February 6, 2025, 9:42 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Crashes and freezes are often symptoms of faulty software on a smartphone. In most cases, you can rectify these errors relatively easily. TECHBOOK shows you how to do this very easily.
1. Test the Device for Software Errors
If the Android smartphone crashes, an error in the system software may be responsible. There are various ways to find the cause.
Restart the Smartphone
Before you try anything else, you should first restart the device. The miracle cure of restarting eliminates the problem in a large number of cases and should be carried out every few days, even if everything is running smoothly.
To restart, press and hold the power button for approx. 30 seconds until the boot sequence begins. On many newer Android smartphones, you also need to hold down one of the volume buttons and then select the Restart option.
Erase the MicroSD Card
If you have a microSD memory card in your smartphone, you should back up the data on it and then format it.
To do this, go to the settings and select the Storage option. The SD card is displayed here. Open it and then click on the three vertical dots to get to the Memory settings option. Click on Format to delete everything on the card.
Installing software updates
Check whether there is a software update for the smartphone. Updates often contain bug fixes that are intended to eliminate specific known problems.
Navigate to the System entry in the settings and then click on Advanced. The System update option now appears, which may be hidden under About the phone, depending on the device manufacturer.
Free Up Storage Space
To ensure that the smartphone runs smoothly, the phone memory should never be too full. Uninstall apps you no longer use and transfer pictures and videos to your PC or a cloud service to free up storage space. On the other hand, you should never use up RAM yourself. You should also refrain from using apps that want to control the RAM. The Android operating system is best left to manage the RAM all by itself.
To check the memory usage, go to the settings and select the Memory option. If more than 90 percent of the memory is occupied, problems may occur on the smartphone.
2. Test Apps for Errors
In addition to the system software itself, apps are the most common cause of Android smartphones crashing or freezing. There are also several ways to remedy this.
Install App Updates
Go to the Google Play Store and check whether app updates are available. Similar to system updates, app updates are often used to iron out bugs.
Open the Google Play Store and swipe from the left edge of the screen to the right. Click on My apps & games and then on Update or Update all.
Force Stop Apps and Clear Cache
Although apps are rarely closed completely, you can also close them manually. This is advisable if you suspect that an app could be causing problems. You can also clear the app cache. This can help with faulty app updates that have not been installed correctly.
Go to Settings and open the Apps & notifications entry. Click on Show all apps and search for the relevant app. To close the app completely, click Force stop.
To clear the cache, go to the Memory and cache entry. Click Empty cache there. In some cases, it can also help to delete the app’s memory. Before you select this option, however, you should definitely back up all important data from the app, otherwise it will be deleted.
Safe Mode
Android smartphones have a safe mode similar to Windows PCs. This mode deactivates all third-party apps after a restart. If the Android device no longer crashes in safe mode, the problem is most likely an app installed from the Play Store or other sources. Gradually remove the most recently installed apps until the problem no longer occurs.
Press and hold the power button for around three seconds or one of the volume buttons on newer smartphones. Now press the switch off button again for about three seconds. Click OK to restart the device in safe mode.
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3. If All Else Fails
There are cases in which all other solutions no longer help if the Android smartphone keeps crashing. Then, it is often only possible to use more drastic means.
Perform a Factory Reset
Reset the smartphone to the factory settings and test the device completely without any additional apps. When setting it up again, you should also refuse to restore the original settings. This could result in settings being adopted that previously caused problems. If the smartphone works as usual, install apps one by one and always check in between to see if crashes or hang-ups occur again. This will allow you to determine which app is causing the problems and, if necessary, either not install it or contact the developer and hope for a fix. If the problems persist even after the reset, the only solution is to contact the device manufacturer.
Back up all data on the smartphone before resetting; otherwise, it will be lost! Then open the settings and select the Advanced entry, where you will find the Reset option.
Contact the Manufacturer
As a last resort, you should contact the device manufacturer. Android developer Google maintains a list of all support pages of the individual manufacturers. Follow the link and select the manufacturer from the list to access the corresponding support page.