Fix Samsung Galaxy J7 “Unfortunately, Google Drive has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Google’s cloud service is known as “Drive” and every Google account holder has, at least, 15 gigabytes of free online storage. One of the company’s ways to make its product known to people is to include Google Drive as one of the apps that should come pre-installed on any Android device. That’s the reason why you have Drive on your phone right now even if you’re not using it.

Here’s the thing though, the moment you sign in with your Google ID, you will automatically have access to the Drive and you can save files in there. The error message “Unfortunately, Google Drive has stopped” however, basically tells you that the app crashed for some reason. Since it’s a pre-installed app, there’s a higher probability that the problem is connected to the firmware, although we have to do some troubleshooting procedures to rule out other possibilities first before we can make a conclusion.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that shows “Unfortunately, Google Drive has stopped” error

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know exactly what the problem with your phone is, what triggers the error and what needs to be done to get rid of it. As an owner, you must do something to fix the problem and we will guide you through. But before we actually jump to our troubleshooting steps, here’s one problem sent by one of our readers that best explains this issue…

Problem: Hi. I have a Samsung Galaxy J7 I purchase about a couple of months ago. I has been working perfectly ever since but for some reason, there’s an error that keeps showing up how. It says “Unfortunately, Google Drive has stopped” and when I hit OK, the error disappears only to occur again after a few minutes. While it doesn’t affect my phone’s performance, it’s just very annoying that it shows up when it wants to. There were instances wherein I accidentally deleted the text I was composing because of the error and I just don’t want that to happen again. In other words, I want my phone to work properly like before. How can I fix this? Thanks a lot!

Troubleshooting: The error message, although Drive is a built-in app, is actually just a minor problem. There are apps that often crash and there are those that seldom force close on their own but whatever the case may be, there’s one way to troubleshoot it and here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Clear the cache and data, uninstall updates of the Google Drive apps

If you have files already saved in the Drive, don’t worry they won’t be touched even if you cleared the cache and data of the app. You’re actually doing this to reset the client and not your account itself. Meaning, what the reset does is delete possibly corrupt caches and files that are causing this problem but the contents of the Drive won’t be deleted since they’re saved in Google’s servers.

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

After this, try to open the app again to see if the error still shows up and if so, then proceed with the uninstallation of the app’s updates. Just follow the same steps as above but hit Uninstall Updates button instead. After which, try to see if the error still shows up and if so, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Restart your device in Safe mode to know if the error still shows up

Now let’s try to see if one or some of the third-party apps you downloaded or sideloaded has something to do with the error. Reboot your phone in safe mode and see if the error still shows up. This is how you boot your device in safe mode:

1. Power off your Galaxy J7. 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’.

While in this mode, try to trigger the error to know if it still pop up and there are only two possibilities here–either the error shows up again or not and here’s what you need to do whatever the case maybe…

• Error still occurs in safe mode – in this case, the problem might be rooted in the firmware or some pre-installed apps. Should you decide to troubleshoot the apps first, you need to find those that are directly linked with the app in question.
• Error doesn’t show up in safe mode – this confirms our suspicion that one or some of your third-party apps is causing the problem. You need to find the culprits and you can try clearing their cache and data to reset them, however, if the problem still persists after that, uninstalling those apps might make a difference, although there’s no guarantee so you still need to observe your phone a little longer.

After doing necessary steps and the error still shows up, move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system caches so that they will be replaced with new ones

Now, we’re trying to troubleshoot the firmware and while it is almost certain the error can be fixed by a reset, there’s on procedure we should do that may also fix the problem without compromising your files and data and that’s to wipe the cache partition.

What this procedure does is empty the contents of the directory where all system caches are stored. It has to be done this way since you don’t have access to individual caches.

1. Turn off the device.
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 it’s time you move on to the next step.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and then do the Master reset

At this point, you don’t have much of an option on what to do. You just have to backup your files and data you don’t want to lose, disable the anti-theft feature of your device and then go ahead with the reset. It’s imperative you disable the anti-theft so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset, here’s how you do it:

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.

And this is how you master reset your phone:

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
2. Turn off your Galaxy J7.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
5. 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).
6. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
7. Press Power button to select.
8. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
9. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
10. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
11. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Alternatively, you can also try to reset your phone through the Settings menu…

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Backup and reset.
5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
7. Tap Factory data reset.
8. Tap Reset device.
9. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
10. Tap Continue.
11. Tap Delete all.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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