How to fix Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting | troubleshoot random restart issue

Smartphones can have random restart issues for a variety of reasons. In this troubleshooting episode, we’ll show you what to do if your Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting for some reason. Find out what you must do below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28YXtY8J3Y0

How to fix Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting | troubleshoot random restart issue

If your Galaxy Tab A has a random restart problem or if it keeps rebooting for no obvious reason, there are a number of troubleshooting steps that you can do fix it. Follow our suggestions below to do it.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #1: Recalibrate battery and OS

If your Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting all of a sudden, the first thing that you should check is if it’s caused by a misbehaving battery. To do that, you want to calibrate the OS and battery. This is a simple procedure that may help you fix the problem. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
  2. Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging accessories for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least an  hour and also don’t use it while charging.
  3. After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
  4. Restart the device.
  5. Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
  6. Repeat steps 1-5 once.

Now that the battery and Operating System are calibrated, observe the phone and check if it continues to reboot on its own.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #2: Check for overheating

If your Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting and getting uncomfortably warm to touch, it may be overheating. In order to protect the system from internal high temperature, an Android device is designed to shut off on its own. If the random restart issue happens after using your tablet for an extended period, it’s probably overheating. What you need to do in this case is to let the device cool off for at least 30 minutes before using it again.

If your Galaxy Tab A keeps overheating repeatedly, it may have a deeper problem. You must focus your troubleshooting in fixing the overheating problem first. 

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #3: Clear cache partition

Some Galaxy devices may reboot on their own if there’s a problem with the system cache. This had been observed in some few older Samsung Galaxy models in the past after a system update corrupted the system cache. To check if you have system cache problem, follow the steps below:

  1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
  3. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
  4. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
  5. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe cache partition.’
  7. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  8. Press the Power button to go ahead with clearing of cache partition.
  9. After clearing the cache partition, press the Power button again for Reboot system now.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #4: Update software and apps

Keeping the Operating System and apps up-to-date is an underrated solution for most people. What most Android users don’t realize though is that some problems are not fixable on their end. Some of these apps may have roots deep within the software so only a coding modification can fix them. It is for this reason that you should always install updates for both Android and apps if they are available.

To see if there’s a new system update, open Settings > Software update > Download and install.

In the same vein, it’s important that you update your apps as well. This is to lessen the chances of bugs from developing. To check for Play Store app updates on your Galaxy Tab A:

  1. Open Play Store app.
  2. Tap More settings icon at the upper left (three-horizontal lines).
  3. Tap My apps & games.
  4. Tap Update or Update All.

If you are on Cellular Data connection, we suggest that you update via wifi only to avoid additional charges. Here’s how:

  1. Open Play Store app.
  2. Tap More settings icon at the upper left (three-horizontal lines).
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Tap App download preference. 
  5. Select Over wifi only (select Over any network if you don’t have wifi).
  6. Tap Done.

Make sure to also keep your apps updated all the time by enabling auto-update option.

  1. Tap Auto-update apps.
  2. Tap Over wifi only (select Over any network if you don’t have wifi).
  3. Tap Done.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #5: Reset app preferences

Some apps may require default system apps and services. If some of these default apps are not working, apps that require them may misbehave. To ensure that default apps are enabled, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your Tab A and check for the problem.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #6: Troubleshoot app

If your Galaxy Tab A only keeps on rebooting when trying to load or run a certain app, there are a few things that you can do to troubleshoot it. First, try to force quit the app. This is useful in casesof minor bugs. Below are the two methods to force close an app:

Method 1: Close an app using Recent Apps key

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (on the left of the Home middle button).
  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously.
  3. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Method 2: Close an app using App Info menu

Another way to force close an app is by going within the app’s settings itself. It’s a longer way compared to the first method above but it’s equally effective. You want to use this method if you plan on doing other troubleshooting for the said app like clearing its cache or data. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the app.
  6. Tap Force Stop.

If restarting the app won’t help and your Galaxy Tab A still keeps rebooting, your next move is to clear the app cache. This will refresh the cache of the app in question and potentially fix the problem. This is how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More options at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap Camera.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Cache button.
  10. Check for the problem

Clearing an app’s cache may sometimes require more drastic follow up. Try to clear the app’s data to return its settings to defaults if wiping the cache won’t work. Here’s how:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More options at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap Camera.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Data button.
  10. Check for the problem

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #7: Check for bad app

Random restart problems are sometimes caused by a bad third party app. To check if that’s the case here, try running your tablet on safe mode and observe. If it works normally and won’t restart on safe mode for some time, that can mean that an app is causing the trouble. You must then isolate the bad app and delete it from the system.

To run your Galaxy Tab A on Safe Mode:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  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. This may take up to 1 minute. Just be patient to wait for it.
  6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode on the device.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  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 Galaxy Tab A still keeps stopping on normal mode (but works on safe mode), repeat steps 1-4.

In order to return to normal mode or turn off safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. Tap Restart.
  3. The devices restarts in normal mode.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #8: Factory reset

Some bugs may not go away and require drastic solutions like factory reset to get fixed. If your Galaxy Tab A still keeps rebooting at this time, you must reset the software to defaults. Factory reset is usually effective in fixing issues with software-related causes.

There are a couple of ways to factory reset your Galaxy Tab A. Learn each of them below. To avoid losing irreplaceable photos, videos, documents, contacts, and other stuff, be sure to back them up first. You can use Smart Switch for that.

Below are the two methods on how to hard reset or factory reset your Galaxy Tab A.

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Tab A via Settings Menu

Under normal circumstances, factory reset under Settings menu should be the primary way for you. It’s simpler to do and does not require pressing hardware buttons, which some users may find difficult to do.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Tab A using hardware buttons

If your case is that the tablet is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
  5. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

Galaxy Tab A keeps rebooting fix #9: Repair

Random or persistent rebooting can be a sign of a deeper hardware problem. If the issue returns after a factory reset, visit your local Samsung store or Service Center.

 


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