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Contacts has stopped

How to fix Samsung Galaxy S9 with “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error (easy steps)

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” on your Samsung Galaxy S9 is actually a notification that the pre-installed contacts manager crashed for some reason. More often, this error is a result of a minor issue in the firmware or the app but there are times when this is a sign of a more serious problem. That’s the reason why you need to do some basic troubleshooting to be able to determine what the problem is all about and what needs to be done to fix it.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy S9 with “Contacts has stopped” error as well as those who have similar issues. The other variation of this problem is with Contacts closes immediately after opening it and there are also times when you can actually use it for a few minutes before it closes on its own. If you’re one of the owners of the Galaxy S9 and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading as this article may help you fix it one way or another.

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 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.

Fixing “Contacts has stopped” error on Galaxy S9


The following are the solutions you can try to fix this problem. You may only have to do one procedure or two but if the problem persists after that, then proceed to troubleshooting the firmware of your Galaxy S9.

First solution: Reboot your phone (for first time occurrence)

If you haven’t encountered this problem before and it happened out of the blue without apparent reason or cause, then it might be just a minor glitch in the system. A reboot would be able to address it so hit that power key and restart your phone. After this, open Contacts to know if it still crashes. If it does, try doing the Forced Restart by pressing and holding the volume down and power keys together for 10 seconds or more.

This procedure simulates battery disconnect which refreshes your phone’s memory by closing and reloading all apps, services and core functions. If the problem continues after this, however, then move on to the next procedure.

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Second solution: Clear cache and data of Contacts app

By clearing the cache and data of the app, you’re actually resetting it and bringing it back to its default settings. The files that are deleted are then replaced with new ones. Most of the time, an app crashes because some of its caches and/or data files are corrupt and doing this procedure will fix the issue.

  1. From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
  2. From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap App Manager.
  4. Locate then tap Contacts.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap CLEAR CACHE.
  7. Tap Cached data.
  8. Tap CLEAR.

If the problem continues to bug you after this, it’s time to go after the firmware.

Third solution: Delete the system caches

Just like clearing the cache and data of the app, deleting the system cache may also fix this problem since the firmware creates caches for individual cache in your phone including Contacts.

So, run your phone in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition so that all system caches will be replaced with new ones. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
  4. An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
  6. Press Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the problem still occurs after this, then you really have to do the next procedure.

Fourth solution: Master Reset

App-related problems can always be fixed by this procedure but you will have to spend a little more time making a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted during the process.

After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection by removing your google account from your phone and then follow these steps to reset it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you with your problem one way or another. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comments below.

Connect with us

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

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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

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
  8. Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

How to clear cache and data of apps on Galaxy S8

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

How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy S8

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap the desired application.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. 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.

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap Contacts in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. 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:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
  5. Press the Power key to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. 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:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. 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.
  6. Tap 3 dot icon.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

Then, follow these steps to reset your phone:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error

  • Learn how to troubleshoot your #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) if it shows the “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error message.
  • What to do if your phone shows the error when you try to dial a contact, edit, add or even just view it.

Galaxy-S7-Contacts-has-stopped

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped,” which haunts some of Samsung Galaxy S7 owners as of recently seemed to have started after a minor update. This, of course, suggests that some files in both the cache and the data partitions may have been corrupted during the update process or became obsolete and are now incompatible with the new system.

However, there were also cases from other owners who said that the error seemed to have occurred without apparent cause as they haven’t updated their devices yet. So, it’s a bit more complicated to fix this problem if we don’t know what caused it. That said, it’s better if we just troubleshoot it thorough so we can discover what the culprit is and how to fix it.

Before going any further, if you have other concerns, please visit our S7 troubleshooting page first and try to find if there are some issues that are similar or related to yours. Feel free to use the solutions or troubleshooting guides we recommended. If you still need further assistance after doing that or if you can’t find anything you can use to fix your problem, then you may contact us by completing our Android problems questionnaire.

Contacts starts crashing after a firmware update

There have been a lot of owners who complained about this problem. According to them the Contacts app started crashing after they updated their device updated to the latest firmware. So, let’s try to troubleshoot this problem by deleting the system cache first:

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

Deleting the system cache is a very effective procedure for minor firmware issues especially ones that occur after an update. However, if this doesn’t fix the problem, I suggest you do the master reset to bring the phone back to its factory defaults.

  1. Backup your data.
  2. Remove your Google account.
  3. Disengage screen lock.
  4. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  5. 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.

  1. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  2. 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.

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

Contacts crashes when editing, adding or viewing a contact

This is apparently an issue with the app especially if you didn’t update the firmware. Apps crash all the time for no reason at all, so assuming you haven’t done anything that may have triggered this error, then this is what you’re going to do:

  1. Reboot your phone. It might be just a minor glitch in the system or the hardware.
  2. Open Contacts again and try to add a new contact or edit an existing one.
  3. If the error still occurs, try launching the phone dialer and dial a number from your contact list.
  4. If the error shows up, try wiping the cache and data of the Dialer app and then the Contacts app to reset them both. Refer to the steps below.
  5. Should the problem persist, then factory reset your phone. Steps below.

Here are the steps in clearing the cache and data of the apps involved as well as how to do the factory reset:

Clearing Cache and Data

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap on Settings.
  3. Touch Applications and then Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and touch the app in question.
  6. Touch the Force Close button first.
  7. Then, tap Storage.
  8. Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

Doing the Factory Reset

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

I hope that these procedures can help you fix the problem with your phone. Feel free to contact us should need further assistance.

