You are mid call, mid message, or mid photo, and suddenly the screen goes black. A moment later the logo appears, and the phone starts up again on its own. When a phone keeps restarting like this, it feels random, but it rarely is. A bad app, a full storage, a tired battery, or a stuck button is usually behind it. This phone keeps restarting fix works through the causes in order, from the cheapest check to the last resort, so you do not wipe a healthy phone for a problem a case caused.

Why a Phone Keeps Restarting Again and Again

A phone restarts to protect itself. When an app crashes badly, when the system runs out of room to work, or when the battery cannot deliver enough power, the phone reboots instead of freezing. As a result, the same symptom can come from two very different places. Software causes include a buggy app, a bad update, or storage so full the system cannot breathe. Hardware causes include a stuck power button, a worn battery, or damage from a drop.

Because of that, the first job is to split the problem in half. Safe Mode does exactly that on Android. If the phone stops restarting in Safe Mode, an app you installed is the trigger. On the other hand, if it still restarts in Safe Mode, the cause is system software or hardware. That one test saves a lot of wasted effort, so do it early.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 1: The 60 Second Hardware Pass

Before you change any setting, check the outside of the phone. This phone keeps restarting fix step takes one minute, and it catches the silliest causes first.

1. Take the case off: A tight or warped case can hold the power button down. That looks exactly like a restart loop. Use the phone without the case for a while and watch for restarts.
2. Check the power button: Press the power button a few times. It should click cleanly and spring back. If it feels mushy, sticky, or stuck down, the button itself may be the cause, and a repair shop should look at it.
3. Clean the charging port: Lint in the USB-C or Lightning port can cause odd power behaviour, especially while charging. Power the phone off first, then gently clear lint with a wooden toothpick or a soft brush. Never use a metal pin inside the port.
4. Reseat the SIM card: Power the phone off, pop the SIM tray out with the eject tool, check the card sits flat, then push the tray fully back in. A loose SIM can cause restarts on some phones, and this check costs nothing.
5. Note when it restarts: Does it restart only while charging, only in one app, only when hot, or at the same time every day? Restarts while charging point to the charger, port, or battery. Restarts in one app point to that app. Restarts at a set time point to a scheduled restart setting.

• Stop at once if the battery is swollen: If the back or screen bulges, the phone smells odd, or the battery looks puffed up, stop using it and take it to a repair shop the same day. Do not charge it, do not press on it, and do not try to fix it at home.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 2: Test in Safe Mode on Android

Safe Mode starts the phone with only its built in apps running. Every app you installed is switched off for the test. Therefore, if the phone keeps restarting in normal use but stays stable in Safe Mode, a downloaded app is the trigger.

Android:

1. Open the power menu: Press and hold the power button until the power options appear.
2. Long press Power off: Touch and hold Power off until a Safe Mode prompt appears, then tap Safe Mode or OK. The phone restarts into Safe Mode, and you will see Safe Mode written at the bottom of the screen.
3. Use the phone normally for a while: Browse, message, and make a call if you can. Give it at least 30 minutes, or as long as a restart would normally take to happen.
4. Read the result: If the restarts stop in Safe Mode, move to Fix 3 and remove the suspect app. If the restarts continue in Safe Mode, skip ahead to Fix 4, Fix 5, and Fix 6, because the cause is system level or hardware.
5. Leave Safe Mode: Restart the phone normally, and it comes back in normal mode with all your apps back.

If no Safe Mode prompt appears:

1. Restart and hold Volume Down: Restart the phone, then press and hold Volume Down from the moment the brand logo appears until the home screen loads. On many Samsung, Pixel, and other Android phones this boots into Safe Mode.
2. Check your maker guide if that fails: The exact key combo varies by maker, so search your maker support site for Safe Mode plus your model name.

iPhone:

1. Note that iPhones have no Safe Mode: Apple does not offer a Safe Mode on iPhone. Instead, use the same logic by hand. Remove the most recently installed or updated apps one at a time, as in Fix 3, and watch for restarts after each removal.
2. Check for a recent iOS update instead: If the restarts began right after an iOS update, move to Fix 6 and check for a follow up update, because Apple often ships a quick fix for a buggy release.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 3: Remove or Update the Suspect App

When Safe Mode points at an app, the newest apps are the prime suspects. Battery booster apps, cleaner apps, new launchers, and apps installed from outside the Play Store or App Store cause more restarts than any other single app type. Work through them newest first, and test after each removal.

