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How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J7 that keeps shutting down and randomly restarts after an update [Troubleshooting Guide]

  • Understand the reason why your #Samsung Galaxy J7 (#GalaxyJ7) may shut down on its own after a firmware update and learn how to troubleshoot it in order to fix the problem.
  • Learn how to troubleshoot your device that randomly reboots on its own after an update.

 

Frequent shutdowns and random restarts seem to be bugging some of the Samsung Galaxy J7 owners. Some of our readers contacted us about these problems and we’re actually obliged to address them. So, in this post, I will deal with a device that keeps on shutting down after a firmware update as well as a unit that randomly restarts on its own. Both of these issues may have been caused by some firmware-related problems that occurred after the firmware got bumped up.

Continue reading to know more about these issues and understand why they occur from time to time even if you have a premium device. You may also learn how to troubleshoot your phone when one of these issues happen to you in the future. It’s better that you’d be ready so that when your device starts to act out without apparent reason, you can do something about it that may fix the problem.

Before anything else, however, if you have other problems with your Galaxy J7, try to drop by our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems on our website. Try to find ones that are similar with yours and use the solutions and troubleshooting guides we recommended. Should you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Just give us the information we need and we’ll do the rest.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J7 that frequently shuts down on its own after an update

Among these two problems, this one is a bit more complex and serious, so it’s just logical that we tackle this one first. Now, this problem started after an update and while it may be a sign of a hardware issue, we need to rule out the possibility that it’s just a firmware problem, after all, when it comes to hardware issues, there’s not much we can do than employ the help of a technician. With all that being said, these are the things you need to do in order to try to fix this problem:

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Step 1: Soft reset your Galaxy J7

Temporary caches are created every time the phone boots up. This process is necessary to make the device run buttery smooth. However, there are times when caches get corrupted and when the system tries to use them, conflicts occur. Some caches may be repalced by a simple reboot, however, there are some that requires clearing of the phone’s memory. Therefore, in this section, you will learn to do the soft reset on your Samsung Galaxy J7.

It’s basically just a reboot only that it includes clearing of the phone’s memory by removing the battery. To make it every easier for you to understand, here’s the step-by-step procedure on how to do this:

  1. Remove the back cover of your phone.
  2. Pull the battery out and leave the phone without it for a minute.
  3. While the battery is out, press and hold the Power key for a minute.
  4. Replace the battery and secure it with the back cover.
  5. Turn the phone on and continue using it to see if the problem still occurs.

If the problem still occurs or if your phone still shuts down on its own after this, then the next step might help.

Step 2: Boot up your phone in safe mode and continue your observation

Booting your phone up in safe mode alone won’t fix this problem but it will give you an insight as to whether your third-party apps have something to do with it or not. If the problem still occurs even if the phone is already in safe mode, then we might be looking at a possible firmware issue, otherwise, you just need to find out which app is causing the problem and once you can pinpoint what the culprit is, you can then proceed to uninstall it.

Here’s how you start your Samsung Galaxy J7 up in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button (located on the right) until Phone options is displayed then release.
  2. Select and hold Power off until the Reboot to Safe Mode prompt appears then release.
  3. Tap RESTART. Note: This restart process may take up to one minute to complete.
  4. Upon restart, Safe mode appears in the lower left of the unlock/home screen.

And here’s how you uninstall suspected third-party apps:

  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.

Please note that every time you finished uninstalling an app, you have to reboot your phone in normal mode and continue observing it. If you have a lot of apps, then I suggest you just backup your important files and data and then do the factory reset:

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

This is one of the easiest ways to fix an issue that might have something to do with your apps. The next step, however, may be helpful if this one won’t fix the problem.

Step 3: Try wiping the cache partition to force the phone to create new system files

If booting in safe mode and uninstalling suspected apps didn’t fix the issue, then it’s imperative you go after the firmware and the first thing you have to do is to force your phone to recreate the system caches it’s using. Caches get corrupted most of the time especially during firmware updates. When it happens and the system still continues to use them, the performance will become unstable. If such is the case, you just got to delete the cache and the system will create new files that will work perfectly with it and this time, the device may work without any issues anymore.

However, you really don’t have access to individual caches so you cannot delete one cache at will. Thus, you need to wipe off the entire contents of the cache partition but don’t worry as none of your files and data will be deleted if you did it. Here’s how…

  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.

If our suspicion is correct, your phone should be able to work without any issues anymore after doing this but then again there’s no guarantee. So, if the problem remained after wiping the cache partition, the next step might just work.

