If you are here then you could be are getting the error “Unfortunately WhatsApp has stopped” on your phone. What happens is sometimes when you open WhatsApp, it simply stops working and forces you out of the application. There could be multiple reasons why your WhatsApp is not working properly or not receiving messages. It’s not necessarily because you have a weaker device, even with the phone’s larger RAM and latest chipset might show this bug. So before you buy a new phone try some of these solutions that we have come up with. We have mentioned a few fixes that should resolve the WhatsApp crashing issue and make your WhatsApp messaging app faster. Note: These kinds of errors or lags are only associated with Android OS, so all the solutions mentioned here are for Android devices only. For iPhone or iOS, the steps are similar, though the exact wording is different.
Fixes For WhatsApp Slow Or Crash
Delete Messages
The reason why your WhatsApp might be lagging while opening could be too many messages. What happens is, when your WhatsApp has a lot of conversations, it takes a lot of time to process them and launch your app on time. These messages might make the app slow to connect and open.
1 Fixes For WhatsApp Slow Or Crash1.1 Delete Messages1.2 Clear Cache And App Data1.3 3. Switch Phone Off/ On1.4 4. Change SIM Cards1.5 5. Update Your Android And WhatsApp1.6 6. Free Your RAM1.7 7. Uninstall And Re-install The App2 Resolve WhatsApp Is Not Working Issue Using These Tips
To deal with this problem you should start deleting some old and non-important conversations. For deleting a conversation you just long-press any contact’s conversation from the launch screen and press the Delete icon on the top. You can also select multiple conversations to delete all at once. For groups, you can either select the specific conversation and delete the individual messages by long-pressing and tapping on the Trash icon. You can select multiple messages for deletion. Alternatively, you can delete all messages from a group at once from the same place where you can hide frequently contacted contacts. If you want those messages you could first email the desired WhatsApp conversation or export messages to your backup storage (Google Drive for Android, iCloud for iPhone) as a text file and then delete them. This way your WhatsApp lag issue will be fixed and none of your important messages will be lost. Recommended Read: How To Track WhatsApp Messages
Clear Cache And App Data
With so many text messages, media, and files shared over WhatsApp daily, lots of data get stored in the app. The cache is used to store frequently used information of the app, while app data stores every file and message the app contains. Clearing cache and app data can solve any kind of lag or issue you might be facing on slow WhatsApp. To clear both of these data, follow this step-by-step process:
Clearing cache will delete all your saved data that is used to load the messages faster. The messages will load a little slower at first but the app will start working normally and receiving messages after a while. This is a universal approach that helps with other apps as well. We don’t recommend you use the Clear Data option until it’s absolutely necessary. This will remove your account as well as all the files and settings associated with that account. You will have to sign in again after clearing app data so make sure you take chat backup first. If your backup got stuck, read this post for possible solutions. Also, remember that if you stopped a WhatsApp backup in progress, your last backup might be broken. Recommended Read: How To Hide WhatsApp Conversation
3. Switch Phone Off/ On
Often, WhatsApp also hangs because the device requires a reboot. Like your PC and laptop, your mobile device also needs to restart from time to time. So switch off your device for a few seconds and then switch on. It will refresh your device by clearing the cache and freeing the used RAM. It doesn’t make a huge difference in your phone operation but it will definitely help to speed up your slow WhatsApp messaging app. Note: It is recommended to restart your device once a week to prevent your phone and WhatsApp from slowing down.
4. Change SIM Cards
If you have recently switched to a new SIM card, your old account on WhatsApp might not work. WhatsApp has the policy to work with one number at a time. It confirms that by reading OTP, you need your card in the sim slot to receive OTP. To get your old account back, you will need to use WhatsApp with your old SIM card. Otherwise, you can also register with the new number to start a new account. Once you have completed the registration process, you can practically use WhatsApp without a SIM card as long as you have any kind of internet connection. But sometimes removing the SIM card or replacing it might cause some crash issues on WhatsApp.
5. Update Your Android And WhatsApp
WhatsApp might crash on startup due to outdated Android or WhatsApp versions. After a while developers stop working on the older versions resulting in apps becoming unresponsive. Go to System in Settings and look for the software update. If your software is not up to date then update it. Do the same for the WhatsApp version and update it from the Play Store.
6. Free Your RAM
When your RAM gets full due to running too many apps at the same time it causes a problem in running a few apps. Full RAM could be the reason for your WhatsApp not working properly or slowing down. Check if you are running any unnecessary apps in the background that are consuming your RAM. Try freeing your phone’s RAM by using these Android app killers. Also, consider uninstalling heavy apps that you don’t require now. This will save you space and make your WhatsApp and phone run faster. The RAM issue is very common on devices that have low RAM. For them, we recommend a weekly manual clean-up of junk files or use CCleaner alternative apps. Recommended: How To Make Your Own WhatsApp Stickers
7. Uninstall And Re-install The App
If none of the above tips worked, try this method to get WhatsApp hanging issue fixed. Uninstall WhatsApp and download a new clean version of it from the Play Store. Avoid downloading the app from the internet or from a third-party app store. After it is installed on your phone and you are on the setup screen, try to not load the backed-up files. Loading heavy data and files may sometimes cause the app to crash. Save the important conversations as a text file on your Google Drive first if you want to. You can also restore your WhatsApp on a different device and even switch from iPhone to Android. Here’s how to do it; and in this post, we talk about how to switch back. Recommended: FoneMonitor Review: iPhone And Android Monitoring Solution
Resolve WhatsApp Is Not Working Issue Using These Tips
We hope the above tips helped you in resolving the “WhatsApp is not working” and “slow WhatsApp” issues on your phone. If you are looking for more ways to make the most out of WhatsApp, take a look at our article with WhatsApp tips and tricks. Remember you can use these methods to get rid of the slow WhatsApp problem to make it faster and more responsive in receiving messages. Also, this problem could arise with other apps installed on your phone so you could try these methods for them as well. Share this post with your friends who might be facing the same issue. If any of these methods worked for you, tell us in the comment section. This will benefit others to quickly resolve their slow WhatsApp messaging app issue.
