How to fix apps that keep crashing on your Apple Watch 4

One of the common issues transpiring among iOS devices is on random app crashes. Often times, the problem is isolated to an application. But in some instances, the problem is attributed to system errors and iOS glitches. When troubleshooting app problems in iOS devices, in-app glitches and software-related errors on the affected device must be ruled out individually. The solutions I lined up below are used to deal with a pertinent issue on the Apple Watch 4 apps that keep crashing. Read on and find out what to do if you can’t get your Apple Watch 4 apps to work properly as intended.

Before moving on, if you have issues with your smartwatch and are trying to find a solution for it, visit our Apple Watch 4 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this device. Find issues that are similar to yours and feel free to use our solutions. If you need more help, fill up our questionnaire so we can help you.

Troubleshooting Apple Watch 4 apps that keep crashing

The following solutions will eliminate software-related errors that trigger your Apple Watch 4 apps to keep crashing and become unstable. Also check and ensure that your Apple Watch storage is still not full. To check the current memory status of your Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your paired iPhone. Then navigate to the My Watch tab. Once you’re there, tap General. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen then tap Usage. Under the Storage header, you should see the amount of storage space used by each app. If the available storage is less than 1 gigabyte, then insufficient memory is more likely the main reason why your Apple Watch apps keep crashing. In that case, freeing up memory space by deleting old and unused contents from the watch will fix the problem.

If your Apple watch memory is still ample but apps do keep crashing, eliminate software-related triggers with these outlined solutions.

First solution: Force close apps on your Apple Watch.

Apps that you recently used on your Watch will stay open and running in the background unless you quit them. If any of these background apps gets corrupted, there’s a tendency for other apps to become affected. This is when they tend to misbehave. To eliminate background apps from the underlying causes, follow these steps to force close apps on your Apple Watch 4:

  1. Unlock your Apple Watch to get started.
  2. Next, press the Digital Crown on the right side of the watch. 
  3. Enter the passcode then press the Digital Crown again. 
  4. Press the Power button. Doing so will load up app icons. These are the apps you’ve recently used on your watch.
  5. Navigate through the recently opened apps.
  6. Place your finger on the app icon then swipe your finger to the left. A red X icon will then show up the app icon.
  7. Tap Remove to close the app.

Follow the same steps to close the rest of the recently opened apps on your Apple Watch. Try using your watch after clearing all background apps and see if the problem is gone. If your apps continue to crash, troubleshoot further and rule out other triggers.

ALSO READ: How to Reset an Apple Watch 4

Second solution: Reboot your Apple Watch 4.

Minor software errors can also cause apps to glitch or act up randomly. This however is inevitable since there are many factors that could trigger a device’s firmware to crash. On a positive note, the associated symptoms are often minor and therefore rectifiable by simple solutions. An effective solution to minor software errors is a soft reset or reboot on the device. If you haven’t already, then you must consider this as the next possible solution to try. Just follow these steps whenever you’re ready to reboot or soft reset your Apple Watch 4:

  1. Press and hold the Side button for a few seconds until the Power Off slider appears.
  2. Drag the Power Off slider to turn off the watch.
  3. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button on your watch and then release it when the Apple logo appears.

If your watch display becomes unresponsive as apps keep crashing, then a forced restart would be necessary. As the name implies, this process forces your watch to shutdown and reboot. It’s an alternative way of clearing all background apps on your device. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and hold both the Side button and Digital Crown on your watch for about 10 seconds.
  2. Then release the buttons when the Apple logo shows up on the watch display.

Allow your watch to finish booting up and then use it to see if your apps are still crashing or not anymore.

Third solution: Install pending updates to fix apps that keep crashing on your Apple Watch 4.

Installing updates for your Apple Watch apps and watchOS can also be considered a potential solution to this problem. Updates usually integrates patches that are coded to address system issues, inflicted by system errors and software bugs. To update your Apple Watch apps and iOS, you will need to do it through your iPhone. Thus your iPhone must have a stable Internet connection, sufficient power and memory space to allocate new update files.

