Mailbag | Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Error: Unfortunately, Messages has stopped

ByHarold Hisona November 5, 2019August 28, 2023 August 28, 2023

The error “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” is basically a notice telling you that the default text messaging app has crashed or keeps on crashing. As a result of this, you may not be able to read your text messages because most of the time, the app crashes the moment you open it. It may be a very annoying problem but it’s not really that serious as app-related issues can easily be fixed without any help from a technician.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 that’s plagued with “Messages has stopped” error. We will consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can determine what the problem is and how to deal with it. So, if you’re one of the owners of this phone, continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another.

YouTube video

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our 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 troubleshoot Galaxy Note 9 with “Messages has stopped” error

We have already addressed similar issues like this in the past so we know a thing or two that could fix it. We can have as many as ten troubleshooting procedures but in this article I will only give you the few effective ones.

Send SMS while your Note 9 is in Safe Mode

This will tell you immediately if the cause of the problem is a third-party app or not because in safe mode, all downloaded apps and their services will be temporarily disabled. If one of them is causing the problem, then you should be able to send a text message without getting the error. Here’s how to reboot your phone in safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
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.
When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.

While the Note 9 is in safe mode, compose a short text message and send it to your own number. If you don’t get the error message, then it means that there’s a third-party application that’s causing the Messages app to crash. At this point, reboot your phone in normal mode and continue using it. Be mindful of the apps you’re using to know which one is the culprit. Upon knowing the cause of the problem, you have two options; you can either reset it by clearing its cache and data or uninstall it to get rid of the problem from your device.

On the other hand, if the error “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” still shows up in safe mode when you open the app, then move on to the next procedure as it could be an issue with the Messages app.

Clear Messages cache and data

This will reset the app back to its default settings and configuration. If this is just an issue with the app, then this procedure is more than enough to fix it. If there are messages you don’t want to lose, make sure to make a backup before doing this as they may be deleted.

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
To display preinstalled apps, tap Menu > Show system apps.
Find and tap Messages.
Tap Storage > CLEAR CACHE > CLEAR DATA > DELETE.

After this, open the app and try to compose a text message to know if it still crashes and if it still does, then move on to the next procedure.

Backup personal files and do the Master Reset

Any app issue can be fixed by a reset and after doing the first two procedures and the problem remains, then you have no other choice but to do this. However, make a copy of your important files and data especially ones that are stored in your phone’s internal storage as they will be deleted. I am confident that this will fix the problem:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung 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.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you fix the problem with your phone. If you have other issues with your device you want to share with us, feel free to contact us anytime or leave a comment below.

RELEVANT POSTS:

Connect with us

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

Leave a Reply