Is your #GalaxyS8Plus restarting by itself? This troubleshooting post covers some forms of random reboot or restart issue. Apparently, this issue is not unique to the S8. Any smartphone can suffer this fate because a combination of complex software and a huge variety of hardware puts together a very sophisticated device. As far as the S8 and S8 Plus are concerned, this type of problem can be caused by a long list of causes. Because every S8 and S8 Plus can be considered unique in their own right, a solution for a particular case may not apply to a similar situation, even though they appear to show the same symptoms. Below are four cases of an S8 and S8 Plus not booting properly and our suggestions to fix them.
Solutions to Galaxy S8 Plus that restarts by itself and having trouble turning back on
Unending restart, also called boot loop, can be a manifestation of a software glitch, or a hardware-related malfunction. On the software side, there are a number of possible factors to consider. These are the following:
- corrupted system cache
- bad third party app
- software setting misconfiguration
- Incompatible rooting software or custom ROM
- unknown operating system bug
Exhaustive software troubleshooting must be done in order to know if the problem is hardware in nature. If no software solution will fix the boot loop issue on your device, that means that bad hardware lurks somewhere in the board. Some of the common reasons why a Samsung device may restart randomly includes:
- bad battery
- damaged power management IC
- damaged charging port
- water damaged components
- hardware overheating
In order to know where the problem lies, you must do a number of relevant troubleshooting steps. These steps depend on the circumstances of each case. Below, we discuss how to deal with specific problems as described by each user.
Problem #1: Galaxy S8 Plus vibrates, restarts endlessly, and won’t turn on
Hello. I have an S8 Plus that keeps restarting. When I hit the power button the Samsung Galaxy S8 comes up on the screen and then that goes away and the phone vibrates twice and just keeps repeating the this. I tired the reboot. It does say rebooting in the top left corner in blue letters but then it just cuts off and vibrates twice and restarts. When the phone is off and I plug in the charger the lighting bolt comes on the screen and then it just starts the restarting process. — Htrowelliv
Solution: Hi Htrowelliv. One of the important details that’s missing in your problem description is the history of your device. Telling us what you did prior to the occurence of the problem is an important aspect in knowing what’s really happening with the device. Since we can’t get that from you at this time, you need to do that yourself. It’s actually rare for a Samsung Galaxy device to just enter boot loop without any reason. In fact, it can never happen at all.
In order to know where to begin your troubleshooting, you have to recall what you did prior to noticing it. Did you drop the phone? Was the device exposed to extreme temperature (hot or cold)? Was it possibly water damaged? Remember, the Galaxy S8 is water resistant and not totally waterproof. If the water seal around the device was compromised (after a drop or heat exposure) before it got wet, water may seep inside and damage parts. Did you install an app before the problem started to appear?
Did you attempt to install anything or tamper with the software (by rooting or flashing)? These are just some of the many questions that you should look into.
Once you’ve isolated the possible reason, you can they try to follow applicable troubleshooting steps.
So, if, for instance, this trouble started following an app installation or update, there’s a chance that you may have a third party app issue. To check, you can either boot the phone to safe mode or perform a factory reset.
Problem #2: Galaxy S8 saying it could not boot properly and needs a computer to repair the software
My S8 just randomly restarted itself (twice in succession) and then said that it could not boot properly and to connect it to a computer to repair the software. I tried restarting it again to see if it would fix itself but it would not turn on and then the display showed the “phone did not boot properly and needs to be hooked to a computer and repaired”. When I hook it to my computer, the computer recognizes something is plugged in and downloads the driver but I cannot use the verizon repair tool. the phone said to use because that application cannot see the phone. — Mike
Solution: Hi Mike. An issue like this often occurs following an update installation, rooting, or flashing. If you did any of these before the problem started to appearing, you should consider undoing the action. While it’s rare, installing carrier-branded firmware update may sometimes fail due to unique disposition of a device. Unfortunately, if your S8 failed to restart normally after trying to install an over-the-air update (which means downloading it from your carrier’s network), the only solution for you is to reflash the software. There’s often high risk involved in flashing, even when trying to do it using stock firmware, so we recommend that you bring your device to your carrier so they can handle the issue properly.
If your S8 restarted randomly after trying to root it, removing the root software should be an easy fix. The same is true if you tried to manually update the firmware via flashing. Simply undo the previous action and you should be good.
Sometimes, flashing can go wrong so you should consult the developer or community that provides the flashing guide you’re using for solutions. If the problem started after flashing your device, then you must already be aware of the risks involved in doing it. Sadly, there’s no universal fix for flashing issues. Most of the time, the problem is caused by a specific step in the process, or by using an incorrect firmware build so the solutions for them may also be very specific. This is one of the reasons why flashing is only recommended for advanced Android users. If you charged head on with flashing without doing due diligence, you’ll have to accept the fact that fixing your problem is your sole responsibility. A good first step to take is to get assistance from those who have used the same flashing guide to see if they encountered the same problem and whether or not there’s a solution. Flashing guides are developed by Android community so any possible solutions for specific issues may also be provided by the same community that built it.
Problem #3: Galaxy S8 Plus keeps crashing after installing Nougat update
Hello. My S8 Plus keeps crashing. It first happened after Nougat update. Then I saw a pattern where I happened when I opened Facebook which I then uninstalled. I did a factory reset and installed all my apps again. Lately it’s happening randomly even when I’m not using the phone. Many times the phone restarts after one ring when I receive a call and now the freezes while trying to restart. At Samsung Service Center they have informed it’s happening because of a defective screen changing which would cost me Rs.15,000/ — Vikas
Solution: Hi Vikas. It’s hard to argue with Samsung Service Center findings, especially that they’ve already checked the phone physically (and probably run some diagnostics). The only thing that we can recommend for you is to factory reset the device. If your S8 remains problematic after resetting the software settings back to their defaults (when there are no third party apps and services installed), that’s a confirmation of Samsung’s findings about bad hardware issue. You should follow their recommendations if you want to have your problem fixed.
Below are the steps on how to factory reset your S8 Plus:
- Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
- 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 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.
Problem #4: Galaxy S8 keeps restarting by itself and keeps showing “Android is updating screen”
My Samsung Galaxy S8 started randomly restarting over and over again. It either gets stuck on the Samsung Galaxy screen or the Samsung screen. If I am really lucky I get to the login screen but no further. Twice now I have seen a message about android updating ## of 237 so I suspect that may be the issue. What I don’t understand is why this started? I am travelling so would not have authorized it. This leaves me without a working phone. Any suggestions on what I can do? I tried to start in safe mode but that only worked once. This constant restarting drains the battery quickly. I also had one time where it really overheated when it froze on the Samsung screen after starting on its own. — Valerie
Solution: Hi Valerie. Running a device on safe mode is only recommended when you suspect that a third party app may be causing a problem. Since your S8 started restarting on its own after it attempted an update, you should try to clear the cache partition first, then do a factory reset if that won’t help. Once you’ve factory reset the device, make sure to set automatic updates to off under Settings > Software update. If you don’t have the option to put off system updates under Settings, that means your firmware build is controlled by your carrier. Most carriers don’t usually allow users to block system updates, even temporarily so you’re out of luck. Ideally, by using another network (if you’re roaming), any carrier-provided system update will not run at all. If you still receive a system update even when you’re not using your carrier’s network, that means the update is from Samsung or Google. Unfortunately, there’s no way block them either so hopefully the update will work this time. If this is the case, make sure to install the updates before you add your apps again. This will minimize the chance of encounter storage- or app-related issues.