It’s usually down to the app itself, or the amount of RAM left on your Android. Whatever the reason behind it, your apps will be back up and running in no time soon, this time without closing on you.
Option 1: Free up Some RAM
Your RAM basically amounts to how much your Android can handle at one time. If something takes more RAM than you have, you can’t run it. If an app starts to take up more RAM than your Android has on hand, it’ll forcefully close, which gives you the problem you have now. Since you can’t add more RAM to your device, the next best thing you can do is make sure you have enough RAM free.
1. Look at Available RAM
Let’s see how much RAM you’re working with first. Head to your Storage Settings, and then look at Apps, before going to your Running apps list. Here’s where you see how much RAM you have free, how much is used up by apps, and how much is used up by your Android on its own. The device I’m using now doesn’t have a whole lot of RAM to its name, but all that means is I just need to manage how many processes I have running at once.
2. Stop Processes and Close Apps
Even though your Android systems take up a lot of RAM, you can’t end those, so you’ll need to lose something else if you’re having RAM problems. This is usually the point where it’s recommended you use a task killer, but it’s better to avoid using those if you can. Instead, if you have any of the apps on this list open, close them and wait for a few minutes. The process will still be cached for a few apps, but you’ll at least have more RAM than you did before. If you still don’t have enough RAM, click on one of the apps you have in the Running menu. On this page tap to Stop the process to free up the RAM. If this is an essential service, closing it will just bring it back up in a few seconds.
3. Using Task Killers
If you absolutely must use a task or app killer, use one of these, but make sure you use it very sparingly. Killing apps and tasks left and right will damage your Android’s processing ability in the long run.
Option 2: Uninstall and Reinstall the App
If RAM isn’t the problem, then it’s either the app itself that’s causing the problem or another app on your Android isn’t playing nicely with it. Before we get into other apps, let’s look at the app that’s force closing first.
1. Uninstall the App
This is the easiest part of the process. Open your Storage settings, find the app, and then uninstall it.
2. Reinstall and Open the App
After you’ve uninstalled the app, open the Play Store again, or wherever you downloaded the app to install it one more time. If you’re in the Play Store, open up the second under your profile with your apps and games to see a list of everything currently or once installed. Pick the app from the list, or search for it again if you can’t find it. Once you’ve done that, open it up and run some tests to see if it force closes again. If it still does, another app on your Android could be causing the problem.
3. Checking Open Apps and Processes
For a moment, go back to where you see your current RAM usage. If there’s another app causing a problem for you, it’s on this list somewhere. If the force closing is a recent problem, an app that you installed recently is the troublemaker. Go down the list one by one, and uninstall apps that you’ve installed as you’ve started having the problem until the force closing stops.
Option 3: Basic Troubleshooting
If you’re still experiencing force close issue, then something deeper than just a problem app is giving you headaches. Set aside at least ten minutes and follow our guide to basic Android troubleshooting. Once you get to the end of the guide, your force closing problem and any others will be fixed.
Conclusion
Apps force closing is an annoying issue, but 99% of the time it has an easy fix. Freeing up more RAM doesn’t take long, and once you know you have RAM problems, you can manage it more effectively and stop this from happening in the future. If you’re still having issues, or need any more help with force closing apps, please leave a comment below!
