How to fix Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps| apps keep freezing

Android is an amazing Operating System. Used by hundreds of millions of users, Android is considered one of the most stable mobile OS today. However, it’s not perfect and in fact, there are many issues brought about by even the most recent version of this OS. In today’s troubleshooting article, we bring you the solutions if have Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps. Find out what you can when apps on your S10 do not appear to work normally or slowing down.

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How to fix Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps| apps keep freezing

If you recently discover that your Galaxy S10 has unresponsive apps for no apparent reason, you want to troubleshoot the device in order to determine the root cause.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #1: Force quit app

In many cases, causes of unresponsive apps easily go away as they are temporary. They usually form due to inefficient coding. In some cases, these types of bugs develop but are killed when the app is restarted. If you’re having an issue with an app recently and you did not change anything in the system, simply closing the app may help. If you’re lucky and the bug is temporary, this one will most probably help. There’s a number of factors that can cause S10 unresponsive apps. To see if restarting it will help, here’s what you can do:

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the Settings app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Another way to force close an app is this:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap Settings app.
  6. Tap Force Stop.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #2: Restart device

Should the problem return after rebooting the app itself, the next thing that you want to do is perform a soft reset. This should clear the system and possibly get rid of the bug as well. To do that, simply press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons for about 10 seconds. Once the phone has restarted, release the buttons. This is usually effective in clearing bugs that developed when a system is left running for some time. We suggest that you restart your S10 using this method at least once a week to lessen the chances of bugs.

For some Galaxy S10, there may be a slightly different way to arrive at the same method. Here’s how:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #3: Clear cache partition

Android depends on a set of temporary files called system cache to load apps quickly. If this cache gets corrupted or outdated, a device may suddenly lag, freeze, or show signs of slow performance. At other times, uncommon glitches may occur as well as overall performance of the system may also be affected. To ensure that your S10 has good system cache, we suggest that you clear it once every few months. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #4: Install updates

At other times, installing an update may fix problems. This is not generally known by Android users. If you’ve been holding off software and/or app updates at this time, make sure that your next move would be to do the opposite. By default, your S10 should notify you of any available updates but in case you turn this mechanism off, it’s high time that you manually check for them.

To check for Android or system update:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Software update.
  3. Tap Download and install.
  4. Wait for the device to check for updates.
  5. Install the update. If there’s no new update, your phone should tell you so.

For carrier-branded Galaxy S10 devices, or those that were provided by your carrier, there may not be an option to manually check for updates. All you have to do is to simply confirm if there’s a notification for an update and allow update installation.

To check for app updates:

  1. Open Play Store app.
  2. Tap More settings icon (at the upper left).
  3. Tap My apps & games.
  4. Tap Update all button.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #5: Check remaining storage

Some apps may become unresponsive or may appear to lag when used if there’s not enough space in internal storage. This is due to the fact that some apps may need huge spaces to operate. This is particularly true for games. Caches of games can sometimes exceed the normal caches of a regular app. If an app is unable to find the necessary space to continue working, they may crash or freeze. In order to minimize the chances of apps becoming unresponsive due to lack of space, try to maintain at least 1GB free in your internal storage device. If you are critically running low on space, try to move non-system apps and data to your SD card. Stuff like photos, videos, music, or documents can go in the SD card so the internal storage have plenty of space left.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #6: Clear app cache

Clearing the cache of a problem app is another basic troubleshooting step that you can do in this situation. If you happen to be having an issue with a particular app, clearing its cache is a basic troubleshooting. Learn how to do it below.

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap appropriate app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache button.
  8. Restart the phone and check for the problem.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #7: Clear app data

If your Galaxy S10 still have unresponsive apps, you must follow the previous step through with clearing the app’s data. This will reset the app to its defaults. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap appropriate app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear data button.
  8. Restart the phone and check for the problem.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #8: Boot to safe mode

Another possible reason for your problem may be a bad or poorly coded app. To check if one of the installed apps is doing that, try to restart the device to safe mode. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If the touchscreen issue won’t appear on safe mode, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your S10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #9: Reset app preferences

In case there’s a default app that’s been disabled by mistake causing the bug, make sure to reset app preferences.

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your S10 and check for the problem.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #10: Check for overheating

If your Galaxy S10 has become too warm than normal, that can be an indication that it’s overheating. Freezing, lag, or slow performance are some of the signs that go together with overheating. If any of them is true in your Galaxy S10, there may be a deeper reason for that. When overheating, the system may not work normally and apps may crash, freeze, or won’t load at all. Try to check if the phone has become uncomfortably warm. If it does, overheating is probably the reason why the apps appear to be unresponsive. What you want to do is to allow your S10 to cool off for at least 30 minutes. If it overheats after that, then you want to troubleshoot overheating issue first.

Related reading: How to fix overheating on Galaxy S10 | easy steps to troubleshoot your S10 when it gets too hot

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #11: Factory reset

The final troubleshooting step that you can do in this situation is wipe the phone. Returning all software settings to their factory state is usually effective in fixing software bugs. If the reason  why your Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps is software in nature, performing a factory reset will likely help. Learn how to do a factory reset below.

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 via Settings Menu

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
  5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

Galaxy S10 unresponsive apps fix #12: Repair

There’s a big chance that factory reset will fix the problem. However, if nothing changes after wiping the phone, the cause of the problem must be something deeper. In this case, you should contact Samsung in order to have the hardware checked.

 


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