Why does Android reboot by itself?

Android smartphones play an important role in our daily lives. People's dependence on their smartphones has increased with the advancement of technology. However, many Android users complain that Android reboots on its own. This can be annoying, especially if you are on a call or doing urgent office work. You might be wondering why Android reboots spontaneously? To help you, we have put together this guide that explains the possible reasons why your Android phone reboots itself from time to time. Additionally, we have compiled a list of solutions to fix this random reboot issue.

How to solve the problem with your Android phone randomly rebooting

We are going to discuss all the possible methods to solve the problem of Android randomly restarting. But before that, let's understand the reasons for this problem.

Why does Android reboot on its own?

Malicious third-party apps: You may have unknowingly downloaded some suspicious third-party apps on your phone. These apps may not be compatible and may cause your phone to restart.
Hardware Failure : Another reason why an Android phone reboots is due to some malfunction or damage in the hardware of the device, such as the device's screen, motherboard, or electronic circuitry.
Overheating: Most Android phones will automatically shut down if they overheat during use. This is a security feature for protection. So, if your phone is automatically rebooting, it could be due to overuse and/or overheating. Overheating can also occur due to the phone overcharging. Hence, you should use and maintain your smartphone wisely to avoid such problems altogether.
Battery Issues: If your phone has a removable battery, there is a chance that it may be loose and leave a gap between the battery and the contacts. Additionally, there is a chance that your phone's battery has expired and may need to be replaced. This can also cause the phone to automatically restart.

Read Fixed: Contacts are not saved on iPhone

Note. Since smartphones have different settings and they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, make sure the settings are correct before changing them.

Possible reasons

There are several main reasons why your phone reboots:

mechanical damage (due to impact or fall);
software failure;
battery failure;
malfunction of elements on the printed circuit board;
exposure to moisture on the device (entry under the device body).

Quite often, the reason for a sudden phone reboot is a failed signal power amplifier or battery. Energy consumption increases, which ultimately leads to an emergency reboot. Replacing these elements takes place in a matter of minutes and does not greatly impact the owner’s wallet.

The next leader in the number of calls from mobile device users to service centers is software failure. Applications previously installed on the phone may conflict with each other, or the owner of the gadget made a mistake in choosing firmware that did not fit the given phone model.

Normal moisture ingress can cause the device to reboot, along with mechanical damage resulting from the device falling from a height, which often damages the main or printed circuit board.

Method 1: Update Android OS

To keep your phone running smoothly, it is important to update your Android operating system regularly. Don't forget to check back from time to time and download the latest updates. Updating it will help improve the overall functioning of the phone and protect against security threats, if any. So if your phone keeps rebooting on its own and crashing, a simple OS update may help you fix the problem:

Open the application Settings on your Android phone and go to About the phoneas shown below.
Press System update.
Press Check for updates.
The phone will automatically download available updates.

If there are no such updates, you will see the following message: Your device has the latest update .

Battery or power system failure

Netizens claim that a common reason for frequent phone reboots is a faulty battery. A smartphone with a solid body and a non-removable battery will have to be taken to the service center.

If self-diagnosis of the battery (rechargeable battery) is possible, you should disassemble the device by removing the back cover. Then inspect the battery. It should be smooth, without swelling or depressions. The surface is free of smudges, rust, and stains. These are all signs of a problem. If they are detected visually, you need to replace the battery with a new one and check the operation of the smartphone.

In addition to problems with the battery, the cause of the bug may lie in oxidation or loose power contacts. To calculate the breakdown, you need to perform the following steps.

Clean the contacts with a cotton swab from dust and dirt.
Remove oxidation with alcohol or nail polish remover.
Apply an electric screwdriver to the contacts one by one, thus checking whether power is supplied to them: the indicator light will light if everything is in order.
Having discovered an outgoing contact, it must be carefully soldered. Soldering should be carried out very carefully, without overheating the cell, otherwise the contacts may short out. If you doubt your abilities, seek help from an experienced professional.

Did the measures taken not eliminate the problem of phone reboots? Continue to investigate possible causes of the problem.

