What to Do If Your Phone Is Acting Weird
Is Your Phone Acting Weird? Here’s How to Troubleshoot It
Smartphones are incredibly powerful, but even the best ones occasionally act up. Whether it’s sluggish performance, pop-up ads, crashing apps, or battery issues, odd behavior on your phone can be frustrating — and sometimes concerning.
At TechPals, we’ve helped thousands of users figure out what’s going on with their devices, and most of the time, the fix is simpler than you’d expect. Here’s a friendly, step-by-step guide to help you understand what’s happening and what to do about it.
Restart Your Phone
This is the first thing we recommend for a reason. Restarting your phone clears out temporary data and forces apps and processes to reset. It's like giving your phone a quick nap — and it often wakes up feeling much better.
How to restart:
iPhone: Hold down the side button and either volume button until the slider appears. Slide to power off. Wait a few seconds, then hold the side button again to turn it back on.
Android: Hold the power button until you see the option to Restart or Power Off. Tap Restart.
If you’ve had the same issue for a while, try restarting your phone once a day for a few days to see if it helps.
Look for Unfamiliar Apps
If a new app appears on your phone and you don’t remember installing it, take it seriously. Malicious apps can sneak in through ads, emails, or unsecured downloads. Some may pretend to be legitimate tools while tracking your behavior or displaying ads.
How to remove suspicious apps:
Press and hold the app icon until options appear
Select “Remove App” or “Uninstall”
Confirm when prompted
If you're not sure whether an app is safe, search the name online or ask us directly at techpals.org — we’re happy to help you check it out.
Check for Software Updates
Running old software can make your phone act strangely. Updates fix bugs, improve performance, and patch security vulnerabilities. If your phone hasn’t updated in a while, now’s the time.
To check for updates:
iPhone: Settings → General → Software Update
Android: Settings → System → Software Update (or Settings → About Phone)
Tip: Make sure your phone is connected to Wi-Fi and has at least 50% battery before updating.
Still confused? Don’t worry. TechPals can walk you through it — just head to techpals.org.
Watch for Battery Drain
If your phone suddenly runs out of power way faster than it used to, something might be running in the background. It could be an app using more power than it should, or a setting like location tracking that’s turned on without your knowledge.
How to check battery usage:
iPhone: Settings → Battery → Scroll down to see which apps are using the most battery
Android: Settings → Battery → Battery Usage
Some culprits include:
Social media apps that refresh constantly
Games with background activity
Fitness or weather apps tracking location
Need help adjusting your settings? TechPals is here for that too. Visit techpals.org anytime.
Are You Seeing Weird Pop-Ups or Ads?
If you’re seeing random pop-ups — especially ones that say your phone is “infected” or you need to click immediately — stop. These are almost always scams designed to trick you into installing something or handing over personal info.
What to do:
Don’t click on the pop-up
Close your browser
Clear your browser history and cache
Bonus tip: On Android, you can also go to Settings → Apps → find your browser → Storage → Clear Data.
If it keeps happening, you might have a rogue app installed. Come to techpals.org and we’ll help clean things up safely.
Has Your Storage Filled Up?
Phones can get sluggish or buggy if they’re running out of space. You may notice apps crash more often or things load slowly.
To check your storage:
iPhone: Settings → General → iPhone Storage
Android: Settings → Storage
Things to delete:
Old photos and videos you’ve backed up elsewhere
Apps you no longer use
Downloaded files (check your Downloads folder!)
If you're overwhelmed by it all, don't worry — TechPals can help you sort it out.
Check App Permissions
Sometimes, apps request more access than they need. That can affect your phone’s performance — and your privacy.
Review permissions:
iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → each category (like Microphone, Location, etc.)
Android: Settings → Privacy → Permission Manager
Look for apps that have access to features they don’t need. For example, does a flashlight app really need access to your contacts?
If anything looks fishy, remove the permission — or uninstall the app.
What If Your Phone Still Seems Off?
If you’ve gone through all of these steps and your phone is still behaving strangely, here are a few more possibilities:
A recent app update might have a bug — try uninstalling and reinstalling it.
You accidentally changed a setting without realizing it — easily done!
Your phone’s battery may be aging — batteries wear down over time and can cause all kinds of issues.
You might have malware — rare, but not impossible.
For any of these, TechPals can help you investigate further. You can chat with us at techpals.org — we’ll walk you through the next steps.
What to Do If You Think You’ve Been Hacked
In rare cases, phone issues are caused by a security breach — for example, if you clicked on a suspicious link or downloaded a malicious file.
Signs of a possible hack:
Apps you didn’t install
Rapid battery drain and overheating
Accounts being logged into from strange locations
Texts or emails sent from your number without your knowledge
What to do immediately:
Change your passwords on a computer you trust
Enable two-factor authentication
Run a security scan if available (many Android phones have this built-in)
Contact TechPals for personalized help
It’s better to be safe than sorry — we’ll never make you feel silly for asking questions.
Final Thoughts
Your phone acting up doesn’t always mean something serious — but it’s worth paying attention to. Most problems are easy to fix once you know what to look for. That’s where TechPals comes in.
Whether it’s figuring out why your phone is slow, cleaning out strange apps, or just helping you update your software, we’re here to help every step of the way. Our team has helped people of all ages feel more confident with their devices, and we’d love to help you too.
If your phone is acting weird, visit techpals.org. We’ll get to the bottom of it together.
Remember:
Trust your instincts — if something doesn’t feel right, it’s worth checking out
Take a few simple steps to rule out common issues before assuming the worst
Don’t wait too long to investigate — small problems can snowball
You’re not alone — TechPals is always here to help
TechPals is your trusted partner for all things tech — no jargon, no judgment. Just honest answers, expert help, and friendly support, whenever you need it. Whether it’s a one-time glitch or a recurring issue, we’re ready to dig in and solve it with you. Because tech should make your life easier — not more confusing.
