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Here’s what you should do if Snapchat keeps crashing on your Samsung Galaxy S8 [Troubleshooting Guide]

The next major firmware update Samsung Galaxy S8 may receive will be Android Oreo so any other updates you may have received may be minor security patches that address problems reported by owners. Some of our readers sent us emails and complained about the Snapchat app that started to keep crashing shortly after an update. Some reported to have been getting the error “Unfortunately, Snapchat has stopped” while others said the app just closed by itself. Such behaviors are typical for apps that crash.

So in this post, we will tackle this problem and find out why Snapchat crashes by itself. We will look into every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can figure out what the problem really is all about. Once we know why the app crashes in the first place, we may be able to formulate a solution that may fix the problem for good. If you’re one of the owners of the Galaxy S8 and currently experiencing similar problem, continue reading below as this post may help you.

Before we actually go to our troubleshooting, if you are trying to find a solution to a different issue, drop by our Galaxy S8 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of problems with this phone. If you still need help, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us. We are more than willing to help you.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S8 with Snapchat app that keeps crashing

To better understand why this problem occurs on a powerful phone like your Galaxy S8, let’s take a look at some of the possibilities:

It might be just a minor glitch in the app or firmware
Snapchat may need to be updated
Some third-party apps may be causing Snapchat to crash
It could be a serious firmware problem that triggers the error

With these things in mind, here’s what you should do about your phone…

Step 1: Force restart your Galaxy S8

This is to address the possibility that the error “Unfortunately, Snapchat has stopped” is caused by a minor glitch in the system or the app itself. Doing the forced restart refreshes your phone’s memory while simulating battery disconnect. It’s imperative you do this procedure before anything else as it’s effective and safe for both your phone and your data.

Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys together for 10 seconds and your phone will reboot normally. After which, try opening and using Snapchat like you always do to know if the error would still pop up and if so, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Uninstall apps you suspect are causing the problem

There could be some apps you installed that triggered this problem so if you’re suspecting an app or two and as long as they’re not really that important to you, then try uninstalling them and use Snapchat to know if the error still shows up:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap the desired application.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If you’re suspecting an app is causing the problem but don’t have a clue which one it is, then I suggest you try resetting all settings in your phone. It’s basically just like a reset but doesn’t delete your files and data. It’s effective when it comes to this kind of problem:

From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Backup and reset.
Tap Reset settings.
Tap Reset settings, to confirm.
If applicable, enter the PIN, password or pattern.
Tap Reset settings.

After which and the problem still persists, then move on to the next step.

Step 3: Clear the cache and data of Snapchat

This procedure will reset the app back to its original settings or configuration. If the problem is limited to the app only, this procedure may fix it. You won’t lose any of your personal files and data but the caches created by the firmware to make Snapchat run smoothly as well as all the files created by the app in your phone’s local storage will be deleted and that’s what makes this procedure effective:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Swipe a few times to view the contents of ALL tab.
Find and tap Snapchat.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Open the app again to know if the error still pops up or if it closes by itself and if so, try the next step.

Step 4: Try to update Snapchat and all other apps that need updating

Many of our readers reported this problem shortly after a firmware update so it’s possible it’s just a compatibility issue. So, try to see if there’s an update available for the app in question and for all other apps in your phone. It’s imperative that all apps running on your phone are all updated so follow the steps below to update them:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Play Store.
Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu > Settings then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
Find and tap Snapchat and then tap Update to update it.

To update all apps, follow these steps:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Play Store.
Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu > Settings then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.

Step 5: Uninstall and reinstall Snapchat

To make sure you have the latest copy of Snapchat, it’s better to just uninstall and reinstall it even after you’ve updated it and the problem persists.

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Find and tap Snapchat.
Tap the desired application.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

And this is how you download and reinstall Messenger:

From the Home screen, navigate: Apps > Play Store.
Tap the Google Play search bar (at the top) then enter Snapchat and select it from the list.
Now tap Install.
To continue, review the required app permissions then tap Accept.

For problems similar to this one, reinstalling the app often fixes the problem but if the error would still show up even after doing this, then it might be a problem with the firmware already. In this case, you have to do the next step.

Step 6: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

You only have to do this if the problem still persists after the fifth step. This will bring the phone back to its factory default settings but delete all your personal files and data. The problem we’re tackling here is relatively minor and easy to fix and a reset is in fact, more than enough to fix it. So, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data before you reset your phone also, don’t forget to disable Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out.

How to disable FRP on your Galaxy S8

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap 3 dot icon.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to Master Reset your Galaxy S8

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.

What we did here is rule out every possibility and our troubleshooting ended up with a reset but hopefully it won’t be necessary for you. I hope this troubleshooting guide helps.

Galaxy S8 posts you may also like to read:

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Samsung Galaxy S7 keeps showing “Settings has stopped” error after Android 7.1 Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Settings has stopped” seems to be bugging some #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) owners shortly after the roll out of the Android 7.1 #Nougat update. It appears like it’s a firmware issue considering it started after the update but we really can’t be sure of that until we tried troubleshooting the device.

In this post, I will tackle this error message and I will walk you through in troubleshooting your phone so we can determine what the problem is, what caused it and what needs to be done to fix it. If you own a phone like this, recently downloaded the Nougat update and currently experiencing an error message like this, then read on as this post may be able to help you fix the problem.

However, before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you happen to have found this page while looking for a solution to a different issue, then visit our troubleshooting page for we have already answered hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions and troubleshooting procedures we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need more help, fill up our questionnaire here and hit submit to contact us.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that shows “Unfortunately, Settings has stopped” error

The Settings app is actually overseeing every setting in your phone to give you your preferences. It includes your settings in every app, feature and service in your device. That’s how important the Settings app is and when it crashes, if often means that it’s a firmware problem you’re facing. In which case, this is what you have to do…

Step 1: Delete the system cache since it’s firmware related

It is obvious the problem is caused by the new firmware installed on your phone and for firmware-related issues, it is wise to go after the system cache first before trying to get rid of other possibilities. If you’d ask why, here’s a few things you may need to know about the cache…

System caches get easily corrupted during firmware updates
They automatically become obsolete every after firmware update
They can be deleted without adverse effects on your phone’s performance
Clearing them from time to time will actually boost your phone’s performance
You don’t have access to individual cache nor know which one’s for the specific service

Now, here’s what you need to do to wipe off the directory where caches are saved:

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

Once the phone has successfully rebooted, try to trigger the error again just to know if it still pops up. Open the Settings app and change a setting or two. If the error won’t show up, then that did it, otherwise, move on to the next step as it may be a different case.

Step 2: Isolate the problem to know if it’s caused by third-party apps

It is important at this point that you know if the problem is caused by one of your apps and while it’s not easy to determine which app is causing it, at least, try to isolate it so that you have an idea if it’s third-party or pre-installed. To do so, all you need to do is reboot your device in safe mode and try to trigger the error. Now, this is how you boot your phone in safe mode:

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

While in this mode, try to open the Settings app again and change a setting or two just to try to trigger it. If the error does not show up, then it’s confirmed that one or some of your third-party apps is causing the problem. Find that app and try clearing its cache and data first. It will reset the app to its default settings and may possibly fix the issue, if not, then uninstall it to know if that makes a difference.

This is how you clear the cache and data of your apps, follow these steps to uninstall apps but hit Uninstall:

From Home screen, tap App icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications and Application manager.
Swipe to ALL tab.
Find and tap app in question.
Touch the Force Close button first.
Tap storage.
Tap Clear cache and Clear data, Delete.

