Why smartphone hangs, how you can fix this

The economic situation in the country and the agony that comes with losing one’s valuable information and documents make many Nigerians to guard their smartphones religiously. But as expensive and fragile as most smartphones are, they still freeze and crash when utmost care isn’t taken by their owners. Smartphones are capable of doing so much […]

The economic situation in the country and the agony that comes with losing one’s valuable information and documents make many Nigerians to guard their smartphones religiously.

But as expensive and fragile as most smartphones are, they still freeze and crash when utmost care isn’t taken by their owners.

Smartphones are capable of doing so much that we use them for most of our daily tasks. But just like humans, there’s a limit to what we can do before the breakdown. When a phone hangs, this is the one that has most likely been used past its limit, according to IT experts.  Your device’s ram, storage space and how you use it all influence the smooth processing of tasks, they said.

Also referred to as phone freezing or phone crash, the phone hanging problem is a common one among smartphones.

Smartphone technicians also said crashing, freezing, and restarting are usually signs of a software or app problem in a smartphone. According to them, the most common cause is an unresponsive app which is taking up more memory than expected. Another possible reason, they say, is the age of your phone’s hardware. The older it is, the more likely it will slow down as it copes with more advanced Operating System (OS) and applications (apps). This means that if a smartphone freezes, it may need some clean-up and software updating.

 

These are some of the reasons a phone hangs or freezes: 

Low RAM

A phone with a low Random Access Memory (RAM) capacity is only able to run a number of apps at the same time. Using several apps on a low RAM phone usually causes the phone to hang so often, especially when you’ve been using it for a long time.

Low storage

Smartphones have limited storage capacity and there’s just so much you can have on your device before it gets filled up. Data for videos, games and photos take up a lot of space on our phones and sufficient storage space is required for your smartphone to process tasks uninterrupted. Using up over 80 percent of your device’s storage will most likely result in your mobile phone hanging or freezing.

 Malware apps

Mobile apps that are downloaded from risky sites or sources that are not trustworthy usually contain viruses (malwares) that are harmful to your phone. These viruses interfere with your phone’s background processes and eventually cause your phone to hang up.

 Overheating

Continuous use of your phone while it is heating up causes your phone to hang and sometimes restart. A smartphone’s heat should normally be between 35 and 38 Celsius, anything higher is abnormal and will lead to cell phone hang problems.

Obsolete software

Out-dated software versions can also cause your phone to hang. System software is regularly updated to fix bugs that may hinder your phone from operating optimally.

There are various factors that can cause your phone to hang and with most of them being software related. The tips given below can be used to solve your phone hanging problems whether it’s caused by inadequate memory or malware apps.

 

Tips to fix hanging phone

Clear recent data

Several apps on your phone store pieces of data while you use them and over time it clogs your phone’s ram which causes your phone to hang. To Clear these recent data; Go to SETTINGS >>> APPS >>> SELECT A FREQUENTLY USED APP (e.g. Browser) >>> STORAGE >>> CLEAR DATA. Apply this process to other apps that you use frequently to free up your phone’s memory and reduce hanging.

Uninstall suspicious apps

Applications that are not downloaded from your phone’s default app store commonly contain viruses that affect your device’s performance. Uninstall these apps and restrain from downloading software from unreliable sources to avoid malware that affect the performance of your phone.

Use antivirus

Viruses can be very persistent and sometimes require Antivirus software to get rid of them. Go to your phone’s App store, type ‘antivirus’ in the search bar and download your preferred antivirus app. Launch the app and scan your files to get rid of any virus that may cause your phone to hang.

Avoid heavy games/videos, cut down usage period

Playing games of large sizes takes up a huge space on your phone’s ram while it is running and doing this for long periods of time stretches your phone’s capabilities which results in hanging. Avoid these games on phones with small rams and if you have to, do not play for a long period of time.

Download, install latest software

Your phone’s software and other apps release updated versions regularly and these updates usually contain bug fixes that may solve any abnormality you’re experiencing with your phone or particular apps. It is recommended that you download and install system updates for your phone to fix any phone hanging or freezing problems associated with the previous software version.

Delete irrelevant files

Keeping irrelevant files and apps take up storage space on your phone and your phone needs sufficient storage to run smoothly. Delete heavy videos or games on your phone to free up space and allow your phone to run seamlessly.

Get external memory

If your phone’s storage is not large enough to contain the files you need, you will most likely have to be deleting files regularly to keep your phone from hanging. To keep all your important files and still have your device running smoothly, get a SD card (memory card) that can contain all the files you need.

Reset to factory settings

If all the above tips do not work, it is advised that you reset your phone’s software. Also known as Factory reset, this fix will give your phone’s software a fresh start but ensure you backed up your data so you don’t lose any important information.

Smartphones with more impressive specs are less likely to hang compared to budget devices with lesser specs. Whichever phone you’re using, the tips above should fix your phone hanging problem.

Note: Factory reset or formatting will delete all the existing files on your phone so you must make a backup of files firstly before doing so.

If after applying all these tips your phone is still hanging, then it must be caused by a hardware issue. In cases like this, it is advised that you take your phone to a reliable phone repair provider.