What to do if Galaxy Note8 System UI app crashes when opening YouTube [troubleshooting guide]

Hello Android fans! Welcome to another troubleshooting episode for today. This post will address the question posed by one member of our community regarding an issue with his #GalaxyNote8 device. Basically, the System UI app on his Note8 keeps crashing and rendering the phone unusable when YouTube app is opened. We believe this issue or a similar situation has been reported to us before (but we can no longer find it) so we think it may be a developing issue for this device. Because we’re not positive if the frequent System UI crashes are directly caused by YouTube app, we like to treat this one as a general System UI issue. The suggestions below reflects that thinking but if we’ll come up with a more specific set of solution, we’ll update this post accordingly.

Today’s problem: Galaxy Note8 System UI crashes when opening YouTube

Almost daily, when I open youtube app from the edge panel, it will cause the system UI to freeze for anywhere between 5-7 minutes before the system UI crashes and I receive the close app popup. During the system UI crash I sometimes can hear audio, and even received a phone call during. I was only able to answer it because at the time I was connected to my vehicles bluetooth allowing me to use hands free to answer the call. During the system UI freeze. The screen turns a transparent white and I can see my background yet nothing works. The side power button will turn the screen off but upon pressing it again, the phone will return to the same transparent white screen and nothing is still working. Thank you for your time looking into this issue I look forward to your response some time as I understand you receive lots of emails thank you very much. — Pedro Marmolejo

Solution: Hi Pedro. System UI app is a core Android app in all Android devices so if it crashes often out of nowhere, it can be a sign that an app or software bug is interfering with its function. To fix this issue, you need to do a number of potential solutions.

Solution #1: Force Stop System UI

The first thing that you want to do is to force quit System UI app itself. System UI app works with a a lot of apps in a system so there’s no way for us to know what exactly is causing it to fail. The most that you can do about it is force quit or clear its cache and data. To see if restarting this app works, follow the steps below:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap More at the upper-right hand (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap System UI.
  6. Tap FORCE STOP button.

Solution #2: Restart your Note8

Should force quitting System UI won’t work, the next good thing that you can do is to restart your Note8. Some bugs can only continue to run as long as the current operating system session is in progress but the moment the device is rebooted, they are eliminated. To see if that’s the case, restart your Note8 this way:

  1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Note: Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
  2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Also, allow up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Solution #3: Clear System UI cache

One of the direct ways to deal with an app issue is by clearing its cache. All apps keep a set of temporary files, links, images, etc. to help them perform faster. At times, this cache gets corrupted causing slow downs or crashes. To see if your System UI cache is to blame, make sure to clear the current one and see what happens. 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 or 7.
  3. Tap More at the upper-right hand (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Show system apps.
  5. Once in there, look for the messaging application you’re using and tap it.
  6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more.
  7. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  8. You should now clearly see the CLEAR CACHE button. Tap it.
  9. Restart your Note8 and check for the problem.

Solution #4: Clear System UI data

The usual potential solution that follows app cache wipe is clearing an app’s data. The steps are generally similar to clearing the cache although this procedure drastically transforms the app back to its default setup. It’s the virtual equivalent of uninstalling and reinstalling your System UI app. Since this app can’t be removed from the system, clearing its data is the closest that you can do to restoring it to its bug-free, default state. To clear System UI data:

  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 or 7.
  3. Tap More at the upper-right hand (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Show system apps.
  5. Once in there, look for the messaging application you’re using and tap it.
  6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more.
  7. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  8. You should now clearly see the CLEAR DATA button. Tap it.
  9. Restart your Note8 and check for the problem.

Solution #5: Clear cache and data of YouTube app

Because your System UI problem also involves another app, YouTube, it’s also good to see what happens if you clear the latter’s cache and data. We can’t see the direct connection why YouTube triggers the issue but we strongly recommend that you return the said app to its default settings by wiping its data. If your YouTube app is not part of the pre-installed apps, you can simply delete and re-install it.

Solution #6: Run your Note8 to Safe Mode

Safe mode is another software environment that only allows pre-installed apps to run. If your Note8’s System UI app won’t crash in this mode while using YouTube (assuming this app is pre-installed), then there must be a third party app that causes the issue.

To restart to safe mode:

  1. With your Note8 off press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  2. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  3. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  4. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  5. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Remember, safe mode prevents third party apps, the ones you added that are not part of the original Android package, from running. If your Note8 turns on to safe mode but not on normal mode, that’s a clear sign that one of your apps is indeed problematic. To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your Note8 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

Solution #7: Reset app preferences

If the problem still exists at this juncture after doing all our suggestions above, you should consider resetting all of your app’s preferences to bring all of them back to their defaults. Doing so would also re-enable all disabled apps that are probably important for System UI and YouTube to work properly.

To reset app preferences on your Note8:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Tap Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your device and check for the bug.

Solution #8: Factory reset

Finally, if the problem will not be fixed by all of the recommendations above, you should not hesitate to return your Note8’s software settings to their factory defaults. Factor reset is the most effective way to fix software bugs that won’t be resolved by doing basic troubleshooting. We don’t think the issue is hardware- or coding-related to factory reset will most likely help.

To factory reset your Note8:

  1. Create a backup of your personal data.
  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.

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