Depending on the number of apps you installed on your device, it may take a few hours to actually pinpoint which one is the culprit, so, it’s better that if this is really the case, you just backup your data and files and then do the factory reset. It will delete everything in your device but will surely fix the problem and you just have to restore your files later. This is how you reset your phone:

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

Step 3: Rule out the possibility of a firmware issue by doing the Master Reset

It is actually just the same as the Factory Reset only that this method reformats both the cache and data partitions. In other words, it’s much more thorough than the reset through the Settings menu and considering we are dealing with an issue involving the Settings app that crashes, this one’s more reliable. Just make sure to backup your important files and data before doing the actual reset:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
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.
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
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.
Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

After doing the master reset procedure, don’t install anything yet instead try to trigger the error by changing some settings on your device. If the error still pops up, then the firmware has to be reinstalled but you cannot do that yourself; you need a technician for it.

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Samsung Galaxy S8 keeps showing “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” on your Samsung Galaxy #S8 smartphone notifies you that the built-in app that manages your contacts list crashes. While it’s clearly an app issue because an app crashes, it might just be a sign of a more serious firmware problem that’s it’s necessary to troubleshoot the device so that you may know what the real problem with your phone is.

I understand your Galaxy S8 is still new and it shouldn’t have any issues especially if it’s still a week or two with you. But then again, issues arise all the time even if you’re taking good care of your device. We need to know if this problem can be fixed without any help from a technician because if not, then that’s a valid reason to request a replacement. No one wants to deal with an issue like this, so read on.

But before anything else, if you’re currently experiencing different issues with your phone, then I suggest you visit our Samsung Galaxy S8 troubleshooting page for we’ve already started providing support to our readers who own this device. We understand your phone is still brand new and it should work perfectly without a hitch but not even Samsung can guarantee there won’t be any problems. What we do here is provide help to our readers the best we can so if we haven’t published posts about your concern, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error on Galaxy S8

Problem: Hi guys. I got a new Galaxy S8–I upgraded from S6 Edge–and just yesterday it started to show up the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” which puzzles me. The phone is barely a couple of week with me but there’s already a problem. It irritates because, first, it’s a brand new phone and second, I cannot make outgoing calls or receive incoming calls because this error shows up. I’m not quite sure what I have to do now and by the way, I hate going back to the store and explain this problem to the tech that’s why I’m contacting you guys because may be you can help. Thanks in advance.

Troubleshooting: The purpose of this troubleshooting is for us to know what’s happening with your phone so that we can immediately tell if this has something to do with the firmware or just a minor app problem. If it’s the former, you need to have to negotiate a replacement because it’s a serious problem and no one want to deal with it especially that the phone is new, however, if it’s just an issue with the app, then you can fix it without any help from a tech. That said, here’s what you should do for your Galaxy S8:

Step 1: Reboot your device in safe mode

First off, booting in safe mode is a safe procedure. None of your files or data will be deleted but the purpose of this procedure in this troubleshooting guide is for us to know if third-party apps, ones you downloaded or manually installed, is causing the problem. Booting in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party elements and once the phone is in this mode, try to trigger the error or open the app that’s crashing. If the error still pops up, then third-party apps and services are cleared of liability; meaning none of them is causing the problem.

However, if the error doesn’t show up even if you open the Contacts app and close it multiple times, then this issue is caused by one of those apps. Therefore, you need to take time finding the culprit and try to clear the cache and data of the suspected app first. If that won’t work, then you will have to resort to uninstallation. Refer to the instructions below on how to carry out these procedures.

How to reboot Galaxy S8 in Safe mode

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name 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.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

How to clear cache and data of apps on Galaxy S8

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy S8

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap the desired application.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Once you’ve done all this and the problem still occurs or the error still shows up, move on to the next step to continue your troubleshooting.

Step 2: Reset the Contacts app as it might be just an issue with the app

An app reset will actually be clearing its cache and data. You’ve already booted your phone up in safe mode and the error still occurs so it might be an issue with the pre-installed app. Since Contacts is specifically mentioned in the error, we have reasons to believe it’s the one having a problem so we have to reset it.

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap Contacts in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

You may have to reboot your phone after this and then try to open the same app to see if the error gets triggered and if so, we have to assume it’s a problem with the firmware. Move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system cache as it might be just an issue with some of them

Since we are now trying to rule out the possibility that it’s a firmware issue, then we have to go after the caches first. They’re actually temporary files generated by the system to make the opening or launching of apps and services quicker the next time you open them. However, these files are also prone to being corrupted and when it happens, things like this could occur. Another reason why we have to do this first is because your files and data are safe and it has a reset-like effect on your phone. Here’s how you do it:

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 cache partition.”
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Observation is key to knowing what the problem with your phone really is, so after the phone rebooted, try to open the app that’s crashing to find out if the problem remained. If so, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Step 4: Backup important files and then reset your Galaxy S8

This is your last resort. If the problem still shows up after this, then you have to bring the phone back to the store and have it replaced because such problem is very annoying and affects the most basic purpose of a phone–be able to make / receive calls. However, you will lose all important files you saved in your phone’s internal storage, so make sure to create a backup. After that, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) or the anti-theft feature:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap 3 dot icon.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

Then, follow these steps to reset your phone:

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.

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How to fix Facebook & Messages apps that crash on Samsung Galaxy S7

Learn how to fix the “Unfortunately, #Facebook has stopped” error on a #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7).
What to do if you’re greeted with “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error message when trying to send a text message.
Learn how to troubleshoot an app that keeps freezing or lagging.

In this post, I will address two identical issues, although each is referring to a different app. The first error is “Unfortunately, Facebook has stopped” and the second one is the same only that is speaks of the Messages app.

Facebook already comes pre-installed in the Galaxy S7 so it can’t be uninstalled but unlike the Messages app, it’s not deeply embedded in the firmware. Continue reading to know how to deal with these errors.

Before going any further, if you have other concerns, visit our troubleshooting page and try to find issues that are similar to yours. Feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If you need further assistance, you may fill up our Android problems questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Q: “I owned a Galaxy S5 and upgraded to the Galaxy S7. Never actually regretted the decision because this new phone is fast and has great looks. There is, however, one issue that is so persistent. An error message just came out one day and I don’t know what caused it. It says, “Unfortunately, Facebook has stopped.” If it were a Galaxy S5, I should have uninstalled and reinstalled the app but with the Galaxy S7, I can no longer do that. What gives? Help me please.”

A: Yeah, that’s right. Facebook is already embedded in the firmware of the Galaxy S7 (and Edge) so it can’t be uninstalled. However, there’s one thing you can do fix this and that’s to clear it’s cache and data:

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Find and tap on Settings.
Touch Applications and then Application manager.
Swipe to ALL tab.
Find and touch Facebook.
Touch the Force Close button first.
Then, tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

If the error just popped up out of nowhere, it might be just a minor glitch with the app and doing the steps above will fix it. However, if this problem occurred after updating the device, then you should try wiping the cache partition if the procedure above didn’t work.

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

That should do it.

Q: “I think there was an update recently but I’m not sure if it was for the phone or just some apps. Anyway, after the update, I can no longer send text messages because every time I open the app, the error “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” would pop up and there’s no other options but OK and REPORT. Have you guys heard about this problem? If so, how can you fix it?”

A: Yeah, it’s a common error, actually. The “Messages” in the error is referring to the native messaging app that crashes immediately after you open it. More often than not, clearing its cache and data fixes the problem but if it fails, then you have just to reset your phone.

