Whatsapp Messenger is one of the most popular apps for Android and iOS users alike. It has a really great team of developers behind it so you can rest assured that you won’t find or encounter any bugs anytime soon. But the thing is we have several readers that own the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 who have been complaining about Whatsapp that keeps on crashing.
When an app crashes, it may either close on its own immediately or a few moments after you open it or you may get an error that in this case would say “Unfortunately, Whatsapp has stopped.” Either way, you won’t be able to continue using the app so if you badly need it, you really have to do some troubleshooting to try and fix the problem.
In this post, I will share with you the solution that we’ve been using to fix similar issues. This isn’t the first time we encountered this problem so we already know a thing or two that could help fix it. I suggest that if you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this article may help you one way or another.
Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our Galaxy Note 8 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit.
How to fix Galaxy Note 8 with Whatsapp that keeps crashing
The error message “Unfortunately, Whatsapp has stopped” if ever it shows on your phone, is a sign that the problem is not really that difficult to fix. The error itself tells you that the problem is with the app only. You can always get rid of this problem by uninstalling it but then again, the purpose of this post is to fix the problem and that you can continue using the app. With that said, here’s what I suggest you do about this:
First solution: Reboot your Galaxy Note 8
You do this if it’s the first time that you encountered the problem regardless whether Whatsapp closes on its own or shows the error message. It’s possible that the app crashed due to a minor firmware or app issue and such can easily be fixed by a reboot. So, hit that power key and restart your phone.
If the problem continues after this, try doing the forced restart by pressing and holding down the Volume Down button and the Power key at the same time for 10 seconds. It’s basically like the restart but it refreshes your phone’s memory by simulating battery pull. However, if the issue continues after doing this, then you have to do the next method.
Second solution: Reset Whatsapp
A reset for an app means clearing its cache and data which brings it back to its default settings as well as delete all possibly corrupt caches or some data files. For app issues, this procedure is often the most effective so follow these steps to reset Whatsapp:
- 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 Whatsapp.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap CLEAR CACHE.
- Tap Cached data.
- Tap CLEAR.
Open the app after you’ve done this to know if it still crashes or not anymore. If the problem continues after clearing the cache and data, then move on to the next solution.
Third solution: Uninstall Whatsapp and reinstall it
To be more thorough in fixing this problem, it’s better that you uninstall the app you’re having problems with so that all its files and data will be deleted and its association with other apps and services removed. In other words, you’re clearing all the traces of the app. This is how you uninstall an app from your Galaxy Note 8:
- 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 Whatsapp.
- Tap UNINSTALL.
- Review the notification then tap OK to confirm.
- Reboot your phone to refresh it’s memory and other connections.
After the reboot, you have to download Whatsapp and reinstall it on your phone. With this, you’re pretty sure you have the latest version of the app.
- From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
- Tap Play Store.
- Type ‘whatsapp’ in the search box.
- Select Whatsapp then tap Install.
- To continue, review the required app permissions then tap Accept.
After this and the problem still continues, then you have to do the next method. App problems can be fixed by this but if for some reason the problem continues after you’ve reinstalled the app, then we can now say that problem is with the firmware. The next thing you should do is reset your device.
Fourth solution: Do the Master Reset
The first three solutions should fix the problem but if, by any chance, the problem continues after doing all of those procedures, your last resort would be to reset your device. Reset brings your phone back to its factory settings and delete all your files and data stored in your phone’s internal storage. Your apps, contacts, messages, pictures, videos, etc. will also be deleted so make a backup of the things you don’t want to lose before the reset. Then, disable the factory reset protection in your Galaxy Note 8 to avoid being locked out. Once everything is set and ready, follow these steps to reset your phone.
- 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.
- Turn off the device.
- 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.
If you’re having a hard time removing your Google account, follow this procedure:
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
- Tap Accounts.
- Tap Google.
- Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
- Tap 3 dot icon.
- Tap Remove account.
- Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.
I hope that this works for you. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, leave a comment below.
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