To update apps on your Apple Watch, simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to your iPhone and open the Apple Watch app.
  2. Tap the My Watch tab.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Turn Automatic App Install option on.

Using this setting on your iPhone will allow any updates to apps on your iPhone or any future app purchases to automatically install.

To update your Apple Watch OS, connect your watch to its charger. While it’s connected, follow these steps to start installing the latest watchOS version available for your Apple Watch 4:

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap the My Watch tab.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Tap Software Update.
  5. Download the watchOS update, if available.
  6. Enter your iPhone passcode or Apple Watch passcode, if prompted to proceed.
  7. Then wait for the progress wheel to show up on your Apple Watch display.

Reboot your iPhone and Apple Watch 4 after updating to save the recent software changes and to clear and refresh the memory of both devices. As soon as your devices are finished booting up, use your Apple watch to see if the problem is fixed already. If apps are still crashing on your Apple Watch 4, try the next possible solutions.

ALSO READ: How to fix slow performance problem on your Apple Watch 4, working very slow

Fourth solution: Reinstall the problematic apps on your Apple Watch 4.

If the problem occurs only on certain apps, the problem might be due to some in-app errors that eventually destabilized apps functions. If those apps have been corrupted, they must be deleted from your Apple Watch so you can re-install them from scratch. To delete problematic apps from your Apple Watch 4, simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to your iPhone and open the Apple Watch app.
  2. Tap the My Watch tab to continue.
  3. Scroll down to the app that you want to delete. You can view all installed apps from the Installed tab from the Apple Watch section.
  4. To remove the app, tap on it and then turn off the option to Show App on Apple Watch.

Use the same method to delete all other corrupted apps from your watch. After deleting the apps, you can reinstall those that you still needed through your iPhone.

Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your Apple Watch 4.

If the problem only occurs to Internet-based apps and the problem isn’t fixed by the previous methods, try to reset network settings on your watch. The problem is most likely attributed to network errors and so only network-dependent apps are affected. To reset network settings on your Apple Watch, simply follow these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from your Apple Watch main screen.
  2. Tap General
  3. Scroll down to the bottom then tap Reset from the given options.
  4. Tap Reset then select the option to Reset Network Settings.

Reboot your watch after the network settings reset then set up Wi-Fi network to reconnect your Apple Watch 4 to the Internet and get back online. Try launching online apps on your watch and see if the problem is gone.

ALSO READ: How to fix Apple Watch 4 battery draining issue, watch battery drains so quickly

Last resort: Factory reset your Apple Watch 4.

Complex watchOS errors could hinder apps from working properly even after performing the basic troubleshooting. In cases like this, more advanced solutions are needed. If you wish to troubleshoot further and rule out complex system errors, performing a factory reset on your Apple Watch 4 can be considered as the next possible to try on. This reset will wipe everything from your watch system including complex errors and bugs that caused apps to keep crashing. If you wish to proceed, back up all your critical data from your Apple Watch and then follow these steps to erase your watch and restore its factory defaults:

  1. On your Apple Watch, tap Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
  5. If prompted, choose to keep or remove your cellular plan.
  6. Then tap Erase All to confirm that you want to erase the watch.

After the reset, set up your Apple Watch 4 on your iPhone as new. Then start adding the apps that you want to use on your watch. After installing a new app, try using your Apple Watch 4 and see if the app crashes. Doing so will help you determine which app is the culprit. 

ALSO READ: How to fix an Apple Watch 4 that won’t update, Apple WatchOS update error

Are apps still crashing on your Apple Watch 4?

More often than not, software-related issues including random apps crashes are resolved after performing a factory reset. Having said that, your Apple Watch 4 apps must be going back to their normal state and working properly again. But if apps continue to crash on your watch after a factory reset, sort out which type of apps are acting up. If the symptom occurs only on network-related apps, then the underlying cause is more likely due to some sort of network-connectivity issues. In this scenario, troubleshooting network problems on your iPhone and Apple Watch system is necessary. If random apps are crashing on your Apple Watch 4, you can escalate the problem to the app developers or contact Apple Support for more advanced solutions.

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