You've been trying to use your Google Pixel 5, but no matter what you do the visual on your screen won't change. When your cell phone screen stops reacting to touch, it can be incredibly frustrating and difficult to know what to do. In this article, I'll show you everything you can do if your Google Pixel 5 is frozen.
Hard Reset Your Pixel 5
The first solution we recommend in response to a lot of minor issues on a Pixel 5 is to perform a hard reset. Also known as a force restart, this can resolve many software glitches that can cause a cell phone to freeze. However, you may want to note that, even if your Pixel 5 unfreezes after a force restart, the issue may recur if it's serious enough. If your Pixel 5 keeps freezing over and over again, keep reading for some more permanent solutions.
To initiate a hard reset on your Pixel 5, press and hold the power button. After a few seconds, a display with three potential actions should appear on your screen. Select Restart, your Pixel 5 should shut down shortly after.
If your phone does respond after a few seconds of holding the power button, press and hold the power and volume down buttons simultaneously. Continue holding both of these buttons until your Pixel 5 restarts. When you're done, you can move on to the next steps to see if you can prevent the source of the freezing from repeating the problem in the future.
Check For An Android Update
When a cell phone's operating system falls behind the most recent update, it can begin to experience malfunctions like a freeze. To see if your Pixel 5 needs an update, open Settings. Tap System, then Advanced followed by System Update.
Select Check For Update, then OK when prompted. If an available update appears on your screen, press Download.
Check Your Pixel's Storage Space
It's possible that your Pixel 5 freezes due to a lack of available storage space. To see if this is the case, open Settings and tap Storage. Your Pixel 5 will display a diagram illustrating how all of your device's storage space is currently being used.
There are a few ways you can save storage on your Pixel 5. One option is to simply delete apps and photos you no longer need, however this can be tedious. Alternatively, you could also activate Smart Storage. This feature automatically erases photos, videos and other data once they've been externally backed up.
Check For Apps Updates
Similarly to your Pixel's operating system, if one of your apps falls out of date, it can begin to interfere with your cell phone's ability to operate smoothly. You can see which apps on your Pixel 5 need updating in the Google Play Store.
Once you've opened the Play Store on your Pixel 5, tap Menu and then Settings. Next, select Auto-Update Apps. When prompted, select whether you'd like to update the apps over WiFi or cellular data.
Identify and Delete Problematic Apps
If you've found that your Pixel 5 freezes when you try to use a specific app, it could be this app that's causing your problem. Try finding another app that accomplished the same task and delete the malfunctioning one. Completing this step could seriously benefit your user experience long term.
Reset Factory Settings
This is the last fix we recommend performing without consulting a technician beforehand. Before resetting Factory Settings on your Pixel 5, you'll want to backup your phone to make sure you don't lose any important data. Luckily, it's a fairly simple process to backup Google Pixel cell phones directly to Google Drive!
It can take a while for the reset process to complete, so you'll want to plug your phone into a charging source. Once it's plugged in and you're ready, open Settings, select Advanced, then Reset Options. Next, select Erase All Data (Factory Reset) and then Reset Phone. Enter your security code or password to confirm this action, then tap Erase Everything.
Once your data's erased, select Restart. Your phone will power off, then back on again. To restore your backed up data to your Pixel 5, select Restore From Backup, then select the backup you performed before beginning the factory reset.
Google Pixel 5: Unfrozen!
If your Google Pixel 5 is frozen, don't panic! You have more power over the situation than you think, and you should be able to get it working again before too long. Just start small and be careful, and your device will be back in action soon!
