What to do if your Samsung Galaxy A40 started running slow

While the Samsung Galaxy A40 is a mid-range device, you can still expect it to run fast and smooth, but it seems like some owners of this phone have started getting performance issues. Some reported that their units started running slow after an update, while others said theirs became laggy or keeps freezing. 

While performance issues aren’t really that serious, they’re pretty annoying as you won’t be able to use your phone to its full potential. Even small applications may trigger the problem. In fact, texting and calling may be virtually impossible if your phone is running slow. 

So, in this post, I will guide you in fixing your device that started to run very slowly for some reason. We will try to consider every possibility and rule them out one after another until we can determine what the real problem is and hopefully be able to fix it. If you’re an owner of this device, continue reading this post as you may find it helpful. 

But before we actually move on to our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, then visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. In case you need more help with your problem, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us. 

Troubleshooting Galaxy A40 that’s running slow

As long as your phone doesn’t have any signs of physical or liquid damage, don’t worry too much if it started running slow as you can always fix it on your own. Most of the time, when this problem happens, it’s just due to some apps or minor firmware problems and here’s what you need to do about it…

First solution: Force restart your phone that’s running slow

If this is the first time that you noticed that your phone is running slow, then don’t do any complicated troubleshooting yet. Perhaps a forced restart may fix this issue as such is the case with similar problems we’ve encountered in the past. A forced restart can refresh your phone’s memory as reload all its services. To do it, press and hold the volume down and power keys at the same time for 10 seconds or until the logo shows on the screen. 

Your phone will reboot like it normally does and once it becomes active, continue using it to know if it’s still running slow because if it still does, then move on to the next procedure. 

ALSO READ: How to fix a Samsung Galaxy A40 with screen flickering issue

Second solution: Run your phone in safe mode to know if it’s running slow in that state

Running your phone in safe mode alone won’t fix the problem but it’s very important to do this as this will give you an idea as to what causes the problem. If the issue is caused by third-party applications, then your phone will run normally while in safe mode. So, try doing these steps first and see what happens: 

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button and don’t release it yet. 
2. While holding down the volume button, press and hold the Power key as well. 
3. Keep both keys held down together for 15 seconds or until the Galaxy A40 logo shows on the screen.

Assuming that your Galaxy A40 is working normally while in this mode, the next thing you have to do is this: 

1. Restart your phone normal to boot into standard mode. 
2. Remember the apps you installed about the time when the phone started running slow.
3. Once you already have an app in mind, swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
4. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
5. Scroll to and then tap Apps. 
6. Find and tap suspected app. 
7. Tap Storage. 
8. Touch Clear data and tap OK to confirm.
9. Tap the back key once and then touch Uninstall. 
10. Confirm that you want to remove the app from your phone. 

However, if the phone is still running slow while in this mode, then move on to the next solution. 

Third solution: Reset all settings to fix phone that’s running slow

It is also possible that the cause of the problem are some incorrect settings. So, in this step, it’s better to just reset all the settings in your phone so that it will be brought back to its factory default settings or out-of-the-box configuration. Don’t worry, none of your files will be deleted if you did this. It’s safe for both your phone and files but very effective in fixing a lot of issues. Here’s how it’s done: 

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
2. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
3. Scroll to and tap General management. 
4. Touch Reset. 
5. Tap Reset settings. 
6. Tap the Reset settings button. 
7. If prompted, enter your PIN, Password or Pattern. 
8. Finally, tap Reset.

Continue your observation of your phone to know if it’s still running slow because if it does, then it’s time to replace the cache that the system is using. 

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy A40 won’t send MMS after an update

Fourth solution: Delete the system cache so it will be replaced

The system cache is a collection of hundreds of small files used by the system so that your phone will run smoothly and normally. When these files get corrupted, performance issues will happen and that could be the reason why your phone is now running slow even just after a few weeks of having it. To address this possibility, here’s what you need to do: 

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys.
3. When the Galaxy A40 logo shows, release the keys.
4. Your Galaxy A40 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them 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 doing this, continue using your phone to know if it’s still running slow and if it still does, then you need to do the ultimate solution to any performance issue.

Fifth solution: Backup your files and perform the Master Reset

After doing the previous procedures and your Samsung Galaxy A40 is still running slow, then you must reset your phone. A master reset will fix any firmware-related problems including performance issues. However, you must take a little time to backup your files and data as they will be deleted during the process and considering your phone is running slow, it might take longer than usual. 

After the backup, make sure to remove your Google and Samsung accounts from your phone so that you won’t be locked out after the reset. Once your phone is set, follow these steps to master reset it: 

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys.
3. When the Galaxy A40 logo shows, release the keys.
4. Your Galaxy A40 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
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’ 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.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide has been helpful. 

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy A40 shows the error ‘Facebook keeps stopping’

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