Step 4: Backup all your important data and files and perform Master Reset

When troubleshooting your device with possible firmware-related issues, it’s a rule of thumb to go after the apps, the cache and then the data and in this section, we’ll be going after the latter since the previous step failed to fix the problem. The thing about it is that a lot of your files and data will be deleted when you reset your phone. Therefore, it is necessary to back them up before following the steps below:

  1. 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.
  2. Turn off your Galaxy J7.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  5. 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).
  6. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Press Power button to select.
  8. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  9. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  10. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  11. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You will have to setup your phone again after you’ve deleted the data and as far as frequent reboot is concerned, a reset may just be what you need to fix it. However, if the issue still persists after this, then you need to have to bring your phone back to the store and have it checked. The tech may re-install the firmware to rule out the possibility that some of the system files are lacking, corrupt or damaged. This is something an authorized technician has to do.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that randomly reboots after the firmware update

Random reboots may be caused by a faulty battery or firmware issues like the first problem we tackled and while these issues seem similar, this one’s a bit easier to fix. With that being said, here’s what I suggest you do:

  1. Perform the soft reset procedure – this one will rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by some firmware or hardware glitches. Just remove the battery of the phone and then press and hold the Power key for a minute before placing it back in.
  2. Charge your phone and see if it still reboots while plugged in – we’re trying to rule out the possibility that the battery is the one causing the random reboots as it’s the first thing that deteriorates. If the phone still reboots while plugged in, however, then rest assured it’s not a battery issue.
  3. Boot in safe mode and observe – just like we did in the first problem, continue using your phone while it’s in safe mode when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled as one of them might be the one causing the problem. Uninstall suspected apps if necessary.
  4. Wipe cache partition – this will delete all system caches that might also be causing the problem but after you wiped off the contents of the entire directory, the system will actually create new files.
  5. Perform master reset – if all else fails, then you have to reset your phone but don’t forget to backup your data and files. Follow the procedures above to do these things.
  6. Send the phone in for repair – this might be your last resort and probably the best thing you can do if your phone continues to randomly restart on its own. The tech will conduct tests that will determine what the problem is.

I am hoping that this troubleshooting guide can somehow help you fix these issues with your phone. Do let us know in the comment section below or contact us if you need more assistance.

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9 Comments

  1. Hi my Samsung galaxy j7 keeps shutting down before my apps load. When I take the battery out, it repeats this process. It started doing this after I restarted it. I’ve never had this problem before. It has been continuously doing this for 2 hours now. Can you please help me?

  2. My J7 did a software update in the middle of the night 3 days ago…. It started working better than ever then I hit that 72 hour mark an phone went crazy…. It is now stuck on greenish colored screen w 2 gears spinning and at bottom of screen it says Android is starting…. optimizing app 100 an counting to to 200 and then switches to the orginal samsung homescreen and continues to repeat this process til the battery is drained…. help i’ve tried soft boot cant factory reset because it is stuck on the 2 screens previously described I”ve tried removal of battery putting on charger nothing seems to work….
    Please help
    Connie

  3. My J7 did a software update in the middle of the night 3 days ago…. It started working better than ever then I hit that 72 hour mark an phone went crazy…. It is now stuck on greenish colored screen w 2 gears spinning and at bottom of screen it says Android is starting…. optimizing app 100 an counting to to 200 and then switches to the orginal samsung homescreen and continues to repeat this process til the battery is drained…. help i’ve tried soft boot cant factory reset because it is stuck on the 2 screens previously described I”ve tried removal of battery putting on charger nothing seems to work….
    Please help
    Connie

  4. I have same problem with anand p yadav..while talking or using FB my samsung j7 prime suddenly shutdown and will only starts again when i plugged in the charger..please help me..

  5. Hi, my j7 is shut down while talking or opening app any time and then it is not going to start normally by pushing power button,when i plugged the charger in to the phone then it is going to be starts.what is the problem kindly suggest.

  6. Hi,my galaxy J7 keeps doing shutting down and doing a Factor Reset,and before all my apps load it shuts down again and does another factory reset,My phone is only 2-1/2 months old.is there anything I can do.took it to the place I bought it.and they don’t understand what I’m telling them what’s going on,they just reset the language and setup and give it back, but within a 1/2 hour while the apps are loading is when it factory resets itself.I work and can’t spend hours at this store and waiting for my turn for service.please help if possible.

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