Galaxy S8 won’t install Instagram app, Skype app keeps crashing, rear camera photos are blurry

Hello and welcome to today’s troubleshooting article. In this post, we address three app issues on the #GalaxyS8:

Instagram app won’t install,
Skype app keeps crashing during video calls,
rear camera photos are blurry

We hope that you’ll find our suggestions helpful in this post.

Problem #1: Galaxy S8 won’t install Instagram app

I saw your posts on the web today as I put a Google search in. Hopefully you actually read these messages and can help. (I sent to prior e-mail and got this forum link to use instead) Yesterday I was uploading a pic from my phone gallery to post onto Instagram. It froze. Then my screen went black! A little dialog box come up and said something to the effect that there was a problem and it had to close. I had the option to “report” or say OK and let it close. I chose the latter. Tried to go back to the app and it just did the same thing. It would open momentarily like it was going to work…but would always revert back to the dialog box. I was able to get instagram to stop trying to upload the photo. It would act like it was going to work (take a video or a photo) then crash black and again with the dialog box. I did also choose the report option which I gather sends an e-mail to some cyber space place that I will never get a reply from. Naturally I then thought “well uninstall Instagram and reinstall.” That in itself brought me a whole other box of issues! I can get to the Play Store but now when I choose Instagram I get a message on my screen that says “No Internet connection. Make sure Wi-Fi or cellular data is turned on, then try again,” which is a lie because I can get on the internet through Wi-Fi at work, at home (the phone tells me I am connected!! I can also access the web through my mobile data! I even installed some random app, which seems to work just fine. I’ve cleared the cache, history and cookies…still get the message I’m not connected. Of course the world will not end if I can not get Instagram on my phone! I didn’t have Instagram before but it was kinda fun! I don’t know what Android version I have. All that being said can you help droid guy? thanks. — Sue

Solution: Hi Sue. The main reason why you are unable to install Instagram may lie on the Google Play Store app, or some of its associated apps so your troubleshooting should focus on them. Below are the specific steps that you can try:

Clear cache and data of Google apps

There are two important Google apps that you want to address here — Play Store and Google Services Framework. These two work together in processing app installation requests under your Google account and if one of them is not working properly, problems may occur. So, what you want to do here is to wipe the cache partition first and if that won’t work, to clear the data. Try clearing the cache and data of Google Play Store first.

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings at the upper right hand (three-dot icon).
Tap Show system apps.
Find the app and tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap CLEAR CACHE.
Restart your S8 and check for the problem.

Should Instagram won’t still install, repeat steps 1-7 and tap CLEAR DATA. Make sure to do the same for Google Services Framework app.

Log out of your Google account then log back in

Other users were able to fix installation issues similar to what you have by simply logging in and out of their Google account. Before doing so, make sure that you know what your Google account password is. Do that by logging into your Google account on a web browser. If you’re confident that you can know what your Google account password is, go ahead and log back out. After some time, log back in and see if you’ll be able to install Instagram again.

Try another Google account

Ideally, the first two suggestions should be enough to fix the problem but if it remains at this point, the next good thing that you can do is try installing Instagram using another Google account. Sometimes, a bug may be associated with an account. This is far from ideal but it can work if the end is to Instagram only. After the installation, you can then again add your other Google account.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 Skype app keeps crashing during calls

Skype application crashes every time I try to call somebody using it (free skype to skype call). It is a Serbian version. I click on it to call some existing contact, and then a message “Skype has been stopped” appears in Serbian (with option to click OK shown). If somebody calls me the same way and I click to answer, it shows the same message. However, you can talk (even though you do not see skype on the phone at that moment – except for the message). If you click ok, the conversation is stopped. — Vladimir Baic

Solution: Hi Vladimir. If this crashing problem only occurs when using Skype, the first thing that you want to do is to ensure that the app is updated. To do that, just run Google Play Store app, tap, go to My apps & games, then install an update for your Skype from there. While you’re at it, it won’t hurt if you also install updates for the rest of your apps. Many bugs are fixed this way so hopefully, updating your Skype app helps.

If the problem remains after updating, the next good thing to do is to clear the app and data of the Skype app. Just follow the steps above on how to do that.

It’s also worth considering your internet connection speed when using Skype. Sometimes, this app will crash if there’s not enough bandwidth, or if the internet connection is spotty. If you’re using mobile data to Skype, try switching to wifi and see how it works, or vice versa.

If the problem still remains, consider resetting app preferences. Most apps depend on other apps and services in order to work. If one of the critical apps or services had been disabled, Skype may not work properly or at all. Resetting app preferences will have the following effects:

re-enables previously disabled apps and services
resets default apps for actions
turns off background data restrictions for apps
return app permissions to their defaults
unblock app notifications

To reset app preferences on your S9:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings (three-dot) icon at the upper right.
Tap Reset app preferences.

Should the issue still persist after doing all our suggestions, contact its developer. Most apps usually have contact information under their settings menu.

Problem #3: Galaxy S8 rear camera photos are blurry

Hi. My name is Ken Bain from Geelong Victoria Australia and if you can help me I will really appreciate it. My Samsung is about 4 months old and works well. I often use the camera which has been terrific. For the first time today I tried to use it and it was all foggy and light was very bright. Pictures were terrible. The strange thing is that when I switch to selfie mode the picture is perfect. Go figure? My wife has the same phone and I checked the settings on her phone and compared them to mine and they were the same as far as I could see. Her pictures are perfect. I believe the phone has 2 lenses. Could it be that it somehow uses the wrong lense? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Please note I am not sure of my phones android system. I think it’s lollipop. Thank you. — Ken Bain

Solution: Hi Ken. The Galaxy S8 has two cameras — front (selfie), and main or rear camera. A defect on one does not necessarily mean the other will also fail. Unless the issue happens to be an important mechanism for both, each one can be considered independent of each other. The most likely reason for your issue must be a hardware defect on the rear camera. To check, we recommend that you factory reset your device. If the rear camera remains problematic after a factory reset, then that’s a clear indication that you have a hardware problem. In that case, you need Samsung’s help to fix it.

To factory reset your S8:

Create a backup of your personal data.
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.