Buzz
This article provides a comprehensive guide on troubleshooting and fixing freezing issues on both iPhone and Android devices. While there are numerous reasons why a phone might freeze, simple solutions such as restarting or updating the software often resolve the problem.
Steps
For iPhone
Charge your phone. Your device might be out of battery and unable to power on. Therefore, charge it for a few minutes before attempting the following steps.
- If you see a battery icon with a red section after connecting your phone to a power source, it indicates your phone is out of battery.
- Ensure the charging cable you are using is functioning properly. If the battery icon does not appear within an hour of charging, try using a different cable or power outlet.
Close the frozen app. If an app becomes unresponsive, follow these steps to close it:
- On iPhone X or newer models: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle.
- On iPhone 8 and older models: Double-press the Home button below the screen.
- Swipe left and right to switch between apps.
- Swipe up on the app's preview to close it.
Manually restart your iPhone. Press and hold the power button until the slide to power off slider appears at the top of the screen, then swipe the slider to the right to turn off your phone. Wait a few minutes before pressing the power button again to restart your iPhone.
- If this doesn’t work, proceed to the next method.
Force restart your iPhone. If your iPhone doesn’t respond when you press the power button or touch the screen, you can force restart it. Here’s how:
- iPhone X and newer models: Press the volume up button, then the volume down button. Press and hold both buttons until the screen turns off and on again. Release the buttons when the Apple logo appears.
- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus: Quickly press and release the volume up button, then do the same with the volume down button. Press and hold the power button until the Apple logo appears.
- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: Press and hold the volume down button and the power button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears.
- All other iPhones: Press and hold the Home button and the power button at the same time until the Apple logo appears.
Check for updates. If your iPhone freezes after updating to the latest operating system, an incomplete update might be causing the issue. Check for updates as follows:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
- Tap Install Now if an update is available, and follow the on-screen instructions.
- You can also use iTunes to update if you still can’t use your phone’s screen.
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Use iTunes to restore your iPhone. If you still can’t resolve the freezing issue, it’s time to restore a backup from iTunes. Connect your phone to a computer, open iTunes, navigate to your iPhone’s page, click Restore iPhone, and follow the on-screen instructions.
- If no backup data is available, your iPhone will be restored to factory settings.
- If you’re using macOS Catalina, use Finder instead of iTunes to reinstall your iPhone.
For Android
Close the frozen app. Depending on your phone model, follow these steps to close an unresponsive app:
- Tap the three horizontal lines or the overlapping squares icon. If your phone doesn’t have this option, swipe up from the bottom of the screen or press the button below the screen.
- Swipe left and right to switch between apps.
- Swipe the app upward to close it.
Charge your phone. Your device might be out of battery and unable to power on; therefore, charge it for a few minutes before proceeding.
- If your phone shows no signs of charging after being connected to a power source for several minutes, try using a different charging cable or power outlet.
- For best results, use the charging cable that came with your phone.
Try turning off your phone the usual way. Press and hold the power button until the power menu appears, then select Power off to shut down your phone. Wait a few minutes before pressing the power button again to restart it.
- If this doesn’t work, proceed to the next method.
Restart your phone. If your phone doesn’t respond when you press the power button or touch the screen, you can restart it.
- Most Android devices restart when you hold the power button and volume up button for about 10 seconds.
- If holding the power and volume up buttons doesn’t work, try holding the power button and volume down button instead.
Remove the battery if you can’t restart the phone. If you’re unable to restart the device for any reason, open the back cover of your Android, remove the battery, wait 10 seconds, reinsert the battery, and close the cover.
- This step only applies to Android models with removable batteries.
Uninstall the app causing your Android to freeze. If your phone freezes every time you use a specific app, or if you’ve recently installed an app or a group of apps, this could be the cause. The simplest solution is to uninstall the app. Follow these steps to remove it:
- Open the Google Play Store.
- Enter the name of the app you want to remove in the search bar at the top of the screen.
- Tap Uninstall to delete the app.
Factory reset if your phone isn’t functioning properly. If you can’t restart your phone after it freezes, a factory reset may resolve the issue. Note that this will erase all data on your phone, so ensure you’ve backed up your data before proceeding.
- Turn off your phone.
- Press the combination of recovery buttons until the recovery screen appears. These buttons vary depending on your phone:
- Most Android devices - Power button and volume down button
- Samsung devices - Power button, volume up button, and Home button
- Use the volume down button to navigate to Recovery, then press the power button to select it.
- Choose Wipe data / factory reset and press the power button. Select Yes to confirm. Once the process is complete, your phone will restart, and you can set it up as new.
Tips
- If you can’t resolve the freezing issue, it’s best to back up your phone data as soon as possible. A frozen phone indicates a serious underlying problem, meaning your data could be lost at any time if not backed up.
- Phones often freeze or malfunction when exposed to water or other liquids. If your phone has recently been dropped in or exposed to water, take it to a repair center instead of attempting to restart it yourself.
Warnings
- One common cause of freezing is when the phone no longer supports the operating system, apps, or other data being used. This typically occurs with phones that are at least 4 years old or older.
