How to fix Galaxy S8 that reboots randomly and factory resets itself

We’ve been getting a lot of reported issues for the #GalaxyS8 for the last several weeks now. To address some of them, here’s another troubleshooting article for you. This post will answer three problems so we hope our solutions below will be of help to your own issue. If you can’t find any similar situation in this one, keep watching for other Galaxy S8 troubleshooting articles in the coming days.

Problem #1: Galaxy S8 Camera app settings won’t open (keeps closing when tapped)

Hi Folks. Using the standard Camera App.  I touch the camera icon and touch the settings tab, the settings dialog opens for just a moment and then minimizes before i can touch or change any settings. This behavior just started this week. I have done the soft restart by holding the PWR/VolDown Button for a few seconds until the phone restarts and i see the Samsung startup pacifier.  Phone software is updated. I have cleared the Camera App Cache and Data. I have done the PWR/VolUp/Bixby button hold reset, cleared cache and rebooted the phone. No luck with any of that. Is a factory hard reset my last option? Thanks for any help.

Solution: Before doing the factory reset option, you can see what happens when you reset all settings instead. Here’s how to do that:

1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
2. Tap General Management > Reset settings.
3. Tap Reset settings.
4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
5. Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

If resetting of all settings won’t help, try to see whether it’s being caused by a third party app or not. To do that, consider restarting the device to safe mode. Here’s how:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Remember, safe mode blocks third party apps from running. If you are able to open camera app settings on safe mode only, then you have a bad third party app issue. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

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 S8 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Should nothing change on safe mode and the issue persists, do the factory reset. Here’s how:

1. Create a backup of your data.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. 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).
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 — delete all user data’ 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.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 Plus won’t open Samsung apps

Hello. I have a Galaxy S8 Plus and for some reason my phone has been having trouble with the preloaded Samsung Apps. Samsung Health, S Watch, Samsung Themes, etc. None of them will open. The screen that comes up is to restart the app, it fails, then asks for force close. I have done a soft reset and the wipe cache reset from the reboot screen (holding both power and volume down button). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Solution: Are you sure your Samsung account in your device is in order? Are you even logged in to your Samsung account? To fix the issue, try to sign out and sign back in to your Samsung account. You can go under Settings > Clouds and accounts > Accounts to do that.

If signing out and back in to your Samsung account won’t help, wipe the phone and restore all its software settings back to defaults (factory reset). Refer to the steps above on how to factory reset your S8 Plus.

Problem #3: How to fix Galaxy S8 that reboots randomly and factory resets itself

The Galaxy S8 shuts down, reboots by itself and asks me to verify by drawing my unlock Pattern. However the phone says it is unverified ( wait, i must stress that I can never be wrong with my Unlock pattern!) and says it will go back to factory settings. the horror! thus i have to restore all over again. good that i can do that with Google and Samsung Registry. it takes a while to restore all the apps i need and the settings I wish. this happened twice in two consecutive days. First was last Friday July 27while I was in the middle of a chat in Messenger then 2nd time was last night Sat while I was browsing on an online store. I will try the battery manual resetting you suggested earlier. when the phone shuts down in the future. I hope it never will. please give me tips on how to avoid these shutdowns. it is scary indeed!

Solution: We don’t have the full history of your device to be able to tell what exactly is happening. It can be due to an operating system bug, a poorly coded third party app, hardware malfunction, or even a malware or virus. Since there’s no direct way to identify the real reason, the only troubleshooting step that you can do is to ensure that the device is not infected with a malware or virus. To do that, there are important things that you must do.

Install reputable apps

Bad apps targeting Android devices are all over. These kind of apps can do a myriad of things. Some may steal user information, others may allow installation of other nefarious apps, a few may hijack a system, or a number may simply be coded to simply cause havoc in a targeted device. Such apps can be installed from the Play Store or outside of it. If you don’t want to compromise your device, you should be the first line of defense against them. Before you install any app, be sure to check whether they come from a good developer or publisher. Remember, there’s no free app at all. Developing an app is expensive and their makers would usually like to get a return of their investment one way or another. If they can’t monetize their products, they may resort to less legit means. Some may steal information and sell them to third parties. Others may force your device to display ads all the time. Any “irregular” actions by apps to take control of the system may result to performance problems, which can sometimes cause problems you’re experiencing right now.

If you suspect that your device may be infected by malware, virus, or bad app, you can wipe the phone and start fresh. Then, once you’ve reset the phone, you want to make sure that you review every app that you add back.

Don’t visit booby-trapped websites

Another way to get malware in your Android device is by visiting websites that hosts malware. The most common way to allow a virus to your device is by clicking on a link in a bad website. Just like how you should treat apps, you want to be very careful with the websites you open in your web browser.

Be careful with emails

Some Android malware are also designed to be propagated via links in email. Be extra vigilant when clicking on links from emails you receive, especially if you don’t recognize the sender.

Install security app

Though not fool proof enough, having a security app like an antivirus is better than nothing at all. Don’t forget though that you still are the best antivirus for your device. There’s no perfect security app so even if you have the best one installed but you’re not careful with what apps you add, malware may still penetrate your device’s defenses.

Malware developers and antivirus makers are in constant cat-and-mouse battle. The moment a new malware has been identified, antivirus makers will do their best to counter it. But then afterwards, new malware will evolve after some time.

You don’t necessarily have to pay for antivirus apps to secure your phone. Just observe the first three suggestions above and you should be fine. You don’t even need to install a security app if you regularly observe them.

Remember, having more than one antivirus app in a system is no good. Apps of these kind tend to regularly scan the system to detect intrusions. If you have more than one antivirus apps, it can potentially cause problems and severely slow down the system. Just pick one and stick with it.

 

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