How To Fix A Samsung Galaxy S4 That Lags, Freezes Or Crashes
Welcome to our focused troubleshooting series that aims to fix a Samsung Galaxy S4 that freezes or lags. If you own this particular model and are having problems with the phone slowing down or freezing when you use it then you have come to the right place. We will be discussing these problems in this post and in fact have handpicked four real world problems sent to us by our readers seeking assistance. We will analyze these problems and provide the necessary troubleshooting steps needed to resolve them.
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S4 Lag In Opening Home Screen After Lollipop Update
Problem: Since installing Lollipop there is a lag time getting back to my home screen. I press the home button but the screen lags about 1 to 2 minutes before my home pages appear. The pages are there I can thumb through them but all of my apps are missing.  I turned off the animation and two others through developer options.
Solution: Since this problem occurred right after a software update there may be some old software data that is causing this. Try wiping the cache partition of your phone first and see if this fixes the problem.
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key
- When the phone vibrates, let go of the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Press the Power key to select.
- After the cache wipe is complete, press the Power key to select reboot system now.
- Press the Power key to select. The phone will automatically restart after the cache is wiped.
If the problem persists then I suggest you back up your phone data and do a factory reset.
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘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.
S4 Settings Closes On Its Own
Problem: After changing my simcards (I changed cellular provider) I can’t open my settings. I reboot my phone, then I have about 10 seconds to go into settings. There after settings is closed immediately and whenever I try to open it, it shows for a second and then it disappears again. Can you perhaps help me?
Solution: Try checking first if this issue is caused by the change of SIM card by reinserting your old SIM. If your old SIM is not available anymore then just insert another SIM in your device. If the issue disappears then you may want to consider replacing your current SIM. If however the issue persists then itâs time to check on your phone.
Try to check first if this problem is caused by a third party app installed in your phone. To do this you need to boot your phone to Safe Mode.
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key.
- When ‘Samsung Galaxy S4’ 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.
Once your phone is in Safe Mode try to open your phone Settings. If the Settings app does not crash then the problem may be caused by an app installed in your phone. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.
If however the issue still occurs even in Safe Mode then proceed with backing up your data then do a factory reset.
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘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.
S4 Lag After Doing a Factory Reset
Problem: I recently did a factory reset on my phone due to some issues I was having with my email. The first reset made the phone incredibly slow and I was unable to use it for anything. I did another factory reset, in which it seemed to help solve the problem. I reinstalled all of my data and apps back on the phone and continued on my way. Two days later the phone has been increasingly slow and I can barely do a thing on it. I emptied the cache, disabled the samsung apps that arenât in use, force stopped any apps not in use and nothing seems to be helping. Iâm at a loss as to what to do with it. Iâve never had issues like this prior to do the factory reset. The phone is only a year old!
Solution: Try to start your phone in Safe Mode then check if your phone still works slowly.
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key.
- When ‘Samsung Galaxy S4’ 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.
If the issue disappears in this mode then it may be caused by a third party app you installed. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.
If however your phone still performs slowly in this mode then try taking out the microSD card of your phone. If this card is faulty then it may also contribute to the lag issue.
You should also check for any new software updates available for your device and apply them.
S4 Freezes Randomly
Problem: A few weeks ago I started having problems with my phone freezing up constantly and there being no sound when I would call someone or answer someone’s call. .. but they could always here me… I would constantly be restarting it and phone would work temporarily. .. then stayed having issues worth it just constantly freezing and restating itself all day long…. now I cannot attemp to play my music on my players.. it freezes up automatically. .. now that’s a huge problem because my music on my phone is my life… Also when phone turns back on after shutting down on its own or me removing the battery for a few sec… it turns on then stays on the screen with the providers name and just stays there. .. never fully back on… so my phone us almost never usable.
Solution: Are your music files stored in the microSD card of your phone? If they are then try to take out the card then store one or two music files in the internal storage of your phone. Play these music files then check if your phone still freezes. If it doesnât freeze then the issue may be caused by a faulty microSD card. Jut replace this card with a new one.
If however the issue still persists then I suggest you backup your phone data then do a factory reset.
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
- When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘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.
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