How to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 that keeps freezing, lagging and randomly rebooting [Troubleshooting Guide]

• Understand why your #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) freezes when you open the #Google Play Store and learn how to fix it.
• Learn how to troubleshoot your phone that keeps freezing and lagging without apparent reason.
• Learn how to fix your Galaxy S7 that randomly reboots.

Freezing, lagging and random reboots are among the most common power-related issues with any smartphone. In this post, however, I will be tackling these issues as they also occur in Samsung Galaxy S7, which is one of the most powerful smartphones in the market today.

The first section will be tackling the freezing and lagging issues. Performance-related issues can be attributed to the firmware or its caches and data. The same this goes for the random reboot problem, which will be tackled in the second section. Read on to understand more about these issues and learn how to troubleshoot your phone in order to fix them. It’s important you know these issues now so that when they occur in the future, then you’d know what to do.

By the way, if you have other concerns with your phone, try to visit our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page and find issues that are similar with yours. Use the solutions or troubleshooting guides we suggested. See if they work on you, if not, then feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire. Just give us the information we need and we’ll help you find a solution.

Galaxy S7 freezes when user opens the Google Play Store

Problem: Hi guys. I have a problem with my Galaxy S7 phone. First of all, this device has been with me for more than 4 months already. Prior to this phone, I had an LG Android device but this one’s a real upgrade so I was quite happy about it. However, a problem started last week. Every time I open the Google Play Store, the phone would freeze. It disappeared for a couple of days but then it returned but this time, it seems that it’s here to stay. There are apps I would want to install and update but every time the Play Store runs, the phone freezes. Sometimes it would take several minutes to come back to life but more often I can regain control after a minute or two. Is there something I can do to fix this problem? Please help me.

Troubleshooting: Based on your description of the problem, it seems to me like this is all an app issue. It would have been easier if the app that keeps crashing was a third-party app but it wasn’t. The Google Play Store is pre-installed and actually one of the Google-mandated apps to come with all Android smartphones as it is the default market.

The reason why the phone freezes when you open is maybe because it’s crashing. The question is, is it crashing on its own or does another app cause it to crash? This is the first thing we have to determine so that we can easily find a solution or even just a workaround so that you can update your apps or install new ones. With that being said, try to follow our troubleshooting guide below:

Step 1: Force restart your Galaxy S7 if it freezes for a long time

It’s a workaround and definitely a solution. You must do this if the phone freezes and that you can’t wait for a few minutes before it comes back to life again. What this does is forcibly reboot the phone but as you may have already known, the phone doesn’t have a removable battery. Therefore, you need to just press and hold both the Volume Down and Power keys together for 10 to 15 seconds. Provided there is enough battery left, the phone will reboot normally.

You can then continue with what you were doing or probably do your troubleshooting procedures. You may be able to continue using your phone by doing this but remember that it doesn’t fix the issue. I’m giving you this just so you can work around the problem and do what you want to do before the problem gets fixed.

Step 2: Boot your phone in Safe Mode to isolate the problem

As I mentioned earlier, it might be just an issue with the app but what makes it more complex is that we don’t know if it’s a third-party or pre-installed app that’s causing this. So, to make our troubleshooting a little simpler, just boot your device into the Safe Mode and try opening the Play Store and here’s why…

When you boot your device is safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled. Naturally, if the problem is caused by a third-party app, then the Play Store won’t crash in this mode, otherwise, the phone would still freeze when you open the market. This is how you reboot your Galaxy S7 into the Safe Mode:

1. Press and hold the Power key.
2. As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
3. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
4. You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

If the app still causes the phone to freeze even in this mode, then we need to go after the app itself.

Step 3: Clear the cache and the data of the Google Play Store

By doing this procedure, you are actually resetting the app itself, which means that you’re bringing it back to its factory default settings. Your apps will remain; only the temporary files the system uses when you open this app as well as your settings and preferences will be deleted. Here’s how you do it:

1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
4. Swipe to ALL tab.
5. Find and tap Google Play Store.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

After this, try to open the Play Store again and see if the phone still freezes. If not, then problem solved, otherwise, you have to troubleshoot the firmware.