By the way: Top 10 budget phones with a good camera in 2021: rating of the best models that can be bought inexpensively

Method 2: Close background apps

If you are wondering how to solve the problem of your phone rebooting on its own, then you need to close all applications running in the background. It's possible that one of these apps is causing your phone to restart. Obviously, stopping such broken applications should help. Here's how to force stop apps on your Android phone:

Open Settings and tap Apps .
Then click Manage Applications .
Now find and tap the app you want to stop.
Click Force stopto force stop the selected application. We have explained this by taking Instagram as an example below.
Click OK to confirm this in the pop-up window that appears.
Repeat steps 3-5 for all applications you want to stop.

If Android keeps rebooting on its own, then it is time to discuss methods to clear app cache and the process of uninstalling third-party apps.

Motherboard defects and manufacturing defects

This category is the most unstable due to the fact that there are many reasons for the breakdown of contacts, cables and other elements; only a complete analysis and testing of each component individually will help here. Often the defect is caused by a fall, “curiosity” (opening a smartphone to see how everything works and subsequent careless assembly), moisture, dust and more.

Less common is a manufacturing defect, which affects no more than 1-2 gadgets per 100,000 devices. The manufacturer often indicates this himself. Also look at thematic forums, look for a topic with your model and look for characteristic “sores”. If you haven’t dropped, drowned or opened the device, but it reboots, then something is shorting inside. It is better to send such a smartphone under warranty. You will lose time, but you will get a working analogue.

Method 3: Update Third Party Apps

Sometimes third party apps on your phone can cause it to reboot. Moreover, the outdated version of these applications can answer the question: why Android reboots on its own. Therefore, you need to regularly check for updates and install application updates as described below:

Launch Play Store and tap the profile icon in the top right corner of the screen.
Now click Manage apps and device .
Under App Updates, click More details . You will see available updates for your phone.
Alternatively, select Update all to update all installed applications at once.

Read: Recovering deleted photos on Android

Or click Update for a specific application. In the picture below we have shown the Snapchat update as an example.

When connected to a PC

If the gadget reboots after connecting to the computer, make sure that there are no following problems:

The USB cable is connected correctly and the cord is not physically damaged.
The Android phone or Windows PC is not infected with malware.
Compatible drivers are installed on your computer. If for some reason the utilities necessary for the device to operate do not load, download them manually from the manufacturer’s website.

Method 4: Clear App Cache and App Data

If you overload your phone with unnecessary files and data, there are higher chances that it will crash and restart.

To free up storage space, you should:

Get rid of third-party apps you don't use.
Delete unnecessary photos, videos and other files.
Clear cached data on your phone.

Follow the steps below to clear cache and data saved for all apps:

Go to Settings > Applicationslike you did before.
Press Application management.
Find and open any third party application . Tap the Storage/Media storage .
Press Clear dataas shown below.
Additionally, click Clear cache on the same screen as shown below.
Finally, click OK to confirm the said deletion.
Repeat steps 3-6 for all applications to free up as much space as possible.

This should clear up minor bugs in these third-party apps and possibly solve the problem with Android randomly restarting.

CPU overheating

A smartphone is a multitasking device, i.e. we can work with several programs simultaneously. The more programs are running, the more intensively resources are used. Including the heart of the device—its processor—works more actively. The operation of the processor is accompanied by heating, which can damage it. If the throttling system, which we described in detail in this article, works incorrectly or late, the gadget will reboot.

You need to calculate the capabilities of your device and not keep the processor at maximum load. To do this, close unused applications more often, and choose modern games with heavy graphics in accordance with the system requirements.

Method 5: Uninstall faulty/rarely used apps

Often, malicious third-party apps end up on your phone, or apps become corrupted over time. This may cause your Android phone to restart spontaneously. Now the questions arise are how to determine if third-party applications are corrupted and how to determine which third-party application is causing this problem.

The answer is to use your phone in Safe Mode . When you use your phone in safe mode and it works smoothly, the problem is definitely related to third-party apps. You can find out how to boot your phone into Safe Mode by visiting the device manufacturer's website.

Now to solve this problem,

Delete recent app downloads from your Android phone.
Remove unnecessary or rarely used applications.

Open the app drawer on your Android phone.
Touch and hold the app you want to remove and tap Uninstall as shown in the image.

