How to Fix Frequent App Crashing Issues in Android?

Android, developed by Google in collaboration with its partners, stands out as one of the most dependable operating systems for mobile phones. At its core lies a modified version of the Linux kernel, renowned for its security, flexibility, and robust community support. This strong foundation has helped Android achieve global recognition as the most popular mobile operating system. However, like any other platform, Android occasionally encounters app stability issues, with some apps crashing repeatedly after installation.

Google Play Store: A Hub for Endless Apps

The Google Play Store serves as the official marketplace for Android users, offering the largest collection of apps, second only to Apple’s App Store. With this expansive selection, Android users enjoy access to a wide variety of applications, many of which are free to download. However, the dynamic nature of Android, characterized by frequent system updates, can sometimes cause app crashes due to compatibility issues. In some cases, apps might initially function well but later encounter problems due to bugs or new updates.

Here are some simple and effective solutions to help resolve app crashing issues on Android devices.

1. Restart Your Phone

If you have just installed an app and it crashes right after installing, restarting the phone might fix the problem.

• Press the power button of your mobile phone for few seconds, and a buttons tray will pop up on the screen.
• Touch on the “Restart” button to restart your phone.
• Once the phone restarts and comes back to work, try to run the app again.
• It will most probably solve the crashing issue.

2. Reset App to Factory Version

Regularly updating your apps is a good practice, as updates often bring new features, bug fixes, and essential security improvements. However, not all updates are flawless. Sometimes the latest update may introduce bugs, making it one of the most common reasons for app crashes. A wise approach is to avoid updating critical apps immediately upon release. Instead, wait for some time and check user feedback regarding the update. If the feedback is positive, proceed with the update; otherwise, hold off until any reported issues are resolved.

If an app begins crashing shortly after an update, it’s likely that the update is causing the problem. For system apps, Android provides the option to roll back updates and restore the app to its original state. You can follow the steps below to reset updates for system apps like Chrome.

• Go to “Settings > Apps” section and find the app which is crashing on your phone (for example – Chrome).
• On the “App info” page, tap on the vertical line of three dots.
• Select “Uninstall updates” and you will see a message that this action will replace the app with factory version.
• Choose “OK” to uninstall all updates and reset the app.

Note that resetting will not move the app back to its previous version, it will reinstall the app like when you purchased the phone. If you want to learn disabling automatic updates, then check our article on how to disable automatic updating of apps on Android.

3. Compatibility Issue Between Android and App

Compatibility is another most common issue for an app to crash frequently on Android. It happens due to incompatibility between the Android operating system setup and the app’s source code. Though you can reset system apps, it is not possible to uninstall the updates for third-party apps on Android. There could be two problems with app compatibility.

1. One is the app was developed for latest Android OS, but your phone is running old Android OS.
2. Second is you have installed an obsolete version of the app developed for old Android but installed it on the latest Android phone.

Both issues will cause problems and there are possibilities that the app won’t run properly on your phone. Following steps can help you to fix this issue.

• Update Android and install the latest version of the app designed for that version of the Android.
• If it is not possible to update the Android version, find the previous version of the app compatible and install it on your phone. To do that, you need to find the repository and download APK file of older app version. Now save the file on your phone memory to run the file and install it. You may need to allow the installation of apps from unknown sources when it is prompted.

Remember, this feature may or may not work depending on your phone model. Moreover, there is a risk of installing potentially dangerous app on your phone with this installation method.

4. Force Stop and Restart App

Sometime the app may get stuck and not respond when you tap. Here you can use force stop option to close and reopen the app.

• Go to “Settings > Apps” and locate the app which is not responding.
• This will open the “App info” page and press the “Force stop” button from the list of available options.
• Now restart the phone and start the app to see if it fixes the issue. If not, continue to the next options.

5. Clear App Cache and Storage

Many social and documentation apps keep large amount of data in the cache. This helps to automatically login and quickly access previously accessed chats or documents. However, this can affect the performance of app and phone when the original app size is 50MB while the current cache/data is more than GB in size. The solution is to delete the app data and free up storage space which can help the app to run properly.   

• Go to “Settings > Apps” page and open the app crashing frequently on your phone.
• When the “App info” page opens check the details showing below “Storage & cache” menu. You can find the current size of internal storage the app uses on your phone.
• If the storage size is too big, tap on the “Storage & cache” menu.
• The next settings page will display two options – “Clear storage” and “Clear cache.”
• Tap on both individually to delete stored data by the app.
• Once again, reboot the phone and run the app to check if it works properly.

If clearing app data fixes the problem, it is a short-term solution because once cached data builds up again, you may start facing the same problem. For documentation and chat apps like WhatsApp, you can back up the content before clearing storage. However, for other cases, you may need to find alternative lightweight apps that do not occupy big storage space on your phone.

6. Uninstall and Reinstall App

If the crashing app is not important for your daily use, then the solution is to simply delete and reinstall.  

• Go to “Settings > Apps” section to open the “App Info” page of the app that you want to delete.
• Tap the “Uninstall” button and restart your phone.
• Reinstall the app from Google Play store and check if it correctly works this time.

7. Contact App Developer

If none of the above steps work for your crashing app, you must contact the developer for assistance. Most Android apps will generate a crash report which you can share with the developer and get the fix for the issue. This works when you have a premium app with custom support. If you have problem with free apps, the only option is provide feedback in Google Play store app page and wait for the developer’s response.

Warning – Some actions like resetting, uninstalling, and clearing storage/cache will delete all data associated with that app. Once done, the app will work as if it has just been installed. You also need to set up everything again as you did for the first time. Therefore, make sure to take a backup of everything including the log-in information before doing these actions.