Android:

1. List apps by install date: Open the Play Store, tap your profile icon, tap Manage apps and device, then tap Manage. Sort by Recently updated or Recently added to see the newest apps first.
2. Remove the newest app first: Uninstall the newest app, then use the phone normally. If the restarts stop, you found it. If they continue, remove the next newest app and test again.
3. Update the apps you keep: In the Play Store, tap your profile icon, tap Manage apps and device, then tap Update all. A buggy app version is often fixed by its next update, so update before you blame the phone.
4. Roll back a preinstalled app: If a built in app update started the trouble, open Settings, tap Apps, tap that app, tap the three dot menu, then tap Uninstall updates. That returns the app to its factory version.

iPhone:

1. Remove the newest app first: Touch and hold the newest app icon, tap Remove App, then tap Delete App. Test the phone before removing the next one.
2. Update the apps you keep: Open the App Store, tap your profile icon, then tap Update All if updates are waiting.
3. Offload instead of deleting, if you want to keep data: Open Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage, tap the app, then tap Offload App. That frees the app itself while keeping its documents and data.

• Do not install a booster or cleaner app to fix this: Those apps often run constantly in the background, and they can cause the very restarts they promise to fix. The phone already manages memory and battery on its own.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 4: Free Up Storage Before the System Chokes

Phones need free room to work. When storage drops very low, system tasks start to fail, and a phone keeps restarting because the system cannot finish what it started. As a guide, keep at least 10 percent of storage free. If your phone has 128 GB, that means roughly 12 GB free.

Android:

1. Check storage: Open Settings, tap Storage, and see how much is free. If it is under 10 percent, freeing space is a real fix, not just good housekeeping.
2. Clear the biggest items first: Delete old videos, downloaded files, and duplicate photos. Check the Downloads folder, because large files often hide there.
3. Clear app caches: Open Settings, tap Apps, tap an app with a large cache such as a browser or social app, tap Storage and cache, then tap Clear cache. Do not tap Clear storage unless you are ready to lose that app login and data.
4. Empty the trash: Open the Files app and the Photos app trash, and empty both. Deleted files still count against storage until the trash is emptied.

iPhone:

1. Check storage: Open Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage, and see how much is free and which apps use the most.
2. Follow the built in recommendations: The iPhone Storage screen suggests real savings, such as offloading unused apps and reviewing large attachments. Take those suggestions first.
3. Clear the browser cache: For Safari, open Settings, tap Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. For other browsers, clear cache inside the browser app settings.
4. Delete old messages with video: Long message threads with videos take up a lot of room. Delete the heaviest threads, or set messages to auto delete after 30 days in Settings, then Messages, then Keep Messages.

If storage was the cause, the restarts should fade within a day of freeing space. If the phone keeps restarting with plenty of free storage, move on to the battery check.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 5: Check the Battery and the Heat

A worn battery cannot always deliver the burst of power a phone needs. When you open the camera, start a game, or take a call, the power demand spikes. A weak battery can fail that spike, and the phone restarts. Heat makes it worse, because a hot phone protects itself by shutting down.

