How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J5 that keeps restarting [Troubleshooting Guide]

Random and frequent restarts are often a sign of a serious firmware issue and we’ve actually received a lot of messages from our readers who are seeking assistance because of this problem. We’ve seen a lot of issues like this since we started providing support to our readers in 2012. There were cases wherein it’s due to a failing hardware that the phone keeps restarting and there were also situations where third-party apps were the ones responsible for it.

Samsung Galaxy J5 keeps restarting rebooting

So, in this article, we will try to tackle this problem again but this time, the subject of our troubleshooting would be the Samsung Galaxy J5, an entry-level device with really impressive specs for its category. We will try to look into possibilities and rule out each of them to be able to pinpoint where the problem lies. After which, we may be able to find a solution that could fix it for good and prevent it from happening again in the future. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J5 that keeps restarting

We need to troubleshoot your phone as soon as possible so we would know if we can still bring your phone back to life or if we need a technician to take a look at it. But before we go to the steps, here’s one of the messages from our reader that best describes how this problem happens…

Problem: Hi guys. My name’s Paul from South Carolina. I have a Galaxy J5 I bought in March and since day 1 I never encountered issues with it until recently when it started to reboot itself every now and then. Well, the reboots may occur 3 or more times a day and it’s very annoying as it shuts down without a warning and it does this no matter what you do. There were already instances wherein my text messages weren’t sent because it rebooted as soon as I hit the Send button. I’ve already tried rebooting it a hundred times but it’s still restarting without any reason at all. I hope you could provide me any help. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: We will try to troubleshoot this device based on how it’s described in the problem cited above. Now, here’s what you need to do…

Step 1: Use your phone while it’s charging

The purpose of this procedure is for us to know if  your phone would still reboot even if it already has a stable power source. A failing battery may also result to this kind of problem wherein the phone can stay powered on only for a few minutes or hours and when the battery glitches, that’s when it reboots. So, plug the charger in and connect your phone, then continue using it to know if it still reboots.

If the problem doesn’t occur when the phone is plugged in, then it’s confirmed the battery is the problem. You need to buy a new one and replace the old one. I’m sure you can do that on your own since Galaxy J5 has a removable battery.

However, if the problem still occurs even if the phone is plugged in, then we have to proceed with our troubleshooting.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Safe mode and continue your observation

It is imperative that we know if this problem is caused by a third-party app or not because if so, then it would be a lot easier to fix it. At this point, you should try to reboot your phone in safe mode and continue using it while it’s in this state. All third-party apps  will be temporarily disabled so if the problem is caused by one of them, the reboot issue may not occur. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  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’.

If the phone no longer restart on its own while in this mode, then our suspicion that one of the apps you installed causes the problem is confirmed. Move on to the next step if this is the case, otherwise, jump to step 4.

Step 3: Find third-party apps that cause the problem

After confirming that third-party elements have a hand in causing this problem, then it’s time to hunt them down, clear their caches and data and then uninstall them if the problem still remains. You should begin your search from apps you installed before the problem started. I understand it would be difficult to pinpoint which app it is that’s why you have to troubleshoot one app at a time. If you have an app in mind, then you should reset it first, reboot your phone normally to confirm if the problem is fixed and if not, then you have to proceed with uninstallation.

This procedure alone may take so much time as you have to wait for the phone to reboot by itself to know if the problem got fixed or not. But here’s how you clear the cache and data of an app as well as how to uninstall one.

How to clear app cache and data on your Galaxy J5

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
  8. Tap Clear cache.

How to uninstall an app from your Galaxy J5

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 4: Reboot your phone in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

Do this step if the problem still happens even if the phone is in safe mode. It’s because the issue might already be in the firmware. But instead of jumping straight to the reset, this is an important step that you should do.

What it does is delete all system caches created by the firmware and then replaces them when the phone reboots. It’s as effective as the reset when it comes to firmware issues but of course, there’s no guarantee the problem will be fixed.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ 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.

Rebuilding the system caches will take a little more time so wait for your phone to become active and then continue using it like before to know if the problem still occurs.

Step 5: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

If all the previous procedures failed to fix the problem, then at this point you should already consider the reset. The problem might be a minor one that only reset can fix so make sure you make a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted and can no longer be restored. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset. Once you’ve done everything that needs to be done, reset your phone.

How to disable FRP on Galaxy J5

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
  6. Tap More.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Galaxy J5

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key 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.

Alternatively, you can also reset your phone via the Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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3 thoughts on “How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J5 that keeps restarting [Troubleshooting Guide]”

  1. I found the third-party apps but they are resistant to uninstall went as far as evn hoing to olay store to try and unistall them.

  2. I did all that…still reboots…
    one detail: when I press and hold Volume Up+Home and Power, see the logo, release power b, see android and release all, after 2-3 seconds it shows a dead android, an orange triangle with an “!” above the android, under that says “no command” IS THAT NORMAL?? and then it’s showing the Android system recovery menu options.
    My SAMSUNG reboots when I plug it and keeps rebooting until 100% battery, or, if I unplug it, keeps rebooting until 0% battery. It can take hours… Thank you!! I felt like a pro doing all this step-by-step troubleshooting.

  3. change your battery and use original charger to charge your newly replaced battery full and i promise all your problems will be solved

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