What to do if your Samsung Galaxy S9 is running very slow [Troubleshooting Guide]

It's typical for mobile devices to slow down in time with regular usage. But it's a bit bizarre for new ones to perform the same at an early stage especially those tagged among the high-tiered smartphones to-date. Nonetheless, it can happen and has already occurred to a lot of powered smartphones including Samsung's Galaxy line-ups. Various factors can trigger a device to perform very slow. Memory problems are usually the underlying cause. But in the case where a new smartphone is running very slow, usually software glitches like rogue apps and bad updates are to blame. Fortunately for software-related performance issues, there are ways to bring a device back to its optimum performance level. To help you deal with a similar issue on your Samsung Galaxy S9 that is already running very slow, I have outlined some recommended workarounds for you to refer to. Feel free to try these solutions before opting for service or repair options.

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our Galaxy S9 troubleshooting page as we've already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We've already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don't work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit.

First workaround: Quit running apps then restart your phone.

While keeping apps running in the background offers an advantage when it comes to multitasking and faster apps reloading, there are times that any of these background apps would cause conflict. When any of the background apps crashes, there is a tendency that other apps go rogue or the device itself to misbehave. A crashing app can interfere with the phone's normal routine and thereby results to adverse symptoms including sluggishness. To make sure this isn't what's slowing your phone down, quit all your background apps then reboot your Samsung S9. Here's how:

Touch and hold the Recent apps key found in the bottom left corner of your phone. Doing so will open a new screen containing all your recently opened apps.
To close an individual app, just swipe it to the right or tap the X on it.
To close all recent apps at once, tap Close All.

After forcing the apps to quit, perform a soft reset or simply restart your Samsung S9.

To do so, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for about 10 to 20 seconds. And then release both buttons when the phone powers on.

Second workaround: Boot into safe mode and diagnose apps.

Booting your Samsung S9 into safe mode can help you determine whether or not a third-party app is causing it to slow down. All third-party apps and services are bypassed or temporarily disabled in this mode so it would be a lot easier for you to isolate the problem. To enable and use safe mode on your Samsung S9, follow these steps:

Turn your phone completely off.
Press and hold the Power button past the model name screen showing on the screen.
Release the Power button when the Samsung logo appears.
Then immediately after releasing the Power button, press and hold the Volume Down button.
Keep holding the Volume Down button until the phone finishes restarting.
When you see the Safe Mode badge in the bottom left corner of the screen, you can release the Volume Down button.

While in safe mode, use your device as you normally do and see how it performs. If it's not slowing down in this mode, it denotes the need for you to uninstall some bad third-party apps from your device. Try to think of which app you've downloaded before your phone started to slow down. That app is most likely the culprit hence must be deleted.

To uninstall an app, follow these steps:

Open the Apps tray by swiping up on an empty spot from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Tap Apps.
Tap to select the suspected app you want to uninstall/remove.
Tap Uninstall.
Then tap OK to confirm.

Restart your phone then see how it performs afterwards.

Third workaround: Check and manage internal memory.

As recommended, it is best to clear storage at least once a week. For Android system to work properly, your device must have over 150MB of internal storage space. That said, check the available internal storage on your device and make sure it has ample of space to allocate more contents and services. Otherwise, free up some space by deleting unwanted contents like old messages, clear cache and data, delete call logs and manage apps.

To view free storage space on your Samsung S9, open the Apps tray then go to Settings-> Device management-> Storage-> and view the Available space.

If necessary, uninstall apps that are no longer used especially the ones using large amounts of ROM.

Fourth workaround: Update software to the latest Android version.

Installing the latest software version available for your phone can also help improve its performance. Software updates are rolled out periodically to keep a device system optimized and as bug-free as possible. To update your Samsung Galaxy S9 automatically over the air (OTA), connect to your Wi-Fi Internet then follow these steps:

Open the Apps tray by swiping up on an empty spot from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Tap Software update.
Select the option to Download updates manually.
Wait for your phone to check for available updates.
If an update is available, tap OK then Start.
Tap OK when prompted with the restart message.

Fifth workaround: Wipe cache partition.

Wiping the cache partition can also help speed up your phone as it clears all temporary files stored in the system cache partition. If ever any of these temporary system files caused your device to slow down, then wiping them should fix the problem. Unlike a hard reset, it does not delete your personal data so there's no need to worry of data loss in this process. Follow these steps to wipe cache partition on your Samsung Galaxy S9:

Turn your phone completely off.
Press and hold the Volume Up button, Home button, and then the Power button for a few seconds.
When the Android logo appears, release all three buttons at once. You will then be prompted with an Installing system update message for about 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options show up.
Press the Volume Down button several times to highlight or select Wipe cache partition from the given options in the Recovery menu.
Press the Power button to confirm selection.
Press the Volume Down button again to highlight Yes.
Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
Wait until the wipe cache partition is complete. And when it's done, the Reboot system now option is highlighted.
Press the Power button to confirm selection and restart your phone.

Last option: Master reset/hard reset.

A master reset or hard reset can be considered as the last resort if nothing else gets your phone back to its normal speed. There might be a more intricate system issue that's causing your device to slow down this early and the only way to restore its speed is a full system reset. Please note though that all your data will be deleted in the process so be sure to back them up beforehand.

To back up your phone data, go to Apps-> Settings-> Cloud and accounts-> Backup and restore. Then select the option to Back up my data or Automatic restore.

After creating a backup, proceed and perform a factory reset with these steps:

Tap Settings.
Tap General management.
Tap Reset.
Select Factory data reset.
Tap Reset to continue.
Then tap Delete All to confirm.
If prompted, enter your credentials or verify your Samsung account and password to proceed and complete the reset.

Don't forget your warranty!

Contact your carrier for other options if the problem persists and your Samsung Galaxy S9 is still running very slow after trying every possible means to enhance its speed. If necessary, then you may avail for warranty, either service or unit replacement.

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