Read How to work with Google Docs offline using Android

Reboots itself after a shock/fall

Everything is clear here: any of the phone’s modules could fail, or one of the cables could have microcracks. To determine exactly the damaged element, you will need diagnostics with disassembly of the device. This can only be done at a service center.

Do not try to disassemble the phone yourself. This way you can only make the situation worse by damaging other modules. Do you need this?

How to check Android for spyware
The Android phone gets very hot when talking, playing games, or using applications.

Method 6: Perform a factory reset

If none of the above methods can solve your Android phone restarting problem, the last resort is a factory reset . When you perform a factory reset, your phone will be reset to its original system state, thereby solving all the problems on your phone.

What to remember

Make sure to back up all your important data, photos, videos and other files as a factory reset will erase all data from your phone.
Make sure you have enough battery power on your phone to perform a factory reset.

Follow the steps below to reset your Android phone.

Mechanical damage

Let's start with the leader of all troubles - falls. This also includes blows, careless use, and the use of a smartphone for other purposes (opening bottles, hammering nails, etc.). These may seem like funny incidents, but they happen everywhere. The phone is designed for calls and work, but not for such events. Yes, there are shock-resistant models produced by companies like CAT, but there are only a few of them.

The methods of “treatment” are banal to the point of disgrace: buy a case, a bumper and a protective glass. The protection is flimsy, but periodically saves. This will protect you from damage to the motherboard, failure of the processor, memory, camera module and vital cables. But it’s still worth going to the service to accurately understand the reason for the reboots.

Option 1: Restore factory settings using phone settings

Select Settings > About phone, as described in method 1.
Scroll down and click Backup and reset.
Here click on Erase all data (Factory reset).
Read also: How to change the screen resolution of an Android device?
Then click Reset your phone, as shown in the figure below.
Finally, enter your PIN/password to confirm and perform a factory reset.

Check if there is a suspicious application installed on your device

While downloading and installing apps is often safe, there are times when an app can cause problems. As a rule, this becomes noticeable after the first launch of a new program. In this case, you have no choice but to “destroy” this program.

However, sometimes (and now we are talking about virus software) programs can be installed without your participation “in addition” to any application or due to “holes” in the security system. Check the list of installed programs and if there is something suspicious there that you did not install, feel free to remove the “culprit”.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Question 1. How to stop Android from rebooting?

To stop your Android phone from rebooting, you first need to determine the cause of the problem. This can happen due to malicious applications or the accumulation of unnecessary third-party applications in the storage. After determining the cause of the problem, you can use the appropriate methods listed in our guide to fix the Android phone rebooting issue.

Question 2: Why does my phone reboot at night?

If your phone restarts at night, it is due to the auto restart feature . In most phones, the automatic restart feature is called scheduled on/off . To disable the auto restart feature,

Go to settings .
Go to Power and Performance .
Select Battery and click On/Off Schedule .
Finally, turn off the option called On and Off Time .

Moisture ingress

Sometimes contact with moisture can cause your phone to reboot in a loop. If you have recently been exposed to rain or had other contact with liquid, it is important to dry your smartphone thoroughly. The most affordable and easiest way to do this is rice cereal.

To do this, disassemble the device: remove the cover, panels, and remove the battery. All elements of the smartphone are placed in a container with dry rice so that the cereal completely covers them. Leave the device in the container for a couple of days. Rice is a strong absorbent that will absorb moisture that gets on the device components.

After a couple of days, they take the smartphone out of the cereal, assemble it and check its functionality. If moisture was the cause of the problem, the problem should go away.

What to do if your phone is stuck on the Samsung screensaver?

Method one, universal

1 Press the “Power” + “Volume Down” keys simultaneously and hold them for 7-10 seconds. ...
2 The device will turn off and on again.
1 Remove the back cover.
2 Remove the battery from the smartphone.
3 Insert the battery back.
4 Close the cover.
5 Turn on your smartphone.
1 Reset your data.

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Samsung Galaxy software glitches

Unlike mechanical damage, software problems can most likely be fixed at home. The main thing is to correctly understand what exactly the essence of the problem is. Software glitches that cause a Samsung phone to reboot on its own usually result from:

conflict of installed software;
incorrect updating of system applications;
exposure to malware.

Let's look at each option in more detail.