Performance issues like freezing can always be attributed to firmware problems but there were also cases wherein third-party apps caused the phone to lag and eventually freeze for a few minutes. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8, one of the most powerful smartphones in the market today, you can rest assured it’s not about the hardware considering the fact that it has impressive specs but that doesn’t mean a hardware issue could not cause the phone to freeze, but then that’s a different story.
In this article, I will walk you through in dealing with the freezing problem with the Galaxy S8 being the subject of our troubleshooting. We will take up every possibility and rule out each of them until we can come up with a conclusion and know what the problem is all about and why it occurs. Most importantly, we need to know if the problem can be fixed on your end so that you can go back to the store and have it replaced should it persist after our troubleshooting.
But before anything else, if you’re currently experiencing different issues with your phone, then I suggest you visit our Samsung Galaxy S8 troubleshooting page for we’ve already started providing support to our readers who own this device. We understand your phone is still brand new and it should work perfectly without a hitch but not even Samsung can guarantee there won’t be any problems. What we do here is provide help to our readers the best we can so if we haven’t published posts about your concern, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.
How to troubleshoot a Galaxy S8 that keeps freezing
Problem: My new Galaxy S8 seems to have a problem because it keeps freezing like a minute or two. I can still use it though but when it freezes, I have to wait until I regain control over it. I’m not quite sure what’s causing the problem since I only bought this a couple of weeks ago. Should I return it?
Troubleshooting: Having the phone replaced would always be the best thing you can do especially if the problem can’t be fixed on your end. Freezing issues can be just a minor problem that’s why it’s worth a shot troubleshooting your phone and here’s what I suggest you do:
Step 1: Try to see if your Galaxy S8 still freezes in Safe mode
As I said earlier, third-party apps may also cause a powerful phone like the S8 to freeze so we will have to rule this possibility out first before we proceed with other troubleshooting procedures. Boot your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps and while such procedure cannot fix the problem itself, it will immediately tell you if your third-party apps have something to do with it or not. This is how you boot your phone in safe mode:
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
- 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.
- Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.
Step 2: Find, reset and / or uninstall apps that are causing the problem
You will only do this step if the freezes disappeared when the phone is in safe mode because it’s clear enough one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. Finding the culprit is easier said than done but you gotta try. Begin your search from the apps you installed prior to the problem. You must have some kind of suspects and you have to deal with those apps one by one. First is try clear their cache and data, then find out if some of them need to be updated and if that won’t work, you have to uninstall them.
How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy S8
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > Apps.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear cache.
- Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
How to update apps on your Galaxy S8
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Play Store.
- Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu > Settings then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
- Choose one of the following options:
- Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
- Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.
How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy S8
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > Apps.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
- Tap the desired application.
- Tap Uninstall.
- Tap Uninstall again to confirm.
Step 3: Reboot your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition
You only have to do this if the phone is still freezing randomly while in safe mode because it’s an indication that the problem is with the firmware. But instead of going after the system files and data, you must first try to delete all the system caches because if some of them are corrupted, your device will also encounter performance related concerns. This is how you do it:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold 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 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.
Step 4: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone
After you’ve wiped off the entire contents of the cache directory and your phone is still freezing up, then you must reboot in safe mode once again and then backup your files and data. You will have to reset your phone to bring it back to its factory default settings. But before you actually reset your device, make sure you disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) so that you won’t be locked out of your device.
How to disable FRP on Galaxy S8
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
- Tap Accounts.
- Tap Google.
- Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
- Tap 3 dot icon.
- Tap Remove account.
- Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.
How to reset your Galaxy S8
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green 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 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.
How to reset your Galaxy S8 from the Settings menu
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > 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 button to the Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
- Tap Reset.
- If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
- Tap Continue.
- Tap Delete all.
Step 5: Bring the phone back to the store or send it in
After the reset and the problem still persists, then you need help from a technician. Bring the phone back to the store where you bought it if possible. Or, you can just send it back to Samsung and let its technician take care of the problem for you. However, it will take weeks before the device will be sent back to you.
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Bad call telling people to clear data from the app ie outlook, completely deletes all the setup email accounts and passwords and have to set up from scratch.
With my previous phone which was returned for replacement, it was hooked up with a warranty Tech Guy for analysis at my local AT&T store. Don’t know what tests he performed but I was directed to try a factory reset before a warranty return would be realistic. I did the factory reset and the problem persisted.
So as an overview store bought version of S8 the first week it was released, turned into a brick, a factory reset version of the same thing turned into a brick until hard reset, and the replacement version I got through warranty service turned into a brick until hard reset
One thing in common with every single instance was at the phone was at rest while this happened, (mostly while charging and this could be either with a cord or a Samsung cordless charger. Sometimes while not charging.) It never just stopped while I was making a phone call or playing a game or anything like that.
My phone freezes until I do a hard reset or whatever. The power button and the volume down button for 30 seconds. When it freezes it stops charging and the time display freezes also. So I know when it happened but it will not restart. This business about people’s phones freezing and then restarting in a few minutes? I wish. It would have I meant that my alarm clock Resumed and woke me up at the proper time, something that did not happen because it turned into a brick.
Like people above, going into safe mode is ridiculous because the freezing Is Random. Such a solution doesn’t sound reasonable under the opposite circumstances either. Otherwise your article would be called what to do if your phone freezes every day at the same time.
Like another person above, I got a warranty replacement and the problem has arisen after just a couple days with the new S8.
I returned the phone and got a new one. What a waste of $20 had to pay to return it and in less than 48 hours my new phone froze twice. I HATE THIS PHONE! it freezes when I want to use it the most. This safe mode idea is not possible because I never know when it will freeze. It is bad enough that I cannot remove the Bixby crap but then this stupid prime makes it worst. I wish I never bought this awful phone!
I cannot use my phone when it freezes. It stays frozen and does it every evening. Is there an actual fix?
Thank you for making me feel even dumber than I did before I read this. How can you find what apps are causing this problem if it is in safe mode? The freezing is so random that I cannot tell if the phone will freeze in that mode or not. I can go days without it freezing and then it will freeze everyday in cases. Reading all these steps has just made me more confident that I am making the right decision and returning this crappy phone to the store I bought it from.