Fix an Android device that freezes or won't respond

Fix an Android device that freezes or won't respond

Try the following steps if your phone or tablet:

  • Freezes
  • Stops responding 
  • Is stuck with the screen on

After each step, restart your phone to see if it fixed the issue.

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 8.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Restart your phone

If your phone is frozen with the screen on, hold down the power button for about 30 seconds to restart.

Troubleshoot your phone

Check for Android updates

Important: Settings can vary by phone. For more info, contact your device manufacturer.

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Near the bottom, tap System and then System update. If needed, first tap About phone or About tablet.
  3. Your update status will appear. Follow any steps on the screen.
Check storage & clear space

On most phones, you can check how much storage you have available in the Settings app. Settings can vary by phone. For more info, contact your device manufacturer.

Your phone can start having issues when less than 10% of storage is free. If you're running low on storage, learn how to free up space.

Troubleshoot apps on your phone

Check for app updates
  1. Open the Google Play Store app Google Play.
  2. At the top right, tap the profile icon.
  3. Tap Manage apps & devices.
  4. Under "Updates available," choose to update all apps or a specific app.
Close apps you're not using
Important: Settings can vary by phone. For more info, contact your device manufacturer.
  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps and then See all apps.
  3. Tap the app.
  4. Tap Force stop and then OK.

Tip: To help identify which apps are causing problems, make a list of the apps you force stop.

Find out whether an app causes your problem

Restart in safe mode

Important: Safe mode temporarily turns off all downloaded apps.

Restarting in safe mode varies by phone. To learn how to restart a phone in safe mode, visit your manufacturer's support site.

Check if the problem goes away

Check if the problem goes away. If it does, an app is likely causing your problem. Go to the next step. If the problem doesn't go away, skip to Advanced troubleshooting.

Restart your phone normally & check apps

  1. Restart your phone.
  2. One by one, remove recently downloaded apps. Learn how to delete apps.
  3. After each removal, restart your phone normally. See whether removing that app solved the problem.
  4. After you remove the app that caused the problem, you can add back the other apps that you removed. Learn how to reinstall apps.

    • Related Articles

    • Fix a screen that isn't working right on Android

      Material from: https://support.google.com/android/answer/7666942?hl=en&ref_topic=7651525&sjid=1233396173042101355-NA Try the solutions below if your phone screen: Doesn’t respond Flickers Jumps Flashes Shows dead pixels Stays blank Step 1: Check your ...

    • Do Android "Go" Versions support Android Auto?

      Your m2160 launched with the Android 11 Go version. This is done to improve performance since the size of the memory on the device is moderate. Therefore, the "Go" versions are trimmed down to support less operational memory configurations, but this ...

    • Get the most life from your Android device's battery

      Material from: https://support.google.com/android/answer/7664692?hl=en&ref_topic=7651525&sjid=1233396173042101355-NA Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 13 and up. Learn how to check your Android version. You can take several actions ...

    • Can't unlock your Android device

      Can't unlock your Android device If you can't unlock your phone, you'll need to erase it. Then you can set it up again and set a new screen lock. If you can't sign in to your Google Account, learn how to recover your account. Erase your phone ...

    • Factory Reset your Android device

      Material from:https://support.google.com/android/answer/6088915 Advanced troubleshooting Consider resetting your phone to factory settings IMPORTANT: A factory data reset will remove all data from your phone. While any data stored in your Google ...