How to fix a Nokia 6 2019 smartphone that keeps lagging or freezing [Troubleshooting Guide]

Lagging and freezing symptoms are usually accompanied by other performance issues like random restarts, stuck apps, and system crashes. These symptoms usually occur due to wear-and-tear but may also occur earlier when triggered by errant apps or data corruption on the phone.

Oftentimes, these problems are rectifiable by some workarounds unless hardware damage is present. To give you some inputs on how to deal with lagging and freezing issues on a Nokia 6 2018 smartphone, I have compiled some generic solutions for you to try on. Read on for more detailed solutions.

For smartphone owners who found our site while trying to find a solution, try to see if your phone is one of the devices we support. If it is, then visit the troubleshooting page for that device, browse through it to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. However, if you still need our help after that, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Nokia 6 2018 that freezes and lags

Before you troubleshoot your phone, remove the microSD card from the card slot. Sometimes, a corrupted data segments on the SD card or a busted SD card itself can trigger occurrence of similar symptoms on lags and freezes in mobile devices. To determine if the problem is attributed to the SD card, eject the SD card and then remove it from your phone.

If your Nokia 6 2018 continues to lag or freeze even when the SD card is removed, then it’s time to move on and troubleshoot your device. Here are some options you can try on.

First solution: Clear all background apps then reboot your phone.

Background apps are imperative when it comes to multitasking. But they can also give you some burden when they crash or get corrupted. Lagging and freezing symptoms are also listed among other symptoms inflicted by erratic background apps. To clear this out, clear all background apps on your Nokia 6 2018 with these quick steps:

  1. To close all running apps on your Nokia 6 2018, press the Menu key (square figure) from the main screen.
  2. Then swipe up through all apps.
  3. Finally, tap CLEAR ALL to close all running apps.

After closing all background apps, reboot your phone or perform a soft reset with these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds and then release when the menu appears.
  2. Select Power off option. Your phone will then turn off.
  3. After 30 seconds, press the Power button to turn the phone on again.

This will clear minor software errors that caused your device to freeze or lag. It’s a safe process to begin with as it won’t affect saved data on the phone. Errant cache from the internal memory will also be cleared in the process.

Second solution: Check and manage internal memory of the phone.

Memory issues can also trigger the phone to lag or freeze more often. This usually the case when the phone is running low on memory. To make sure it still has ample of storage space to allocate new apps and services, check the available memory of your Nokia 6 2018 and manage files, if necessary.

  • To view the available memory of your phone, go to Settings-> Storage menu.

View the total amount of used memory and the available memory on the phone. If the available memory is less than 1GB, then you need to free up some space either by deleting old and unwanted contents or transfer files to other storage media or external storage devices. Remove downloaded apps that you’re no longer using, especially complex apps like games.

  • To remove or uninstall downloaded apps from your Nokia 6 2018, go to Play Store-> Menu-> My apps & games, select the app you want to remove, then tap UNINSTALL to confirm.

Reboot your phone as soon as you’re done uninstalling unnecessary apps to clear and refresh the internal memory.

Third solution: Update apps and phone software to the latest version available.

It is highly recommended to update your Play Store apps to get the latest features and bug fixes. This is a way of keeping your apps bug-free and optimized. If you haven’t set your phone to auto-install updates, then you need to manually do so. To check for and install pending app updates on your Nokia 6 2018, follow these steps:

  1. Tap to open the Play Store app.
  2. Tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) on the upper-left of Google Play.
  3. Go to My apps & games then head to the Updates section to view available updates.
  4. To update individual apps, tap the Update button next to an app.
  5. Otherwise, tap UPDATE ALL to install all app updates at once.

After updating your apps, check for any available system update for your phone. If there is, then you should install it to. System updates offer fix patches to clear bug-inflicted problems including lagging and freezing symptoms on the phone. To view and install available software updates for your Nokia 6 2018, follow these steps:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Select About phone.
  3. Tap System updates.
  4. Tap Check for update.

if an update is available, you will see a notification that says so. Simply follow the given instructions to download and install the update on your phone via over-the-air (OTA). But before doing so, check and ensure that your phone has strong and stable Wi-Fi Internet connection, has at least 1GB of memory space and at least 50 percent battery to avoid interruptions.

Fourth solution: Wipe cache partition on the phone.

Errant system cache can also cause adverse symptoms to occur on a device including random lags and freezes. Like apps, the phone system also stores cache in its cache partition or system folders for multitasking purposes. But like app cache, system cache can also become corrupted at some point. And when this happens adverse symptoms begin to emerge and system functions are likely affected. This is when your device or certain apps would start to misbehave. To clear this out, wiping cache partition in recovery mode is recommended.

Recovery is primarily used for device maintenance and system management. Here you’ll find various options to manage your device software such as system reboot, factory data reset, and wipe cache partition to name some. Here’s how to enter recovery mode and wipe cache partition on your Nokia 6 2018 smartphone:

  1. Turn off the phone by pressing and holding the Power button until the phone powers down.
  2. While your phone is off, connect it to your computer via USB. A powered by Android image will then show up on your device, followed by the battery animation.
  3. Once you see the charging animation, hold the Volume Up button and Power button simultaneously for a few seconds. You will then see a countdown message that says, Please release key to power off…
  4. Just ignore the message and keep holding the buttons until the countdown is finished and your phone will enter recovery mode.
  5. Select the option to wipe cache partition from the recovery mode options.

Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to confirm action and then reboot your phone. Test to see how it works afterwards. If the phone continues to lag or freeze, then you may have to perform a full system reset or master reset.

Fifth solution: Master reset or factory data reset your phone.

A master reset or factory data reset wipes everything from the phone including settings, apps, and other types of information saved on the phone’s storage. The problem you’re dealing with may be too complex that it’s able to withstand the previous solutions. To deal with complex issues on the phone, performing a master reset or factory data reset can be the key solution. Before you do so though, back up all critical files from your phone storage to an SD card or computer folder. Once you’re all set, follow these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap System.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Select Factory data reset option.
  5. If prompted, tap the option to confirm factory reset.

Allow your device to finish the reset and the restores the default settings and original configurations. It will reboot automatically when the reset is complete. As soon as it boots up again, follow the setup wizard to set up your phone as new and ready to use.

Other options

Take your phone to the nearest Nokia service center in your place and let an authorized technician examine the phone for hardware damage. Your device may still be lagging and freezing even after exhausting app prior solutions due to a damage component. In that case, your phone needs service.

For further assistance and recommendations, contact your device carrier or Nokia Support instead.

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