How to fix Galaxy S8 if it has become very slow or keeps freezing after an update

Today’s #GalaxyS8 troubleshooting article tries to address another common problem on this device — slow performance or freezing issue following an update. Many S8 users experiences this problem right after installing the latest Android Oreo patch so if you’re one of them, make sure to do our suggestions below.

Today’s problem: Galaxy S8 is very slow or keeps freezing after an update

Everything is so slow I can hardly tell if it has frozen or not. The words lag far behind me as I type, my apps often become unresponsive but do no crash so I need to shut them down and reopen them, and touch input is delayed to the point of opening my phone app and calling people with old touch inputs meant for other apps. This is all only after installing the new stupid update you all forced. I think you all knew this update would make phones faulty so you pushed it hoping people would just upgrade their phones and if not you can use this page to absolve yourselves of blame. This is some evil corporation shit that you all force updates that break phones.     

Solution: System updates are designed to improve user experience, add more features and functions, or fix known bugs. Sometimes, bugs may develop after an update but that doesn’t mean that the system update you received is at fault. In most cases, incompatible apps may interfere with the new Android version causing performance issues. To fix post-update issues, these are the general recommended solutions:

• cache partition wipe
• ensure that ALL apps are compatible and up-to-date
• observing phone on Safe Mode
• factory reset

Forced reboot

Before you do any of the suggested solutions, make sure that you force restart the phone. Some minor bugs and performance issues are fixed by doing this simple troubleshooting step. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Fix #1: Cache partition wipe

This is a recommended troubleshooting step if you have performance issues right after installing a system update. Sometimes, a device’s system cache may get corrupted following an update so it’s good if you can refresh it. Here’s how you do that:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
4. An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Fix #2: Update your apps

Android is a complex ecosystem with millions of moving parts. Sometimes, Android and app developers may not be able to anticipate issues when building their products. This can lead to all sorts of issues including some pretty nasty performance problems. To minimize the chances of having a bad app, you want to ensure that all apps are compatible with your phone by updating them. If only install apps from the Play Store, then you can simply open the app and update all your apps. Here’s how:

1. Open Play Store app.
2. Tap More settings at the upper left (three-line icon).
3. At the very top where you see the photo for the selected Google account, tap on the profile photo of the account you want to use.
4. Once you’ve selected the profile you want, select My apps & games and update your apps.

If you installed apps outside of the Play Store, it’s your responsibility to update them as well. Apps sourced from third party sources may have their own way to update themselves. If you have apps not installed from the Play Store and you don’t know if they’re compatible with the operating system on your phone, contact their developers.

Fix #3: Check for bad third party apps

In case the problem is due to a third party app, you can also check how screen security works when the phone is on safe mode. In this mode, no third party app runs and only pre-installed ones can work. So, if security lock works normally on safe mode, that’s a confirmation that our suspicion is right.

To boot your S8Plus to safe mode:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
8. Check for the problem.

Remember, safe mode is a tool, not a solution. If security lock works in this mode, you can bet one of your installed apps is to blame. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your S8 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Fix #4: Check for malware

One of the least obvious reasons for performance issues is malware or Android viruses. At other times, too many bad apps that run ad popups can also impact the system over time. If you are adventurous when it comes to apps and don’t usually filter properly what things to install, there’s a chance that your phone may have a virus or malicous app. Try to run one good antivirus app and scan the system. Make sure not to have at least two antivirus apps installed at the same time as that can cause more problems than solutions.

If you are positive that your phone is clean and you take care of what apps to install all the time, then you can skip this.

Fix #5: Factory reset

This is a necessary solution that you must do if your phone continues to lag or show performance issue after doing everything above. This will return all software settings to their defaults. If there’s a bug in the system, factory reset might fix it. Here’s how you do it:

1. Create a backup of your data.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

[Optional] Fix #6: Revert Android to its previous version

This is a suggestion for advanced Android users only as it entails flashing. Flashing is an Android term to refer to the process of manually installing a software to a device. This is done by using an unofficial tool called Odin. If you haven’t heard of the term flashing, or if you’re not confident that you do it, then simply disregard the idea and have Samsung fix your issue instead.

If you are an advanced Android user, then this should be a reminder that you might be able to fix your trouble by flashing stock firmware to your device.

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