Samsung Galaxy S7 keeps showing “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error after Nougat [Troubleshooting Guide]

Your #Samsung Galaxy #S7 comes with a built-in email client called “Email” but there’s another client that also comes pre-installed and this one’s a mandatory app from Google–Gmail. Both offers almost the same thing only that the latter only caters Gmail accounts while the former can be used for other emails accounts such as company or custom emails and other free and paid email services like Yahoo, Live, etc.

In this post, I will tackle the error message “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped,” which obviously talks about the Gmail app that crashed for some unknown reason. And the thing is, it seems like the app started to crash shortly after Nougat is installed. This, of course, leaves us thinking that maybe there’s a problem with the app itself or it could be an issue with the new firmware. There’s only one way to find out what the real score is and that’s troubleshooting.

Continue reading this post as it may be able to help you fix the problem. If you have this phone and are currently experiencing similar problem, then go through each step to know if one of them can fix it. Remember, while you may also get the same error, it doesn’t mean it’s the same case; it might have been triggered by a different app, some caches may have been corrupted or there could be one system file that got deleted and caused this problem.

But before anything else, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, then try to visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions or troubleshooting guides we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need more help, fill up our Android issues questionnaire to contact us.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 having “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” error

In troubleshooting app-related issues, it is imperative you know which app is crashing and which are the triggers. But remember, just because the app is mentioned in the error doesn’t meant it’s the one that has a problem. We’ve seen countless cases wherein other apps caused other apps to crash that’s troubleshooting is necessary but we before we actually jump into it, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this issue…

Problem: Good morning guys. My smartphone is the S7 and it’s been just a couple of months since my nephew gave it to me. I got it second hand but in pristine condition as my nephew said it has been taken care of and I knew he was telling the truth as there are no scratches on the outside and it actually looks like brand new. The problem is that whenever there are emails that come in an error would pop up and it says that “Unfortunately, Gmail has stopped” and so as a result, I can’t view or read my emails. The same thing happens when I try to open the Gmail app itself. I don’t really know why this is happening with my phone, I just want to continue using my phone without any problem. Can you help?

Troubleshooting: Now that you know how this error pops up, it’s time we jump into our troubleshooting and while we know our procedures are safe, unexpected things may still happen while you’re troubleshooting so please proceed at your own risk.

Step 1: Reboot your phone in Safe mode to know if third-party apps caused the problem

As what I’ve said earlier, third-party apps may cause built-in ones to crash and we need to rule this possibility out first before we jump into other possibilities and we can do so by booting your phone up in safe mode. In doing this, you are actually disabling all third-party apps temporarily, so if the problem was due to a third-party app, then it shouldn’t show up when the phone is in this mode. This is how you start your Galaxy S7 in safe mode:

1. Press and hold the Power button.
2. When Samsung Galaxy Logo appears on the screen, release the Power button and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
3. Continue to hold the Volume Down key until the device finishes its rebooting.
4. Now, if “Safe Mode” appears on the bottom left corner of the screen then, you can release the Volume Down key.

While in this mode, try to trigger the error by opening the Gmail app and if the error still shows up, then move on to the next step. However, if the error disappeared, then our suspicion that one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem is confirmed. So, it’s time we went after those apps and once found, reset them by clearing their caches and data or simply uninstall them.

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 suspected app.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

To uninstall an app, follow the same steps but hit Uninstall.

Step 2: Reset the Gmail app

You do this if the error still occurs in Safe mode or if it still shows up after clearing the caches and data of suspected apps that trigger the problem. This time, you are actually resetting the Gmail app itself but don’t worry about anything as your email messages will remain in your Gmail inbox. In fact, you can access them through webmail.

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 Gmail.
6. Touch the Force Close button first.
7. Tap storage.
8. Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

As long as you didn’t remove your Google account, you won’t have to setup your account when you open the app after you’ve reset it. If the error still occurs after this, then it might be a firmware issue.

Step 3: Try to delete the system caches so they’ll be replaced with new ones

It’s possible that the system caches got corrupted for some reason and the system still continues to them especially that this problem occurred after an update. So, at this point in our troubleshooting, it’s just logical to try to delete the system caches. While it’s clear you’re deleting them, it actually doesn’t seem like it because the moment the phone boots up, those files will be replaced with new ones that are completely compatible with the new system. This is how you do it:

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.

After this procedure, try to trigger the error and if it still shows up, then the next step will surely fix it.

Step 4: Reset your Galaxy S7 to bring it back to default settings

We’ve received hundreds of problems from our readers that turned out to be the results of misconfiguration, although there were also cases wherein the problems were caused by firmware issues but regardless what the cause was, it’s now time to reset the device. The thing is, all your personal files and data will be deleted when you do this so make sure you create a backup and after that, follow these steps:

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.

I hope this helps.

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