Samsung Galaxy S7 Gallery keeps crashing after the Android Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Apps crash all the time and the same is true even with your #Samsung Galaxy #S7. While the device is still one of the most powerful smartphones in the market today, it’s not free of errors and problems. We’ve witnessed issues occurring over and over again. In fact, we’ve already received thousands of messages from our readers who own this device as some of their problems weren’t fixed after the Nougat update. Some even said they’re now dealing with new issues.

In this post, I will tackle the error message “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped” which reportedly occurs when users open the Gallery to view pictures or use the camera to take some. There are a couple of issues I cited here that cover these issues. So, continue reading below to learn how to troubleshoot your Galaxy S7 that’s plagued with this error message.

• Galaxy S7 keeps showing the error “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped”
• Galaxy S7 Gallery crashes whenever camera is used

Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Galaxy S7 keeps showing the error “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped”

Problem: Hello guys! This is my first time on your site and am amazed how you were able to put up a very useful blog helping people like me who don’t have a clue what’s going on with my phone. I have a Galaxy S7. It’s been given to me by a friend who decided to have Apple instead of Samsung. Anyways, my problem is that there is this box that keeps showing up whenever I try to view pictures I took a couple of weeks ago. The box says “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped” and either I hit OK or Report, the pictures won’t show, so I’m a bit annoyed this is happening as well as frustrated since I don’t know what to do. Oh, by the way, there was an update I downloaded 3 days ago and it was around that time that this problem started. I am hoping your guys can help me with this. Thanks a lot!

Troubleshooting: While there are hundreds of gallery apps available in the Play Store for free, the Gallery apps is the built-in pictures and videos manager in your Galaxy S7. Needless to say, by default, when you view a picture or a video, the Gallery will be the one to be called to open the files until you install a third-party gallery app and change the default app.

The Gallery is used by other apps or somehow connected to others especially apps that can share pictures and videos. For instance, it is connected to Facebook since you are allowed to share pictures and videos in it. Gallery is called when the owner browses through your files. It is also used by the Messaging app since it allows you to attach pictures and videos to be sent as MMS.

When it crashes, it might be just a simple issue with the app itself or it might be due to other apps or even the firmware. Troubleshooting is your way of knowing what really triggers the error and why it shows up and that’s the purpose of this post. So, continue reading below so that you’ll know what to do when this problem happens on your Galaxy S7:

Step 1: Clear the cache and data of the Gallery app

Since we are dealing with an app that crashes, it will be the first thing we have to do. The Gallery, while it’s a media manager, doesn’t store your pictures and photos. Those files are saved somewhere else so it’s fine to do this procedure immediately since none of them will be deleted. This, of course, will immediately tell you if the problem is with the app or not.

1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
4. Swipe to ALL tab.
5. Find and tap Gallery.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

After doing this procedure, try to open the Gallery app and view your pictures until your satisfied the error won’t occur. However, if the error remains, then there must be something really wrong with it, so move on to the next step.

Step 2: Try to boot your device in safe mode to know if third-party apps have something to do with it

By booting in safe mode, you can tell if the error is triggered by a third-party app or not since all third-party elements will be temporarily disabled when the phone is in this mode. And while bringing the phone to its diagnostic state doesn’t fix the problem, at least, you would know where to look or what to look for. So, here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

1. Press and hold the Power key.
2. When Samsung Galaxy S7 logo appears, release the Power key and immediately hold the volume down key.
3. Continue holding the Volume Down key until it finishes its rebooting.
4. When “Safe mode” appears on the screen immediately release the Volume Down key.

Once in this mode, continue observing your device to know if the error still shows up, and if so, then we might be facing a firmware issue.

On the other hand, if the error doesn’t show up in safe mode, it means that one or some of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store or installed manually is causing the problem. Try to find that app and then uninstall it. You may need to uninstall more than one app and reboot your phone to normal mode a lot of times just to know if the problem is still occurring.

Step 3: Reboot your device in Recovery mode and try wiping the cache partition

Now, assuming that the error still occurs even in safe mode, it’s time to troubleshoot the firmware considering the fact that Gallery is a pre-installed app and since it’s crashing, the firmware must have something to do with it.

