The Gallery is the built-in picture and video manager. It works with the camera most of the time because whenever it takes pictures or record videos, the Gallery will always be there to manage them. The error message “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped” is basically telling you the app crashed and it’s not immediately clear why it happens.
We have received quite a lot of complaints from our readers regarding this error. It happens not just to one device but to almost all Galaxy devices available in the market today. But in this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Samsung Galaxy J3 that is plagued with this error. We may have already tackled this problem with other devices before but we will be tackling this topic once again for the benefit of our readers who reached out to us about this. So, if you have a phone like this and are currently bugged by this error, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.
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 troubleshoot your Galaxy J3 with “Gallery has stopped” error
Problem: I am hoping you guys will address my problem. I own a Galaxy J3 phone and while I’ve taken care of its since I bought it earlier this year, I’m now experiencing a problem whenever I take pictures. The camera works fine but the moment I take a picture, the error “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped” would shows up. But the thing is, when I browse to the folder where the pictures are saved, they’re there. Meaning the camera successfully capture the pictures despite the error. I don’t understand why this is happening but if you guys know what to do about it, please tell me. Thank you.
Troubleshooting: The error “Gallery has stopped,” based on our experience, is a minor issue affecting either the Gallery itself or the Camera app. Both of these apps work side-by-side and there’s a possibility that either of them is the cause or the trigger. For this problem though, here’s what you have to do:
Step 1: Clear the cache and data of the Gallery app
The app that’s specifically mentioned in the error is the Gallery so that would be our starting point. Let’s try to see if the issue can be fixed by simply resetting it. All you need to do is clear its cache and data but don’t worry, none of your pictures and videos will be deleted…
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap Gallery.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear cache.
- Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
After this, reboot your phone and open the gallery app. If the error still shows up, try the next step.
Step 2: Reset the camera app
As I said, it’s possible the camera is the one causing this problem. So, like what we did in the first step, you simply have to reset the camera app by clearing its cache and data.
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap Camera.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear cache.
- Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
After the reboot and the phone still shows up the error, it’s time to look at the problem at a different angle.
Step 3: Reboot your phone in safe mode
It is possible one or some of the apps you installed is causing the problem. So, you need to isolate the problem to see if you can determine the cause. Assuming the problem is caused by a third-party app, then the error shouldn’t pop up when the phone is in safe mode. Follow these steps to make your phone run in this environment:
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
- When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
- Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
- Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
- Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.
Assuming the error disappears in this mode, then it’s clear one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. Try to update app that need to be updated as it may be a compatibility issue:
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Play Store.
- Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
- Choose one of the following options:
- Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
- Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.
If you already are suspecting an app or two, then you can proceed with clearing their caches and data or even uninstalling them to see if the error disappears.
How to clear apps cache and data on Galaxy J3
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
- Tap Clear cache.
How to uninstall applications from your Galaxy J3
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
- Tap Uninstall.
- Tap Uninstall again to confirm.
Step 4: Delete all system caches as some may be corrupt
If there are corrupt system caches, your phone may suffer from performance-related issues and some apps may keep on crashing. To rule this possibility out, try deleting all system caches so that your phone can create new ones that are completely compatible with it. Just run your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
- 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).
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
- Press the Power key to select.
- Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
Wait for the phone to become active and then try opening the Gallery app to see if the error still shows up and if so, then the next step should be done.
Step 5: It’s time to reset your Galaxy J3
For this kind of problem, you can seldom reach this point but if you did, then this is your last resort. The error “Gallery has stopped” is a pretty minor issue and a reset can take care of it. However, you have to go through the hassle of backing up your important files and data as they will be deleted. Before you actually do the reset, make sure you take note of your Google ID and password or better yet, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) so you won’t be locked out of your device.
How to disable Galaxy J3 Factory Reset Protection
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Cloud and accounts.
- Tap Accounts.
- Tap Google.
- Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
- Tap Menu.
- Tap Remove account.
- Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.
How to perform the master reset on your Galaxy J3
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
- 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).
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
You can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Cloud and accounts.
- Tap Backup and restore.
- If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
- If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
- Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Factory data reset.
- Tap Reset device.
- If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
- Tap Continue.
- Tap Delete all.
I hope this helps.
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