Connect with us

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

“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:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and touch Settings.
  3. Scroll to and tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Swipe left a few times to display contents of ALL tab.
  6. Find and touch Contacts.
  7. Tap Clear Cache.
  8. 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:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. 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:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. 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:

  1. From a Home screen, swipe up or down from the center of the display to access the apps screen.
  2. Navigate: Settings Settings icon > Backup and reset.
  3. From the Reset section, tap Reset settings.
  4. Review the info then tap RESET SETTINGS.
  5. If presented, enter the current PIN, password, or pattern.
  6. 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:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  5. 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).
  6. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Press Power button to select.
  8. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  9. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  10. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  11. 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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Contacts keeps crashing on Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus with “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error (easy fix)

The error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” that keeps bothering some of the owners of the new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is simply a notification that tells you about the Contacts app that crashed. It might be an issue with the app or the firmware or it could be just a sign of other issues. But whatever the case maybe, you need to address this problem immediately because Contacts is used by a lot of apps that access contact information. The error might show up when you text, call a number or even send emails.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your new premium phone to fix this problem and get rid of the error message. We will look into every possibility and rule them out one by one after we can determine the reason why the error occurs in the first place and find out a way to fix it. If you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently being bugged by a similar problem, then continue reading as this post may help you one way or another.

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 ‘Contacts has stopped’ error


The error “Contacts has stopped” is a minor issue as it is obviously an issue with the app but as what I said earlier, it could be just a sign of some other problems since Contacts is a pre-installed app and is used by other apps as well. The course of our troubleshooting will be to do the easy stuffs first to find out if we can fix it without doing so much work. With that being said, here’s what I suggest you do about this problem:

First solution: Try to reboot your Galaxy S9 Plus first

To rule out the possibility that this is just a result of some minor glitches in the system, it’s best that you restart your phone if you haven’t done it already. There’s more to reboot than just turning the phone off and back on again; it’s actually pretty effective in dealing with minor problems. After the reboot, open Contacts or try to trigger the problem to know if it still occurs and if so, try doing the Forced Reboot.

  • Press and hold the volume down and power keys simultaneously for 10 seconds or more.

The forced reboot is far more effective than the normal reboot as it simulates battery disconnect and refresh the device’s memory by reloading all apps, services and core functions. If, however, the problem continues after doing this, then you should move on to the next solution.

Second solution: Find out if its due to third-party apps

For you to know if this problem is caused by a third-party app, you just need to run your S9 Plus in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. While the phone is in safe mode, try opening Contacts to know if it would still crash. If it’s caused by a third-party app or two, then the error won’t show up in safe mode. This is how you run your phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
  3. When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.

Assuming that the problem is fixed in this environment, the next thing you should do is find out which of your apps is the culprit and once you suspect an app, uninstall it. Here’s how you do that:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list.
  4. To display preinstalled apps, tap Menu > Show system apps.
  5. Tap UNINSTALL > OK.

Determining what app is causing the problem is often a challenge to many users. So, you must uninstall apps that you recently installed first or those that you installed prior to the problem.

On the other hand, if the problem occurs even in safe mode, then move on to the next solution.

Third solution: Clear cache and data of Contacts app

What this method does is reset the app back to its default settings and configuration. This will rule out the possibility that the issue is with the app because if it is, then the following method will fix the issue and get rid of the error message.

  1. From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
  2. From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap App Manager.
  4. Locate then tap Contacts.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap CLEAR CACHE.
  7. Tap Cached data.
  8. Tap CLEAR.

This is the most effective solution to almost all app-related problems but then there’s no guarantee that it will work to all cases. So, in case the problem continues after this, then the next method will definitely fix the problem.

Fourth solution: Perform the Master Reset

I know it’s a bit too much to reset the phone due to a minor app-related problem but the thing is that the app in question is pre-installed. If it were just any third-party app, you can get rid of the problem by uninstalling the app but that’s not the case here. So, you really have to reset your phone as it’s embedded in the firmware.

Before the reset however, make sure you backup all your files and data as they will be deleted during the process and you may not be able to retrieve them after that. After the backup, make sure you disable the Factory Reset Protection by removing your google account from your phone so that you won’t be locked out. Once everything is set, follow these steps to reset your phone:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that the problem with your device is fixed after this. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

Connect with us

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

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 keeps popping up the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped”

Contacts is basically an app that comes pre-installed on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or any Android smartphone for that matter. It’s the default contacts manager and it’s used by many of other apps that allow you to browse through your contacts list. For instance, it’s used by the dialer as well as the messaging app because both of those apps allow you to choose a contact to call or send message to. The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” notifies  you that the app crashed for some reason.

While the error specifically mentions the app, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the problem with with that app because I’ve said earlier, it’s also used by other apps. It’s possible that one of the apps that uses Contacts is the one that has a problem. In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy Note 8 that is plagued with this problem. So, if you’re one of the owners of this device and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another.

Before anything else, if you have other issues with your device, try to browse through our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed several issues with this device. Odds are that we’ve already published a post that tackles similar problems. Try finding issues that have similar symptoms with what you currently have and feel free to use the solutions we’ve suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, then fill up our questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy Note 8 with Contacts app that keeps crashing

The following procedures may be able to help you fix the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” on your Galaxy Note 8…

Reboot your Note 8 first – before doing any troubleshooting procedures, make sure to reboot your device first because there’s always a chance that this problem is just one of the signs that your phone has a firmware issue or glitch. If such is the case, a reboot will be more than enough to fix it but if the app continues to crash after the normal reboot, try doing the forced restart procedure which will refresh your phone’s memory. Just press and hold the volume down and the power keys together for 10 seconds or more and your device will reboot normally. You may then test if the problem continues and if so, then move on to the next procedure.

Find out if it’s caused by a third-party app – there are times when third-party apps cause pre-installed applications to crash and the best way to find out if that’s the case here is to run your phone in safe mode. All third-party apps will be temporarily disabled in this mode so if Contacts doesn’t crash, it means there’s one app you installed that’s causing the problem. Find out which app it is and uninstall it to fix this problem. However, if Contacts still crashes even in safe mode, then it means the problem could be with the firmware.

