This story was originally published and last update …
If you are faced with multiple apps suddenly crashing on your recent Samsung phone, you are not alone. This afternoon US time reports from dozens and then hundreds of Samsung subreddit users began to arrive, complaining that applications on their phones are constantly and seemingly accidentally crashing. This causes severe headaches. You can quickly fix the problem by disabling the Android System WebView app or updating it via the Play Store or APK Mirror.
Users of latest Samsung phones—Galaxy S20 and S21, Note 20, A50 and A70 series, among others, appear to have been hit hardest. There are scattered reports that the same problem occurs with Pixel, Motorola and OnePlus, although these could be occasional issues not related to the underlying issue. Some older Samsung devices, including one J7, have reported similar issues. Application crashes are not limited to any particular subset: applications with more or less any functionality from any developer crash repeatedly and without warning.
Several users have reported success using a relatively simple method: uninstalling the latest Android System WebView, a small tool that allows apps to display a web page using Chrome without leaving the app. It is used in a variety of ways, including logging in securely and viewing support documentation. Reddit user / u / WatfordHert spoke in detail about his methodwhich is pretty simple.
How to fix recent app crashes
To use the WatfordHert method, go to the main Android settings menu, then tap Apps & Notifications (just Apps on some phones). Find Android System WebView in the list and tap it. (If you don’t see the app, check the three-dot menu and click show system apps.) Not disable the application.
Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the screen, then select Uninstall Updates. This will not remove the Android System WebView completely – this is an important component and many applications will stop working without it. Instead, it will uninstall the updates installed from the Play Store and restore them to the version that came with your phone. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than having a phone that can’t run for thirty seconds without an app crashing.
Click “OK” on the warning that appears and you’re done. If you still see persistent app crashes, try restarting your phone.
We cannot personally test this method on all affected phones, but several Reddit users report that it works for them. If you see the app crash issue coming back, try repeating the steps above – the Play Store may have automatically updated the app without alerting you. According to commenters like Jorell, this method may not work on devices running older versions of Android – try uninstalling updates from the Chrome browser itself instead.
Android WebView System Update
If you need a more permanent solution, Google quickly released an update for the Android System WebView app early in the morning of March 23rd. It should be rolling out to the Play Store right nowbut if you don’t want to wait it is available on APK Mirror like direct download. The version number you are looking for is 89.0.4389.105.
According to the service update posted in Google Workspace Status Bar, this version of the application should resolve issues related to crashes of other dependent applications. Note that users who are already running Android 12 developer previews do not need this – they are already using early versions of Chrome 90 and the WebView updates with it.
Google has released an update for the WebView app that should fix the crash issue. We’ve adjusted the history to include this and other information to resolve the issue.
