Smartphone apps crashing can be a significant annoyance, disrupting your day and hindering your productivity or enjoyment. However, with a few trouble-shooting steps, this common issue can usually be resolved without the need for a tech expert. Here's a beginner-friendly guide on how to tackle the problem of smartphone apps that keep crashing.
1. Understand the Why
Firstly, it's helpful to understand why apps might crash. There are several possible reasons, including:
- Outdated Apps or OS: The app or your phone's operating system (OS) needs an update to fix bugs or compatibility issues.
- Lack of Storage: Your phone might be running out of storage, leading to insufficient space for apps to function correctly.
- Too Many Apps Running: Having too many apps open at once can eat into your phone's memory and processing power.
- App Bugs: Sometimes, the app itself might contain bugs that cause it to crash.
2. Restart Your Phone
This might seem like a no-brainer, but restarting your smartphone can fix a multitude of issues, including crashed apps. A restart clears your phone's RAM (temporary memory), possibly resolving the app crashing issue.
3. Update the App
Outdated apps can often crash because they're not optimized for newer versions of your phone's OS or contain unresolved bugs. To check for updates:
- For Android: Open Google Play Store, tap on your profile picture > "Manage apps & device." Apps with available updates are listed here.
- For iOS: Go to the App Store, tap on your profile icon, and scroll down to see available updates.
4. Check for OS Updates
Like apps, your smartphone's operating system (iOS for iPhones, Android for other devices) also receives regular updates fixing bugs and improving performance. Installing the latest version could resolve the crashing issue.
- For Android: Go to "Settings" > "System" > "System update."
- For iOS: Navigate to "Settings" > "General" > "Software Update."
5. Clear App Cache and Data
Cache is the storage of certain elements that help apps run faster. However, over time, this data can become corrupted, causing apps to crash. Clearing the cache and data can give the app a fresh start.
- For Android: Go to "Settings" > "Apps & notifications" (this might vary slightly depending on your phone). Find the crashing app, tap on it, then select "Storage & cache" > "Clear cache." If that doesn't work, try "Clear storage/data."
- For iOS: iOS doesn't allow clearing an app's cache directly. You might need to uninstall and reinstall the app.
6. Free Up Storage Space
If your phone is running low on storage, it can affect app performance. Consider deleting unused apps, large media files, or transferring them to cloud storage.
7. Close Background Apps
Having too many apps running in the background can hog your device's resources. Swipe away apps you're not using to free up memory and processing power.
8. Check for App Compatibility
Sometimes an app might not be fully compatible with your device or OS version, causing it to frequently crash. Check the app's details in the App Store or Google Play Store for compatibility information.
9. Uninstall and Reinstall the App
If all else fails, uninstalling and then reinstalling the app can work wonders. It's the digital equivalent of "turning it off and on again." Just be aware that you might lose any data or progress within the app that's not backed up online.
10. Contact App Support or Check Forums
If you've tried everything and the app still crashes, there might be a more significant issue at play. Check the app's listing on the App Store or Google Play for a support link, or search online forums for others experiencing the same issue and what solutions they might have found.
Conclusion
App crashes can be frustrating, but they're often fixable with some simple troubleshooting steps. Start with the basics like restarting your phone and updating the app, then move on to more in-depth solutions like clearing cache and checking for compatibility issues. Remember, you're not alone in facing this issue, and solutions are often just a few taps away. Happy trouble-shooting!