An Android app that repeatedly closes, freezes, refuses to open or suddenly stops responding can be caused by several things. The app may be outdated, its temporary data may have become corrupted, the phone may be running low on storage, or the Android system itself may need an update.
Google recommends restarting the phone and checking for both Android and app updates when an installed application crashes or does not work correctly.
Try the following solutions in order.
Restart your Android phone
Start with a simple restart.
Press and hold the power button, then choose Restart when the option appears. On some Android phones, the buttons or menu may be different.
After the phone restarts, open the application again.
Google recommends restarting the device as one of the first troubleshooting steps for an app that crashes or will not open.
If the app works normally after the restart, the problem may have been temporary.
Check whether the problem affects one app or several
This can help narrow down the cause.
If only one application keeps crashing while everything else works normally, the problem is more likely related to that app.
If many applications are crashing, the issue could be related to Android itself, storage, system software or another broader problem.
Make a note of which apps are affected before moving to more advanced troubleshooting.
Update the crashing app
Open the Google Play Store.
Tap your profile picture, choose Manage apps & device, and check for available updates.
Find the affected application and install its latest update.
Google specifically recommends updating an app when it repeatedly crashes or fails to work properly.
After the update finishes, open the application again.
Update Android
An outdated Android version can create compatibility problems with newer applications.
Open your phone’s Settings and look for System > Software update. The exact location can differ between manufacturers.
Install an available system update and restart the phone afterward.
Google lists checking for Android updates among its recommended troubleshooting steps for crashing apps.
Force stop the app
If the application is stuck in the background, force stopping it can give it a clean start.
The menu varies by Android manufacturer, but the option is usually found through:
Settings > Apps > [App name] > Force stop
Confirm the action and then open the application again.
Google recommends force stopping an app when troubleshooting an application that crashes or does not respond.
Clear the app’s cache
Temporary files stored by an application can occasionally contribute to problems.
Go to:
Settings > Apps > [App name] > Storage & cache > Clear cache
The wording can differ depending on the phone.
Clearing the cache removes temporary data rather than removing the entire application. Google notes that clearing cached data can temporarily free storage, although cached data can build up again.
Open the application again after clearing the cache.
Be careful with “Clear storage” or “Clear data”
Many Android phones display both Clear cache and Clear storage or Clear data.
They are not the same.
Clearing the cache removes temporary information. Clearing an app’s storage or data can remove information stored by the app and may effectively reset it.
For an application that stores important information locally, make sure you understand what will be removed before choosing this option.
Google specifically warns that clearing an app’s data can affect information stored by that app.
Check your phone’s available storage
Low storage can contribute to problems with Android devices and applications.
Open Settings > Storage and check how much space remains.
If your phone is nearly full, remove unnecessary downloads, videos, duplicate files and applications you no longer use.
Google says Android devices can start experiencing problems when less than 10% of storage is free.
Do not delete important photographs, documents or other personal files simply to create space. Back them up first if you need to keep them.
Check your internet connection
Some apps depend heavily on an internet connection.
If an application such as a web-based service crashes, fails to load content or repeatedly reports connection problems, test your internet connection.
Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data if available.
If other internet-dependent apps are also failing, the problem may be the connection rather than the application itself.
Google specifically recommends checking for a stable connection when troubleshooting web-based Android applications.
Reinstall the app
If updating, force stopping and clearing the cache do not help, reinstalling the application may fix corrupted installation files.
First, make sure important information stored inside the app is synchronized or backed up if the application supports that feature.
Then uninstall the application and install it again from the Google Play Store.
Google notes that uninstalling an app removes data saved by that app, so make sure you understand what could be lost before doing this.
Avoid downloading the application from an unknown website simply because the official app is having problems.
Check whether other apps are crashing
If several unrelated apps suddenly start crashing, do not assume that every app has a separate problem.
Check:
- Available storage
- Android updates
- Google Play updates
- Recently installed applications
- Device temperature
- Battery or power-management issues
A broader Android problem is more likely when multiple applications are affected.
Try Safe Mode if many apps are crashing
Safe Mode temporarily disables downloaded applications, making it useful for identifying whether a third-party app is causing a wider problem.
The procedure for entering Safe Mode differs between Android manufacturers.
If the phone works normally in Safe Mode, a recently installed application may be contributing to the problem.
Google recommends removing recently downloaded apps one at a time and restarting the phone normally after each removal to identify the problematic application.
Do not remove several applications at once if you are trying to identify the cause. Removing them individually makes it easier to determine which one created the problem.
Check the app’s permissions
Some applications require specific permissions to function correctly.
Open the app’s information page in Settings and review its permissions.
If you recently changed permissions, check whether the application depends on access to features such as the camera, microphone, storage or location.
Only grant permissions that make sense for the app’s function.
Check for an app-specific outage
Sometimes your phone is fine and the application’s service is having problems.
If an app works normally on your phone but suddenly fails for many users, check the service’s official status information or support channels.
This is particularly relevant for applications that depend heavily on online servers.
If the service itself is experiencing an outage, changing settings on your phone may not solve the problem.
Do not immediately factory-reset your phone
A factory reset is a major step and should not be the first solution for one crashing application.
A reset removes data from the phone and uninstalls applications and their associated data. Google recommends backing up the device before performing one.
If only one app is crashing, focus on that application first.
A factory reset becomes more reasonable only when the phone has broader, persistent problems that cannot be solved through normal troubleshooting.
Contact the app developer if only one app keeps crashing
If other applications work normally and you have already restarted the phone, updated Android, updated the application, cleared its cache and reinstalled it, the problem may be specific to the app.
Google recommends contacting the app developer when one particular app continues to malfunction while other apps work correctly.
Look for the developer’s contact information on the application’s Google Play Store page.
When contacting support, explain:
- Your Android version
- Your phone model
- The app version
- What happens when it crashes
- When the problem started
- Whether reinstalling the app helped
This gives the developer useful information for troubleshooting.
Final thoughts
When an Android app keeps crashing, start with the least disruptive fixes. Restart the phone, update the application, install available Android updates and force stop the affected app.
If the problem continues, clear its cache and check your available storage. Reinstall the app only after considering whether its locally stored information is backed up.
If several applications are crashing, investigate the phone itself and consider Safe Mode to identify a recently installed app that may be causing the problem.
A factory reset should be a last resort, particularly when only one application is affected.