No matter what kind of Android phone you have or how new it is, sometimes the operating system can crash or just stop working out of the blue. Whether your Android is stuck on its lock screen or won't turn off, these issues can be very frustrating. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to fix this problem.
In this article, we are going to go over the various reasons why your Android may have frozen and what you can do to fix it.
What to do when your Android stops responding
When your Android “freezes”, it means that it is unresponsive and tapping on the screen has no results.
There can be many reasons why your Android has stopped working. In most cases, you are dealing with a slow processor or a lack of storage. To be more specific, when less than 10% of your storage is free, your phone will probably start crashing. On the other hand, you might have installed an app that is using too much processing power on your Android and causing it to slow down.
These issues usually occur with older phones because they just slow down after a while. Complex apps and more advanced versions of operating systems may be too heavy for your older Android device.
Restarting your device may also do the trick, but there are other solutions that are also worth trying. For example, freeing up space and clearing the phone cache is always a good option, even when your device isn't lagging behind. If none of these solutions help, your last option may be to restore your Android to its original settings.
Android frozen on lock screen
In many cases, your Android may crash while it's still locked or on its boot screen. It's more disturbing if it's frozen on its lock screen as it prevents you from doing anything about it. The best thing to do at this point is to turn off the device. To restart your phone, all you need to do is:
- Press and hold the power button until it turns off. It may take 10 to 30 seconds.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Press and hold the power button until it turns back on.
If that doesn't work, you'll need to force restart your phone. To do this, press and hold the power and volume down buttons simultaneously. When your phone is turned back on, it should work fine.
The screen is frozen and does not turn off
Force restarting is usually a quick fix, but what if your frozen Android won't turn off? Since it's quite possible that your Android has stopped working due to an unresponsive app, there are several things you can do to fix it:
- Repeatedly press the home button
This will immediately take you to your phone's home screen. Next, delete all of your recently accessed and opened apps by tapping on the small square in the lower left corner of your screen. You can usually erase everything by tapping the "x" in the center of the screen.
If you're wondering which apps are slowing down your phone, these are usually the ones that take up the most memory. To find out which apps you need to force stop, go to the "Storage" tab in your phone's settings and view how much memory each app requires.
- Remove the battery from the phone manually
This may not be possible if you have a newer phone model, so make sure your battery is removable first. Simply remove the cover on the back of your phone, remove the battery, wait a few moments, then reinsert the battery. Although this method is outdated, it sometimes does the trick. It will definitely turn off your phone because it can't work without battery.
Android frozen on boot screen
If your Android is frozen on its boot screen, it might not have enough power. If so, plug it in and wait for it to charge. At least 10 minutes should be enough, but the longer you wait the better.
Another thing you can do at this point is to force restart it. This is how it's done:
- Hold the power and volume down buttons at the same time for about 20 seconds.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Turn it back on by holding down the power button.
Not only will it make your phone work normally, but it will also automatically clear your Android storage memory and cache. If you don't want to force restart your phone, you can also enable "Safe Mode". When you restart your phone, the prompt "Restart in safe mode" appears. Simply select “OK”.
This method works for all androids with 6.0 Marshmallow or later operating systems. When you want to disable “Safe Mode”, restart your phone again.
Android frozen while updating firmware
Updating your phone's system takes at least 30 minutes, and it's important not to touch or remove the USB cable during the update. However, what should you do if it crashes at the beginning or in the middle of the firmware update?
If the update indicator hasn't moved for an hour or more, you have no choice but to stop updating the system. The most effective way to do this is to restart your device. If that doesn't work, you may need to force restart. When you turn it back on, try to update the system again.
Android frozen in recovery mode
Recovery mode is activated by pressing different buttons, depending on the phone model. For example, for Samsung phones, you need to hold and press the power button, home button, and volume up button simultaneously. On the other hand, for Sony phones, you have to press the power button and the volume up button simultaneously.
If your Android is frozen in recovery mode, force restarting it is a quick fix. If that doesn't work, you may need to erase all data on your phone. This means that you will lose all your messages, contacts and any files you may have on your phone.
To do this, simply choose wipe data/factory reset option while your phone is still in recovery mode. This will reset your phone to its original settings.
Restart your Android
Many factors can influence your Android's poor performance, from lack of storage space to a corrupted app. The best way to unfreeze your Android is to force restart it. Once you turn it back on, make sure to delete any unnecessary apps, cache, or anything else that may be preventing your Android from working normally.
Have you ever tried to fix a frozen Android before? How did you solve this problem? Let us know in the comments section below.