Wipe cache partition – if this problem started after you updated your phone’s firmware, then it’s possible that the cause of the crashing is corrupt caches or those that became obsolete due to the new firmware. Ou need to reboot your phone in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition. It doesn’t just delete the caches but also replaces them with new ones. If the problem still occurs after this, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Do the Master Reset – a reset will be able to fix this problem for as long as the firmware hasn’t been changed or modified in any way. However, make sure you backup your important files and data before the reset because they will be deleted and you may not be able to recover them.

RELEVANT POSTS:

Here are the methods used in the troubleshooting guide above…

How to Reboot your Galaxy Note 8 in Safe Mode

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
  3. When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.

How to Wipe Cache Partition of your Note 8

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
  4. An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
  6. Press Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

How to Master Reset your Note 8

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you through this post. If you have other issues you want to share with us, feel free to contact us anytime or leave a comment below.

Connect with us

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

You may also check out these posts:

Samsung Galaxy J5 keeps showing “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” on your Samsung Galaxy J5 means that the built-in contacts app crashed for some reason. The error alone doesn’t tell us what the real problem is, it only shows us the result of the issue.

Based on our experience, since this problem is not new to us, it may be just an issue with the app itself. It can also by just a symptom of a looming complex firmware problem that needs your immediate attention. So, the course of our troubleshooting will be to rule out one possibility after another until the error won’t show up anymore.

Continue reading the steps below to know how to troubleshoot your Galaxy J5 that’s bugged by this error message. While we don’t suggests methods that could potentially harm your device, a lot of things could happen while troubleshooting due to human error so please proceed at your own risk.

But before we jump right into our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Try to find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J5 with “Contacts has stopped” error

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know what the real problem with your phone is so that we would know what to do to fix it. We cannot guarantee that the problem will be fixed but don’t stop doing something for it to work. Follow the steps below to try and fix the phone…

Step 1: Clear cache and data of the Contacts app

This will reset the app itself. Deleting its cache and data means you will be getting rid of the files generated by the system to make the app run smoother every time you open it. You will also be deleting files accumulated by the app itself considering the fact that some of them got corrupted, they can cause issues like this.

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap Contacts in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display built-in apps.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache.
  8. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Step 2: Run your Galaxy J5 in Safe mode

If the error still shows up after resetting the app, then you should try to isolate the problem because maybe it’s caused by one of the third-party apps. To do this, you need to boot your device in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

While in this mode, try opening Contacts and see if the error still shows up. If not, then one or some of the apps you might have recently installed is causing the problem. You need to find that app and uninstall it. If you suspect more than one app, uninstall one after another and open Contacts every time you do. This is how you uninstall an app from your J5:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Step 3: Wipe cache partition to replace old system caches

The system itself creates its own caches of every app and service that runs in the background. There are a bunch of those files in your phone and if some of them get corrupted, issues like this may also occur. The thing is, deleting them will do good for your phone than harm and the procedure in doing so is safe for your data and files. So, follow these steps to try to rule out this possibility:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and do the Master reset

After you’ve wipe off the cache partition and the error still shows up when you open Contact, then you have no choice but to reset your phone but make sure to backup your important files and data as they will be deleted during the reset. Then, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) or anti-theft feature so you won’t be locked out of your phone after the reset.

How to disable FRP or anti-theft on Galaxy J5

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

How to reset your Galaxy J5

  1. 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.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  5. 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).
  6. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Press Power button to select.
  8. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  9. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  10. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  11. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Alternatively, you can reset your phone in Settings menu as well…

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

Connect with us

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

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus shows “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” after Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” in our Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ is actually notifying you of an app crash involving the built-in contacts manager. It’s not the first time we’ve encountered this problem and it’s not exclusive to the Galaxy S6 Edge+ as well because other devices can also experience this error depending on the situation. The good news is, more often than not, this error is minor and can easily be fixed.

In this post, I will walk  you through in troubleshooting your phone that has this error message. We only have to do a few procedures that I know will work and get rid of this error message for good. However, there’s no 100% guarantee that we can fix the problem as there are times when the firmware has to be reinstalled and you need a technician to do that if you care about your phone’s warranty and the risks it entails. If you own this phone and currently experiencing similar issue, read on as we might be able to help you.

For our readers who have other concerns, make sure you visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed a lot of problems with this device. Find ones that are similar to yours and use the solutions we provided. If they don’t work or if you need more help, contact us through our Android issues questionnaire and make sure you provide as much information as possible about the problem so we can give you more accurate solutions.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S6 Edge+ with “Contacts has stopped” error

Problem: Hi guys. I have recently upgraded my phone’s operating system but after that, an error started to show up every time I make a phone call. It says “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” and when I hit OK, it disappears only to show up again when I try to make a phone call. My phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the new update is Android 7 or Nougat. Can you help? Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Now, let’s go straight to our troubleshooting, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Clear cache and data of the Contacts app

The error message specifically mentions Contacts to be the one that crashes so we have to go after that app. However, before you reset it, try to backup all your contacts so that you will have a backup if anything goes wrong. You said the error only shows up when you make a phone call, so you can actually export your contacts list or sync it with your Google account. After which, follow these steps to reset the app:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Apps.
  4. Tap Contacts in the default list.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Step 2: Clear cache and data of the Phone app

The error mentions the Contacts app but the trigger is the Phone since it only shows up when you make a phone call. So, it’s also necessary to reset the phone app:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Apps.
  4. Tap Phone in the default list.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

Step 3: Delete all system caches via Recovery mode

The problem started after an update so there’s a chance it’s caused by some corrupt system caches. Delete all of them so they will be replaced with new ones that are completely compatible with the new system:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release the Volume Up and the Home key (“Installing system update'” shows for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight “yes.”
  8. Press the Power key to select.
  9. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Step 4: Reset your Galaxy S6 Edge+

After doing the previous steps and the problem still occurs, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone. Make sure you backup all your important files and data, then disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) so you won’t be locked out.

