Fix a Pixel that freezes or won't respond

Try the following steps if your phone:

  • Freezes
  • Stops responding 
  • Is stuck with the screen on

After each step, restart your phone to see if it fixed the issue.

Note: Some of these steps work only on Android 8.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Restart your phone

If your phone is frozen with the screen on, hold down the power button for about 30 seconds to restart.

Troubleshoot your phone

Check for Android updates
  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Near the bottom, tap System and then Advanced and then System update.
  3. You'll see your update status. Follow any steps on the screen.
Check storage & clear space
  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Storage.
  3. See how much storage you have available. Your phone can start having issues when less than 10% of storage is free. If you're running low on storage, learn how to free up space.

Troubleshoot apps on your phone

Check for app updates
  1. On your phone, open the Google Play Store app Google Play.
  2. Tap Menu Menu and then My apps & games.
  3. Apps with available updates are labeled "Update."
    • If an update is available, tap Update.
    • If more updates are available, tap Update all.
Close apps you're not using
  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps & notifications And then the app. If needed, tap App info before the app.
  3. Tap Force stop  And then OK.

Tip: To help identify which apps are causing problems, make a list of the apps you force stop.

See if an app is causing the problem

Step 1: Restart in safe mode

Important: Safe mode temporarily turns off all downloaded apps.

  1. Press and hold your phone's power button.
  2. On your screen, touch and hold Power off Power. If needed, tap OK.
  3. You should see "Safe mode" at the bottom of your screen.
  4. Wait to see if the problem goes away. If it does, an app is likely causing your problem. Go to step 2 below. If the problem does not go away, skip to Advanced troubleshooting.

Step 2: Restart your phone normally & check apps

  1. Restart your phone.
  2. One by one, remove recently downloaded apps. Learn how to delete apps.
  3. After each removal, restart your phone normally. See whether removing that app solved the problem.
  4. After you remove the app that caused the problem, you can add back the other apps that you removed. Learn how to reinstall apps.

Advanced troubleshooting

Consider resetting your phone to factory settings
IMPORTANT: A factory data reset will remove all data from your phone. While any data stored in your Google Account will be restored, all apps and their associated data will be uninstalled. Before you perform a factory data reset, we recommend backing up your phone.

Tip: If an app that you downloaded caused the issue and you reinstall that app, the problem could come back.

Post your question to a Google forum

If you're still having issues with your phone, you can post your questions to the Pixel community on our forums for other possible solutions.

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