1. Try a different charger and cable: Charge with a known good charger and cable, ideally the maker charger. If restarts happen only on one charger or cable, that charger or cable is the fault, not the phone.
2. Watch the battery percentage: Does the percentage jump around, for example from 40 percent to 10 percent in a minute, or does the phone die at 20 percent? Jumpy percentages point to a worn battery.
3. Check battery health on iPhone: Open Settings, tap Battery, tap Battery Health and Charging, and read Maximum Capacity. A much reduced capacity, such as under 80 percent, means the battery is worn.
4. Check battery health on Android: Open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Battery health if your phone shows it. Many Android phones do not show a percentage, so use your maker support app or a battery app from the Play Store, and judge by jumpy percentages and short life instead.
5. Cool the phone down: Take the case off, move out of direct sun, and stop heavy games while charging. Let the phone cool before you judge whether heat was the cause.
6. Test without fast charging for a day: If restarts happen only while fast charging, charge slowly with a standard charger for a day. If the restarts stop, the battery or the charging setup is struggling under fast charge load.

• Restarts only when hot are a warning, not a quirk: A phone that restarts every time it gets warm may have a failing battery. Back your data up soon, as in Fix 8, and get the battery checked before it gets worse.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 6: Update the Software, Then Check the Schedule

Buggy releases cause restarts, and makers usually follow them with a fix within days. So a phone keeps restarting after an update is often fixed by the next update, not by a reset.

Android:

1. Check for a system update: Open Settings, tap System, tap Software update or System update, then tap Check for updates. Install any update waiting, then test the phone for a day.
2. Check your maker app too: Some makers ship fixes through their own support app as well as the system update screen, so check both if your phone offers one.

iPhone:

1. Check for an iOS update: Open Settings, tap General, tap Software Update, and install any update waiting. Keep the phone charged and on wifi during the update.
2. Update over a computer if wifi fails: Connect the phone to a computer with a USB cable, then update through Finder on a Mac or iTunes on a Windows computer. This also works when the phone restarts too often to finish a wifi update.

Samsung only, check Auto restart:

1. Open Device care: Open Settings, tap Battery and device care, then tap Auto optimization.
2. Check Auto restart: If Auto restart is on, the phone restarts itself on a schedule to stay fresh. Switch it off if your restarts happen at a regular time each day, then watch whether the restarts stop.

Offline alternative, no wifi on the phone: Download the update on a computer and install it over a USB cable, as in the iPhone step above, or take the phone to a maker store or carrier store and ask them to apply the update. You never need to finish a shaky wifi update on the problem phone itself.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 7: When the Phone Never Reaches the Home Screen

A boot loop is different from a random restart. In a boot loop the phone shows the logo, goes black, and shows the logo again, and it never reaches the home screen. That pattern points to damaged system software or hardware, and the gentle fixes above cannot reach it.

1. Try a force restart once: On most Android phones, press and hold Power and Volume Down together for 10 to 20 seconds. On iPhone 8 and later, press Volume Up, press Volume Down, then press and hold the Side button until the logo appears.
2. Try recovery mode only if you have a backup: Recovery mode can wipe the phone, so only enter it when your photos and messages are already backed up. On Android, the key combo varies by maker, so check your maker support site first. On iPhone, connect to a computer and follow the restore prompt in Finder or iTunes.
3. Stop and get help if it loops after a restore: A phone that still loops after a full restore has a hardware fault, usually the battery, the board, or damage from a drop or water. A repair shop, not another reset, is the next step.

Phone Keeps Restarting Fix 8: Factory Reset Last, With a Backup First

A factory reset is the last software fix, not the first. It wipes every app, account, and setting back to new, so it only makes sense after Fixes 1 to 6 have failed, and only with a backup done first. If the phone keeps restarting after a factory reset too, the cause is hardware, and no further reset will help.

1. Back up over USB to a computer: Connect the phone to a computer with a USB cable and copy photos, videos, and files across. On Android, choose File Transfer on the phone when asked. On iPhone, allow the computer, then copy photos through Finder or iTunes.
2. Back up to the cloud as well if you can: On Android, open Settings, tap System, tap Backup, and run a backup. On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap iCloud Backup, then tap Back Up Now.
3. Reset on Android: Open Settings, tap System, tap Reset options, tap Erase all data (factory reset), then confirm. The phone restarts and sets up as new.
4. Reset on iPhone: Open Settings, tap General, tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap Erase All Content and Settings, then confirm. Sign out of iCloud first if the phone will go to a new owner.
5. Test before restoring: Set the phone up as new and use it for a day before restoring your backup. If the restarts stop, the system is healthy, and you can restore. If they continue on a clean phone, the fault is hardware.