Since the problem started after an update, it’s possible that some of the caches got corrupted or maybe some of them are already obsolete. We need to have those apps replaced and the only way to do that is to delete them so that the new firmware will create new ones that are completely compatible with it. That being said, here’s what you need to do:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Usually, for minor app-related issues, wiping the cache partition is enough to fix them. However, if the problem still remains after this, then the next step will certainly fix it.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

That’s right, a reset is necessary at this point in our troubleshooting. You’ve already done what needs to be done to try and fix the problem to no avail. So, it’s time to bring the phone back to its original settings or its configuration that worked. However, you need to backup your files and data as they will all be deleted if you don’t. Once deleted, you won’t be able to restore them.

Also, make sure you disable the anti-theft feature of your phone so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset, here’s how you do it…

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
4. Tap Accounts.
5. Tap Google.
6. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
7. Tap Menu.
8. Tap Remove account.
9. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

After you’ve backed up your files and data and disabled the anti-theft feature, follow these steps to reset your phone through the Recovery Mode:

1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

The error message “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped,” in this case, is a minor issue and, therefore, can be fixed by a reset but to make sure it doesn’t show up anymore, don’t install anything yet and don’t restore your files until you’re satisfied the error doesn’t occur anymore.

Galaxy S7 Gallery crashes whenever camera is used

Problem: I often take pictures with my Samsung Galaxy S7 and ever since I bought it last year, I never really encountered serious issues until recently when an error message started to show up every time I try to use the camera of my phone. The error says “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped” and sometimes it allows me to use the camera only to be greeted with the same error after I took a picture, although most of the time the error shows when I open the camera. It’s just so confusing since I’m using the camera and not the gallery but why is the latter keeps showing this error? A little help with this would surely be appreciated, thank you.

Troubleshooting: The Gallery and the Camera are connected, in fact, they work side-by-side. When you take pictures with the camera of your phone, the Gallery is always called upon to manage the pictures. Needless to say, when you open the camera, the Gallery will also open, although it runs in the background, ready to be called by the camera.

In your case, somehow, the connection between these two apps or services are broken or disrupted that’s why the gallery crashes when you open the camera. This problem happens all the time and based on experience, it might be due to a simple glitch or some serious issues with the app or the firmware itself. We need to troubleshoot your phone to try to fix the problem and here’s what I suggest you do:

Step 1: Reboot your phone to make sure it’s not just a simple glitch

Glitches in the system and hardware often occur and while they may appear like complex issues, they can easily be fixed by a simple reboot. That’s why it should be the very first thing you need to do as it may save you from a lot of trouble. Try rebooting your device a couple of times to see if that makes a difference.

Step 2: Reset the Camera by clearing its cache and data

While the error says it’s the gallery that crashes, we should try to troubleshoot the camera first since it’s the one that triggers. Try to clear its cache and data to see if the error continues after that:

1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
4. Swipe to ALL tab.
5. Find and tap Camera.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

Step 3: Clear the cache and data of the Gallery app

After clearing the cache and data of the Camera and the error still shows up, it’s time you reset the Gallery. Just like what you did with the camera, clear its cache and data, after all, it’s the one that’s being mentioned in the error:

1. From Home screen, tap App icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications and Application manager.
4. Swipe to ALL tab.
5. Find and tap Gallery.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

Step 4: Temporarily disable all third-party apps

After all those steps and the problem still occurs, try finding the culprit by rebooting your phone in safe mode. Perhaps it’s one of the apps you installed and in which case, you can fix the problem by simply uninstalling the app. Follow the steps on how to boot your phone in safe mode in the first problem.

Step 5: Delete the system caches so they’ll be replaced

Let’s try to consider the possibility that some of the system caches got corrupted, in this case, they may cause similar issues especially when the firmware continues to use them. Therefore, it’s just fitting to delete the system caches by wiping the cache partition via the recovery mode. Don’t worry though, none of your data or files will be deleted and this procedure is as effective as the reset.

Step 6: Factory reset your phone to bring it back to factory defaults

If all else fails, you must reset your phone. However, make sure you make a backup of your most important files and data as they will be deleted during this process. After the backup, follow these steps to factory reset your device:

1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
5. Touch Continue.
6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

You don’t have to disable anti-theft when you reset your phone this way.

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