Apps are a vital part of smartphones and make them incredibly capable devices. However, mobile apps are susceptible to bugs and glitches like any piece of software. Buggy apps that keep crashing or freezing can quickly ruin your Android smartphone experience. If you face app issues, here’s how to stop apps from crashing or freezing.
Read more: How to maximize your phone’s battery life
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To stop your Android apps from crashing, clear the app cache. Go to Settings > Storage > Other apps > (app name) and tap on Clear cache. There are plenty of other troubleshooting steps you can try as well, like force-stopping the app, checking for app and phone software updates, and checking your internet connection and phone’s storage. You might have to clear the app storage, or factory reset the phone if nothing else works.
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Why do my Android apps keep crashing?
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
There are a few reasons your Android apps might keep crashing, freezing, or not opening. Your device could be running out of storage space, or you might have lost your Wi-Fi or data connection. Apps will usually warn you if these are why an app isn’t loading, but it might simply stop working or keep crashing instead.
If you notice your apps and games crashing after extended use, it could be because the phone is overheating. Android phones tend to compensate for overheating by throttling performance, which might cause the app you’re using to freeze or crash.
You might also see apps crashing or freezing after a recent software update, either for the phone or the app. Frequent phone and app updates are great for running your phone smoothly, but only when they work. Software updates are sometimes littered with bugs that might make apps crash or freeze.
How to stop apps from crashing
There are plenty of troubleshooting steps if you see apps crashing or freezing on your Android phone.
Check your internet connection
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
Most apps require an active internet connection. You will generally see an “app not loading” or “check your data connection” warning when you open an app without connectivity. The app might crash or freeze in some cases, though. Check the phone’s Wi-Fi and mobile data settings to ensure you’re connected. If you’re running into other connectivity problems, check out our guides on potential fixes for Wi-Fi not working and mobile data not working.
Check your phone storage
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
After making sure you have an internet connection, ensure that your phone has enough space to run the app. Apps will cache data to make them easier and faster to run and load in the future, and some game files can be pretty big. Go to Settings > Storage to see the phone’s available storage. You can also see a breakdown of what files are using storage. You can delete unnecessary files and apps to free up some space. This should stop apps that keep crashing from doing so.
Restart the phone
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
Did you try turning it off and on again? Turn off your phone, let it cool down, turn it on again, and see if the app issues persist. That’s all it sometimes takes, especially if your app is crashing because the phone is overheating.
Force stop the app
You can try force-stopping an app if it freezes or crashes. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > (app name) and tap on Force stop. Restart the phone and relaunch the app to see if the force stop helped.
Clear the app cache
Clearing the app cache is a go-to troubleshooting step when apps keep crashing or freezing on Android. Cached files are temporary files of important information the app stores to make loading an app faster. This can include login information, favorite playlists, and regular settings. Cached files can get corrupted, though, and might cause the app to keep crashing or freezing.
To clear the app cache, go to Settings > Storage > Other apps > (app name) and tap on Clear cache. You can also find this option by going to Settings > Apps > See all apps > (app name) > Storage.
Uninstall updates on pre-installed apps
If you run into issues, you can roll back an update on pre-installed apps, like Google apps. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > (app name). Tap on the three vertical dots icon at the top right corner and select Uninstall updates. Third-party apps won’t have this overflow menu.
Check for software updates
Ensure that the app and your phone are updated to the latest software version, especially if a previous update caused the apps to keep crashing and freezing. Check for the newest app update using the Google Play Store. For your phone, go to Settings > System > System updates.
Clear storage
We are now getting into the last resort stages of troubleshooting. Clearing the app storage might help stop apps from crashing if nothing else works. But this step essentially resets the app like a new installation. You will lose this data if you haven’t saved game files, linked the app to an account, or backed up information to the cloud.
To clear the app storage, go to Settings > Storage > Other apps > (app name) and tap on Clear storage. You can also find the option by going to Settings > Apps > See all apps > (app name) > Storage.
Uninstall and re-install the app
Uninstalling and re-installing the app does the trick in some cases. Find the app in the Google Play Store and tap on Uninstall. Like the “clear storage” option, you will lose your data if the app isn’t linked to an account or cloud storage.
Factory reset your phone
You should only factory reset your phone if absolutely nothing else works. Factory resetting the phone will erase everything. Make sure you backup your information and save all necessary files so you don’t lose anything vital.
