your phone or tablet is functioning normally.

If you are still encountering any issues, please visit a Samsung walk-in service center or you can schedule a repair service online.

Note

If you are still experiencing network service issues with calling, SMS or MMS messages, network signals, mobile data, or hotspots after resetting the device, you may need to contact your carrier.