Samsung Galaxy J5/J5 Prime – Device Keeps Restarting – What to Do

As useful as smartphones are these days, they come with a longer list of potential problems than older generation mobile phones. The hardware is more complex, the software is more advanced, and the rush to put out a new model in under a year doesn’t always lead to the best results.

The Galaxy J5 and Prime are no exceptions to the dreaded restart issues. Sometimes, restarts come from minor glitches which you can solve on your own. But there could also be hardware damage that’s beyond your repair.

Read on to find out how to diagnose the problem and fix what can be fixed in a few easy steps.

Hardware Issues

1. Damaged SIM Card

A demagnetized SIM card can cause your Galaxy J5 or J5 Prime to restart periodically. It can also lead to bad Wi-Fi connectivity or an inability to place or take calls.

To find out if your SIM card is the problem, slot a different card into your phone and wait a few hours to see what happens.

2. Bad Battery

If your phone keeps restarting, the battery might be dying. Check for structural damage or any signs of the battery bulking up. If that is the case, you need to contact a repair shop right away. But if the battery seems fine, try draining it completely and then fully recharge it with the phone turned off.

Software Issues

1. Dealing with Corrupted Apps

A faulty app can cause your phone to restart periodically or worse – put it in a restart loop. There are a few reasons for this: incompatible data after an OS update, a malfunctioning app, viruses, etc. It’s worth noting that this usually happens with third-party apps.

Here’s how you can delete third-party apps:

1. Tap Apps
2. Tap Play Store
3. Select My Apps & Games
4. Select desired app
5. Tap Uninstall

Try doing this for most recently installed apps if the restart issues are recent.

2. Running the Phone in Safe Mode

Booting your J5 in safe mode may allow you to bypass some of the software glitches causing periodic restarts or restart loops.

1. Turn off your phone
2. Press and hold Volume Down and the Power Key
3. Wait for the Samsung logo to appear
4. Release the Power key
5. Wait for the Safe Mode logo to appear while continuing to hold Volume Down

While in safe mode, most third-party apps are disabled. Try using your phone normally and check if the problem persists. If it doesn’t, then you know that deleting some apps is the way to go.

5. Performing a Factory Reset

A factory reset is a last-resort method but it’s the most efficient way to correct software glitches. Here’s how you can perform it on a Galaxy J5 or J5 Prime without using button combinations:

1. Tap Apps icon
2. Tap Settings
3. Select Backup and Reset
4. Select and tap Factory data reset
5. Tap Reset Device
6. Tap Continue
7. Select Delete all

A Final Word

As you can see, most of the fixes have easy-to-follow steps and are also quite intuitive. But, in the event of a hardware issue, you’ll have to use a service center to restore your phone to optimum operating conditions.