Clear Cache and Data of Messages

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Find and tap on Settings.
Touch Applications and then Application manager.
Swipe to ALL tab.
Find and touch Messages.
Touch the Force Close button first.
Then, tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

A reset is necessary if the procedure above won’t work simply because it’s a pre-installed app that’s crashing. Unlike the Facebook app that also came pre-installed, the Messages app is embedded in the firmware natively that’s why a reset is necessary. However, before you actually do that, make sure you back up your data and files including your pictures, music, etc.

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
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.

When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
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.

Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Q: “Some of the apps in my phone just freeze when I open them. So, I have to reboot my phone to make it work again but then when I open the same app, it freezes again. There are also apps that open successfully but very slow or laggy that I can’t do what I need to do with them. What’s the problem with my phone?”

A: Your phone might be suffering from a general performance issue that is often characterized by crashing, freezing or lagging apps. If there are more than two apps that do this, then you have to immediately do firmware troubleshooting procedures instead of troubleshooting each individual app. A reset is necessary.

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Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) keeps popping up “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped” that your Samsung Galaxy J3 keeps showing basically notifies you that the built-in web browser has stopped and it doesn’t necessarily mean the internet connectivity got interrupted or something. Needless to say, it’s an issue with an app and not with one of the core functions or services.

App issues might be caused by other apps and while pre-installed apps like Internet always works well with other built-in applications, there are third-party elements that may trigger a conflict, thus, resulting to this error. There are also times that it’s just a problem with the app itself or an issue with the firmware due to some files that may have been corrupted, changed, deleted or became incompatible with the system. Read on to know more about this error message and how to get rid of it.

Before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues, drop by our Galaxy J3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed many issues with this phone since we started supporting it. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting procedures or solutions we suggested. Should you need further assistance from us, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 with error “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped”

Problem: I got this relatively cheap phone called J3 and my first two months of use was good until a few days back when my internet stopped. Well, at least, that’s what the box that keeps showing says, “Unfortunately, Internet has stopped.” I cannot browse because every time I do, the error shows up. Don’t have any idea why this is happening in the first place let alone a clue on how to fix it. Can you help?

Troubleshooting: You may not be able to browse because the app you’re using to browse the web keeps crashing but it appears that you still have an active internet connection. But let’s set that aside for now so we can troubleshoot your device and get rid of the error…

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

This will reset the app back to its factory default settings but will also delete your bookmarks and browsing history. Nonetheless, it’s a necessary procedure you need to do before you proceed with your troubleshooting.

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

After this one, try to open the Internet app to see if it still crashes and if so, move on to the next step. However, based on reports from our readers, this might be the one procedure you have to undergo and the problem may be fixed.

Step 2: Restart your device in Safe mode to know if third-party apps are causing the error

This one will definitely isolate the problem; it will tell you whether or not your third-party apps (ones you downloaded from the Play Store or installed manually) have something to do with it. This is how you boot your J3 in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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’.

If the error gets fixed in this mode, then it’s confirmed that the cause of the problem is one or some of the third-party apps. Find the culprit and uninstall it, otherwise, move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system caches so that they’ll be replaced

If the error message keeps showing up while the phone is in safe mode, then the problem is with the firmware or, at least, it’s time to look into this possibility and rule it out before doing a reset. The next procedure I want to show you is about how to delete the system caches and force the phone to create new ones that are completely compatible with the firmware.

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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 cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the problem continues, however, then you have no other option but to reset your device.

Step 4: You must reset your phone to bring it back to factory default settings

At this point, a reset is necessary. You’ve done the basics but they didn’t return a favorable result. A reset, however, will delete all your personal files and data so make sure to make a backup of things you don’t want to lose.

After backing up, disable the anti-theft security feature and then do the reset. This is how to disable it…

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.

And this is how you reset your device…

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

I hope we were able to help you with your problem.

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Samsung Galaxy J7 popping up the error “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” [Troubleshooting Guide]

Read and understand why a mid-range device like the #Samsung Galaxy #J7 may suffer from error messages like “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” which involves a built-in application. Also learn how to troubleshoot your phone so that you’d know what to do if this error ever happened to you.

Google Photos is one of the apps mandated by Google to be on every Android device on the planet. It’s basically a photo sharing and storage service and while there are other apps that offer the same service, owners would tend to use it in managing multimedia files apart from the Gallery.

There are times when apps crash and affect the performance of some other apps. In this post, we’re tackling the error message “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” which basically talks about the Google Photos that crashed for some unknown reason. But the fact that it’s a pre-installed app, the problem is more likely related to the firmware and that’s what we need to find out to be able to fix this problem.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy J7 and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading this post as it may be able to help you understand what the problem is all about. It may even give you an idea what you have to do in order to fix the problem.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that keeps showing “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” error

We want to help our readers fix the problem with their phones especially those who spent time contacting us and giving us detailed information about their issues. However, there are problems that we can’t solve online especially ones that have something to do with the hardware of the phone. That’s why, if the problem persists after doing our troubleshooting guides, we always refer them to a technician so that their phone will be taken care of.

Below are some of the procedures we suggest you follow to try to fix the problem or get rid of this error but please proceed at your own risk as there are times when things happen unexpectedly. Now, before we jump right into our troubleshooting, here’s one of the complaints we received from our readers that best describes this issue:

Problem: Hi guys! There is an error message in my phone that keeps popping up whenever I try to view the pictures I’ve taken using the camera. The error says “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” and as a result I cannot view some photos whenever I want due to this error. I’m not sure what triggers it but there are times when I can view my pictures without being greeted by this error. But even so, I want the problem to be fixed since I don’t know when the error may show up again. By the way, my phone is a Samsung Galaxy J7 which has been with me for a few months now. Help me please.

Now that we know how the problem occurs and affects the performance of your device, there are things you can do to try to get rid of the error.

Step 1: Reboot your phone in safe mode to know if third-party apps have something to do with the error

We don’t know for sure if one or some of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store or installed manually is causing the problem. That’s why I suggest you try booting your phone up in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party.

The rationale behind this procedure is that, if the problem is caused by a third-party app, then the error should not pop up when in safe mode. That alone is a starting point. You can try uninstalling apps your recently installed until you can pinpoint which of them is causing the problem. This is how you bring your J7 to boot in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J7. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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’.

If the error still shows up in this mode, then it might be a problem with the app itself.

Step 2: Clear the cache and data of the Photos app to reset it

Let’s rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by the app itself. Perhaps the Photos app crashes by itself for some reason that’s why we need to clear its cache and data to reset it.

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

If the error still shows up after this, then go after the firmware.

Step 3: Delete the system caches as some of them may have been corrupted

System caches can easily get corrupted and when the firmware continues to use them, thing like this may happen. It’s imperative you that delete the system cache so that they’ll be replaced and provided the problem is as simple as this, then the procedure below is all you need to fix the issue:

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 cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and reset your Galaxy J7

After doing all the steps above and the problem still continues or the error still shows up, it’s time you backup your data and personal files and then reset your device. Bring the phone back to its original configuration to know if that fixes the problem. If the error still shows up, however, then the firmware may need to be reinstalled but try this method first:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
Turn off your Galaxy J7.
Press and hold the Volume Up button 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.

For the error “Unfortunately, Photos has stopped” a mere factory reset will fix the problem for you but then again there’s no guarantee. So after this and the problem remained, it’s time to have the phone checked by a technician.

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How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J3 with “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The Messages app is the default texting app on your Samsung Galaxy J3. When the error “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” shows up whenever you open it, it just means the app crashes and stops working. When it happens you, of course, cannot continue using it and if it’s the only messaging app in your phone, texting would be impossible.