How to disable FRP on Galaxy S6 Edge+

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

How to reset your Galaxy S6 Edge+

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release the Volume Up and the Home key (‘”nstalling system update” will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.”
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until “Yes — delete all user data” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and restore.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
  8. Tap Reset.
  9. Tap Factory data reset.
  10. Tap Reset device.
  11. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  12. Tap Continue.
  13. Tap Delete all.

I hope this helps.

Connect with us

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

How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J5 with “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The service or app that manages your contacts list is called Contacts and it’s embedded in the firmware and works closely with the Messages and Phone apps. The error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” with your Samsung Galaxy J5 is actually notifying you about the app that stopped working for some reason. Having such error doesn’t exactly tell us what the problem with your phone really is so we need to look into it a little deeper.

In this post, I will tackle this issue with the J5 being the subject of our troubleshooting. We’ll try to consider every possibility and rule out all of them until we can figure out what the problem with your phone really is and fix it. But don’t worry though as this kind of problem is usually easy to fix even without any help from a tech. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading below as this post may help.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J5 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.

How to troubleshoot your Galaxy J5 with “Contacts has stopped” error

Problem: Hi. I have a problem with my phone and it’s characterized by the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” which shows when I try to insert a contact from my contacts list. It shows when I text or try to make a call. My phone is a Galaxy J5. can you help me?

Troubleshooting: While we want to fix this problem with your phone, we also don’t want that you lose some of your contacts so before you actually follow our troubleshooting steps below, make sure to backup your contacts list by syncing your phone with your Google account or try to export your contacts to your SD card. After which, follow these steps…

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

Maybe it’s just a temporary issue with the Contacts app so try to clear its cache and data first so that it will be reset back to its default settings. I assume by now you’ve already made a backup of your contacts list so follow these steps to reset the app:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Contacts.
  5. Tap Storage.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

You also have to this procedure to any apps that might trigger the problem like Phone and Messages.

Step 2: Run your phone in Safe mode

After doing the first step and the error still shows up when you make a call or send a text, then it’s time to find out if there’s a third-party app that’s causing it. Run your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. If the error is triggered by one of the apps you downloaded and installed, it should occur in safe mode.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Assuming the error doesn’t show up in this mode, then it’s confirmed the problem is caused by a third-party, which makes the problem easier to fix. You just have to find out the app that’s causing it and uninstall it:

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

However, if the error still shows up even in this mode, then it might be a firmware issue.

Step 3: Wipe the cache partition

It’s also possible that some of the system caches got corrupted and resulted to the crashing of some apps and services including Contacts so the next thing you should do is delete all caches so that they will be replaced. None of your files and data will be lost when you do this but you have to boot your phone in Recovery mode to be able to do so…

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the error still shows up after this, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

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

A reset can fix any app- or firmware-related errors but the reason why it always comes at the end of our troubleshooting is because it takes so much of your time making a backup of your important files and data not to mention have to reconfigure your phone to your preference after the reset. But in this case though, you have no other choice so make sure you backup all your important files. After the backup, disable the anti-theft feature of your phone so you won’t be locked out.

How to disable Factory Reset Protection on Galaxy J5

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

How to do the Master Reset on your Galaxy J5

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

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

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and restore.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Tap the back key twice to return to the Settings menu, then tap General Management.
  8. Tap Reset.
  9. Tap Factory data reset.
  10. Tap Reset device.
  11. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  12. Tap Continue.
  13. Tap Delete all.

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

What to do when your Samsung Galaxy S8 starts showing “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

Despite the fact that your Samsung Galaxy S8 packs really impressive hardware specs, it’s not free from errors and problems. In fact, we’ve already received hundreds, if not thousands, of reports from our readers who were asking for help about some problems with their phones. Among those were complaints about some apps that keep crashing. We expect that many users would complain about third-party apps closing on their and crashing more frequently but we don’t expect built-in apps to crash frequently as well.

In this post, I will tackle the problem involving the Galaxy S8 that keeps showing “Contacts has stopped” error. According to reports from some of our readers, it may occur in various situations. There were those who said their phone show up this error while trying to make a phone call while some said theirs pop the error up when trying to insert a contact on the contacts field in Messages app and there are those who said the error showed when they tried to edit a contact or add a photo to one of their contacts. In other words, we won’t know for sure what the problem is just by having this error that’s why we need to troubleshoot. So, continue reading below as this post may help you.

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.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy S8 with “Contacts has stopped error”

This error basically tells us the phone is suffering from an app-related problem. It might be limited to just a crashing problem or it could be due to a serious firmware issue since Contacts is a built-in app. Usually, errors like this are not really that serious and they can easily be fixed by doing some procedures that have great impact on the app that’s crashing or to the firmware itself. That being said, here’s what you need to do about this…

Step 1: Reset Contacts

By reset I mean clear its cache and data. This will bring the app back to its factory settings while deleting all possible corrupt cache and data files. If this error is a minor app problem, then this should be the only thing you should do. But prior to this, make sure you sync the phone with your Google account and sync your contacts so that they will be backed up as there’s a chance you may lose all your contacts when you follow the steps below:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap Contacts.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

After this, try to open the Contacts app to trigger the error and if it doesn’t show up, try making a phone call to any number in your contacts list or compose a text message and choose a contact from your list. Depending on which app triggers the problem, clear its cache and data as well by following the steps above. If, however, the problem still occurs after this, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Observe your phone while it’s in Safe mode

All we need to know if this error shows up when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled as there is a possibility that one of them is causing the problem. We’ve already seen cases wherein third-party applications caused built-in ones to crash. Don’t worry, booting the phone in safe mode is safe and none of your files and data will be deleted.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

If the error still shows up in this mode, then it’s clear that your third-party apps have nothing to do with it, otherwise, you have to find those that trigger the error and do something about it.

