How to fix Gmail app that won’t load or keeps crashing on your Apple iPhone XS Max [Troubleshooting Guide]

Security issues are among the possible reasons as to why Gmail or Google services suddenly stop working on your iPhone. This is usually the case when you attempt to access your Google account via Gmail on a new location. What happens is that Google had noticed your latest attempt to connect from a new location and thought of it as a possible threat or assumed that someone was attempting to hack into the email account.

For security reasons, Google blocked the sign-in attempt. This is often the case when you go for a vacation overseas and then attempt to sign in to your Google account on your phone. Expect everything to work normally again once you return to your place. But if the Gmail app won’t load at all, that would be another issue. And this is what this post will try to address. In case you will have some trouble loading Gmail on your new iPhone XS Max, I’ve demonstrate some applicable workarounds that will help you troubleshoot and resolve the underlying cause. Read on and learn what to do when Gmail app fails to load or keeps crashing on your iPhone XS Max.

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit.

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How to troubleshoot iPhone XS Max with Gmail app that keeps crashing?

Before troubleshooting software errors on the phone, make sure it has stable Internet connection. Internet connection is one of the requisites for online services including Gmail app to work properly on your phone. Without an Internet connection, the app won’t be able to access the Google server and that increases its chance to fail or crash. If your Internet connection is fine but Gmail app is still not working, then here’s what you can try doing next.

First solution: Clear and restart Gmail app on your iPhone XS Max.

If you happened to open Gmail before and haven’t closed the app, it’s possible that it crashed or became corrupted while running in the background. To clear this out, launch the recent apps screen on your iPhone XS Max and then quit Gmail or any other background apps from running. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Swipe your finger up and then pause.
  3. Swipe right or left to find the Gmail app card or preview.
  4. Then swipe up on the app’s preview to close it.

If you see multiple running apps in the background, then clear them all to prevent any of them from interfering with the Gmail app the next time it’s launched.

Second solution: Soft reset/force restart your iPhone XS Max.

If clearing background apps doesn’t help, try performing a soft reset on your iPhone. Doing so help dump errant cache that might have caused conflict with Google services particularly Gmail app on your iPhone. To soft reset your iPhone XS Max, simply follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Side button and either Volume button simultaneously for a few seconds.
  2. Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off command appears.
  3. Drag the Power off slider to the right to turn off the phone.
  4. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button again until the Apple logo appears then release.

If your iPhone becomes unresponsive as the Gmail app crashes, performing the usual soft reset couldn’t be done. In this case, you will need to force your iPhone XS Max to restart with these steps:

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Finally, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

Both these restart methods don’t affect any saved data on the phone’s internal memory and therefore backing up files won’t be necessary.

Third solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XS Max.

A network settings reset can also be considered a potential solution especially if the problem is attributed to network settings errors. If the Gmail app suddenly stopped working after modifying some settings on your iPhone XS Max, then invalid or incorrect settings might be to blame. To clear this out, try reverting the settings back to their previous configuration or else, perform a network settings reset on the phone with these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Select Reset Network Settings option.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm network settings reset.

After the reset, your iPhone will restart by itself and then launch with the default network options. Reconnect to your Wi-Fi network then retry loading the Gmail app on your iPhone XS Max. If the app still fails to load or able to load but keeps crashing, move on and try the next possible solution.

Fourth solution: Check and ensure IMAP is enabled on your Gmail (webmail) account.

This means the need for you to sign in to your Gmail account through webmail, then turn the feature on if necessary. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) refers to a technology used by Gmail to deliver mail to your iOS device or computer. If this option is disabled on your Gmail account settings, you won’t be able to get your email from the server and that may eventually cause the app to fail. So here’s what you should do then:

  1. Log into your Gmail account with the correct email address and password. You can log in through your iPhone or using a computer.  If you log through your iPhone, a popup message may appear asking you to download an app. If you see this message, select the option to Go to the mobile Gmail site instead.
  2. Wait for your email to finish loading, then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.
  3. Look for the link next to View Gmail In: and then select Desktop.
  4. Tap Settings then select Forwarding and POP/IMAP option.

Make sure IMAP is enabled. Otherwise, tap to enable it. After making these changes, restart your iPhone and then reattempt to load Gmail app.

Fifth solution: Delete your email account from your iPhone XS Max then set it up again.

The use of incorrect email account credentials or incorrect email account information is also among the probable causes. Before you delete your Gmail account from your iPhone, log into webmail (gmail.com) and make sure all your emails are there. Doing this will ensure that all your important can be re-downloaded from the server as soon as you’re done setting up your email on your iPhone XS Max. Here’s how to remove your Gmail account from your iPhone XS Max:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Accounts & Passwords.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Select the email account you want to delete then tap Delete Account to continue.
  5. If prompted, tap Delete Account or Delete from My iPhone to confirm.

After successfully removing your Gmail account, restart your iPhone and then set up your email account again.

If the Gmail app still failed to load or kept on crashing after applying the given solutions, then you may have to uninstall the app from your phone. It’s possible that the app is corrupted and no longer working unless it’s reinstalled.

  • To remove or uninstall the app, tap and hold on the Gmail app until the icons start jiggling. Then tap the X on the Gmail app icon. Tap Delete when asked to confirm app deletion.

You can also delete or uninstall app through your iPhone XS Max settings. To do so, go to Settings-> General-> iPhone Storage menu, then tap to select Gmail app. To confirm deletion of the app, tap Delete app.

After uninstalling Gmail app, restart your iPhone and then navigate to the App Store to search for, download and install the latest version of Gmail app for your device.

For more advanced solutions and troubleshooting methods, you may contact Google Support for help. Otherwise, escalate the problem to your device carrier or Apple Support for other options and official recommendations.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the Apple iPhone XS Max smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone XS Max. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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