Based on our experience, this kind of problem is kind of minor. Meaning, we may be able to fix it on our own without much of a trouble especially if it occurred without apparent reason. However, you have to take note that built-in apps are deeply rooted in the firmware, so there’s also a possibility that the problem with the app is just a sign of a looming serious firmware issue.

We can do some troubleshooting procedures that will help us determine if this problem is fixable without any help from a technician. It’s always worth a shot doing something that can potentially fix the problem and we encourage you to do that as it may save you from a lot of trouble going to the shop and explaining the problem to the tech not to mention the hours you would spend waiting to get the phone fixed. Continue reading below as we may be able to help you get rid of the “Messages has stopped” error on your Galaxy J3.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy J3 with “Messages has stopped” error

Problem: Hello guys. I have a problem with my Galaxy J3 and I hope it’s not really serious. An error message “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” has started showing up and I don’t know when. I can still continue using my phone normally except for texting because whenever I open the app for that, this message shows up instead of the app. There are only two options I can choose from when this error shows and neither fixes the problem. Either I hit OK or REPORT the app still closes and when I open it again the same error shows up. Can you please look into this problem and if you know how to fix it, can you please help me? Thanks in advance.

Troubleshooting: Your Galaxy J3’s default text messaging app is Messages and the error actually notifies you that it crashed or stopped working for some unknown reason. Based on our experience, however, this kind of problem is often limited to the app and there’s a big possibility we can fix it without having to go through all troubleshooting procedures we often do to more serious app and firmware issues.

It is imperative that we troubleshoot your phone so that we would know what this error is all about, what triggers it and what needs to be done to get rid of it so you can continue using the app without any issues. With all that being said, here’s what i think you should do about this:

Step 1: Reset the Messages app by clearing its cache and data

By resetting the Messages app, we can rule out the possibility that this problem is actually just a minor issue with the default texting application. This is the first thing you should do because more often than not, when an app crashes, the problem might just be with it. And secondly, it’s a safe procedure so it’s logical to rule it out first before going to more complex troubleshooting procedures. Here’s how you do it:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Messages in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

If our suspicion that the problem is only with the app, then after doing this procedure, the error may already disappear and you may continue using your phone normally. However, if the error still shows up every time you try to compose or read text messages, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Run your Galaxy J3 in Safe mode to disable third-party apps

It is also possible that the error is triggered by one of the apps you installed. While Messages is a built-in app, it may still affected by some third-party apps. It’s imperative you take time figuring out if one of the apps you downloaded from the Play Store or one of their services is causing this problem. So, in this step, I want you to reboot your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party elements in your phone. If the problem is caused by one of them, then the error shouldn’t show up while the device is in 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’.

While in this mode and the error doesn’t show up when you text, then you need to find out the third-party app that’s causing the problem and try updating it if there’s an available update, then try to reset it by clearing its cache and data, and lastly, you may uninstall it to probe even further.

How to update applications on your Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
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.

How to reset applications in your Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
Tap Clear cache.

How to uninstall applications from your Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

You may have to do these procedures to all the apps you suspect are causing the problem and I want to tell you it takes up so much time. So, it’s all up to you if you want to go through all of this by yourself or have some professional check out your phone for you.

If the problem still continues after doing all this, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Run your phone in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

The cache partition is a directory wherein all system caches are stored. More often than not, these files get corrupted especially during firmware updates. When the phone continues to use corrupt caches (as it can’t detect if it’s corrupt or not), performance-related issues may occur and some apps may crash. When system caches get deleted, the phone will rebuild them the moment it reboots and if the problem is actually with the caches, then the procedure below may be able to fix it.

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 cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Wait for the phone to become active after this as it rebuilds the caches and may take a minute or two to boot up. If the error still shows up when you open the texting app, then the next step should be done.

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

After doing the previous steps and the error still won’t go away and you still can text, then this is the next thing you should do. It’s a very effective procedure and you may actually fix this problem with it. The catch is you will lose all your files and data especially those that are stored in your phone’s internal storage. So, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data, then disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out after the reset and then it’s time to reset your phone.

After the reset don’t install apps nor restore your data. Instead, open the Messaging app and then send a test message to your own number. If the error won’t show up and you’ve actually sent and received the message, then problem fixed.

How to disable Factory Reset Protection in your Galaxy J3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
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 Menu.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to Master reset your Galaxy J3

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.

You can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Cloud and accounts.
Tap Backup and restore.
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 the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset device.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.

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Google Chrome keeps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus [Troubleshooting Guide]

Your #Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ (#S6EdgePlus) has two built-in web browsers. The first one is labelled “Internet” and it’s Samsung’s initiative to rename it so that users would find it easier to determine which app will be used by web browsing. The second is Chrome, which is one of the mandatory apps imposed by Google and can be found in every Android device in the market today.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and are currently bugged by similar problems like some apps are crashing randomly, then continue reading as you may find this post helpful in fixing the problem. In this post, however, I’ll be tackling the error message “Unfortunately, Chrome has stopped” error on a Galaxy S6 Edge+ but for certain some troubleshooting procedures here may work for you, so read on.

Before anything else, make sure you drop by our S6 Edge+ troubleshooting page as we have already addressed or answered a lot of problems that were reported to us by our readers who own this phone. Try to find problems that are similar to yours and use the solutions we suggested. Should you need more help, contact us by filling up our Android problems questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S6 Edge+ showing “Unfortunately, Chrome has stopped” error

We will try to troubleshoot your phone to know why Google Chrome keeps on crashing. This way, we would be able to tell what the problem really is and what needs to be done to get rid of the error and fix the problem for good to prevent it from happening again. But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, here’s one of the messages from our readers that describes exactly how this error happens…

Problem: Hi guys. I have a problem with my phone and I hope you can help me get rid of it. The problem is that an error keeps showing up on my screen saying “Unfortunately, Chrome has stopped.” It’s not giving me anything except that error so I don’t know how to get rid of it or fix the problem so it won’t show up. At first I didn’t mind it but it became annoying that it keeps showing up every couple of minutes or so. I just want my phone to work like before minus the error message and whatever it brings along. By the way my phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge+ and I bought it brand new last year and I’ve taken care of it. I hope this is enough. Thanks.

When this error message bugs you, this is what you’re going to do…

Step 1: Boot your phone up in Safe mode to know if the error still shows up

We have to know first if the error is triggered by a third-party app or if it’s with the app itself. Booting the phone in safe mode will temporarily disable all third-party apps and this will isolate the problem. If the error still shows up while in safe mode, then it might be just an app problem or an issue with the firmware that needs to be addressed immediately. Follow these steps to start your device up in Safe mode and continue your troubleshooting:

Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 20 to 30 seconds.
Once you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key immediately but continue pressing the Volume Down key.
Your phone should continue booting up and you will be prompted to unlock your phone as usual.
You will know if the phone successfully booted in safe mode if the text “Safe mode” is displayed at the lower-left corner of the screen.

Continue using your phone while in this mode to know if the error still shows up. If there’s one specific app that triggers it, then use it until you’re satisfied that the error doesn’t show up anymore. In this case, it’s clear that one or some of the apps you installed is causing the problem.

Step 2: Clear cache and data of suspected third-party apps

You do this if Chrome no longer crashes in safe mode. What you basically have to do is find the app that’s causing the problem and once found, clear it’s cache and data to reset it and let the firmware create a new cache for it.