Assuming the error still shows up in this mode and you don’t have a clue as to which of your apps is causing it, then you should try to see if there are apps that need to be updated and then update them.

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

If, however,  you are already suspecting an app or two, then you must clear the caches and data of those apps or even uninstall them to see if the problem gets fixed.

How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy S8

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

How to uninstall applications from your Galaxy S8

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

Step 3: Wipe the cache partition to delete possible corrupt caches

App crashes can also be caused by some corrupt cache files, which are created by the system to make phone’s performance smoother. When some of them get corrupted but the system continues to use them, performance issues may occur which include apps crashes. You can’t delete system caches one by one so you have to delete them all at once so that the system can create new ones. You can only do so by booting your phone up in Recovery mode and wiping the cache partition and this is how you do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
  5. Press the Power key to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

After this and the error continues to shows, then the next step will probably fix the problem.

Step 4: Backup your files and reset your phone

The reset will surely fix errors like this assuming you didn’t modify the firmware like root it or tried to install a custom ROM. However, when you reset your phone, all your files and data will be deleted that’s why you need to make a backup especially those that are saved in your phone’s internal storage.

Prior to the reset, however, make sure you take note of your Google ID and password so that you won’t be locked out of your device. Or better yet, disable the Factory Reset Protection in your phone by following these steps:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. 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.
  6. Tap 3 dot icon.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

After this, follow the steps below to reset your device…

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you.

Connect with us

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

How to fix Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge with “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” on your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge actually notifies you about  the Contacts app that crashed for some reason. It may be just a simple app problem involving the app that’s specifically mentioned in the error or some third-party apps may have triggered this issue.

There are also cases wherein the firmware has some conflicts within its processes that may affect the overall performance of the device. The most common result is that some apps may crash from time to time and more often they’re characterized by errors like this. If you own this device and are currently experiencing similar issue, continue reading below to understand even better why this problem occurs and what needs to be done to fix it.

if you have other issues with your phone, try to visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this phone and odds are that we’ve already answered similar problems. Try to find the same problems 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.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S6 Edge with “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” error

The purpose of this troubleshooting is for us to know what the real problem with your phone is, what triggers the error and what needs to be done to get rid of it for good. So, read on for our troubleshooting steps but before that, here’s one problem that best describes this error and how to shows up…

Problem: Everytime I try to dial a number, an error shows up on my phone saying “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped.” My phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge and this problem started just recently. I don’t really know what happened with it but I haven’t done anything that may have triggered the problem. I just dialled a number one day and then the error showed up and it kept showing up since then. I’m not really a tech person so I don’t know what to do to fix this. Can you help? Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Perhaps it’s just an issue with the app or it’s possible that the firmware is experiencing some issues as well. We need to troubleshoot the phone to be able to determine what this problem is all about and whether or not we can fix it on our own. That being said, here’s what I suggest you do:

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

Let’s go after the app that’s mentioned in the error immediately. It’s a built-in app so the only thing we can do is clear its cache and data. This, of course, will reset the app but don’t worry none of your contacts will be erased. However, I would suggest you sync your phone with your Google ID so that your contacts and other personal information will be backed up. After which, try to follow these steps:

  1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll to ‘APPLICATIONS,’ then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe right to the ALL screen.
  5. Scroll to and Contacts.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data button, then OK.

If the error still shows up after this, then it’s possible one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. We need to confirm this that’s why you have to do the next step as it’s necessary.

Step 2: Reboot your Galaxy S6 Edge in Safe mode

This will temporarily disable all third-party apps and services, so if one of them is causing Contacts to crash, then the error shouldn’t occur in this mode. In which case, you just have to find the app that’s causing the problem and then uninstall it, although you may have to uninstall more than one app  to be able to pinpoint the culprit. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 20 to 30 seconds.
  2. Once you see the Samsung logo, release the Power key immediately but continue pressing the Volume Down key.
  3. Your phone should continue booting up and you will be prompted to unlock your phone as usual.
  4. 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.

If, however, the error still shows up even if the phone is in safe mode, then the problem might be with the firmware. Move on to the next step.

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

If the first two steps failed, then it’s time to go after the firmware and the first thing you should do when you reach this far is to delete the system caches so that the phone will be forced to create new ones. You need to boot your phone in recovery mode to be able to do that…

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

It may take a little longer for the phone to reboot but wait for it until it becomes active, then try to see if the error still occurs and if so, you have no other choice but to reset your device.

Step 4: Perform Master reset on your Galaxy S6 Edge

You have no other options left at this point except the reset. While it seems the error is a complicated issue, it’s actually not and reset can most probably fix it. However, you will have to go through the hassles of backing up your files and data and since we’re doing the Master reset, you have to disable anti-theft so you won’t be locked out after the reset. This is how you disable anti-theft on your S6 Edge…

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. Tap the Google ID email address. Repeat for each Google email address.
  6. Tap MORE.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT to confirm.

After this, follow these steps to reset your phone…

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
  3. When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
  4. Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. 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.
  7. After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

If the problem still occurs after this, the firmware needs to be reinstalled so let a tech handle it for you.

Galaxy S6 Edge shows “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” when receiving phone calls

Problem: Hello guys. My problem may also pose a challenge for you. First off, my phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge. It always worked perfectly since last year, although I’ve already done a few factory resets since then. My problem occurs when somebody calls my number because the moment I answer the call, the error “Unfortunately, Contacts has stopped” will pop up. But the thing is, the error would only show if the one calling me is in my contacts list because if the number is unknown, the error won’t pop up. Do you guys know how to fix this? Any help will be appreciated.

