How to troubleshoot your Galaxy Note 8 when its Gallery app keeps crashing

Many #GalaxyNote8 users have contacted us about one common issue: Gallery app keeps crashing. Today’s post will address that so hopefully, this can become yet another guide for people with similar trouble out there. Keep in mind that the solutions suggested here can also be applied to other Samsung devices.

How to troubleshoot your Galaxy Note 8 when its Gallery app keeps crashing

Gallery app is one of core system apps that can affect a number of functions in your Note 8 if it misbehaves. There can be a number of possible reasons why Gallery app may crash on its own. To address all the possible causes, go ahead and check the troubleshooting guide below.

Create a backup of your photos and videos

Before you move through the rest of the troubleshooting steps in this article, be sure to back everything up first, especially your photos and videos kept in the Gallery app. In the later part of our troubleshooting, you’ll be deleting the app cache, data, and may be even wipe the phone so creating a backup makes sense.

To make it easier and faster, we suggest that you use Samsung Smart Switch app. It should already be installed in your S8 at this time but in case you don’t have it yet, you can also get it for free from Google Play Store. Creating a backup via Smart Switch involves using another device like a computer so be sure to also install Smart Switch app to it.

Solution #1: Clear system cache

Some apps may encounter glitches when an Android device’s system cache is corrupted or outdated so your first troubleshooting step is to refresh the cache partition. This is done by emptying it, forcing your device to build a new one. Here’s how to 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 Power button to select.
6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
8. Press the Power key to restart the device.
9. Check how Gallery app works.

Solution #2: Force Stop Gallery app

If clearing the system cache won’t address the issue and Gallery continues to crash, the next step that you must do is to deal with the app directly. This is done by forcing it to stop operating temporarily. Under Gallery app information page in Settings, there are a few troubleshooting options for each app. For this troubleshooting step, you want to try to Force Stop Gallery app to see what happens. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap More settings icon at the upper right.
4. Select Show system apps.
5. Look for Gallery and tap it. The list is alphabetically arranged.
6. Tap FORCE STOP button.

Solution #3: Delete Gallery app cache and data

If shutting down Gallery app won’t do the trick, the next good thing to do is clear its cache. If that won’t fix the problem either, try deleting its cache. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap More settings icon at the upper right.
4. Select Show system apps.
5. Look for Gallery and tap it. The list is alphabetically arranged.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap CLEAR CACHE.
8. Restart your Note 8 and check Gallery app.

If wiping its cache won’t help, repeat steps 1-6, then hit CLEAR DATA.

Solution #4: Install updates

We’re not aware of any Gallery app-related bug that stems from a coding mistep in Android but just in case, make sure that you keep the software environment up-to-date. To do that, just head over to Settings > Software update  and see if there’s any pending OS update for your device. Otherwise, open Google Play Store app and make sure that all your apps are fully updated.

If you also tend to install apps from third party sources (outside of Play Store), be sure to check if any of those apps need updating.

Solution #5: Check if a third party app is to blame

And speaking of apps, there’s always a chance that a third party application you’ve downloaded is interfering with Android or with Gallery app. To see if that’s the case, restart your Note 8 to safe mode. Here’s how:

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.

Once the phone is now running on safe mode, see how Gallery app works. It’s part of the pre-installed applications so it should run. All third party apps will be blocked at this time so if one of them is causing Gallery app to crash, the issue shouldn’t occur.

If that’s the case, you should uninstall apps until you’ve eliminated the cause. Keep in mind that safe mode won’t tell you what the problematic app is. You have to invest time to uninstall, boot the phone back to normal mode, and check how Gallery app is doing. If the issue remains, repeat the cycle.

Solution #6: Factory reset

If the issue continues up to this point, you have no other alternative but to return all software settings back to their defaults. By doing a factory reset, you’re also reverting all pre-installed apps to their default state, effectively eliminating the bug causing the Gallery app to crash. Since you’ve already created a backup of your files ahead of time, just follow the steps below to proceed:

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.

---