How do I fix an app that keeps crashing?
A short escalation from force-close to reinstall that resolves nearly all crashing apps without losing data.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Force close the app, restart the phone, then check for an update. If it still crashes, clear the app's cache on Android or offload and reinstall on iPhone. Check the app has enough free storage — a nearly-full phone causes crashes that look like bugs.
Apps crash because of corrupted cached data, a version mismatch after an OS update, or no free storage. All three are recoverable without losing your account data, since that lives on the provider's servers for most apps.
What you'll need
- Your phone
- Your login details for the app (optional)
Step by step
- Force close the app and reopen it.Swipe it away from the app switcher rather than just returning to the home screen. Backgrounded apps are still running.
- Restart the phone.It clears memory and stuck processes. A surprisingly high share of crashing apps stop crashing at this point.
- Check for an app update.Crashes after an operating system update are common, and the developer usually ships a fix within days.
- Check free storage on the phone.Below about 1GB free, apps crash unpredictably as they cannot write their temporary files. This is a very common hidden cause.
- Clear the app's cache on Android.Settings, Apps, the app, Storage, Clear cache. This removes temporary files without touching your login or data.
- Clear app data only if cache clearing fails.This resets the app to a fresh install state and signs you out. Make sure you know your login first.
- On iPhone, offload the app rather than deleting it.Settings, General, iPhone Storage, the app, Offload App. It removes the app but keeps its documents and data, then reinstalls cleanly.
- Delete and reinstall as the last step.This is the full reset. For apps holding local data — notes, offline maps, unsynced photos — check they are backed up first.
Tips
- If several apps crash at once, the problem is the phone rather than the apps. Check storage first, then restart, then look for a system update.
- An app that crashes only on one wifi network is usually being blocked by that network rather than failing.
- Beta versions of apps and operating systems crash more. If you joined a beta programme, that is likely the reason.
Common mistakes
- Reinstalling immediately — It signs you out and can lose local data, when a restart or cache clear would usually have fixed it.
- Clearing app data without knowing the login — It signs you out completely, and 'sign in with the account I forgot' is a worse problem than the crash.
- Ignoring low storage warnings — A nearly-full phone causes apparently random crashes across many apps, and no amount of reinstalling helps.
Questions people ask
Why do my apps keep crashing after an update?
Usually an incompatibility between the app version and the OS version. Check for an app update, restart the phone, and if it persists the developer is probably already fixing it.
Does clearing an app's cache delete my data?
No — cache is temporary files only. Clearing app *data* is different: that resets the app entirely and signs you out.