How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) that keeps restarting [Troubleshooting Guide]

Being an entry-level device, we can expect that the Samsung Galaxy J3 may not be able to compete with the company’s flagships especially when it comes to performance. In fact, it is almost expected that after a few months of use, the device’s performance may slowly deteriorate until you did something about it.

In this post, I will tackle the issue involving the Galaxy J3 that keeps restarting on its own for no apparent reason. We have to look into the possibilities why this is happening and we have to rule them out one by one until we will know what the problem is all about. Once we have that information, we can formulate a solution that might fix the problem for good and prevent it from happening again in the future, so continue reading below.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J3 that keeps restarting

Problem: Hello guys. Just dropping by to see if you can help me with my problem. My phone is a J3 and I bought it brand new and I’ve taken care of it since day. Recently, however, it started to restart on its own. At first, it felt like it was just a glitch then it became daily and now it restarts many times a day and I’m sure you know how annoying that could be. Is there something I can do to fix this? Thanks in advance.

Troubleshooting: More often than not, frequent reboots initiated by the device are linked to a firmware issue. However, there are also other possibilities that may point to a different direction that’s why it’s necessary to troubleshoot your phone to know what exactly is the problem with it. In this case, this is what you have to do:

Step 1: Make sure it isn’t a battery issue

Constant reboots are often a sign of a failing battery because the power source is no longer stable. The good news is your J3 has a removable battery so you can actually check it physically to see if its form, somehow, shows abnormalities like lumps or leaks. So, in this step, this is what I want you to do:

Remove the back cover and pull the battery out.
Physically check for any signs of leaks.
On a level surface, place the battery and flick it to see if it rotates freely, if so, then it has developed a lump and needs to be replaced. Do the same for the other side.
If everything looks good, place it back in and then turn the phone on.
Charge the device to see if it responds normally and shows the usual charging signs.
Let the phone finish charging and then continue to observe if it still reboots even with a full battery.
Be mindful of the percentage of the battery when it starts to reboot because if its performance changes when the battery percentage drops, it’s a battery issue.

Assuming there’s no problem with the battery and the phone charges fine, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Restart your J3 in Safe mode and observe

We are still in the observation stage and booting in safe mode is necessary so that we can easily isolate if the problem is caused by one of the third-party apps or not. When in safe mode, all third-party elements are disabled, so naturally, if the problem is caused by them, the reboots won’t occur in this mode. This is how you start your Galaxy J3 in safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

This observation may last a day but continue using your phone while in this mode to know if it still reboots and if so, then you have to move on to the next step. However, if the phone can last a day without a reboot in this mode, then it’s one of some of the third party apps that’s causing the problem. You need to find those apps and uninstall them. You may have to uninstall more than one app and reboot your phone countless times to confirm if the problem still occurs.

Here’s how you uninstall an app from your J3:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 3: Delete the system caches so they’ll be replaced

There are also cases wherein some of the system caches get corrupted and when it happens, various performance issues may occur including this one. So, to go about it, you have to delete those caches so that they will be replaced with new ones. Here’s how…

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

After this procedure, you have to continue your observation and if the reboots still happen, the next step is necessary.

Step 4: Backup important files and reset your phone

We are now at the stage wherein we have to know if this is a firmware or a hardware problem. A reset is necessary because it brings the phone back to its factory default settings so if the problem still occurs after the reset, there’s a big chance it’s a hardware problem, otherwise, the problem will be solved.

However, you will have to backup your important personal files and data as they will be deleted during the reset and also, make sure to disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) or anti-theft feature. Here’s how…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap Menu.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

After this, follow these steps to reset your device…

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

After the reset, don’t install anything yet but continue observing your phone to see if it still reboots even if it’s running without any third-party interference. If so, then you should consult a technician already, otherwise, restore your data and apps but continue to observe your phone.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J3 that randomly restarts on its own

Problem: There are times when my phone just reboots on its own regardless of what I’m doing. One instance of reboot occurred while I was texting, another happened while I was using Facebook. Other instances also occurred differently that’s why I’m certain that these reboots happen randomly and I don’t actually see a pattern. So, if you can give me advice as to what to do to fix this, that would be great.

Troubleshooting: It’s basically just the same as the first issue but the challenge here is that you can’t pinpoint the culprit or notice a pattern. So, to troubleshoot this issue, we have to assume first that it’s the apps that cause it. That said, here’s what I think you should do:

Step 1: Isolate the problem immediately

Again we have to assume it’s the apps that cause the problem considering the reboot occur while the user is doing something. So, we need to know if it’s a third-party that’s triggering it or a pre-installed one. Restart your Galaxy J3 in safe mode to be able to tell…

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Assuming the problem is fixed in this mode, it’s confirmed one or some of them is causing it, so find each of the culprit and uninstall them. However, if the phone still reboots even in safe mode, then it must have something to do with the firmware. Move on to the next step…

Step 2: Try to find out if the system caches have something to do with it

It’s always possible a corrupt cache is causing the phone to reboot randomly, so in this step, you have to delete all system caches. Doing so may fix the problem and will surely make your phone run faster and smoother.

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

However, if the problem still occurs after this, then you need to reset your device.

Step 3: Bring the phone back to its factory default settings

At this point in our troubleshooting, it’s necessary to reset your phone to rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by some incorrect settings or corrupt system files and data. Of course, make sure to backup all your files before the reset.

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Backup and restore.
If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset device.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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