Have you ever got the warning that the launcher has stopped and your system UI crashes all of a sudden?
If this issue is happening again and again; worry not, here’s how you can fix android launcher has stopped issue.
But first what is a launcher?
Launcher in android is one of if not the most important aspects for the user. Launcher is what lets us interact with our device’s software, and it can be quite troublesome if the same launcher faces a bug or just keeps stopping.
It is very common for the launcher to display such errors and is quite easily resolvable and we will be discussing how in this article.
How to Fix Android Launcher Has Stopped?
Before moving on to the steps, first, we need to find out what is your current active launcher.
For most people, it would be the default launcher that the company has shipped with its UI unless you’ve installed any third-party custom Android launcher.
So, you will need to figure out which launcher you are using.
If you do know about your launcher already then you may skip this step. To find out your active launcher, follow the steps given below.
Step 1 – Launch Settings
Firstly, you will need to launch your settings either from the application itself or through the notification panel.
Step 2 – Enter the “Accessibility” menu
The name for this menu may be different depending on which device you possess, you may search this menu for your particular device accordingly.
Step 3 – Look for the Default Launcher
You may find a section regarding your launcher settings, with the active/default launcher displayed somewhere around there. Again, if you can’t find it, you may search for it on your particular device.
1. Force Stop The Launcher
One of the first things that you should try with issues like these, is to force-stop the application. Force stop terminates all the app’s background tasks and completely restarts it which should solve the issue in most cases.
If you don’t know how to force-stop your launcher application, then follow the steps given below.
Step 1 – Launch Settings
Launch your settings application first by either looking for it in your app drawer or going through the notification panel.
Step 2 – Enter the “Applications” menu
After entering settings, look for the applications tab which is often situated in the lower half of the android settings.
Step 3 – Look for your active launcher
You need to locate your active launcher in the menu and open it there. If you don’t know what your active launcher is, then refer to the steps to finding it above.
Step 4 – Force Stop
After finding the application of your active launcher, all you have to do is click on force stop and you’re done.
2. Clear Cache
If forcing stop the launcher doesn’t work, then don’t worry. We have multiple alternatives to it as well. One of those alternatives is clearing the launcher application’s cache. Clearing the cache gets rid of all the unnecessary data that has accumulated over time and is creating hindrances in your launcher.
If you don’t know how to clear the cache of your launcher application, then follow the steps given below
Step 1 – Launch “Settings”
First, enter settings either from the settings application or through the notification panel.
Step 2 – Enter the “Applications” menu
After you enter the settings, you will need to look for the applications menu which is often situated in the lower half.
Step 3 – Look for your active launcher
You need to locate your active launcher in the menu and open it there. If you don’t know what your active launcher is, then refer to the steps to finding it above.
Step 4 – Clear Cache
After finding the application, all you have to do is click on clear cache and confirm the clearing.
3. Clear Data
As we discussed above, there are multiple alternatives to the force stop fix and another one of these alternatives is clearing the entire data of a particular application, which in this case would be the active launcher.
Clearing the data is not often recommended since it wipes out everything associated with the application and resets the app to its original state. You should only proceed with this step if forcing stop and clearing the cache didn’t work for you.
If you don’t know how to clear the data for your active launcher, then follow the steps given below.
Step 1 – Launch “Settings”
Firstly, you will need to enter settings either from the notification panel or through the settings application itself.
Step 2 – Enter the “Applications” menu
Upon entering the settings, you will need to look for the applications menu which is often situated in the lower half of the settings.
Step 3 – Look for your active launcher
After that, you will need to locate your active launcher. If you don’t know what your active launcher is, then refer to the steps to finding it above.
Step 4 – Clear Data
After locating the launcher application, all you have to do is click on clear data and confirm the clearing by clicking again on “Clear all data”.
4. Restart Your Device
Believe it or not, these bugs can also be resolved by just simply restarting your device once. These bugs are often caused by the huge amounts of junk files and unnecessary accumulated cache that clogs up your system and causes issues like these.
If the fixes listed above didn’t work for you then you should try restarting your phone once. Restarting your device frequently is good practice and it is significantly beneficial as it clears the ram and system cache and it could prevent issues like these in the future.
5. Look For Any System Updates
Sometimes when manufacturers roll out a new system update, older versions of the same system may be susceptible to bugs thus they release a new version to fix those. It’s possible that you may have a pending software update like that so it is highly recommended you look out for any system updates from your manufacturers.
The clear opposite is also equally probable. Maybe you’ve recently encountered a software update from the manufacturer that may contain bugs like these. If this is the case then you don’t have a choice aside from waiting for your manufacturer to fix it in a future patch.
6. Factory Reset Your Device
You shouldn’t resort to this fix unless nothing else really works for you. Factory resetting your device will delete everything from your internal storage and set the device back to its original starting state. It is advised you take necessary backups before proceeding with this step.
If you don’t know how to factory reset your device then follow the steps given below.
Step 1 – Launch Settings
Like always, first, you will need to enter settings from the settings application or by pulling down the notification panel and proceeding from there.
Step 2 – Enter the “Backup and Reset” option
The name of the option may be different depending on your device but this might be the most common name for it, you search where this option is for your particular device.
Step 3 – Select “Factory Reset”
After you’ve entered the “Backup and Reset” option, choose the factory reset option and confirm the reset.
It might take your device a few minutes to finish the factory reset process. Forcefully turning off your phone or doing anything else that can interrupt the reset is not recommended at all.
7. Try Different Launchers
Last but not least, you can just abandon your old launcher and switch to a new one. There are lots of free launchers available on the google play store. I’ll mention a few note-worthy launchers here but you can explore the different launchers for yourself.
Lawn Chair
Lawn Chair is no doubt one of the best launchers for android. It comes with a variety of features but best of all, it isn’t choppy or laggy like most third-party launchers out there. It provides a smooth and user-friendly experience with a high level of customizability, all for free.
Lawn Chair also has a more compact and lightweight version of itself called “Lawn Chair Alpha”. Although it has less customizability and features than a regular lawn chair, the speed and responsiveness of this lite version makes up for it.
Nova Launcher
Nova launcher is another one of the best and possibly the most popular android launcher and for good reason. Nova launcher is fast and responsive but one of the biggest plus points of nova is its customizability. I reckon you couldn’t find a better launcher than Nova in terms of customizability.
If you are a minimalist that doesn’t care about customizability much then you can go with Lawn Chair but if you do want a highly customizable launcher then Nova is the best choice for you.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, If none of the fixes listed above work for you then it may because of a hardware or a software issue that can’t be fixed like this. You should seek professional assistance from your device manufacturer’s customer support in such cases.
Thanks for reading this fix regarding fixing android launchers abruptly stopping.
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