It can be incredibly frustrating when your Samsung Android phone keeps restarting unexpectedly. A constantly rebooting phone prevents you from making calls, sending texts, accessing apps, and getting anything done on your device. There are several potential causes for random restarts on Galaxy phones and fixes you can try to stop the annoying behavior.
Quick Overview: Common Causes of Samsung Restarting
Before diving into detailed explanations and troubleshooting steps, here is a quick overview of the most common triggers for Samsung phones restarting repeatedly:
- Software crashes or glitches
- Overheating from intensive app use
- Too many background apps running
- Low storage space
- Outdated software needing an update
- Problematic apps that aren’t optimized for your device
- Malware, viruses, or other security issues
- Faulty hardware like a dying battery
Identifying the specific cause on your Samsung allows you to take targeted action to stop the constant restarting. Now let’s explore these common issues and fixes in more detail.
Software Crashes
One of the most common triggers for Android devices randomly restarting is software crashes or glitches. Like all computers, smartphones have software running that can experience errors. When critical system apps or processes fail or freeze up, it can cause your entire Samsung to stall and reboot.
Sudden crashes are especially likely after new app installs, software updates, or changes to your phone’s settings. The new software may conflict with an existing app or setting. An incompatible combination of factors can overload the OS and lead to crashing and restarts.
Fixes for Software Crashes
- After a restart, avoid opening too many apps. Only open essential apps to see if the crashing continues.
- If crashes started after an app install, uninstall that latest app.
- Check for any pending software updates and install them.
- Boot into Safe Mode to see if crashes persist. This disables third-party apps.
- Consider resetting your phone to factory conditions if crashes began after a major change.
- As a last resort, backup data and perform a factory reset to wipe your device.
Overheating Samsung Phone
Another common cause of frequent restarts on Samsung phones is overheating. Excessive heat buildup can occur after prolonged heavy use of resource-intensive apps or multi-tasking many apps.
Games, videos, and graphics-rich apps work a phone’s processor hard. This heats up the CPU and internal components. Sustained overheating can trigger automatic restarts to cool your phone back down.
Cooling Down an Overheated Samsung
- Close any apps not currently in use.
- Turn down screen brightness to reduce power draw.
- Disable Bluetooth and other wireless radios if not needed.
- Disable unnecessary system animations in Developer Options.
- Check if any apps are frozen/unresponsive and force close them.
- Update game and video apps, as older versions may overwork the CPU.
- See if your case or phone cover is trapping heat against the device.
Too Many Background Apps
Having too many apps running in the background is another prime suspect for random restarting on Samsung Galaxy phones. The more background apps that are open, the more memory and CPU resources get consumed.
If your phone starts running low on RAM from too many background apps hogging resources, it can trigger sudden crashes and reboots. This often affects older phones or budget models with less memory.
Reducing Background App Load
- Force close recently used apps you aren’t actively using.
- Turn off Background App Refresh in Settings for apps that don’t need it.
- Disable auto-starting for less important apps under Settings.
- Adjust notifications so less important apps don’t notify as frequently.
- Check for apps using excessive battery in background and force close or uninstall them.
- Consider a memory cleaning app to free up RAM by closing extra background apps.
Low Storage Space
Having your Samsung’s storage space almost completely full can also lead to random restarts. Your phone needs free storage to manage caches, logs, and all the behind-the-scenes work it does.
When your Galaxy’s storage starts getting near capacity, it can have trouble finishing processes properly before they’re automatically killed due to space constraints. This can ultimately end up causing crashes and reboots.
Making Room on a Full Samsung Device
- Uninstall apps you no longer need to free up storage space.
- Offload large files and media to cloud storage or a computer.
- Clear app cache and data for apps taking up a lot of storage.
- Move photos and videos to an SD card if your phone supports external storage.
- Delete temporary files and error logs using device care or cleaning apps.
Outdated Software
Failing to keep your Samsung’s system software updated can also sometimes lead to random restarts. As apps and services change on the backend over time, using outdated Android versions can cause incompatibility issues.
Newer software updates often contain vital bug fixes, performance improvements, and security patches as well. Running very outdated firmware on your Galaxy leaves your phone more vulnerable to restart-triggering glitches.
Updating Software
- Check Settings for pending system software updates and install them.
- Consider wiping your device and flashing an entirely current firmware.
- Perform over-the-air updates promptly whenever notifications appear.
- Restart your phone after major updates to ensure changes take effect.
- Update apps frequently through the Play Store to stay in sync with backend changes.
Problematic Apps
Certain third-party apps end up causing issues on Samsung devices if they aren’t optimized well or have bugs. If you’ve installed a shady third-party app right before restart problems begin, it’s likely the culprit.
Some apps try to dig too deeply into Android and Samsung’s code, causing compatibility issues and glitches. Apps with memory leaks can eventually overwhelm your phone too.
Troubleshooting Problematic Apps
- If issues start after installing an app, uninstall it.
- Only install apps from trusted developers with many downloads.
- Check app reviews to see if others report crashes or incompatibility.
- Stop auto-starting for new apps to test them in isolation.
- Restart your phone in Safe Mode to identify any crashing app.
- Avoid sideloading .APK files from unknown sources.
Malware Infections
Malware infections like viruses, spyware, and trojans can also be responsible for Android phones restarting constantly. Malicious apps and processes run in the background disrupting normal operation.
Severe malware can modify system settings, corrupt OS files, or deliberately crash and overload a Samsung device. Reboot loops are common once malware has thoroughly infected system processes.
Removing Malware from a Samsung Phone
- Run a security scan using a trustworthy anti-virus app.
- Factory reset your device if malware is deeply embedded in the system.
- Avoid sideloading from unverified sources.
- Don’t install apps asking for unnecessary permissions.
- Beware of phishing links asking you to download files.
- Keep your phone’s software fully up to date.
Hardware Faults
Hardware faults like a degrading battery can also be the source of unexpected restarts on some Samsung phones. As components start to fail, they generate errors and instability rather than gracefully slowing down.
Your Samsung has to work harder when hardware isn’t operating at full capacity. This extra strain can overwhelm the phone and lead to freezing and sudden reboots.
Hardware Issues That May Cause Restarting
- Old lithium-ion battery unable to provide enough power
- Damaged charging port providing irregular power
- Dust buildup causing overheating and thermal shutdowns
- Failed memory module corrupting essential OS data
- Shortcircuits and damage from accidental liquid exposure
Replacing broken hardware like the battery is the ultimate fix for these kinds of issues. Some restart triggers like dust or liquid damage can be resolved by professional phone cleaning.
Conclusion
Random and frequent restarting certainly isn’t normal behavior for Galaxy phones. The next time your Samsung reboots over and over, use the troubleshooting tips in this guide to identify and eliminate the cause.
Pay attention to any factors coinciding with the start of restart problems. Carefully testing different solutions can get your phone running smoothly again in no time.
We hope this breakdown of the most common restart triggers has given you some ideas to stop the constant crashing on your Samsung. Let us know if you have any other tips or experiences to share from fixing your own restarting Galaxy phone.
| Cause | Fixes |
|---|---|
| Software crashes | Uninstall problematic apps, update software, factory reset |
| Overheating | Close apps, lower brightness, remove case, update apps |
| Too many background apps | Force close apps, limit auto-starting apps |
| Low storage space | Delete files, offload to cloud/SD card |
| Outdated software | Install system updates promptly |
| Buggy third-party apps | Isolate and uninstall problematic apps |
| Malware infection | Security scan, factory reset, avoid shady downloads |
| Hardware failure | Replace faulty components like battery |