How to fix Samsung Galaxy S8 with Nova Launcher that keeps crashing (easy steps)
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and all other Samsung flagships has Touchwiz for its launcher and only a small percentage of its owners like it. As a result, owners who don’t like it would result to finding a better alternative and among the first options to pop up is Nova Launcher, which I think is better than any other launchers out there. I personally use it on all my Android phones so I know why millions of users also use it. However, we did receive complaints from some of our readers who reported to have encountered an issue or two with the launcher.
The most common issue with third-party apps and launchers is when it crashes, which can be characterized by either a force close or an error that would say “Unfortunately, Nova Launcher has stopped.” The error would, of course, vary depending on the name of the app or launcher you use. In this post, however, I will tackle the issue with Nova Launcher and why it’s crashing. I will also be providing you the solution that I personally know would work with this kind of problem. So, continue reading as this article may help you one way or another.
If however, you are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our Galaxy S8 troubleshooting guide for we have already addressed the most common issues with this phone. Find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need more help, then feel free to contact us through our Android issues questionnaire.
How to fix Nova Launcher that keeps crashing on Galaxy S8
The developers of Nova Launcher (TeslaCoil Software) releases updates for its apps whenever it’s needed so we can rest assured that the app we’re talking here is well-developed and should run perfectly on any Android smartphone without any problems. But problems happen from time to time so we have to deal with it in this post. With that being said, here’s what I think you should do if you have an issue with Nova Launcher…
First solution: Reboot your Galaxy S8
Regardless whether you just installed Nova Launcher or you’ve been using it for weeks, if it’s the first time that the app crashed, you should reboot your phone before doing anything else because the problem might be due to a minor glitch in the app itself or the firmware.
There’s more to a reboot than just turning your phone off and back on again. It also refreshes your phone’s memory, closes all apps running in the background and reloads all services and functions. If this problem is a result of a minor glitch, then a reboot will take care of it.
So, hit that power key and then restart your phone. After the reboot, open any app then hit the Home button to go back to the home screen to activate Nova Launcher. If it still crashes, then move on to the next solution.
Second solution: Reset Nova Launcher by clearing its cache and data
It’s now time to go after the app that keeps crashing since the problem hasn’t been fixed by a simple reboot. For app-related issues, clearing the cache and data can often fix them but bear in mind that any files you’ve downloaded with that app will be deleted but you can still retrieve them once you log back in to your account once the problem is fixed.
- From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
- From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
- Tap App Manager.
- Locate then tap Nova Launcher.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap CLEAR CACHE.
- Tap Cached data.
- Tap CLEAR.
After this, trigger Nova Launcher by hitting the home button. If you’re still greeted by the error, then you have to do the next method.
Third solution: Uninstall Nova Launcher and then reinstall it
More often, I would suggest updating an application due to the possibility that the problem may have been caused by a compatibility issue. However, in this post, I will ask you to uninstall the app to remove it and all files associated with it. After which, download the app again and reinstall it to make sure you have the latest version running on your phone.
- From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
- From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
- Tap App Manager.
- Locate then tap Nova Launcher.
- Tap UNINSTALL.
- Review the notification then tap OK to confirm.
- Reboot your phone to refresh it’s memory and other connections.
Now, to reinstall Whatsapp, follow these steps…
- From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
- Tap Play Store.
- Type ‘nova launcher’ in the search box.
- Select Nova Launcher then tap Install.
- To continue, review the required app permissions then tap Accept.
I am pretty sure that one of the methods mentioned here can fix this problem but if it escalates and continue to bug you, then you can try to reset your phone. But if that’s too inconvenient for you, then just uninstall Nova Launcher and use other launchers.
Here’s how you reset your phone…
- Turn off your Galaxy S8.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- 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).
- Press the Volume down key several times 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.
I hope this helps.
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