What to do when your Samsung Galaxy J7 keeps freezing [Troubleshooting Guide]

Lagging and freezing are just two of the many performance issues you may encounter after a few months of using your phone. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy J7 actually have impressive specs but they’re not exempted. In fact, we’ve already received a lot of messages from our readers complaining about this device that keeps freezing that’s why we feel obligated to address this kind of problem.

In this post, I will walk you through in trying to fix your Galaxy J7 that started to freeze every now and then. We will look into possibilities and try to rule out each of them until we can finally conclude what the problem is all about and what has to be done to fix it or to even just work around it when necessary. If you own this device and are currently having a similar problem, then continue reading below as we may be able to help you.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that keeps freezing

Problem: I think there was an update that I downloaded a few days ago but I’m not really sure. But my phone started to freeze after that. It’s a Galaxy J7 and I haven’t installed many apps yet since it’s still a few months with me. This is my first Android so I’m still learning and all but I know a phone is freezing when I encounter one. I don’t know if you can help me with it but if you can, please do. Thanks.

Solution: Actually, this kind of problem can easily be fixed by a reset but the reason why we don’t resort to such method immediately is because it’s a hassle to backup all your files and data especially if you have a ton of them. That said, here’s what I suggest you try first…

Step 1: Know if your phone freezes in safe mode

We have to consider the possibility that one of the apps you installed is causing the problem. To confirm this, you need to try to boot your phone in safe mode and observe if the phone still freezes while in that environment. In Safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled so if one of them is causing the problem, then your J7 shouldn’t freeze while in safe mode. This is how you start your J7 up in that environment:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
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’.

If the phone works fine while in this mode, then it’s confirmed that one or some of the apps you installed is causing the problem. You need to find those apps and clear their caches and data, update them or uninstall them if the issue persists.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy J7

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications.
4. Tap Application manager.
5. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear cache.
8. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to update apps on Galaxy J7

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Play Store.
3. Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
   • Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy J7

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications.
4. Tap Application manager.
5. Tap the desired application
6. Tap Uninstall.
7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 2: Wipe cache partition so caches will be replaced

After doing the step above or if the phone is still freezing while in safe mode, then you should try going after the system caches as some of them may  have been corrupted during the update process while others may have become obsolete. So, boot your phone in recovery mode and then wipe the cache partition:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
4. 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).
5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
6. Press the Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ 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.

After this and the problem still occurs, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Step 3: Backup your files and data and reset your phone

At this point, reset is your best bet. Again, this procedure is very effective and it might fix the problem, however, you have to backup your files and data as they will be deleted. After the backup, make sure you disable the anti-theft feature of your phone by logging out of your Google account so you won’t be locked out after the reset.

How to disable anti-theft on Galaxy J7

To turn off the device anti-theft, you will have to sign out of your Google ID on the device and elect to not sign in with a Google ID into any Google services. Once you sign in with a Google ID to any service and setup a PIN, password or fingerprint lock, you are automatically turning on anti-theft. To sign out of your Google ID, follow these steps:

1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Tap Google.
5. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
6. Tap More.
7. Tap Remove account.
8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Galaxy J7

1. 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.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
5. 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).
6. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
7. Press Power button to select.
8. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
9. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
10. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
11. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Or, you can follow these steps to reset from the Settings menu…

1. 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.
2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Backup and reset.
5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
7. Tap Factory data reset.
8. Tap Reset device.
9. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
10. Tap Continue.
11. Tap Delete all.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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