Android

If you’ve noticed a bunch of Android app crashes recently, do this now

Android’s System Webview app might be the culprit.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
March 23, 2021

Image: Unsplash

If you’re an Android phone owner that’s suddenly experiencing app crashes, you’re not alone. Reports of crashes have been flooding onto the Samsung subreddit, but it’s not limited to just Samsung phones – Pixel, Motorola, and OnePlus owners are also saying they’re experiencing crashes.

While it seems newer Samsung devices like the Galaxy S20, S21, Note 20, A50, and A70 are more affected, that could just be due to how many newer handsets are still in daily use. Some owners of older handsets are also experiencing crashes, and it happens to almost any app, with no real link between developers.

Well, except one. It seems that Android’s System Webview app might be the culprit, as some users have experienced success by uninstalling the recent updates via the Google Play Store. That app adds an in-app Google Chrome viewer, so you don’t have to leave the app you’re in to view external webpage content. Probably something in the new version doesn’t like whatever customizations that Samsung has done to Android, so rolling back to an earlier version should stop the app crashes.

Here’s how to fix the recent app crashes on Android

Here’s how to uninstall the recent update, thanks to /u/WatfordHert on reddit:

Open Settings
Find Apps & Notifications (or Applications on some phones) and tap on it
Find Android System Webview and tap on it
Tap the three-dot menu icon at the top-right, then tap Uninstall updates
That’ll remove the updates that are probably causing the app crashes, without removing Android System Webview completely, as you still need that. Yes, this does mean you lose some security updates but that’s possibly better than app crashes, at least until the issue is fixed
Tap Ok on the pop-up that reminds you that you’re replacing the app with the version that came with your phone, and you’re good.
You can also open Google Play Store on your phone, search for Android System Webview, and uninstall the updates from there

While multiple Redditors saying that this method has worked for them, we can’t confirm that it will work for every handset out there. It’s probably worth trying though, if you’re experiencing app crashes. If it does work, and you start seeing app crashes again after a while, make sure that the Play Store hasn’t automatically reinstalled the faulty update.

Also, it is being reported that Google is pushing an update out for System Webview, so make sure to keep checking the Play Store for that.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.