How to Fix a Slow and Sluggish Galaxy A20 or has poor performance

When a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy A20 becomes slow and sluggish, you can always expect it to be a problem with the firmware. Firmware problems, no matter how serious they are, often result in performance issues. The fact is having a sluggish device is actually not that serious, provided that the firmware has not been modified in any way.

Needless to say, you should be able to fix this problem on your own by doing some basic troubleshooting procedures. That’s the purpose of this post. I will share with you the solutions we’ve been using in fixing problems like this. So, if you’re one of the owners of a phone like the Galaxy A20 and are having a similar problem, then read on as this article may be able to help you one way or the other. 

Troubleshooting a Samsung Galaxy A20 that has become slow and sluggish

The course of our troubleshooting will be to rule out one possibility after another, until we can figure out or determine the reason your phone has become slow and sluggish out of the blue. So with that being said, here’s what I suggest you do about this problem: 

First solution: Perform the Forced Restart

Doing the forced restart should be the first thing you have to do here. It’s because this problem might be due to a minor firmware issue or even just a glitch. They can easily be fixed by the forced restart. Besides, the problem is pretty easy to do but very effective. You won’t lose anything, and here’s how it’s done: 

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button and don’t release it yet. 
2. While holding down the volume button, press and hold the Power key as well. 
3. Keep both keys held down together for 15 seconds or until the logo shows on the screen.

After your device has rebooted, try to see if it’s still slow and sluggish because if so, then move on to the next solution. 

ALSO READ: Phone frozen on certain screen. Here’s how to fix it.

Second solution: Run your A20 in safe mode

Restarting your phone in safe mode alone won’t fix the problem but it’s important to do this procedure because it is possible that the problem is caused by some of the applications you installed. Third-party apps always have a tendency to cause issues and affect the performance of your phone. By running your device in safe mode, you’re temporarily disabling all third-party apps. So if the problem does not occur in this mode and if your phone is actually working properly, then it means that there is a third-party app that’s causing the problem. 

How you restart your phone in safe mode

1. Press and hold the Power key until options show. 
2. Tap and hold the Power off option until it changes into Safe Mode. 
3. Tap the Safe mode icon to restart your device.
4. Once the reboot is successful, you should see ‘Safe mode’ at the lower-left corner of the screen. 

Assuming that the phone works properly in this mode, here’s what you should do next…

1. Restart your phone normal to boot into standard mode. 
2. Remember the apps you installed about the time when the phone started to become slow and sluggish.
3. Once you already have an app in mind, swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
4. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
5. Scroll to and then tap Apps. 
6. Find and tap suspected app. 
7. Tap Storage. 
8. Touch Clear data and tap OK to confirm.
9. Tap the back key once and then touch Uninstall. 
10. Confirm that you want to remove the app from your phone. 

On the other hand, if your device still has the same performance issues even in safe mode, then move on to the next solution. 

Third solution: Reset all the settings on your phone

The next thing that you have to do if the first two procedures failed to fix the problem, is to reset all the settings. This will bring your phone to its default settings and configuration without deleting your personal files and data. If this problem is caused by some settings, then this procedure will definitely fix it. 

How to Reset All Settings  

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
2. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
3. Scroll to and tap General management. 
4. Touch Reset. 
5. Tap Reset settings. 
6. Tap the Reset settings button. 
7. If prompted, enter your PIN, Password or Pattern. 
8. Finally, tap Reset.

Once the settings reset is done, try to see if your phone is still slow and sluggish. If it is, then move on to the next solution. 

Fourth solution: Wipe the cache partition of your phone

The cache partition contains all the files that are part of the system cache. These files actually help in making your phone run smoothly but when they get corrupted, that’s when performance issues occur. That could be the reason why your phone has become slow and sluggish. And so to rule this possibility, follow the instructions below. 

How to Wipe the Cache Partition

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys.
3. When the Galaxy A20 logo shows, release the keys.
4. Your A20 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them 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.

Once your phone has finished rebooting, observe your phone closely to know if it is still slow and sluggish. 

Fifth solution: Master reset your phone

If the previous solution failed to fix the problem, then it’s time to reset your phone. A master reset can always fix performance issues no matter the symptoms. However, before you do that, make sure to create a backup of your important files and data as they will all be deleted. After the backup, remove your google account so that you won’t be locked out.

How to Effectively reset your phone

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys.
3. When the A20 logo shows, release the keys.
4. Your Galaxy A20 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

After the reset, set up your phone as a new device and then try to see if it’s still slow and sluggish or if the problem is fixed. 

I hope that this simple troubleshooting guide has been helpful.