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How to fix “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error on Galaxy S10 | easy steps to fix messaging issue

The Samsung Galaxy S10 runs the best that Android offers in terms of hardware specs and software experience. However, some bugs may still develop from time to time. One of such bugs is “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped.” If you’re wondering how to fix “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error, this post should help.

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How to fix Galaxy S10 “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error

There’s a number of troubleshooting steps that you must do to fix “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error. Follow our suggestions below to isolate the cause of the bug in your Galaxy S10.

Messages has stopped error fix #1: Force quit Messages app

The first troubleshooting step that you want to do is to make sure that you restart the problem app itself. This is usually an effective fix for troubles caused by minor app bugs that can occur from time to time. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the Instagram app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Another way to force close an app is this:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the Instagram app.
  6. Tap Force Stop.

Messages has stopped error fix #2: Restart your device

Should closing the app won’t fix “Messages has stopped” error, the next logical troubleshooting step is to restart the device itself. This is a broader way to address all types of bugs in a system. This can work if the bug you’re experiencing is due to prolonged operation of a device. If you don’t regularly restart your device, it may develop temporary bugs. To address this possible problem, make sure to restart the device at least once every few days. In your case, you want to perform a soft reset, which is just another type of restart that simulates the effect of “battery pull” procedure. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 12 seconds or until the device power cycles. Note: Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. Note: Utilize the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Allow up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.
  3. If Maintenance Boot Mode screen won’t show, then your device does not have it. Simply wait for the device to power down completely.

Messages has stopped error fix #3: Wipe cache partition

In order to load apps quickly, Android stores frequently used items like website links, images, videos, ads, among others in a part in internal storage called cache partition. Sometimes, these items collectively called system cache may get outdated or corrupted causing performance problems or bugs. To ensure that you phone runs efficiently and the cache in top shape, you want to regularly clear the cache partition (about once every few months). When dealing with any app issue, this can also be one of the troubleshooting steps. Here’s how to do it:

  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.

Messages has stopped error fix #4: Clear app cache

In case the problem is due to messaging app cache, you can do two things. One is to clear the app’s cache and the other is to reset it to its defaults. The first one that you want to do is clear the messaging app’s cache. This is how to do it:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the Instagram app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache button.
  8. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Messages has stopped error fix #5: Reset app

If the bug won’t go away after clearing its cache, the next thing to do is reset the app to its factory defaults. Doing so will delete your texts so be sure to back them ahead of time. You can use Smart Switch to create backup of your SMS and data. Once you’ve saved them, you can then go ahead and clear the data of the app:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the Instagram app.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear data button.
  8. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Messages has stopped error fix #6: Check for bad third party app

Other apps may sometimes interfere with Android and with other apps. To check if that’s the case, restart the phone to safe mode. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. Once your S10 has booted to this mode, make sure to check if the problem continues. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your S10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Messages has stopped error fix #7: Reset network settings

Another basic software troubleshooting that you can do in this case is to clear the current network settings. This can sometimes work in cases wherein there’s a network bug due to incorrect settings, or if there’s changes that doesn’t work. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset network settings.
  5. Tap Reset settings to confirm.

Messages has stopped error fix #8: Use another messaging app

Before you try to use another app, we highly recommend that you check if the Samsung Messages app is up-to-date. Some bugs are only fixable by new code changes. Messages app is a default Samsung app and although it has proven reliable over the years, it’s not perfect at all. Keeping it updated is one way of lowering the chances of bugs from developing. To keep your Samsung apps updated, follow these steps:

  1. Open Galaxy Store app.
  2. Tap More settings icon at the upper right.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Tap Auto update apps.
  5. Select the type of connection to use when updating.

If your Samsung Messages app is already updated at this time, then it’s high time to try using another app. This should help you confirm if your Messages app is buggy or not. There are many apps that you can get from the Play Store so try that first and see what happens. We suggest that you stick to official apps like Google’s own Android Messages.

Messages has stopped error fix #9: Factory reset

The final device troubleshooting step that you can do in this case is to return all software settings to their defaults. Factory reset will delete all personal data so be sure to back the stuff you can’t afford to lose before you do it.

For reference, here are the two ways to factory reset your device:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 via Settings Menu

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
  5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

 


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