It is extremely frustrating when the gmail app keeps crashing on your phone. the error makes it unable to properly read incoming emails and prevents you from sending new emails.
There are many reasons why the gmail app crashes. sometimes the issue occurs due to app update, cache file error or insufficient storage on your phone. in any case, you can try some fixes yourself to potentially repair the app and return it to its normal state.
reboot your phone to fix minor issues with the gmail app
When the gmail app crashes, the first thing to do is restart your phone. doing so fixes many minor glitches on the phone. If gmail crashes due to these minor issues, restarting is a sure way to fix the problem.
To reboot most android phones, press and hold the power button on the phone and tap reboot on the phone screen.
When the phone reboots, open gmail and it should work fine.
to prevent gmail from crashing by uninstalling app updates
While an update is supposed to fix existing problems and bring new features, sometimes an update ends up being the cause of multiple problems. If the gmail app started crashing after installing an app update, rolling back the update will likely fix the problem.
- Launch the settings app on your android phone.
- go to apps & notifications > gmail in the settings.
- select the three dots in the upper right corner of the gmail page and choose uninstall updates.
- select ok at the prompt to remove updates to the gmail app.
- Open the gmail app when the updates have been uninstalled and see if your problem is now fixed.
If uninstalling an update fixes the gmail app issue, disable automatic app updates so the app doesn’t end up installing the same update again. later, when google releases an official fix, you can re-enable automatic updates.
- Open google play store on your phone.
- select the search box, type gmail and tap open next to gmail in search results.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner and turn off the enable auto-update option.
clear gmail app cache and data to resolve crashing issues
One way to fix most problems with android apps is to clear your app’s data and cache files. these files are often the culprit and cause various problems, and removing them should prevent gmail from crashing on your phone.
- Go to the settings app on your phone.
- navigate to apps & notifications > gmail in the settings.
- press storage & cache on the gmail page.
- Tap clear cache and then tap clear storage.
- Start the gmail application.
update the gmail app
Another possible reason why gmail is crashing on your phone is that you are using an older version of the app. outdated versions of the app often have many issues, which have been fixed in newer versions.
To fix this issue, update the gmail app on your phone from the play store:
- launch google play store on your phone.
- tap the search box, type gmail and select open in search results.
- tap update on the gmail app page to update the app. If you don’t see the update button, it means you’re already using the updated version of the app.
clean up your phone storage to prevent gmail from crashing
sometimes gmail crashes because it can’t find the space to store temporary files on your phone. this usually happens when you are running out of space on your device. one way to fix this is to clean up your phone storage by deleting unwanted files.
Most android phones come with a storage analyzer that tells you which files you can safely get rid of. you may even have the feature to automatically delete junk files on your android phone.
- open the settings app on your phone.
- select storage on the settings screen.
- you’ll see what type of item takes up how much space on your phone.
- tap free up space for recommendations on what you can safely delete from your phone to make room for new content.
turn off dark mode in gmail app
While dark mode isn’t directly related to gmail app crash issues, it’s worth disabling dark mode in the gmail app to see if that makes any difference.
- Open the gmail app on your phone.
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the top left corner of the app and select settings >.
- navigate to general settings > theme in the settings.
- select light in the theme menu to disable dark mode.
refresh android system webview on your phone
When you experience crashing issues with gmail or any other app, you should make sure that the android system webview service is up to date on your phone. This service is responsible for various android processes and must be kept up to date for smoother operation of applications and the system.
to update that service:
- launch google play store on your phone.
- tap the search box, type android system web view and select that option in search results.
- Tap update on the app page to install the latest update.
add your google account back to your phone
If the gmail app keeps crashing no matter what you do, it might be worth removing your google account from the app and then adding it back. this will allow the app to start from scratch and this might fix your problem.
Please note that deleting your google account from the gmail app means deleting the account from your phone. however, you can add the account back quite easily.
- open settings on your phone.
- tap accounts and then choose your google account.
- select delete account on the account page.
- choose delete account in the message that opens to confirm your choice.
- When your account is deleted, please re-add it by going to settings > accounts > add account on your phone.
Prevent the gmail app from crashing on your phone
gmail generally works fine, but has its fair share of problems. these issues can sometimes affect your professional life if gmail is your primary email client.
hopefully, with the methods outlined above, you should be able to fix gmail from crashing anymore.