Troubleshooting: Actually, your problem is very easy to understand–the error shows up when the contact you’re trying to call or calling your number is in the contacts list. We’ve actually seen this problem before and it was kind of popular with the Galaxy S3 and S5. We have just a troubleshooting method you can use to try and fix this and here it is…

  1. Clear the cache and data of the Contacts app –  just like in the first problem, you’re trying to reset the app by clearing its cache and data but don’t worry, none of your contacts will be deleted. However, there’s no harm in backing up your contacts list before you troubleshoot. If you don’t have time though, then it’s fine.
  2. Clear the cache and data of the Contacts Storage service – now, in this procedure, contacts save locally in your phone’s internal storage will be deleted. Therefore, it is recommended you sync your phone with your Google account so that your contacts will be backed up. After which, just follow the same procedure as clearing the cache and data of the Contacts app but this time look for Contacts Storage.
  3. Reboot in safe mode – after clearing the caches and data of the Contacts and Contacts Storage services and the error still shows up, then try to find out if third-party apps have something to do with it. Reboot your phone in safe mode and try to dial a contact from the list or call your number. If the error still pops up in safe mode, then it might be a firmware issue, otherwise, the next thing you should do is find the app that’s causing the problem.
  4. Wipe the cache partition – assuming the error still shows up in safe mode, you should try to wipe the cache partition so the system caches will be replaced. This procedure is as effective as a reset but it doesn’t compromise the safety of your data. It’s a necessary procedure so make sure you do it before the reset.
  5. Reset your Galaxy S6 Edge – if the previous steps failed to get rid of the error, then you have no other choice but to reset your device. However, make sure you backup your files and data as they will all be deleted and can no longer be restored after. I suggest your reset your phone through the Settings menu.

All the procedures here can be found in the first issue except the factory reset. Here’s how you reset your S6 Edge through Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap the Back up my data slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap the Restore slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If screen lock is enabled, enter PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

I hope this helps.

Contacts app crashes when making a call on the Galaxy S6 Edge phone

Problem: Hi guys! I am hoping you can help me with my problem or if you’ve already published articles that deals with my concern, kindly point me to the right direction. Anyways, my problem is that every time I make a call to any number, there is an error that tells me about the Contacts app that stopped working. As a result, my call won’t go through. Surprisingly though, the error won’t show up when somebody calls me so it really puzzles me why this problem happens. Please help me.

Troubleshooting: While the problem appears to be so complicated and pose similarities with the first two, yours is actually easier to fix than the others. You see, the error only shows up whenever you make a call but when somebody calls your number, everything is working the way it should, right?

The error mentions the Contacts app being the one that crashes, however, it occurs only when you dial a number. This means the trigger is actually the dialer or the phone app. That said, you can get rid of the error by doing these…

  1. First, clear the cache and data of the Contacts app since it’s the one crashing. After which, try to dial a number again to see if the error still shows up and if so, then move on the next step to finally fix it.
  2. Now, clear the cache and data of the Phone app. Just follow the same steps but choose Phone instead of Contacts. This should reset the app and may correct whatever conflict is created every time you dial.

Well, if the problem still occurs after this, then reset your phone.

CONNECT WITH US

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

Galaxy S7 is frozen and becomes totally unresponsive, Settings app keeps crashing, other issues

Welcome to another #GalaxyS7 article for this week. This post answers 9 more S7 and S7 edge issues sent our way by some of our readers. Be sure to browse through the end to see if you have a similar experience.

Below are the specific topics we cover for you today:

  1. Galaxy S7 keeps showing “Contacts has stopped” error
  2. Galaxy S7 Settings app keeps crashing after installing Android Nougat
  3. Galaxy S7 edge calls keep dropping, getting hot when charging
  4. Galaxy S7 fast charge not working
  5. Galaxy S7 “Settings has stopped working” error when opening wifi
  6. Galaxy S7 cannot save or download MMS
  7. Galaxy S7 not receiving all SMS
  8. Galaxy S7 is frozen and becomes totally unresponsive
  9. Galaxy S7 turning off on its own while charging

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page, or you can install our free app from Google Play Store.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Problem #1: Galaxy S7 keeps showing “Contacts has stopped” error

Hi. I appreciate the fact there is someone out there willing to help with this nonsense. I am dealing with the “Contacts has stopped” issue. I’m not sure what’s causing it. It’s now happened for a 3rd time and what i did to correct it in the past no longer works. I did the “clear cache” as well as hold the Volume and Home key down then power on to clear cache partition. I’ve done it several times. I will not clear data since it tells me i will lose all files. I only had the phone for one week the first time it happened. I’ve now owned it for about 7 weeks and i have no idea what’s causing it. I have updated the phone a few times. I am thoroughly disgusted with Samsung for not creating a patch for this problem. I will not be purchasing another one in the future. I am at a loss and have no idea what to do. I cannot use the phone to call out. I’m to the point of getting my credit card involved to get my money back and start over. I’m not tech savvy. If you can help, great. Thank you. — John

Solution: Hi John. Since you’re dealing with one particular app here, we strongly recommend that you do all the basic software troubleshooting if you want to get to the bottom of this issue. If you don’t want to lose important files and contacts, mke sure to back them via Smart Switch first. This is a free application from Samsung designed to give users like you an easy option to create copies of their important files to another device. Smart Switch can be installed on another Samsung smartphone that you can use to keep your files but we recommend that you use a computer instead. If you haven’t tried using Smart Switch yet, we recommend that you visit this link for step by step instructions.

Once you’ve already created a back up for your important data, your next step would be to clear the cache and data of Contacts app. Here’s how:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6.0.
  3. Once in there, click on an application.
  4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons for the application.

After clearing Contacts’ cache and data, be sure to restart the phone and see if the problem is resolved. If nothing changes, you must do a full wipe by doing a factory reset.

