Snapchat Keeps Crashing on Android – How To Fix

Both Snapchat and Android are relatively stable and work at least 95% when needed. That wasn’t the case, but the improvements to both the phone OS and the app should, for the most part, make your Snapchat experience smooth. This is not always the case though. Despite the improvements, this app seems to crash a lot more than the others. That’s why we put this tutorial on what to do if Snapchat keeps crashing together on Android.

It might be because we use Snapchat more or it’s doing something that WhatsApp, Facebook, or Kik doesn’t. In my personal and anecdotal experience, if an app crashes on any given day, it will be Snapchat. This page includes a few things you can do if you’re experiencing the same issue.

Snapchat keeps crashing on Android

Most of the steps you should try will work in any app, not just Snapchat. It’s a tried and tested elimination process that starts lightly and then gets more involved if those easy fixes don’t work. Try these in the order they are written here and one of them will stop Snapchat from crashing.

Restart Snapchat

If Snapchat crashes without errors or is not affecting the rest of your phone, simply reboot. You may find that the Snapchat process is still working but the app is not, but I will cover that here.

1. Open your app tray and select Snapchat.
2. If it doesn’t open, select Settings & Apps.
3. Select Snapchat and Force Close.
4. Try opening Snapchat again.

The app and the process can run independently, and I’ve seen firsthand where the app itself shuts down, but the process is either locked open or still running and won’t let you reopen the app. Using Force Close solves this.

clear app cache

Application cache is like RAM in a computer. A place where an application can temporarily place application files so that they can be used while running. Sometimes these files get corrupted or unreadable so clearing this cache can save a lot of hassle.

1. Open Settings and Apps
2. Select Snapchat on your device.
3. Choose Storage.
4. Select Clear Data and Clear Cache

After these two are cleared, try Snapchat again. If the problem is with the cache, the app should now work perfectly again.

Check for updates

Updating Android or Snapchat can sometimes fix an app crashing issue so it’s not a bad idea to check for updates if these steps don’t work. Depending on how you set up your device, simply connecting to WiFi will trigger all updates. Otherwise, try this:

1. Turn on WiFi on your device.
2. Open Google Play and select Check for Updates.
3. Allow updates to be downloaded and installed if available.
4. Check for an operating system update by opening Settings and Software Update or About Phone.

Different manufacturers put the OS update option in different places. While Samsung uses the Software Update in Settings, other manufacturers may leave it at its default location in About Phone. If yours is not one of them, it will be somewhere in Settings.

It’s rare for an update to fix a crashing app unless it’s a known issue or bug, but it’s a good habit to enter anyway. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to update everything!

Uninstall recently installed apps

Now that you’re at this point, we need to take a closer look at what’s going on with your device. Did you install anything else before Snapchat started crashing on your Android device? Have you installed new camera apps, new stickers, filters or anything?

If you did, uninstall it again and retest. The problem may not be with Snapchat at all. Some camera apps or effects filters can ‘lock’ the camera and stop Snapchat from working. If you installed other apps just before this all happened, use an elimination process and uninstall each one until Snapchat is working again.

Reinstall Snapchat

If nothing has worked so far, our only option is to uninstall and reinstall Snapchat. This is a last resort move but can fix many bugs. It can also delete most of your preferences. Make sure all your stuff is backed up first though.

1. Select Settings and Apps.
2. Select Snapchat and choose Uninstall.
3. Go to Google Play and install a new version of the application.
4. Retest and see what happens.

After reinstalling Snapchat, there is nothing else to do. If this is the only app misbehaving, then a factory reset isn’t worth it and it’s very unlikely that the bug is on your phone.

Do you know any other troubleshooting tips on whether Snapchat keeps crashing on Android? Do you know the possible culprits? If you do, tell us below!