Direct answer: An outside spigot usually freezes because a hose was left on, the faucet did not drain, or the supply line in the wall got cold enough to ice up. Start by checking for a hose still attached, a handle that will not turn, or water dripping inside when you try to use it.
Most likely: Most often, the freeze is right at the hose bib because water was trapped in the body or vacuum breaker after a hose stayed connected.
Treat a frozen spigot like a possible freeze-damage problem, not just a nuisance. If it is only iced at the outlet, you may get it back safely. If the pipe froze deeper in the wall, the real trouble often shows up later as a leak when things thaw. Reality check: a spigot that froze hard overnight can look fine outside and still split inside the wall. Common wrong move: cranking the handle harder because it feels stuck.
Don’t start with: Do not start by forcing the handle, heating it with an open flame, or replacing the whole hose bib before you know whether it is only iced up or already cracked.
The spigot opens normally, but flow is weak or dead, often after a hard freeze.
Start here: Start by removing any hose, nozzle, splitter, or timer and checking whether ice is blocking the outlet or vacuum breaker.
The handle feels locked up or only moves a little.
Start here: Do not force it. Check for visible ice around the stem and assume trapped water may have frozen inside the hose bib body.
The spigot seems to work, but you hear water in the wall, basement, or crawlspace, or you see dampness indoors.
Start here: Shut off the indoor supply to that hose bib right away. That points to freeze damage, not just a temporary ice blockage.
You can see a crack, swelling, or a seam opened up on the outdoor faucet.
Start here: Do not use it again until it is isolated. A split hose bib is a confirmed replacement situation.
This is the most common setup before a freeze. Water stays trapped in the spout, vacuum breaker, or body and turns to ice.
Quick check: Remove the hose and look for ice at the outlet, around the vacuum breaker, or under the top cap.
If the wall cavity or supply line got cold enough, the blockage may be inside the wall instead of right at the spout.
Quick check: Open the spigot slightly after removing the hose. If nothing comes out and the body itself is not obviously iced, suspect a deeper freeze.
A split body, leaking top cap, or indoor dripping after thawing means the freeze likely damaged the faucet or nearby pipe.
Quick check: Look for a hairline crack on the hose bib body and listen inside while someone briefly opens the faucet.
On many outdoor faucets, the small top-mounted vacuum breaker traps water and freezes before the rest of the faucet does.
Quick check: Look for ice or distortion around the vacuum breaker cap and check whether water dribbles from there instead of the spout.
A hose, splitter, timer, or nozzle can trap water in the hose bib and make a simple freeze look worse than it is.
Next move: If you find a hose still attached and no cracks, you may only have ice trapped at the outlet or in the vacuum breaker. If the hose will not come off, the handle is seized, or the body looks cracked, do not force anything.
What to conclude: This first look separates a simple trapped-water freeze from a likely damaged hose bib.
A frozen outlet or vacuum breaker is the safest branch to check first, and it is much more common than a failed faucet body.
Next move: If flow returns gradually with no leaking at the body, top cap, or indoors, the freeze was likely limited to the outlet area. If there is still no flow, or water appears somewhere other than the spout, the ice may be deeper or the hose bib may be damaged.
What to conclude: A little dribble at the spout is better than silence. Silence after the hose is removed points more toward a deeper freeze.
Gentle warming can clear a light freeze, but this is also when a split hose bib or split supply tube often reveals itself.
Next move: If water begins flowing from the spout only, and there is no indoor dripping, you likely thawed a minor freeze without damage. If thawing brings on a leak at the body, stem, vacuum breaker, or inside the wall, the freeze caused damage that needs repair or replacement.
Once the ice is gone, the leak location tells you which repair makes sense. This keeps you from buying the wrong part.
Next move: If the leak source is obvious and limited to one area, you can choose the right repair path with much less guesswork. If you cannot tell where the water is escaping, keep the supply off and plan for a closer inspection from the indoor side.
The last step is protecting the house first, then fixing only the part your checks actually supported.
A good result: A dry test with normal flow confirms you solved the actual freeze problem instead of just masking it.
If not: If any leak remains after the right repair, stop using the faucet and inspect the indoor supply line for freeze damage.
What to conclude: Once a hose bib has split, there is no reliable patch worth trusting through another freeze.
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Yes, but only after you confirm it flows normally and stays dry at the spout, vacuum breaker, handle stem, and indoors. A lot of freeze damage shows up only when pressure comes back.
A frost-free hose bib can still freeze if a hose was left attached, the wall cavity got very cold, or the supply tube inside the wall was exposed to drafts. Frost-free does not mean freeze-proof.
Do not force it. A stuck handle often means ice around the stem or trapped water inside the body. Forcing it can damage the stem or packing and turn a thaw issue into a repair.
No water at the spout after the hose is removed, followed by dripping or running-water sounds indoors as things warm up, is a strong clue. So is a leak that only appears when the faucet is opened.
Not always. If the only problem after thawing is a leaking vacuum breaker or a small stem leak, a smaller repair may be enough. Replace the whole hose bib when the body is cracked, the stem is damaged, or water leaks inside the wall when the faucet is used.