How to fix Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Your #Samsung Galaxy #J3 has two built-in email clients. The first one being the default Android client while the second is one of Google’s mandated apps to come pre-installed in all Android devices–Gmail.

In this post, I will tackle a somewhat minor issue involving the Galaxy J3 and the Gmail app, which is characterized by the error “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped.” While it appears as though it’s simply an app problem, there could be more to it than meets the eye considering Gmail is deeply rooted to the operating system. If you own this device and are currently bugged by a similar issue, then continue reading below to learn how to troubleshoot it and get rid of the error message once and for all.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

How to get rid of “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error on Galaxy J3

While the error message may appear like it’s a serious issue, it’s not. It just happened that Gmail is a built-in application but other than that, it’s just another app problem. Here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this problem…

Problem: Hello. I’ve been contacting you for a week now because I have a problem with my phone but I haven’t received a response yet. I hope you guys can help me. I have a Galaxy J3 phone that I purchased 3 months ago. Recently, there is an error that keeps popping up and it keeps saying “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” and I don’t have a single clue as to why this is happening. As the result of this error, however, I cannot view my emails. Well, I use Gmail so this problem specifically messes up my ability to view and send emails. Please help me. Thanks.

Troubleshooting:  I understand you’ve already contacted us before but haven’t received a response and for that we apologize. We receive hundreds of problems everyday and we really can cater to every issue we receive although we’re trying to.

Now, let’s go straight to the problem at hand, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Clear the cache and data of the Gmail app

We don’t recommend doing this for other apps but for Gmail, it’s fine because your emails are saved in your inbox and clearing the cache and data of the app on your phone won’t delete the emails in your account. This procedure will reset the app itself and you just have to open it after the procedure to regain access to your messages.

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications.
4. Tap Application manager
5. Tap the Gmail.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
8. Tap Clear cache.

After clearing the cache and data, open the app and see if the error still shows up. If so, then you need to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Safe mode and observe

Booting in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party apps so this isolate the problem. Needless to say, this will tell us if the problem is caused by a third-party app or if it’s a problem with the app or firmware itself.

1. Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
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’.

If the problem is fixed while in this mode, then it’s caused by one or some of your downloaded apps. You need to find the culprit and uninstall it, otherwise, you have to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system caches through the Recovery mode

Deleting the system caches will actually improve the performance of your device as it replaces all caches including those that may have been corrupted or obsolete. You can do this by booting your phone up in recovery mode and wiping the cache partition. This is how you do it…

1. Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
6. Press the Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the error still shows up after this, then the next step will certainly get rid of it.

Step 4: Perform the Master reset to bring your J3 back to factory defaults

The error message “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” is a minor problem and a reset procedure can surely fix it. However, you will have to go through a lot of trouble backing up your files and data if you don’t want to lose them.

Before you actually reset the phone, you need to disable the anti-theft feature to prevent your phone from being locked out. To turn off the device anti-theft, you will have to sign out of your Google ID on the device and elect to not sign in with a Google ID into any Google services. Once you sign in with a Google ID to any service and setup a PIN, password or fingerprint lock, you are automatically turning on anti-theft. To sign out of your Google ID, follow these steps:

1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Tap Google.
5. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
6. Tap More.
7. Tap Remove account.
8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

Now, to perform the master reset, follow these steps:

1. Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
4. While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
5. Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
6. Press  the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
7. Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
8. Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
9. The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

I hope we were able to help you with your problem.

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