You get a notification saying you got an email and when you open the app to check it, you are greeted with a pop-up saying “Unfortunately Gmail has stopped”. The app crashes and you’re left wondering what to do.
This is a common error that users of Gmail may come across and can be troublesome to deal with if you don’t know what’s going on. We’ll show you various solutions to fix this error on your Gmail app for your Android device.
1. Restart Your App and Phone
The first thing to try is to close and reopen the Gmail app. A quick reset like this can help get rid of a temporary glitch or bug. To completely shut down an app, navigate to the app’s settings through the Settings > Apps menu and tap Force stop. After waiting for a few seconds, open your app and see if you can use it.
If you still see the error, it is a good idea to restart your phone. By restarting your phone, all processes and apps are stopped, and this helps determine if anything is affecting the app.
To ensure your apps are running optimally, you should keep your apps up to date. New updates fix existing bugs in the app and your problem could be resolved through a simple update.
2. Clear Your Gmail App’s Cache
One of the biggest causes of errors tends to be corrupted files. There are a multitude of ways this can occur, and one of the most common culprits tends to be the cache.
The cache is where temporary files are located to help your app run faster and more efficiently. If one of the files gets damaged or corrupted, your app can stop running. To remove any corrupted files, you should clear your Gmail app’s cache.
Here’s how to clear cache for the Gmail app:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Apps & notifications > See all X apps.
- Select Gmail.
- Tap Force Stop to kill the application.
- Select Storage & cache.
- Tap Clear cache.
Now you can relaunch the app to see if it’s working again.
3. Clear Your Multitasking Menu
With smartphones becoming so much more efficient and powerful, multitasking is a great way to do multiple things at once on your phone. For a superior multitasking experience, Android keeps your recent apps open in the background. While this is great, it also relies on your RAM to do so and might leave Gmail with less RAM to use on the phone.
This can lead to it not being able to work properly. By swiping up on your Android phone, you can see all your recent apps. Close all your irrelevant apps from the background and try opening the Gmail app again.
4. Uninstall Android System WebView Updates
Android System WebView is an app you use all the time. If you are hearing about it for the first time, it is a smaller version of Chrome that allows you to open links within the app you’re using so you won’t have to leave the app. This app comes pre-installed on your Android device and its updates are notorious for causing apps to crash.
You cannot uninstall the app but you can uninstall the updates. It is often recommended to uninstall its recent updates if you are having trouble accessing your apps. Go to your app library in the Play Store—or go to the app directly—and uninstall the updates while waiting for a new app or firmware update.
5. Use an Alternative Email Client
If your Gmail app issues are not getting resolved, the best solution is to use an alternative email app until Google releases an update to fix bugs. Outlook is a great substitute to access your Gmail while the app is down, or check out our comparison of the best email apps to find which one suits you.
Resolving Email Errors
Any issues with your Gmail app should have been resolved by using the above methods. Not being able to access your emails can be very troublesome but it’s important to always keep a calm head when looking for and attempting fixes.