When apps keep crashing or closing unexpectedly on the phone, it denotes that something is wrong and therefore needs to be fixed. The problem could be within the app itself, if not the phone system. Generally, you’re dealing with a software-related issue hence can be remedied at home by some workarounds.
Outlined below are potential solutions and workarounds that are used to deal with the same issue on the iPhone XR apps that are constantly freezing or closing automatically. Read on to find out how to fix this problem, whenever would encounter the same troubles on your new iOS device.
Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If you still need our help after that, then feel free to contact us by filling up our iPhone issues questionnaire.
How to troubleshoot iPhone XR with applications that keep crashing or closing
Before troubleshooting, try to determine what type of apps is affected. If the symptoms occur only on network-related apps, then it’s likely a network-related problem that’s causing trouble. In that case, you will need to deal with and fix network connectivity issues on your iPhone first. However, if the symptoms occur on random apps, either network-related or standalone (offline) apps, then you need to troubleshoot both apps and system problems with these workarounds. Don’t forget to test your device to see how it works after performing each of the given solutions.
First solution: End all background apps then reboot your iPhone XR.
Background apps are apps you’ve previously opened or used but not closed. They’re still running in the background among other suspended apps and services, all set to launch when triggered. While keeping background apps would benefit in terms of same apps reloading or multitasking, keeping more apps running in the background for long can also cause problems especially when any of them crashed or became corrupted. When this happens, adverse symptoms begin to emerge, affecting apps or system functions. To make sure this isn’t the root-cause of the problem, clear all background apps by manually ending them with these steps:
- From the Home screen, swipe your finger up and then pause.
- Swipe right or left to navigate through apps preview.
- Then swipe up on an app preview to close apps individually.
Do the same to end the rest of your background apps until everything is cleared. After clearing all background apps, dump all junk files from the internal memory by performing a soft reset or force restart. To soft reset your iPhone XR, follow these steps:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release the buttons when the Slide to Power Off command appears.
- Drag the power off slider to the right.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until the phone boots up.
To force close any corrupted data from the phone system, you can force restart your iPhone XR instead. Here’s how:
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
- Finally, press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears.
Both these restart methods are effective solutions to minor software errors from random bugs and corrupted data, without affecting any saved information on the phone memory.
Second solution: Install pending app updates on your iPhone XR.
App updates also offer fix patches to clear apps from random bugs, thus keeping them at their optimum performance. If you haven’t set all your apps to auto-update, then you might have missed some important app updates. To manually check for, download and install pending app updates on your iPhone XR, follow these steps:
- Tap to open the App Store from your Home screen.
- Scroll down to and then tap the Updates section. A list of apps with pending updates then shows up.
- To update individual apps, tap the Update button next to the name of the app.
- To update all apps at once, tap the Update All button on the upper-right side of the screen. This option only becomes visible if multiple pending app updates are available.
After updating all your apps, reboot your iPhone XR (soft reset) to apply the recent app changes and likewise to refresh the apps and internal memory.
Third solution: Update iOS to the latest version available on your iPhone XR.
Aside from app updates, installing the latest iOS update for your iPhone is also among the possible solutions. This is usually needed to get rid of application errors and other software-related issues caused by random bugs. New iOS updates generally offer fix patches to address bug-inflicted errors on a device. If you can connect to the Internet, then follow these steps to check for new OTA update available, then try implementing it on your device:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Software Update.
An update notification will show up on the screen if a new iOS version is available. Read the update details and system requirements then select the option to Download and Install update whenever you’re all set.
After updating, reboot your iPhone XR to apply new system changes and to refresh the memory. Doing also prevents apps from going rogue following the recent system transition.
Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone XR.
Invalid options and incorrect app configurations can also lead to these symptoms. If the problem started after customizing your iPhone settings, then that could be the underlying cause. To rule this out, follow these steps to restore original options and default configurations on your iPhone XR:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and tap Reset.
- Select the option to Reset all settings.
- If prompted, enter your device passcode.
- Then tap the option to confirm all settings reset.
After the reset, your iPhone will reboot and then restores the original settings and options. By then you can start enabling individual options you need to use on your iPhone including Wi-Fi, cellular networks, Bluetooth connections and the like.
Fifth solution: Delete rogue apps from your iPhone XR and then reinstall them.
Deleting or uninstalling the app is often the last-ditch solution to deal with major application errors on the phone like when the app has been totally corrupted. Apps in this state are no longer able to load or work as intended because they are already borked or completely damaged. And the only way to get them back up and running properly again is to reinstall them. But this also means you have to delete them first. So, here’s what you can try as your last workaround:
- From the Home screen, tap and hold on an app icon until the icons start jiggling.
- Tap the X on the app you want to delete. Then read the warning prompt, and then select Delete to confirm deletion of the app. Follow the same steps to delete all other errant applications.
- Reboot your iPhone XR (soft reset) after deleting all rogue apps.
- Then open the App Store.
- Search for the apps you want to reinstall individually.
- Then tap the Cloud icon or Get button to download and reinstall each app.
Reboot your iPhone XR after reinstalling an application then use your device to see if the app is still crashing or closing unexpectedly. Do the same after installing every other app to determine which from these apps is the culprit. Uninstall the app (s) that won’t still run smoothly after reinstalling or contact the app developer to report the problem for prompt solutions.
Other options
If you suspect that the problem is attributed to major system errors, then you may consider opting for a full system reset. Doing so will erase everything from your iPhone XR and then restores the default settings. System errors and bugs are likewise cleared out in the process, thus allowing your device to start clean and run as new. Aside from a master reset or factory reset, you may also resort to performing an iOS restore either via recovery mode or DFU mode through iTunes. Just don’t forget to back up all your critical data so you can just recover and use them again.
Connect with us
If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the Apple iPhone XR 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 XR. 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.