From any Home screen, tap Apps.
Tap Settings.
Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
Swipe right to the ALL screen.
Scroll to and tap suspected.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data button, then OK.

But then again, finding the culprit is easier said than done. So, you basically would have to clear caches and data of some apps that you think are causing the problem. If the clearing of caches and data doesn’t work, then you have no other choice but to uninstall them. They’re third-party apps so you can re-download them later. Just follow the same steps as above but hit uninstall.

Step 3: Reset Google Chrome by clearing its cache and data

After resetting suspected apps and the problem remains, then it’s time to go after the Google Chrome itself. You may have to reset it by clearing its cache and data as well but before that, make sure you sync your data with your Google account especially your bookmarks as they’ll be deleted once you do this…

From any Home screen, tap Apps.
Tap Settings.
Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
Swipe right to the ALL screen.
Scroll to and tap Chrome.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data button, then OK.

If the error still shows up after doing this, then you should troubleshoot the firmware.

Step 4: Delete the system caches so they’ll be replaced with new ones

The firmware actually creates temporary files that it uses when using apps or services. These files are called caches wherein they help in making your device run smoothly. While caches get replaced when deleted and normally don’t affect the overall performance of the device, it’s different when they get corrupted and the system continues to use them as there would be some noticeable effects on how the phone behaves. In this case, this is what you have to do:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Step 5: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

After doing the previous steps and the problem or the error remained, then it’s time to reset your phone. This will bring it back to its factory default settings or a configuration that works. However, your files, data, apps, pictures, etc. will all be deleted so make sure you make a backup before following these steps:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
Press the Vol Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

The error message “Unfortunately, Chrome has stopped” is actually just a minor problem and can be fixed by a reset, so I hope this troubleshooting guide helps.

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How to fix Samsung Galaxy J3 that shows “Warning: Camera failed” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Read and understand why a well-designed entry-level phone with impressive specs like the #Samsung Galaxy J3 (#GalaxyJ3) will have issues with its camera and shows the error “Warning: Camera failed.” Also learn how to troubleshoot your device when this problem happens to you.

One of the busiest features in your Android phone is the camera as it requires the app, firmware and hardware to work simultaneously and in-sync to be able to capture that perfect still or record a video with good quality.

There are, of course, times when the synch is interrupted, the app fails to initialize or the hardware encounters a glitch. When things like these happen, you can expect your phone not to work properly but all of these happen in the background and so fast you won’t notice what’s happening until your phone displays an error to notify you of the problem.

In this post, I will tackle one of the most common camera-related errors–”Warning: Camera failed.” You may experience lags or your device may freeze for a few seconds before the error shows up as apparently, there’s a problem somewhere and knowing what it is will help you fix it quickly. Read on to learn what to do if this problem happens to you. Our troubleshooting guide may work for you, after all, it’s not the first time we encountered this problem as it’s been happening to other Galaxy models way before the J3 is released.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J3 that shows “Warning: Camera failed” error

It’s obvious the error message is talking about the Camera that doesn’t work the way it should but it’s not really clear what the problem is all about since it only said that it “failed.” There’s another error you may encounter if you have issues with the camera of your phone and it would display “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” and between these two errors, the former is more serious since it’s more of a hardware problem than an app or firmware issue.

Now, before we proceed, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this problem.

Problem: Hi guys. I have a problem with my phone and I hope you can help. First off, my phone is a Samsung Galaxy J3, I hope you’re familiar with it. While it’s just an entry-level phone (well not as expensive as my brother’s S7 Edge), it’s one of the smartphones in the market that gives you more than what you’ve paid for design- and performance-wise. Anyways, the problem is that every time I open the camera, there’s a warning that says “Warning: Camera failed” and the camera won’t continue to open up. Needless to say, I cannot use it to take pictures or record videos. This problem started about a couple of days ago and now I’m kind of panicking because it’s not working the way it should. What can I do to fix it? Thanks!

Troubleshooting: Now, let’s try to troubleshoot the problem to see if we can get the phone to open the camera app without displaying the said error. Here’s what you have to do…

Step 1: Soft reboot your phone to see if the error goes away

While it’s basically just a reboot, it’s kind of special in a way that it refreshes the phone’s memory. All you have to do is remove the battery while the phone is still powered on. The phone turns off naturally, now press and hold the Power key for a minute while the battery is still out. After that, replace the battery, place the back cover on and then turn the phone on. Now try to open the camera all to see if the error still shows up and if so, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Reboot your device in safe mode

We often call this a safe mode remedy but it doesn’t actually fix the problem, it just gives you an idea whether the problem is caused by one or some of the third-party apps installed on your phone or not. When the device is in safe mode (diagnostic state), only the pre-installed applications are left running as third-party apps are temporarily disabled. Therefore, if the problem is caused by one of the downloaded apps, then your camera should work without a hitch while your device is in this mode. This is how you boot your Galaxy J3 in safe mode:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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’.

After booting in this mode, there will be two scenarios; either the problem continues or gets fixed.

If the problem continues, then we might be facing a firmware-related issue and you will have to continue troubleshooting your phone. Move on to the next step if this is the case.

On the other hand, if the problem got fixed while in this mode, that is if the error message doesn’t show up anymore when you use the camera, then it’s confirmed that the issue is caused by one or some of the third-party apps installed on your device. You need to find the app, clear its cache and data and then try to trigger the error again. If the problem still continues, then you have to uninstall suspected apps. You may have to reboot your phone from safe mode to normal mode and back to further test if the problem remained or not.

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

After ruling out the possibility that the problem is caused by a third-party app, it’s time you troubleshoot the camera app itself and the best thing to do about it is to reset the app. You can do so by clearing its cache and data. Don’t worry about your pictures and videos as they won’t be deleted, however, if you’re set the camera to work the way you want, such preference will be gone and you will have to set the camera again.

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

You cannot uninstall this app since it’s pre-installed, well, not unless you have root access, which we don’t recommend as it would void the warranty of your phone. If the problem still persists after this procedure, then it’s time that you move on to the next step.

Step 4: Delete the system caches as some of them may have already been corrupted

Caches don’t actually cause adverse effects on your phone’s performance when deleted, however, if they become corrupt and the firmware continues to use them, that’s when problems like this happen. We need to rule this possibility out as many of our readers before reported having experienced similar issues and were able to fix them by deleting the system cache.

You’re not actually just deleting the caches, you’re forcing the new system to create new caches and replace the old and corrupt ones. In other words, there’s a high probability that this problem will be fixed by this procedure not to mention the performance of the device may be improved. Here’s how you do it…

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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 cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

It may take a little longer for the phone to finally reboot after wiping the cache partition but just wait for it. After which, when it’s up and running, try to open the camera app again to see if the problem still continues and if so, then you have no other option but to do the next step.

Step 5: Master Reset your Galaxy J3

We are now at the stage of ruling out the possible firmware problem. We’ve already tried going after the caches to no avail so you will have to bring the phone back to its factory default settings not to mention delete everything in the phone’s internal storage except system files. So, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data as you can never restore them once deleted. After which, follow these steps:

Power off your Galaxy J3. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
Press and hold the Volume Up button and then press and hold the Home key. While holding both, press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo appears on the screen, release all three keys. It may take a minute before the Android recovery screen appears.
While on Android recovery screen, use the Volume Down key to highlight options, in this case, highlight the option ‘wipe data/factory reset.’
Press the Power key to choose the highlighted option.
Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ option is highlighted.
Press the Power key to confirm the reset.
Once the reset is complete, press the Power key to choose ‘Reboot system now.’
The phone will restart a little longer than usual and the reset is finished.

