Smartphones have brought us the convenience of apps that can do only virtually annihilation. Only that'southward not much help if you tap them and nothing happens. If an app won't open on your Android device, here are some possible fixes.

Restart Your Phone

Frequently apps don't launch properly due to temporary issues that get resolved past merely restarting your device.

You tin perform a soft reboot by long-pressing the power button and selecting Restart or swiping the app-shade down, selecting the power icon, and and so choosing Restart. Older Android phones use the ability button method; more recent models use the app-shade method.

Is the App for a Dissimilar Version of Android?

If you get a warning that an app is made for an older version of Android, the app may not launch or piece of work correctly. The developers will accept to release a newer version of the app for the current version of your Android phone. In extreme cases, you may want to read How to Downgrade Your Android Bone Version.

Check for Android Updates

The opposite problem can also ingather up. The app might be too new for your current version of Android. Bank check if there are whatever pending organisation updates on your phone. Install them before trying to rerun the app.

To meet if you accept whatever organization updates waiting in the wings, drag the app-shade down and open the settings menu. Then await for Software update or something similar.

You lot can apply the search function within the settings menu if you don't see the software update carte. You'll see a notification your phone is either up to date or that an update is awaiting.

Check for App Updates

It'southward also possible that your app has been updated by the developer, only you oasis't installed the update yet. Open the Google Play Store and go to the app's page. If an update is pending, you lot'll see an "update" button in place of the usual install or open up button.

Alternatively, you tin can open the Google Play Shop, then select your profile icon > My Apps and Games > Updates tab. All apps that require an update will be shown here.

Sideload an Older Version of the App

Going dorsum to an older version of an app that has worked on your telephone before tin can solve various problems. If new bugs accept been introduced, you can avoid them by using the older version of the app. If your phone'southward operating system is too onetime, the older version of an app may be the last version that will work on your handset.

If your phone'southward manufacturer isn't going to update a newer version of Android, you can usually sideload the older version of the app.

Sideloading is a workaround where you manually copy the app's APK bundle into the phone and install it yourself. You need to allow the installation of apps from unknown sources on your telephone.

You can usually find the APK file for older versions of that app on sites like APK mirror.

This is only feasible if the app in question doesn't rely on spider web services to work. It'south uncommon for older versions of an app to remain compatible with the latest web services provided past the app maker. These services are usually intended to work with only the latest version of the software. Nonetheless, for some apps, like games or cocky-contained utilities, which don't require a connection to web services,  installing an former version from an APK file is possible.

Check out How To Install Android Apps Using The APK File and 5 Best Prophylactic APK Download Sites for Android Apps for detailed information.

Forcefulness Close the App

An app may not open because it never actually airtight in the first place. Then, force shut the app and run it again.

The exact steps may vary slightly from one make of Android phone to the next and by the operating organization version. The general steps are:

  1. Open Settings
  1. Open App, or Applications or Manage apps, or something similar.
  1. Look for and select the app.
  1. Select Forcefulness Stop, Forcefulness Quit, or something similar.

Later on the app has been forced to close, try to open information technology again and run across if it helps.

Clear the App's Cache

Many Android applications maintain a local cache of information to help them work more efficiently or when an internet connection is lost. If that cache becomes corrupted, information technology tin cause problems with an app.

Check out our article on how to manually clear an app'south cache. Again, the verbal steps may vary depending on your model of Android phone.

At present relaunch the app. Y'all may accept to reenter your login credentials depending on the type of app.

Move the App Off the SD Card

Some Android phones let yous install applications or move parts of applications onto an SD carte. Unfortunately, SD cards are less reliable than the internal memory of your phone and are easily corrupted. A damaged SD card can prevent the app from launching.

Try to movement the app back to internal storage from the SD card, after which yous'll probably have to reinstall the app if any files were corrupted.

Uninstall and Reinstall the App

If none of the above fixes work for you lot, a more drastic step is to delete and reinstall the awarding. Yous might lose your data for the app you're having problem with. So, see if there's a way to preserve that information before deleting it. Here'south how to practise it:

  1. Open the Google Play app.
  2. Select your profile icon.
  3. Select My apps & games.
  1. Select the Installed tab.
  1. Select the problematic app.
  2. Select the Uninstall button and confirm.
  1. At present select the Install push and expect for the app to terminate downloading.
  1. Run the app again.

Hopefully, yous'll now have a working app over again.

Remove Webview Updates

WebView is a crucial shared component of Android that's used by many applications. When something goes incorrect with WebView, information technology tin crusade apps to misbehave.

If the latest update of Webview is wreaking havoc on your phone, you can actually roll dorsum to an older version. Here'due south how to remove Webview updates:

  1. Open up the Google Play App.
  2. Search for Webview.
  3. Open the app folio from the results.
  1. Select the Uninstall button and confirm your choice.

Cheque if your app is working again. If it's working after removing WebView updates, await until a later update becomes available, or the app itself gets an update that fixes the consequence. And then you lot may update WebView over again using the same stride every bit above, except yous'll use the Update push button instead.

Contact the App Programmer

If all else fails, you may take to ask the app'due south developer for assist. In that location are various ways to practice this.

Most people simply leave a review on the app in the Google Play store and wait for a response. Find a "developer contact" section on the app's folio and allow the developer know of your issue. Usually, developers are eager to make sure their software works. Just recollect to be polite!