When a high-end smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S9 starts running slow, you can almost expect it to be a problem with the firmware especially that some users reported that this problem started after updating their devices to Android 9 Pie. It is also possible that such issue is caused by one or some of your apps that may have gone rogue. No matter what the cause is, you can rest assured that this issue can be fixed by doing some troubleshooting procedure.
In this article, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Samsung Galaxy S9 that’s running slow for some reason. We will consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can figure out what the problem really is and hopefully fix it. If you’re one of the owners of this device and are currently being bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another.
Before anything else, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem, then drop in on our Galaxy S9 Help Guides page for we have already solved some of the most common problems with this device. Try to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our workarounds and solutions.
Troubleshooting Galaxy S9 that’s running slow after Android Pie
Firmware-related issues can be fixed easily and you don’t have to take a trip to the store to have a technician take a look at it. You just have to perform the following procedures and see what works for you…
First solution: Force restart to fix phone that’s running slow
Before anything else, it’s best to rule out the possibility that this problem is just due to a minor firmware issue or even a glitch. Things like this happen all the time and while they may leave an impression that your phone has some serious hardware issues, they’re actually pretty easy to fix and this procedure may be all that you need. Here’s how you force reboot your Galaxy S9:
- Press and hold the Volume Down button and don’t release it yet.
- While holding down the volume button, press and hold the Power key as well.
- Keep both keys held down together for 15 seconds or until the Galaxy S9 logo shows on the screen.
Once the phone has finished rebooting, observe carefully to see if it’s still running slow because if it still does, then move on to the next solution.
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Second solution: Restart your phone in safe mode
It is imperative that you observe the performance of your phone while it’s in safe mode. This will tell you immediately if the cause of the problem is an app. Running the phone in safe mode temporarily disables all third-party applications. So, if one or some of them is causing the problem, your Galaxy S9 should work properly while in this mode. Here’s how to restart your phone in safe mode:
- Press and hold the Power key until options show.
- Tap and hold the Power off option until it changes into Safe Mode.
- Tap the Safe mode icon to restart your device.
- Once the reboot is successful, you should see ‘Safe mode’ at the lower-left corner of the screen.
If your Galaxy S9 runs normally or even faster while in safe mode, the next thing you have to do is to find out which of your apps is causing the problem. Here’s how you do that;
- Restart your phone normal to boot into standard mode.
- Remember the apps you installed about the time when the phone starts to reboot by itself.
- Once you already have an app in mind, swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down.
- Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner.
- Scroll to and then tap Apps.
- Find and tap suspected app.
- Tap Storage.
- Touch Clear data and tap OK to confirm.
- Tap the back key once and then touch Uninstall.
- Confirm that you want to remove the app from your phone.
You may have to uninstall more than one app to fix this problem. On the other hand, if your phone is still running slow while in safe mode, then you have to move on to the next solution as this problem could be with the firmware.
Third solution: Reset All Settings
If you have changed some settings in your phone prior to this problem, it is possible that it’s not really a serious problem. I personally encountered having my device run slowly after I changed some settings under Developer Options. So, before you proceed, try this procedure as it may rectify the problem for you…
- Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down.
- Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner.
- Scroll to and tap General management.
- Touch Reset.
- Tap Reset settings.
- Tap the Reset settings button.
- If prompted, enter your PIN, Password or Pattern.
- Finally, tap Reset.
If your Galaxy S9 is still running slow after this, then proceed with your troubleshooting.
ALSO READ: How to fix Instagram that crashes on Samsung Galaxy S9
Fourth solution: Wipe the cache partition to fix phone that’s running slow
Wiping the cache partition will, oftentimes, make your phone run faster. That’s always been case and I think it should work on your device as well. Sometimes, some files in the system cache can be corrupted and when it happens, performance issues may occur including this one. So, the next thing you have to do is to delete the old system cache so that Android will delete a new one and here’s how you do that;
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Galaxy S9 logo shows, release all three keys.
- Your Galaxy S9 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step.
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
- Press Power key to select.
- Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
After doing this procedure and your phone is still running slow, then try the next solution.
Fifth solution: Perform the Master Reset
After doing the first four procedures and your Galaxy S9 is still running slow, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone. A reset should be able to fix this problem but you need to create a copy of your important files especially ones that are saved in your phone’s internal storage as they will all be deleted. After that, remove your Google and Samsung accounts so that you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset. Once everything is in order, follow these steps to reset your phone:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Galaxy S9 logo shows, release all three keys.
- Your Galaxy S9 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step.
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix your Samsung Galaxy S9 that’s running slow after an Android Pie update. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!
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