If the problem still continues after this procedure, then we can say at this point that it’s a hardware issue. That said, it’s time you sent it in for checkup and/or repair.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 pops up “Messages has stopped” error after Android 7 Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Texting problems seem to become more common nowadays and while they occur any time, many have encountered similar issues after the anticipated Android 7 #Nougat update. In fact, we’ve already received quite a lot of reports from our readers who own #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) units because many complained about the error message “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped.” We’ve already tackled this problem before but there are still a lot of our readers who are bugged by this error so we still have to address this problem especially that a new firmware has recently been rolled out.

If you own this device, recently updated it to Android N and you’re currently bugged by this error message, then read on for you to understand why this error message shows up on your high-end smartphone that’s running the latest firmware version. Also learn how to troubleshoot it so that you can continue using your device like before.

Here’s one of the actual messages we’ve received from our readers that best describes this issue…

“Hello guys. My Galaxy S7 just got an update, which I downloaded and I think it was properly installed as the phone rebooted on its own after the download. After the update, I received a text message from a friend, saw the notification and tapped on the message. When the app was about to open, there was a message that popped up, it said “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” then when I tapped OK the app closed. Tried opening the app manually but the error still shows up every time. What can I do?”

Now, before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you happen to find this post because you were searching for a solution to a different problem, then visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of issues sent by our readers since we started supporting Galaxy S7. find issues that are, in one way or another, similar with yours and then try to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us. Give us the information we need and we’ll help you find a solution.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that shows “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped” error

Problem: I have the Samsung Galaxy S7 I purchased a few months ago and since I got it, there were a few updates I downloaded and my phone just worked fine through them. The recent update, however, messed up my phone pretty badly to the point that I can no longer read my messages due to the error “Unfortunately, Messages has stopped.” I don’t know what to do about this so if you guys can help me that would be great. Thanks.

The error message basically speaks of the default messaging app called Messages that crashed or force closed for some reason. In this case, we’re dealing this issue that occurred after the Android N update on the S7 so there’s a chance that the new firmware has some issues affecting some apps prompting them to crash or vice versa. Of course, there could be other causes or reasons why a pre-installed app crashes and we have to look into those possibilities. Here’s what needs to be done…

Step 1: Reset the Messages app to its default settings

The rule of thumb is to go after the app that’s explicitly mentioned in the error message so in this case, we’ll go after the Messages app itself. However, you may lose all your text and picture messages if you did this but it can potentially fix the problem.

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Find and tap on Settings.
Touch Applications and then Application manager.
Swipe to ALL tab.
Find and touch Messages.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

After doing this procedure, open the Messages app and then compose a message and send it to your own number just to see if the error shows up or triggered. It may be the only procedure you can do to fix this problem, however, if the error still pops up, then the next step might help.

Step 2: Try to see if the problem is caused by a third-party app

Third-party apps have a tendency to mess up pre-installed ones that’s why it’s imperative that as early as now you isolate the problem to know if one or some of your downloaded apps is causing the problem. To do so, just boot your phone in safe mode (diagnostic state) to temporarily disable all third-party apps, follow these steps:

Press and hold the Power key.
As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

After the phone has successfully rebooted in this mode, compose a text message and send it to your own number to try to trigger the error. If the problem is fixed, then there is an app that’s causing this problem. Try to uninstall third-party apps you suspect and then boot your phone in normal mode and send a test message to yourself. You may have to uninstall more than one app to determine which one’s the culprit.

On the other hand, if the problem still persists even in safe mode, then it’s possible we’re dealing with a firmware problem. Move on to the next step.

Step 3: Delete the system cache so they’ll be replaced

The system cache can easily get corrupted especially during firmware updates that’s why it’s recommended to clear them from time to time because while they don’t have adverse effects on the performance when deleted, they can slow your phone down when the new system continues to use obsolete or corrupt ones. You don’t have access to individual caches that’s why you have to wipe off the entire content of the cache partition to delete them. Here’s how you do it…

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

After this, send a text message to your number again to see if the error gets triggered and if so, then the next step is your last resort before seeking assistance from a technician.

Step 4: Perform the Master Reset to bring your phone back to default settings

At this point in our troubleshooting, there’s not much we can do about the problem so we really have to bring the phone back to its factory default settings to know if it has something to do with the configuration or if some of the system files and data got corrupted. However, make sure you backup all your files and data saved in your phone’s internal storage before doing the actual reset as they will be deleted and can no longer be restored after that.

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
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.
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
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.
Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

After the reset, don’t install any app yet but try to send a text message to your own number to trigger the problem. If the issue still persists, then seek help from a technician who can do further tests on your phone.

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How to fix Facebook app that keeps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus? [Troubleshooting Guide]

Problems on crashing apps can be attributed to many factors including errors within the app or phone system itself. No matter how sturdy an app is, it still can give into such trouble at some point. As a matter of fact, a lot of smartphones users have been complaining about this problem usually after installing new apps and firmware updates on their respective devices. Here in this post, I will tackle a similar issue regarding Facebook app that keeps crashing on a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus handset. Read on and find out what triggers this problem to occur and what users must do to fix it.

Apps crashing problem can also be associated with insufficient memory on the phone. While this may not be the case on your end given that what you have is a new powerful device that is packed with huge storage capacity, it won’t hurt to check the current memory status. Doing so ensures that the problem has not something to do with insufficient storage. If all is good with the internal memory and yet Facebook is still crashing on your Galaxy S9 Plus, go ahead and troubleshoot the problem with the following workarounds.

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our Galaxy S9 Plus 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 fix Galaxy S9 Plus with Facebook app that keeps crashing

Here are the things you should do if Facebook keeps on crashing on your Galaxy S9 Plus…

Quit and restart the Facebook app.

Any app can become erratic at times and Facebook is no exemption. For first time instances, the problem on crashing apps can be dealt with by forcing the app to quit and then restart the app. Usually things will go back to normal after doing so. Hence, it’s also worth a shot. That said, simply quit or close the Facebook app as you usually do.

Clearing recent apps can also help. Here’s how it’s done:

Touch and hold the Recent apps key at the bottom left corner of the screen. Doing so opens a list of recent apps.
To close an individual app, simply swipe it to the right or tap the X.
To close all recent apps at once, touch the option to Close All.

After doing that, relaunch Facebook and see if it’s already working stable.

Reboot your phone (soft reset).

A soft reset or reboot has been regarded as the simplest yet most effective solution to various types of device issues inflicted by minor software errors and glitches. It’s the easiest way to give your device a clean fresh start. There is no need to worry of losing critical data in the process. So if you haven’t already, go ahead and reboot or soft reset your Galaxy S9 Plus. Here’s how:

Press the Power button for a few seconds until the menu appears on the screen.
Select Power off from the menu options.
Then tap OK. Your phone will then shut down.
After 30 seconds, press the Power button again until your phone powers on.

In the case where the display becomes unresponsive after Facebook crashes, a forced restart would be necessary. It does the same function as a soft reset but carried out in a slightly different manner. Here’s how:

Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for up to 45 seconds or until the phone power cycles.

No data will be affected in the process so all your personal information are intact afterwards.

Check for and install Facebook updates.

Just like other robust apps, Facebook also receives periodic updates rolled out by Facebook app devs to keep the system optimized and up-to-date. Given the fact the millions of people are now using the app, it’s just reasonable for the developers to keep it enthralling and stable. Here’s how to check for the latest Facebook app update on your Galaxy S9 Plus:

Open the Apps tray by swiping up on an empty spot on the Home screen.
Touch to open the Play Store app.
Touch Menu.
Go to My Apps.
- If an update is available for Facebook app, touch Update next to the Facebook app.
- If multiple apps updates are available, select the option to Update all apps at once.
To update apps automatically, go to Menu-> Settings-> then select the option to Auto-update apps.

