What to do if Galaxy S8 Plus camera is slow and videos are choppy, phone becoming slower

For those having camera issues on their #GalaxyS8Plus, we hope that today’s short troubleshooting guide will help. The first case addressed by this article seems to occur not just on the S8 Plus but also in other Samsung devices so we provide solutions that can be done to a wide range of Samsung phones.

Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy S8 Plus camera is slow and videos are choppy, phone becoming slower

Hello, I have a few issues with my galaxy s8+ and was hoping you’d be able to help. While taking video, format does not make a difference, the image becomes very choppy and lags, then during playback you see the same exact thing. Also I’ve noticed the phone becoming progressively slower whether it’s texting or going online or apps on the phone. I’m to the point that I’m ready to start from scratch and erase everything on it. Please advise.

Solution: We don’t know the full history of your device either so there’s no way for us to pinpoint why it lags, or why its camera performs badly. If you’re positive that there’s hardware damage from accidental drops or water exposure, then the most probable reason must be software in nature. To fix it, consider the following tips:

Wipe the cache partition

This is an important first step when dealing with issues following a system update, or when there’s performance issues. Basically, what you want to do here is to ensure that the phone has good system cache. To do that, you want to wipe the cache partition with these steps:

  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.

Install app updates

Installing app updates is a necessary troubleshooting step in this case. At times, outdated apps may interfere with the operating system or with other apps. To minimize the chance of apps causing problems, always make it a habit of updating all you got. Be design, Google’s Play Store app, your gateway to millions of Android apps, is set to automatically download and install app updates. If you changed this before, make sure that you manually check for updates in a regular basis. For troubleshooting purposes, here are the steps on how to do that:

  1. Open Play Store app.
  2. Tap More settings at the upper left (three-line icon).
  3. At the very top where you see the photo for the selected Google account, tap on the profile photo of the account you want to use.
  4. Once you’ve selected the profile you want, select My apps & games and update your apps.

If you download apps from other sources outside of the Play Store, make sure that those apps are compatible with the operating system on your phone. If you don’t know how to update them, contact their developers.

Keep Android up-to-date

Installing app updates is only one of the important things to consider. Of another utmost importance is installing updates for your Android operating system. For most users, this is taken care of by their carriers via over-the-air (OTA) updates. If you have an unlocked carrier-branded device, which means the phone is not originally intended to be used in the network you’re currently in (like a T-Mobile device being used in AT&T network), you will not be able to update the operating system anymore. That’s one of the trade-offs you’ll get when you use an unlocked phone. If the issues you’re having is due to an operating system bug which can only be fixed by installing an update, you’re most likely stuck with what you have. You can either install an update via flashing and lose its network unlocked ability, or just live with it.

Reset app preferences

Some app performance issues are due to incorrect configurations of default apps. Apps don’t usually work in isolation and many of them work together with default Android apps and services in order to work properly. To ensure that you have all default apps working as they should, you can reset your app preferences. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your S8 Plus and check for the problem.

Reset all settings

Resetting app preferences is usually done together with Reset all settings option under Settings. Be sure to also do this step should nothing work out after resetting app preferences. Follow these steps on how to reset all settings.

  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.

Boot to Safe Mode

To check if there’s a bad third party app causing the error to show, you can boot the phone to safe mode. In this mode, third party apps will be blocked so only apps that came with the operating system can be used. If the phone restarts to safe mode but not in regular mode, you’ll know that one of your apps is to blame.

Here are the steps to restart your S8 to safe mode:

  1. Make sure that that your phone is OFF. Not doing so will prevent your from booting to safe mode successfully.
  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.
  8. If your S8 loads to safe mode and won’t restart on its own, that means you have a bad app issue.

To identify which of your third party 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.

Factory reset

Factory reset is a necessary troubleshooting step in this case to see if the issue is coming from the operating system or not. Make sure to back your files up before you do the steps below.

  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 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Get professional help from Samsung

All the suggestions above should cover all the possible software and app troubles that might affect the camera app as well as the general performance of the phone. Should nothing work after doing all of them, that’s an indication that you probably have a bad hardware situation. To resolve the issues, you have to send the phone in so Samsung can examine the hardware and do the necessary step to fix it.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 keeps restarting by  itself and got stuck on Verizon screen

I have a galaxy S8 and it restarts itself constantly the last week! It restarted again today and became stuck on the verizon screen. I have been all over the net and found great instructions from you all here. I had to wipe the cache but it did not work and sadly I had to factory reset. But, I had to factory reset 3 times (always the number 3 of course) and it is now working. My question is, why the constant restart problem? Is this an issue with the S8 I must accept, as some have told me? Is this a flaw that my manufacturer’s warranty must address?

Solution: Good to hear that you eventually managed to fix the phone after trying three factory resets. Frankly, there’s no way to be sure if there’s factory defect on your phone that escapes Samsung’s quality checks. What you can do now is to use the phone as you normally would and observe it for some time. If the problem returns to its problematic state right after a factory reset, when there are no third party apps installed yet, there’s probably a hardware defect. In this case, you want to contact Samsung so they can repair or replace the unit.

If your phone only restarts on its own after installing apps, one of them must be behind the trouble. Restart your phone to safe mode and follow our suggestions above on how to identify a bad third party app.


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