What to do with your Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) that keeps popping up “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Regardless on how fast or powerful your phone is, you would encounter performance related problems from time to time which includes app crashes. Third-party apps or those you downloaded and installed are often the subject of these issues but there are also times when built-in apps can encounter hiccups. Such is the case with some of our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy A3 because there are those who complained about some apps that keep crashing.

The error that I will be tackling in this post is “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” which occurs mostly when users try to browse the web. While the error mentions “internet” it’s actually referring to the built-in web browser called internet and not about connectivity. Therefore we will try to troubleshoot a phone that has an issue with one of its apps. If you own a phone and like and are constantly bugged by a similar problem especially every time you try to browse, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before we jump to our troubleshooting guide, if even you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to different issue, then I suggest you visit our Galaxy A3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this device. Try to find a problem that’s similar with yours and use the solutions or workarounds we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and we will include your concern in our next posts.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A3 with “Internet has stopped” error

Problem: Hi. I have a Galaxy A3 phone I bought in February. It’s been working fine since then but recently when I tried clicking on the link sent through text by a friend, the error “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” started popping up. I’m not sure why this is happening let alone know how to fix it. Why would the internet stop when I open a link? Can you please help me on this matter? Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Basing on how you describe the problem, it’s clear that it’s the Internet app that crashes when you try to open a link from a messaging app. Don’t worry too much though because this problem is very easy to fix. All we gotta do is troubleshoot the apps that are involved and with all that being said, here’s what you should do about it:

Step 1: Reset the Internet app

Let’s immediately go after the app that’s specifically mentioned in the error–Internet. We don’t know for sure why this is happening as early as now but clearing the cache and data of the app that crashes is the most logical thing to do.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap Internet.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Don’t worry, none of your files will be deleted when you do this but your browsing history might be gone after but I know those are not really that important.

After this, try to open a link from the messages app to see if the error would still pop up and if so, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Clear the cache and data of the app that triggers the error

Now we’ll be doing the same with the Messages app or any app you use for texting. I understand it’s the internet that crashes but let’s take into consideration that the error shows up when you open the link from another app so that might be the trigger. This time, you may lose your messages and the app itself will be reset back to its original configuration…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap Messages.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Try to open a link after doing this to test if the error still shows up. If it still does, then try doing the next step.

Step 3: Find out if a third-party app is causing the problem

In this step, we will try to isolate the problem by booting the phone up in Safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. If one of them is causing the problem, then you must be able to open a link from the messaging app without being greeted by this error. Here’s how you boot your phone into safe mode:

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 problem doesn’t occur in this environment, the next thing you have to do is find the app that’s causing it and then uninstall it. If you’re using a third-party messaging app, then that should be the cause of the problem. This is how you uninstall an app from your Galaxy A3:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the desired application
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Also, if there are apps that need to be update, follow these steps to update them…

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.

On the other hand, if the error still continues to haunt you even in safe mode, then you have no other choice but to reset your device.

Step 4: Backup all your files and reset your phone

The error message “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” is a minor problem and for sure a reset can fix it. However, you will have to go through all the hassles of backing up your files and data prior to the reset and restoring them after. If may take you an hour or two to make sure nothing will be lost depending on how much data you need to backup. But after which, disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked and then reset the phone.

How to disable Galaxy S3 Factory Reset Protection

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
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 More.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to do the Master Reset on your Galaxy A3

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.

Alternatively, you can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Backup and reset.
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 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 that this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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