After updating Facebook app, reboot your device then try to see if that fixes the problem.

Clear cache and data on Facebook.

Caches pertain to temporary files and data stored on the Facebook app memory. These files are comprised of your previous login details, browsing data and other information you previously used within the app. These temporary files are stored for faster loading of the same information in the future. While this offers benefit in terms of speed loading, it likewise can cause you this trouble when any of these temporary files crashes or gets corrupted. This is when clearing of app cache and data would be necessary. Here’s how it’s done:

Swipe up on an empty spot on the Home screen. Doing so will open the Apps tray.
Touch Settings.
Touch Apps.
Touch to select Facebook app in the list.
If Facebook comes preinstalled on your device, tap Menu-> Show system apps.
Touch Storage.
Touch Clear Cache.
Touch Clear Data. Choosing this option deletes your Facebook login details, searches, and other previous data you’ve used within the app.
Finally, touch Delete to confirm.

Restart your phone then relaunch the Facebook app on your Galaxy S9 Plus. You will need to enter your login details and sign into your account again.

Uninstall and reinstall Facebook.

You may need to uninstall Facebook app on your device especially if the problem persists after exhausting all prior procedures. It is possible that the app itself is screwed by some serious bugs that could not be remedied by the previous workarounds. A remedy is therefore to delete the app and then download and install the latest version of Facebook app on your device. That way, everything is supposed to be fresh and free from bugs. Here’s what you should do then:

Swipe up on an empty spot on the Home screen to open the Apps tray.
Touch Settings.
Touch Apps.
Select Facebook in the list.
Choose the option to Uninstall the app.
Then touch OK to confirm.

After you have successfully uninstalled Facebook, restart your device then navigate back to the Play Store. Download and install Facebook on your device then see how it works.

Wipe cache partition on your Galaxy S9 Plus.

Aside from apps, your phone also stores temporary files in a directory called system cache partition. And just like on the apps, temporary files and data in the system cache partition can also crash or get corrupted. And when this happens, some system functions on the phone becomes erratic. Problems may transpire on certain apps, if not the entire system. Should this be the underlying cause, wiping the cache partition on your Galaxy S9 Plus can be a potential solution. Here’s how it’s done:

Power off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Bixby, and Power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
Release all three buttons when the Android logo appears.
You will then see a message that says, “Installing system update” for about 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options show up on the display.
Press the Volume Down button several times to highlight or select Wipe Cache Partition from the given options.
Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
Press the Volume Down button again to highlight/select Yes, then press the Power button to confirm selection. Your phone then instigates wiping of the cache partition. When finished, the Reboot system now option is highlighted.
Press the Power button to restart your device.

Launch and use Facebook and see how it performs this time.

Contact Facebook Help Center

You may reach out to the Facebook Help Center and escalate the problem you have with their app. That way they can be fully aware of the issue and probably have it included in their list of priority problems for prompt fixing. Bug fixes for Facebook app and other third-party apps are typically rolled out through updates. Thus keeping your app up to date is highly recommended.

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“Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error keeps popping up on Samsung Galaxy A3 [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” is actually a notification to let the user know that the default Contacts manager has crashed. It often occurs when the app itself is opened or when another app that’s linked to it tries to open it. The thing is that you cannot immediately determine if the problem is limited to the app alone or if it’s triggered by other apps. Some of our readers that use the Samsung Galaxy A3 reported to have encountered this issue that’s why we find it necessary to address it.

In this post, we will try to consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can easily determine what the problem is or what caused it. Then we will do some of the troubleshooting procedures that may fix the problem. If you are one of our readers who reached out to us or if you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this post may be able to help you.

Before we proceed with our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem, you may want to visit our A3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, you can always contact us by filling up our questionnaire here.

Troubleshooting Galaxy A3 with “Contacts has stopped” error

Based on my experience, I can say that this is a minor problem which may involve only the app that’s specifically mentioned in the error. But taking into consideration the fact that Contacts is a pre-installed app, the problem could also be a more complicated issue with the firmware. I am certain a master reset will be able to fix the problem whatever it may be but let’s try a few troubleshooting procedures first before we reset your phone.

Clear the cache and data of Contacts app

The first thing that we have to do is reset the app that’s mentioned in the error message which means that you have to clear its cache and data. If it were just an app issue, this procedure alone is enough to fix the problem and get rid of the error message. That’s why it’s imperative that you do this procedure before anything else when dealing with this kind of problem:

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Find and touch Settings.
Scroll to and tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Swipe left a few times to display contents of ALL tab.
Find and touch Contacts.
Tap Clear Cache.
Touch Clear Data, then Clear to confirm your action.

After this, try to trigger the error message by opening the app itself or by using other apps that may have caused it to pop up. If the error still shows up, then move on to the next step.

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Run your phone in Safe mode

The purpose of this is to determine if the cause of the problem is a third-party app. By running your device in safe mode, you’re temporarily disabling all downloaded apps so if the error doesn’t show up in this mode, then it’s clear that it’s triggered by one or some of the apps you installed on your phone. Follow these steps to boot your Galaxy A3 in 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’.

Try to trigger the error while the phone in this environment. If the error doesn’t show up, the next thing you have to do is find the app that’s causing the problem and then uninstall it. You must begin your search from apps you recently installed. Uninstall them one by one and reboot your phone in normal mode to verify if the error still shows up. This is how you uninstall an app from your phone:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

However, if the error still pops up in safe mode, then it’s time to go after the settings and the firmware itself.

Reset all settings in your phone

This is one of the most effective methods in fixing minor firmware issues including problems that resulted from incorrect settings. It’s safe to do because none of your files and data will be deleted. Before we move on to troubleshooting the firmware, this should be the first thing you should do:

From a Home screen, swipe up or down from the center of the display to access the apps screen.
Navigate: Settings Settings icon > Backup and reset.
From the Reset section, tap Reset settings.
Review the info then tap RESET SETTINGS.
If presented, enter the current PIN, password, or pattern.
To confirm, review the info then tap RESET SETTINGS.

Wipe cache partition

If the error continues to bug you after resetting all settings, then it’s time to go after the system caches. These are temporary files created by the firmware which helps make your phone run smoothly. Sometimes they become corrupt or obsolete and that’s performance issues including app crashes may occur. So delete these files so they’ll be replaced with new ones:

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 cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Continue your observation after this to know if the error disappears. If it still shows however, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Backup your files and data and then reset your Galaxy A3

The reset will fix this problem but then you will have to take time finding and making a backup of your important files and data and it doesn’t stop there as you would need to restore them to your phone after the reset. That’s the reason why this method, even if it’s effective in dealing with this problem, always comes at the end.

After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked out of your device. Once everything is ready, follow these steps to reset your device:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
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.

Again, the error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” is a minor problem and can be fixed by a reset. I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you somehow. If you still need our help after this, feel free to contact us.

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How to fix Google Play Services that keeps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus (easy steps)

The Google Play Services, while it’s usually being referred to as an individual service, is actually a collective term for several services that run in the background and usually load during the boot process. If one of those services crashes, you may get the error message “Unfortunately, Google Play Services has stopped” which is accompanied by lags, freezes and other performance issues.