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

Problem #2: Galaxy S7 Settings app keeps crashing after installing Android Nougat

Settings keeps crashing. I’ve tried wiping the cache, starting in safe mode, and a complete factory reset. Still does it. It seems to be limited to the wifi settings. I can’t pull up the available wifi channels. If I long press the wifi icon on the drop down notifications (or if I go deeper into the wifi manager), I get a message that the settings app has crashed. The same happens if I try to setup wifi calling. This all started when I updated to Nougat. — Adam

Solution: HI Adam. If the problem occurred right after installing an Android update and you downloaded it from your carrier (OTA update), the problem is most probably beyond your ability to fix. There’s a chance that the firmware you installed is poorly or inefficiently coded. An issue like this is usually fixed by a patch but it may take some time to arrive, especially if there’s no one or only a small number is reporting the issue. We suggest that you contact your carrier and let them know about it.

If you updated the operating system via others means and not by air, your only way out may be to revert to the previous firmware version by manually flashing it.

Problem #3: Galaxy S7 edge calls keep dropping, getting hot when charging

Hi. I just got my Galaxy S7 edge. I only had it for 2 weeks now. It’s good but i have garbage service. My calls keep dropping, I am having connectivity issues. I can’t take a video, watch a video or go live from Facebook. i am through Straight Talk Smart Pay.

My Galaxy Grand Prime is cheaper and works better. Can you please help me to figure this out?

Of course I’ve factory reset it once already. It’s also starting to burn while chARGING. BASICALLY GETTING TO HOT. — Nene

Solution: Hi Nene. If factory reset did not fix the issues and it gets hot when charging, the phone is most probably having a hardware malfunction. Some of the common causes of bad hardware includes accidentally dropping the device, exposure to elements (cold, heat, water, moisture), and manufacturing defects. If this was a brand new phone and not a pre-owned one when you got it, contact the seller or your carrier so you can have the hardware checked for errors.

For your network service issues such as random voice drops and internet connectivity interruptions, it’s important that you seek the help of your carrier as they can be due to service outages or poor coverage quality in your area.

Problem #4: Galaxy S7 fast charge not working

I have the same issue as concerns of many. i am worried too. My device does not fast charge and is showing cable charging for up to 7 hours charge time. I did clear system cache about 3 times on my device and the matter was not resolved. I have tried different original fast chargers and the charger doesn’t seem to be an issue but perhaps it’s the device. If my phone cable charges instead of activating fast charging does this cause damage to my device? Thank you please reply a.s.a.p. — Ridah

Solution: Hi Ridah. A lot of times, fast charging issues boils down to a faulty charging port but we’ve never heard of it causing other problems in a device. Fast charging feature can sometimes also be caused by a software glitch so if you haven’t tried it yet, we recommend that you do a master reset at this time. If you can’t restore the fast charging feature after this reset, you can assume that bad hardware is to blame. To fix it you should, you can either have the phone repaired or replaced.

For reference, here are the full steps on how to master reset your Galaxy S7:

  1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, etc.
  2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  3. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  5. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  6. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  7. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  8. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  9. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  10. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Problem #5: Galaxy S7 “Settings has stopped working” error when opening wifi

So I’m getting the “Settings has stopped working” notification whenever i try open my list of available wifi networks and occasionally when i leave the slide down settings bar open. I followed the steps on one of your posts, did the master reset and i could once more use wifi as normal and access the nearby networks. I then restored my old back up and am now back to not being able to access the wifi menu again. Any advice on this issue?

*i can still reconnect to networks automatically i had already connected to before this issue started. Thank you in advance. — Lockie

Solution: Hi Lockie. Looks like your issue is similar to the one Adam is experiencing above. If “Settings has stopped working” error started happening after you installed the most recent Android Nougat iteration, this may be a firmware coding issue, which means that there’s no amount of troubleshooting that you can do on your end to fix it. The only thing that you can do is to report the trouble to your carrier and hope that they can release a patch as soon as possible.

Problem #6: Galaxy S7 cannot save or download MMS

My boyfriend is sending MMS screen shots or multi media messages/pictures. I tap on it to download and it says receiving. Then after a 15-30 seconds it tells me unable to download. Fail. I hope hold my finger on the pic to see what my options are to forward or convert the format and the only option I get is to delete or save attachment. I try to save it and it will either say unable to save to SD card or application not supported or found. I saw on another post when i asked this same question to make sure my phone was set up properly for Metro and the information is all correct. I also have my data turned on and the downloaded another text app that was also suggested called Textra. I don’t see the messages or pics at all on the new app either. What can i do? — Vamj0414

Solution: Hi Vamj0414. If all APN settings are correct on your phone and mobile data connection is working, the problem is most probably account related. This may be the reason why MMS does not also work even when using a third party app like Textra. Contact your carrier and let them fix the issue for you.

Problem #7: Galaxy S7 not receiving all SMS

I have been having a problem with my Galaxy S7 recently wherein people will send me text messages or even phone calls and I simply will not receive them. It seems to be completely random as I will receive a specific person’s message one time and the next time they send me one I will not, but it will appear as sent on their device, and it has happened with many different people. I have not, however, had any problem with people not receiving my messages. For example, my friend sent me an important text message two days ago which I did not receive on my phone. The next day she asked why I never responded and I said because she never sent it to me but upon comparing our messaging apps, (we both use the default messaging apps on our phones) on her iPhone it said the message was sent, but on my phone it was never received. — Tommy

Solution: Hi Tommy. An issue like this can have several moving parts and most of them  can only be addressed by your carrier. The best that you can do on your end is to do some software troubleshooting to hopefully prevent the issue from happening again. In a case like this, identifying the cause is usually almost impossible to do so unless there’s a known network-related glitch already identified by your carrier, there’s really no way of telling for sure where the problem lies. There’s no diagnostics that you can run on your end to help you pinpoint the cause. It can be a device issue or something in your carrier’s system. SMS and MMS issues are best addressed by the network providing them so if you haven’t contacted them yet about it, be sure to do so.

