How to troubleshoot Galaxy S8 freezing and random reboot issues, other issues

Today we bring you the troubleshooting steps that you can do if you find yourself with a freezing and/or randomly rebooting #GalaxyS8. As you have probably known by now, freezing and random restart issues is not unique to the S8. All smartphones can have them so the solutions we provide below can also be applied, in general, to other devices.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem 1:  How to troubleshoot Galaxy S8 freezing and random reboot issue

Hi Droidguys, I have a Samsung Galaxy S8, and it keeps freezing and then rebooting after about 5 minutes of use. I’ve been to my carrier but they won’t fix my phone because the warranty is void because there is a small crack in the screen. I hope you guys can think of a solution. Best regards. — Jasper Huizing

Solution: Hi Jasper. The reason for the symptoms you’re experiencing can be varied. Below are the solutions that you can do to try to fix freezing or random reboot in your Galaxy S8.

Solution #1: Restart your S8 daily

Although it’s hardly heard of, restarting your phone everyday can actually be a simply way to minimize bugs from developing. A lot of minor bugs are fixed by simply restarting your device so make sure that you do this in a regular basis.

In case your phone is frozen or has become unresponsive, you can also perform a soft reset. Soft reset is the virtual equivalent of pulling out the battery to address an unresponsive device. If you haven’t tried it before in your S8, here’s how to do it:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Let the phone load for  several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. Use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options to select.
  3. Let the phone restart. It may take over 1 minute to do this.

Solution #2: Clear your S8 memory

By memory, we mean the RAM and not the internal storage device. Android is designed to maximize a device’s RAM but sometimes, this design won’t always work as expected. Try to check if your S8 constantly runs out of RAM and see if you can fix it by clearing the current memory session. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Device maintenance.
  3. Tap Memory.
  4. Tap Clean Now to clear the memory.

Solution #3: Manage storage properly

The more cluttered your device’s internal storage device is, the more likely it’ll slow down. Keep in mind that any device that’s used day in and day out will eventually reach a point that its storage device wear out. This is one of the reasons why your expensive smartphone can’t run forever. The best that you can do is to manage your storage to lessen the impact of wear and tear. These are the practical things that you can do:

  • Install the latest app and Android updates.
  • Remove unnecessary apps from the system.
  • Clear up messaging app inbox by deleting old converstions, MMS (photos, videos). You can also set your messaging app to automatically delete old messages under settings.
  • Change email synchronization to download only for the past three days.
  • Clear the browser cache, cookies, or history.
  • Transfer pictures/media to a computer, and remove them from the phone.
  • Delete call logs.

Solution #4: Install app and Android updates

Updates not only bring cosmetic changes and improvement. Most of the time, app and Android updates also contain patches for known bugs. It’s therefore a no-brainer not to miss them. If you’re one of those users who tend to hold off latest updates for whatever, now is the time to change that.

Solution #5: Wipe the cache partition

At times, a corrupted system cache can make a device freeze or stop responding at all. To ensure that your S8 uses an updated or fresh system cache, you’ll need to clear the cache partition in your storage device. Here’s how to do that:

  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 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 to highlight wipe cache partition.
  5. Press the Power key to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes and press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Solution #6: Perform a master reset

Sometimes, doing basic troubleshooting will not go somewhere. If the problem persists until this point, you want to ensure that you wipe the phone clean to return all software settings back to defaults. With your phone running factory state software, freezing and random reboot issues should be absent. This, of course, depends whether they are due to a software glitch or a bad third party app.

In order to master reset your S8, follow these steps:

  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 Bixby key, then press and hold 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 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.
  11. Let the phone run for a few hours. Make sure not to install any app during this observation period.

There are two possibilities in this situation:

  • The issue will go away and the phone works normally.
  • The issue will continue.

If the problem stays, that’s an indication that you have  a bad hardware.

If the issue goes away, that’s a sign that either a bad third party app is to blame, or that factory reset eliminated the software bug. You’ll know that it’s an app issue if the issue returns after you install apps back.

Solution #7: Check how phone works when SD card is removed

Another good thing to do before doing a factory reset is to remove the SD card. If you did not do it, you can do the same thing after a factory reset. Sometimes, a bad SD card can cause the system to freeze or lag.

Solution #8: Unknown hardware malfunction

If the issue won’t go away at all regardless of the things you’ve done, you can assume bad hardware is to blame. Contact Samsung for repair or replacement.

Problem 2: Galaxy S8 stuck in Samsung logo screen

Hello. Last week my Samsung Galaxy S8 went black and would not come back on. So I held down the power and volume down button until the maintenance mode came up. I tried to restart it, start it in safe mode, and do a factory reset. Each time the phone would freeze on the screen that says “Samsung Galaxy S8.” I took it to the verizon shop and they said there was nothing they could do. They said it wasn’t a battery issue since the phone would try to restart. They think it was a virus or something.

Anyway I had to get a new phone and I didn’t have my photos backed up to my Google account so they are all on the old phone. I still have the phone. I’ve contacted Samsung to see if they could resolve the issue but it’s been a run around game with them. Anyway thanks in advance! I hope you can help me. — Jessica

Solution: Hi Jessica. If your phone restarts and gets stuck in Samsung logo screen, Samsung is right to say that it’s not a battery issue. There must be something with the software, most likely the bootloader, that freezes the phone in this screen and prevents a normal boot up. We’ve seen this problem occur after a user tampered with the software so  if you did try to root or flashed the firmware, you should consider undoing your previous actions. We suggest that you reflash the bootloader and /or firmware. Bringing back the firmware back to stock via Odin may be your only chance here.

If you never rooted or flashed the software in your device, you may still benefit from flashing the bootloader and firmware back to stock. Consider doing more research how this is done in your phone.


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