• Do not restore a backup straight away: Restoring at once can bring the bad app or bad setting straight back. Test clean first, then restore apps a few at a time.

When a Phone Keeps Restarting and Needs a Repair Shop

Most restarts respond to the fixes above. A few signs mean hardware help is needed, and no setting will save it. Watch for these signs.

• Restarts continue in Safe Mode and after a factory reset: That pattern rules out your apps, which leaves system hardware as the cause.
• The phone never reaches the home screen: A boot loop that survives a restore points to the board, the battery, or storage hardware.
• The battery is swollen, jumpy, or dies early: A battery that bulges, jumps in percentage, or dies at 20 percent needs replacing, not resetting.
• Restarts began after a drop or water: Internal damage from a drop or water often shows up as restarts first, and it needs a hands on check.

Tricks That Do Not Fix a Phone That Keeps Restarting

• Installing a booster or cleaner app: These apps run constantly and can cause the very restarts they claim to fix. Remove them instead.
• Factory resetting before Safe Mode: A reset wipes your data without telling you whether an app or hardware was the cause. Test in Safe Mode first.
• Restarting the phone every few minutes: Constant restarts hide the real cause and wear the battery out. Find the cause with Fixes 1 and 2 instead.
• Downloading a fix tool from outside the app store: Random fix tools often install unwanted software and can carry malware. Get apps from the Play Store or App Store only.

If the phone also charges slowly, the charger and cable may be part of the story. Our phone charging guide walks through that check: Phone Charging So Slowly? The Real Fixes That Actually Work. For a wider view of restart causes, see Why Does My Phone Keep Restarting?.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my phone keep restarting only while charging?
That pattern points to the charger, the cable, the port, or the battery. Try a different charger and cable first, clean the port as in Fix 1, then check battery health as in Fix 5. If it only restarts on one charger, that charger is the fault.

Does Safe Mode delete my apps?
No, Safe Mode only switches downloaded apps off for the test. Your apps, photos, and messages stay untouched, and a normal restart brings everything back.

Will a factory reset fix a phone that keeps restarting?
It fixes software causes, such as a bad app or tangled system settings, but it cannot fix a worn battery or damaged hardware. That is why Safe Mode and the battery check come first, so you do not wipe a phone that needs a new battery instead.

Why does my iPhone keep restarting after an update?
A buggy iOS release can cause restarts, and Apple usually follows it with a quick fix. Check Settings, then General, then Software Update for a follow up release, and update over a computer with a USB cable if the phone restarts too often for a wifi update.

Can low storage really cause restarts?
Yes, it can. When free storage drops very low, system tasks fail and the phone reboots. Keep at least 10 percent free, and empty the trash after deleting files, because deleted files still count until the trash is emptied.

When should I stop fixing it myself?
Stop when the battery is swollen, when the phone loops and never reaches the home screen, or when restarts continue in Safe Mode and after a factory reset. Those signs point to hardware, and a repair shop is the safe next step.

Final Words

This phone keeps restarting fix works because it splits the problem before it treats it. First, run the hardware pass and check the case, button, port, and SIM. Next, test in Safe Mode to learn whether an app is the trigger. Then, remove the suspect app, free up storage, and check the battery and heat. After that, update the software and switch off any scheduled restart. Finally, keep the factory reset as the last step, with a backup done first and a clean test before you restore. Work through those steps in order, test after each change, and most phones stop restarting without a repair bill. If the phone still restarts in Safe Mode and after a reset, that is the hardware telling you it needs help, and a repair shop visit early saves more frustration than another round of resets.