A Google Pixel 7 that randomly freezes and lags after an update could be due to the system optimizing apps after an update. The symptoms are pretty much obvious though. You’ll notice that your phone responds very slowly, freezes when opening an app, or performing other unusual activities by itself.

Oftentimes, minor post-update issues like this can easily be rectified by installing follow-updates. Otherwise, performing additional tweaks to rule out the underlying cause would be necessary.

Outlined in this post are deemed effective solutions to post-update performance issues on the Pixel 7 that’s depicted by random freezes and lags. Feel free to try these workarounds before opting for repair.

Before you begin troubleshooting…

An effective technique to resolving various types of system issues in mobile devices is to identify the possible causes. Doing so will help you easily rule out individual factors that might have triggered the symptoms.

In the case with your Pixel 7 that’s randomly freezing and lagging from an update, you can start by looking into the following factors:

1. Software bugs

A software bug causes the device to malfunction. This usually occurs when an app or the software itself is updated. It often caused conflict in software while trying to run applications simultaneously. Thus, triggered the phone to freeze or lag after the update.

2. Insufficient storage

One of the requisites to install an update on your device is the available storage. Note that an update, may it be for software or an app update, won’t be successful if the device has an insufficient memory space. There are times that the update is successful, but the phone becomes faulty and eventually shows symptoms such as lagging and freezing.

3. Outdated system software

Outdated system software can also make your Google Pixel 7 randomly freeze and lags after an update, as the updated version of the app/s may no longer be compatible with the running system software.

4. Incompatible applications

Same goes with the latter cause, when you update an app and the phone starts to freeze and lag, there is a greater chance that it is due to apps incompatibility. So if your phone is not physically damaged, free of software bugs, has enough memory space, and an updated system software, then incompatible applications are to blame for the freezing and lagging issue on your Google Pixel 7.

5. Hardware problems

Hardware issues can also be the main trigger for the phone to freeze and lag after an update. Your phone may develop hardware issues when it is exposed to faulty manufacturing, hot weather, use of incompatible cables and charges, and internal damage. And because of this, your phone lags and freezes, with or without having an update.

Recommended Solutions to Random Lags and Freezes

What to do when your phone starts to freeze and lag after installing an update? There are plenty of potential solutions you can try to fix this problem. Now that you already know the possible causes for the issue to become visible, you simply need to perform troubleshooting tweaks to eliminate them. Thus, resolving the lagging and freezing issue on your Google Pixel 7. 

Let us get started!

1. End/Close all running apps in the background.

Running apps in the background not only consumes most of your phone resources, but it also slows down the system causing the phone to freeze and lag. The more apps running in the background, the bigger the chances for the phone’s condition to become drastic. 

To negate this, close background apps as it frees phone resources and improves the performance level of your device. Thus, eliminating the freezing and lagging issue. 

To close apps running in the background, do these:

1. From the top of the screen, swipe down twice to open Quick Settings.

2. Tap the number next to Settings and Power at the bottom right to see the active apps working in the background.

3. Tap Stop on each active app to close them individually.

Closing the running background apps may also fix any conflict between the phone’s operating system and other apps that causes the phone to freeze and lag.

2. Restart the phone (soft reset).

Giving your phone’s operating system and all its processes a fresh start can effectively fix freezes and lags on your Google Pixel 7. And this can be done by restarting the phone. 

Although the phone might have already instigated an automatic system reboot during the update, a second round may be necessary to clear out any residual system errors from the recently implemented software changes.

Here’s what to do to restart your Google Pixel 7:

1. Press and hold the Power and the Volume Up buttons until the options appear.

2. Tap Restart, and wait until the phone has successfully restarted.

Restarting your phone terminates all active processes, and dumps temporary data to make the system restart from scratch. This tweak also fixes some random software glitches that could have caused the phone to freeze and lag. It also frees up the phone resources that running background apps consume. Any conflict between an app and the operating system that might have also triggered the phone to freeze and lag  can likewise be resolved after restarting the phone.

3. Check/Manage Storage

Insufficient storage space can slow down your phone performance and trigger various issues such as freezing and lagging. Being said, checking for available storage can potentially fix the problem. Once you find out that your phone is running out of memory space, you need to free it up to make your apps and operating system run smoothly and efficiently. 

To check and manage the Pixel 7 storage, follow these steps:

1. From the main screen, swipe up to show all apps.

2. Go to Settings.

3. Select Storage and view the used space.

4. If the phone is running out of space, tap Free up space. Doing so will remove unused items such as apps, videos, photos, music, and messages.

A phone with insufficient memory space struggles to allocate needed resources, and triggers the phone to act up.  Should this be the case, you need to clear cache, delete unwanted files, and uninstall unnecessary apps. Any transpiring performance issues such as lags and freezes that are tied to a low memory will then be resolved.

4. Update System Software (if applicable)

Lags and freezes on Google Pixel 7 can be fixed by updating your phone’s firmware. This kind of update typically includes bug fixes and patch security gaps, and helps improve your phone’s overall performance. 

Here’s how to update Google Pixel 7 system software:

1. From the Home screen, swipe up and go to Settings.

2. Select System.

3. Tap System update.

4. Then tap Check for update from the System update history prompt.

5. Follow the onscreen prompt to download and install the available update.

Installing any pending app updates may likewise be helpful especially if other outdated apps in the system are the main culprits.

To do this, you will need to head over to your Google Play Store account’s settings and then look for any pending app updates that you can download and install on your device.

Again, your device must have sufficient storage to allocate new update files so as not to succumb to other performance-related issues.

5. Check the hardware

Hardware issues can likewise affect the phone’s overall performance and eventually trigger relevant symptoms such as lags and freezes. Having said that, also consider checking your device for any tangible hardware irregularities that may be causing the problem.

For a thorough hardware inspection, you can visit the nearest trusty service center in your place. 

Although the symptoms of lags and freezes started to manifest from an update, it doesn’t always denote that the recent update is at fault. It’s possible that the problem was already present prior to updating and the symptoms coincidentally emerged after updating. This is often the case when your device was previously dropped or exposed to some sort of liquid, which later on yielded to some physical or liquid damage.

Hope this helps!