Problem #8: Galaxy S7 is frozen and becomes totally unresponsive

Hi. I have a Samsung Galaxy S7. I live in FL and was outside all day at a vendor event in the heat when the phone got pretty hot and froze up. I did a soft restart (volume down + power) but the screen got stuck in the Samsung screen with the blue led light pulsing. After getting home and letting the phone charge it seemed to be ok. But today it did it again but worse this time. I tried to do a reset to clear the cache but now it is stuck on the Android recovery screen. I am unable to use the volume up or down keys to make a selection as it is completely frozen. What can I do now? — Piphidavis

Solution: Hi Piphidavis. The first thing that you want to do is to let the phone drain battery power, especially if the phone is completely unresponsive. After that, you want to see if you can boot the phone normally or not. If not, that’s the time you will attempt to boot it to alternate modes. Below are the steps on how to do each hardware button combination and a follow up solution for each one:

Boot in Recovery mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Boot in Download Mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
  4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
  5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
  6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

Boot in safe mode:

  1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
  6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

Should the phone continue to refuse to boot normally, or you won’t be able to boot it to any of the alternate modes above, have it repaired or replaced. The battery may have died or become damaged so it’s good if you can have the hardware checked.

Problem #9: Galaxy S7 turning off on its own while charging

Hi team! Over the last week my Samsung S7 has been turning off while on charge overnight. I use my phone for alarm clock so this has been a little frustrating for the work alarms but hey, happy to get an alarm clock in the mean time. The fault has only happened 3 times within the last week, first and second time the phone was stuck on the Samsung loading screen and I had to force restart. The 3rd time was just turned off while on the battery fully charged screen and turned on with the power button. Each time it does this it closes all apps and when the phone comes back on it will not have alarms set either. I have seen a lot of threads in regards to this but yet to find a solution really? Is there a definite fix for this or what would you guys recommend? I look forward to hearing from you. — Adam C

Solution: Hi Adam C. This may be caused by software glitch so the first thing that you want to do is wipe the cache partition to refresh the system cache. If that won’t fix the problem, you have to do the more drastic solution of factory reset (steps provided above).

For reference, here are the steps on how to wipe the cache partition:

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

 

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

Some of our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy S8+ have been complaining about the error message “Unfortunately, Phone has stopped,” which according to some, started without apparent reason or cause. But basically, the error actually just notifies you about the built-in phone app that crashed for some reason. It might be just a simple problem with the app itself or a problem with the firmware. Rest assured though that this kind of problem is not really that complex and can be fixed by basic troubleshooting procedures.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy S8+ that’s showing this error message. We’ll try to take into consideration every possibility and rule out each of them until we can arrive at the point where we can easily pinpoint what the problem really is and what needs to be done to fix it. So, if you own this phone and are currently bugged by a similar problem, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before we go to troubleshooting, if you are currently experiencing a different problem, try to visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues owners encountered with their device. Find issues that are similar to yours and feel free to use our solutions or troubleshooting guides. If they don’t work, however, and if you need further assistance, contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. All we need is information so we can help you. Don’t worry, it’s free.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy S8+ with “Phone has stopped” error

This error message might be a really annoying problem since one of the basic functions of your phone won’t work when you want to use it but you may be able to fix it on your own. Now, before we proceed with our troubleshooting, read the problem below…

Problem: Hello guys. I am hoping you could tell me what to do. I own the new Galaxy S8+ and for some reason, it started showing the error “Unfortunately, Phone has stopped.” It’s a brand new phone and it’s really bugging me off since I can no longer make phone calls or receive one. Can you please help me?

Troubleshooting: The course of our troubleshooting would be to rule out each possibility and we will begin with the app that’s crashing. That said, here’s what you should do:

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

This should be the first thing you should do since the error specifically mentions the name of the app that’s crashing. We have to assume first that this problem is caused by an app and with that being said, make sure you backup your contacts and then follow these steps to reset the phone app.

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

Step 2: Clear the cache and data of Contacts app

This is not the first time we encountered this problem and based on our experience, this error may also be caused by the Contacts app, which works well with the Phone app. It’s always possible the error is also triggered by it so you should reset it, too. But I’m assuming now that you’ve already backed up your contacts.

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

Step 3: Uninstall any third-party phone app you installed

This is optional and applicable only if you’ve installed a third-party phone app prior to the problem. We just have to rule this possibility out before we actually proceed to much complex troubleshooting procedures. Follow these steps to uninstall the app from your phone:

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

If this problem persists, then move on to the next step.

Step 4: Reboot your phone in safe mode

In this step, I want you to start  your phone up in Safe mode wherein all third-party apps are temporarily disabled so that we can isolate the problem if it’s caused by other third-party apps. This is how you start your Galaxy S8+ in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
  8. Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

Assuming the error message doesn’t show up in this mode, then it’s obvious the problem is caused by a third-party app. You have to find that app and if you already have a suspect, try to see if it needs to be updated, then try to reset it and if that won’t work, you have to uninstall it.

How to update apps in your Galaxy S8+

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 apps on your Galaxy S8+

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

How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy S8+

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

Step 5: Try deleting the system caches as some may have been corrupted

Corrupt system caches may also cause some apps to crash. That’s why if the error still shows up even in safe mode, then you’ll have to do this step to rule out the possibility that the error is triggered by some corrupt system caches.

To delete all system caches, you have to boot your phone up in recovery mode and then wipe the cache partition:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition”
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

The phone will take a little more time to boot up after this procedure as it rebuilds the caches but if the error still shows up after this, then you have to do the next step.

Step 6: It’s time to reset your phone

After doing all the steps above and the problem still occurs, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone. But before you do that, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted. Then disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked out of your phone after the reset.

How to disable Factory Reset Protection on Galaxy S8+

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Accounts.
  5. Tap Google.
  6. 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.
  7. Tap 3 dot icon.
  8. Tap Remove account.
  9. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Galaxy S8+

  1. 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.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You may also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

  1. 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.
  2. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  3. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and restore.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Tap the back button to the Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
  8. Tap Reset device.
  9. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
  10. Tap Continue.
  11. Tap Delete all.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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