Step 4: Delete the temporary system files or caches

There’s another possibility that we need to rule out–corrupt system caches. Android creates files that it uses so that the apps will run smoothly–these files are what we call caches. There are times, especially when you just updated the firmware, that these files get corrupted but the system will continue to use them. When it happens, the device may experience some performance-related issues like apps crashing or closing. So, to rule out this possibility, you need to wipe the cache partition and here’s how you do it:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Once the phone has rebooted, try opening the Play Store again and see if the device still freezes and if so, then the next step might help.

Step 5: It’s time to reset your phone

This comes at the end because you may have a lot of files or data that are saved in your phone’s internal storage. By doing the procedure below, you’re actually deleting everything in your phone and you’re bringing it back to its default settings. It seems to me that this is all you need to fix this problem but there’s no guarantee.

1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If this problem still continues after the reset, then the firmware needs to be reflashed or re-installed. Find a tech who can do that.

How to troubleshoot your Galaxy S7 that keeps freezing and lagging

Problem: What does it mean if the phone, a Galaxy S7, keeps lagging and freezing? Literally, the phone randomly freezes for a few seconds, which is kind of annoying, then there it lags and lags even when performing very simple tasks like opening the apps. I don’t know why it’s happening but if you guys can help me, that would be great. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: There are several reasons why your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is having freezing and lagging issues. Perhaps, it is due to a glitch in the system or some third-party apps on your phone why this issue is happening. The first thing that you should do is to perform a software troubleshooting to rule out the possibility that it’s one or some of your apps that causes this problem or if it’s a firmware problem. Below are some steps you can try to fix this problem:

Step 1: Make sure that there’s no third-party app triggered the problem

Assuming that you did an update on your phone, the first thing that you should do is to deal it first if there were apps that is causing the issue. Due to app incompatibility on the new system that may be the reason that your phone is freezing and lagging without apparent reason. Since, we cannot pinpoint what app is responsible through booting on Safe mode you can easily determine what triggers the problem. To boot on Safe mode follow the steps above.

Keep in mind that this procedure won’t fix the issue. In this mode, the pre-installed apps will run in the system and the third-party apps will be temporarily disabled. If the issue is still happening while in Safe mode, proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Clear the system cache because it might be corrupted

It is always recommended you clear the cache partition first before anything else especially if you’re troubleshooting the firmware. As I mentioned in the first problem, caches get corrupted sometimes and when the system continues to use them, issues like these may occur. You cannot delete caches individually so you really need to wipe off the directory where they’re saved. Follow the fourth step in the first problem for this on.

Step 3: Perform Factory reset on your device

After the procedures above and the issue still occurs, the next thing to do is to reset your phone. You should remember that this procedure will delete everything. So, prior to doing the procedure make sure that you backup everything because all stored files in your device’s internal storage will be deleted.

How to fix your Galaxy S7 that is randomly restarting

Problem: I have the Galaxy S7 and I’m not sure what happened to it because it started to randomly reboot while I’m using it normally. I’m not a heavy user as I use my phone for calls, texts and facebook. I don’t play games. In fact, there are only very few apps I’ve installed it since it was given to me in May.

Troubleshooting: This is one of the most frustrating problems that Samsung Galaxy S7 users are always facing especially if the system of the phone had been updated. It is possible that due to corrupted system cache the device is randomly restarting. However, another reason that the issue occurs is due to the third-party apps that are not compatible with the new system of the device. To fix the problem, just follow the steps that we provided.

Step 1: Boot your phone on Safe mode because third-party apps might causing the issue

Although it’s difficult to determine what app that triggers the issue, through booting on Safe mode you can pinpoint what app needs to be uninstalled on your phone to avoid the issue to occur again. To boot your Galaxy S7 on Safe mode, just follow the steps above.

While on Safe mode, observe closely if the phone’s performance is normal. If so, then obviously one of your third-party apps installed is causing it.

Step 2: Clear the system cache of your phone

Probably, due to the new firmware installed on your phone the old cache is not anymore compatible on the new system. Another way to prevent the issue is to clear the system cache of your phone. Through deleting old caches newer files will be created again in the directory of the phone after it restarts. To do the procedure, follow the procedures above.

Step 3: Perform Factory reset if the issue is still happening

If none of the above methods helped you fix the issue, then performing a reset is the best thing to do. This procedure will certainly fix the problem but it is important for you to know that before resetting your device you need to backup all your important files to prevent them from being lost or be deleted.

1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
5. Touch Continue.
6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.  

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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