Gmail and other Android apps on phones are crashing: here’s Google’s simple fix

Google says it is resolving an issue on Monday that caused Gmail and other Android apps to crash for some people. This problem was apparently encountered by mistake in a previous version of the Android system Webview, a system component that allows the Android application to display web content.

To fix the problem, the tech giant said, people should switch to Google Play to update the Android system Webview and Google Chrome.

Here are the steps Google has taken:

1. Navigate to the Play Store app
2. Search for Android System Webview
3. Select the “Update” option
4. Repeat this step for Google Chrome

According to Gmail and Google’s status dashboard, problems with Gmail and other Android apps started popping up on Monday afternoon and lasted about seven hours. Many people turned to Twitter And Reddit to report trouble crashing Android apps, including Samsung and Pixel phone owners

See also: 7 Hidden Gmail Features That Can Help You Get Inbox Boxes to Zero

“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support,” Google said in a final update to its Gmail status dashboard. “Please make sure system reliability is a priority over Google, and we’re constantly improving our systems to make them better.”

While Google was fixing the problem, some people found that uninstalling a corrupted version of Webview provided a temporary solution. Samsung’s support account on Twitter Suggested people take that step.

If you’ve used this function while waiting for Google to fix the issue, you should reinstall Webview to restore full functionality to your phone, as well as update Chrome. It’s important to keep apps up to date Get the latest security updates.