In this post, I will share with you a solution that will address this problem. It’s not the first time we encountered this problem so we already know a thing or two that will get rid of the error message as well as prevent it from happening again in the future. For this case, the subject of our troubleshooting is the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus so if you’re one of the owners of this device and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this post may help you.

Before we proceed with our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, then visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common problems with this phone. Browse through the page to find the solution that works best for you. If you still need our help after that, then contact us through our Android issues questionnaire.

Fix Galaxy S8 + with Google Play Services that keeps crashing

There are times when services crash on their own especially if there are too many apps running in the background using the CPU and RAM. But don’t worry, complicated as they may seem, they’re actually very easy to fix. In fact, one of the procedures below might fix the problem and bring your phone to its normal operation…

First Solution: Reboot your Galaxy S8 Plus

That’s right! A reboot can fix issues like this. The boot process is more than just turning the phone off and back on, services are also closed and reloaded. That’s one of the reasons why you have to reboot your device when there’s a problem that occurs without apparent reason.

So, before you actually think of any other procedures you can use to try to fix this problem, hit that power button and turn your phone off and back on again. If this doesn’t work, here’s another trick you could try…

Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key together for 10 seconds to do the Forced Reboot. It simulates battery disconnect which refreshes your phone’s memory and reloads every core service in your device. If the problem continues after doing this, then move on to the next solution.

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Second Solution: Delete cache of Google Play Services

Caches are created for every app and service and while these files are temporary and small, when corrupted, they will cause issues that may affect your phone’s performance. In this case wherein the service that keeps crashing is a default or core service, then the problem could be worse. This is how you delete cache in your phone…

From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
Tap App Manager.
Locate then tap Gmail.
Tap Storage.
Tap CLEAR CACHE.

This is a very effective solution against a problem like this but then again, there’s no guarantee the problem will be fixed. So if it continues to bug you after doing this, then you will have to do the next step.

Third Solution: Backup your important files and data then reset your phone

For any app related concerns regardless whether they’re pre-installed or third parties, a reset can always fix them provided the firmware hasn’t been modified in any way. So, after the first two methods and the problem is still bugging you, you need to reset your phone to continue using it without a hitch. But the thing is you will have to go through the hassle of backing up all your files and data as they will be deleted during the problem. So, take time to copy your files to your SD card or computer. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset, then follow these steps to reset your device…

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 post can help you fix the problem with your phone. Do let us know in the comments section below.

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How to fix Samsung Galaxy J7 that keeps popping “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error message [Troubleshooting Guide]

Read and understand why a powerful smartphone like the #Samsung Galaxy J7 (#GalaxyJ7) suddenly started to show up the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” without apparent reason and learn how to troubleshoot your device in case this problem happens to you.

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” is one of the most common app-related problems even with the previous Galaxy models. In fact, we’ve received quite a lot of complaints about the same issue from Galaxy S3 and S5 owners before.

In this post, I will tackle the same problem but this time it’s with the Samsung Galaxy J7, which has been released in 2016. It’s a mid-range phone and it actually got really positive reviews from users performance- and specs-wise. However, problems still occur even with high-end devices and that’s the reason why we published posts like this.

So, if you got yourself a Galaxy J7 and are currently experiencing a similar problem, continue reading below as this troubleshooting guide may be able to help you fix the issue with your phone. However, if you found this post while trying to find a solution to a totally different problem, then I suggest you visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues reported by our readers. Find ones 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 further assistance, then contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Just provide us with the information we need and we’ll help you find a solution.

Troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that shows “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error

The error message actually talks about the Contacts app that crashed or stopped working. We have to try troubleshooting your phone to know why it shows up and learn the ways to fix the problem. But take note that this error message can be triggered by different factors. There are times when it shows while you’re on a call or when you’re viewing a contact on your list. The thing is we really can’t say when it will pop up so it’s better that you know how to deal with it just in case. Below are the steps you can use to try troubleshooting this problem but before anything else, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this issue…

Problem: Hi guys! I got myself a new Galaxy J7 for Christmas and I’m quite satisfied with it except for one thing–every time I try to view or dial a contact on my contacts list, an error message would pop up saying “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” and I can only hit OK or REPORT but either way, the app closes and won’t allow me to dial a number. It’s been working great last week without any problem but the problem started out of the blue. I am sure it’s not due to liquid or physical damage ‘coz I’ve always taken care of it that’s I’m quite perplexed when it started to act this way. Can you guys help me out how to figure this one out? Thanks.

Step 1: Make sure it’s not just a temporary glitch in the system

Glitches in both the firmware and the hardware happen all the time and they often occur without apparent warning or cause but as long as they’re simply glitches, they can easily be fixed. A reboot is necessary to determine if the error message is triggered by a glitch. Therefore, try to reboot your phone and one reboot doesn’t return a favorable result, try to reboot one more time.

This problem has been happening with other owners of the Galaxy devices way before the Galaxy J7 was released and many of our readers reported back saying a simple reboot fixed their problems. So, don’t go to other troubleshooting procedures without doing this first. However, if the issue persists after a couple of reboots, then it’s time to move on to other effective troubleshooting steps.

Step 2: Try to isolate the problem to know if third-party apps have something to do with it

There’s always a possibility that a pre-installed app crashes due to the interference of third-party apps. In the case of Contacts, there are other apps that may be using its services or processes and maybe one of them keeps crashing and affected the normal operation of the app. Or, it could be one of the pre-installed app that’s causing the problem as well especially ones that are directly linked to it like the Dialer and Messages. So, try to reboot your phone in safe mode and observe closely…

Power off your Galaxy J7. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off and then touch POWER OFF to confirm.
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’.

While in this mode, try to trigger the error to know if it still pop up and there are only two possibilities here–either the error shows up again or not and here’s what you need to do whatever the case maybe…

Error still occurs in safe mode – in this case, the problem might be rooted in the firmware or some pre-installed apps. Should you decide to troubleshoot the apps first, you need to find those that are directly linked with the app in question. For instance, if the error occurs when you try to dial a phone number, you may have to reset the Contacts app first and then the Dialer. By reset I mean clearing their caches and data. If the problem remains, then proceed to the next troubleshooting steps below.
Error doesn’t show up in safe mode – this confirms our suspicion that one or some of your third-party apps is causing the problem. You need to find the culprits and you can try clearing their cache and data to reset them, however, if the problem still persists after that, uninstalling those apps might make a difference, although there’s no guarantee so you still need to observe your phone a little longer.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy J7

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

Step 3: Delete the system caches via Recovery Mode

There’s a chance that the problem is due to a firmware update that corrupted some of the system caches in your device. The thing about caches is that, they’re temporary files created by the system so that features, apps and other functions will work smoothly than when you used them for the first time. Deleting them won’t have any adverse effects on your device’s performance as deleted files will surely be replaced. In fact, it’s even recommended that you delete the system cache from time to time for optimum performance that being said, here’s how you do it:

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 cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

The phone will reboot longer than usual and once it has successfully rebooted, try opening the Phone or Contacts app again to see if the problem still occurs. If so, then it’s time to go into a more serious, system-oriented troubleshooting method.

Step 4: Perform Master Reset on your Galaxy J7

Firmware related issues can often be fixed by doing the reset as it brings the phone back to the configuration that works. The catch is that all your data, apps and files saved in your phone’s internal storage will be deleted so you need to back them up before following these steps:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
Turn off your Galaxy J7.
Press and hold the Volume Up button 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.

For the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” a mere factory reset will fix the problem for you but then again there’s no guarantee. So after this and the problem remained, it’s time to have the phone checked by a technician.