Facebook keeps crashing on Samsung Galaxy Note8 [Troubleshooting Guide]

Facebook is one of the pre-installed apps on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Needless to say, it’s embedded in its firmware but we have readers who have been complaining about the app saying that it keeps on crashing. Either they’re getting the usual “Unfortunately, Facebook has stopped” error or the app closes by itself without any warning.

It might be just a problem with the app itself or it could be a sign of a firmware issue. We really don’t know what the problem is just by having an app that crashes from time to time. We have to troubleshoot the phone so that we’ll have a clearer perspective on what’s really happening with your device and what needs to be done so that everything will be back to normal.

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If you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading as this post may help you. However, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem, then I suggest you visit our Note 8 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of problems with this phone. But if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to send the information. Rest assured that we will look into your concern.

Troubleshooting Galaxy Note8 with FB app that keeps crashing

First of all, I want you to know that this problem is often very easy to fix especially if it’s an issues with the app. So, our troubleshooting will start by making sure it’s not just an app problem and then we’ll move to more complicated procedures that will have an impact on the firmware itself but let’s hope that you won’t reach that far.

Reset the Facebook app

The app that’s installed on your phone actually serves as a client. All the information you can find through that app is stored in the cloud and just being downloaded when you use it. The first thing you should do about this problem is to reset the app and by reset I mean clear its cache and data. All the caches created by the system for that app will be deleted including the files that were downloaded while you were using it. Your preferences will also be deleted and the app itself will be brought to its default settings. But none of your timeline posts, photos, messages, etc. will be deleted. In other words, it’s a safe procedure to do but very effective in dealing with app-related issues:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Find and tap Facebook.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

After this, open the app again to see if it still crashes and then try to login to your account. If it’s still crashes, move on to the next procedure.

Open app in Safe mode

Let’s try to isolate the problem to know if third-party apps have something to do with it. You have to disable all third-party apps by running your Note8 in safe mode. If the app works perfectly fine while in that environment, then there’s an app that’s causing the problem. You then need to find it and uninstall it so that Facebook can work without crashing. This is how you run your phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

And this is how you uninstall an app on your Note 8:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap the desired application.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Update the Messenger app

Facebook is pre-installed on your phone but the Messenger is not and based on reports from our readers who have encountered similar problems, updating the Messenger may fix the problem. It seems that there’s a compatibility issue between these apps and an update may be able to patch things up. There’s no guarantee the problem will be fixed by this but we just have to see how the phone behaves after doing this:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu > Settings then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
  4. Find and touch Messenger and then tap Update to update it.

If the problem still occurs after this, it would be better if you just uninstall it for now. After all, you can reinstall it back once the problem is fixed.

Wipe cache partition

We will now look into the possibility that this problem is due to some corrupt system caches. These files get corrupted all the time and when it happens, performance issues may occur which include crashing of some apps. It’s another possibility that we need to rule out so follow these steps to wipe the cache partition on your Note8:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Once the phone has successfully rebooted after wiping the cache partition, try to check if the problem still occurs and if so, try the next procedure.

Reset all settings in your phone

By doing this, you’re actually bringing all the phone’s settings to their defaults. This will rule out the possibility that the problem is due to some incorrect settings in your phone.

  1. From a Home screen, swipe up or down from the center of the display to access the apps screen.
  2. Navigate: Settings Settings icon > Backup and reset.
  3. From the Reset section, tap Reset settings.
  4. Review the info then tap RESET SETTINGS.
  5. If presented, enter the current PIN, password, or pattern.
  6. To confirm, review the info then tap RESET SETTINGS.

Try to see if the Facebook app still crashes after this because if so, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Perform the Master Reset

Unlike the previous method, this one brings the phone back to its out-of-the-box configuration as well as delete all your files and personal data. However, it’s a very effective method in fixing problems that have something to do with the apps and the firmware. Make sure to make a backup of your important files and data prior to the reset as they will be deleted and could no longer be restored.

Prior to the reset, make sure you disable the anti-theft feature of your phone by removing your google account so that you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you fix the problem with your phone.

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