Chrome browser keeps minimizing after each download

[sbutk]

Hi.

Brand new member of the site; I registered with the hopes of finally the answer to a problem I’m experiencing lately with my Android phone…

Specifically, I have a Huawei Mate SE smartphone, running Android v. 8.0.0.

I’ve owned the phone for several years, but just over the last week or so, I’ve been experiencing a problem where any picture that I download from online (i.e. via my Chrome browser), the browser spontaneously minimizes. Chrome doesn’t necessarily close; I can still find it among my open app windows. But it’s as if the browser has to take a moment or two to “reset” …which I’m finding increasingly annoying.

Does this ring any bells to anyone? Does it sound like a cache issue that can be resolved by clearing? (If so, instructions on how to do so would be most appreciated.) …Or possibly by uninstalling and reinstalling the Chrome app. Either way, are any of these measures likely to cause me to lose my Bookmarks; History; Open tabs …or ‘All of the above’?

Would not exactly be the end of the world, per se, but it’s a scenario I’d like to avoid if I like to avoid, if anyone has any better suggestions, before I go poking around on my own.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mustang7757]

Hi.

Brand new member of the site; I registered with the hopes of finally the answer to a problem I’m experiencing lately with my Android phone…

Specifically, I have a Huawei Mate SE smartphone, running Android v. 8.0.0.

I’ve owned the phone for several years, but just over the last week or so, I’ve been experiencing a problem where any picture that I download from online (i.e. via my Chrome browser), the browser spontaneously minimizes. Chrome doesn’t necessarily close; I can still find it among my open app windows. But it’s as if the browser has to take a moment or two to “reset” …which I’m finding increasingly annoying.

Does this ring any bells to anyone? Does it sound like a cache issue that can be resolved by clearing? (If so, instructions on how to do so would be most appreciated.) …Or possibly by uninstalling and reinstalling the Chrome app. Either way, are any of these measures likely to cause me to lose my Bookmarks; History; Open tabs …or ‘All of the above’?

Would not exactly be the end of the world, per se, but it’s a scenario I’d like to avoid if I like to avoid, if anyone has any better suggestions, before I go poking around on my own.

Thanks,
Steve

Hi, welcome to AC!

Can you post a screenshot of this happening?
https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=413366

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! It's certainly worth clearing the app cache and data for Chrome -- go to Settings>Apps, select Chrome, then Storage, then clear the cache and data there.

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to Android Central! It's certainly worth clearing the app cache and data for Chrome -- go to Settings>Apps, select Chrome, then Storage, then clear the cache and data there.

Wait !!!
I want see a screenshot of this

 

[B. Diddy]

Well, I'm not sure a screenshot would adequately represent what's happening -- a screen recording might be more useful (or taking a video of the phone screen using another device).

 

[mustang7757]

Well, I'm not sure a screenshot would adequately represent what's happening -- a screen recording might be more useful (or taking a video of the phone screen using another device).

I agree there

 

[sbutk]

Hello Mustang, and others…

Thank you for the swift responses and warm welcomes.

I regret not responding again as quickly, myself, but that gave me time to make some further observations…

After reporting the problem to you, the very next time I tried a download, it inexplicably worked without a hitch. And was fine, the remainder of the evening. Now, it’s acting up again.

So I seem to have an intermittent problem on my hands - which I personally find more than a bit confounding (as someone who’s used to technical-minded troubleshooting). That said, I can appreciate your intentions, in asking for a screenshot to help diagnose my problem. However, in this situation, it almost sounds like you’re asking me to take a screenshot of… “nothing”?

That is, often when I see an image on my smartphone screen; double-click on it; and choose ‘Download to phone’, the desired action *is* accomplished …but this apparently may take up to 10 seconds (with my network setup here); and when the image file is done downloading, my Chrome browser – along with every other window I have open (e.g. Weather Underground, Yahoo Finance, etc.) – minimize to show my smartphone’s desktop.

When I hit the key to view all my open windows, I click on the Chrome window to return to what I was doing, and there’s a popup error message:

“Chrome isn’t responding. Do you want to close it?” [Options: Close app; Wait; Send feedback]

If I choose Wait, I can return to Chrome, but as soon as I download another image, the cycle repeats itself.


Strange, indeed. I hope I’ve given you enough details to be able to offer some suggestions. I’ve heard your request for a screen shot, but like I said – and as has been pointed out here - I don’t think that’s really possible (or informative) here.


Thanks,
Steve


P.S. Also as an FYI, I just ran a virus/malware scan with Norton 360, and everything looks fine.

 

[mustang7757]

Hello Mustang, and others…

Thank you for the swift responses and warm welcomes.

I regret not responding again as quickly, myself, but that gave me time to make some further observations…

After reporting the problem to you, the very next time I tried a download, it inexplicably worked without a hitch. And was fine, the remainder of the evening. Now, it’s acting up again.

So I seem to have an intermittent problem on my hands - which I personally find more than a bit confounding (as someone who’s used to technical-minded troubleshooting). That said, I can appreciate your intentions, in asking for a screenshot to help diagnose my problem. However, in this situation, it almost sounds like you’re asking me to take a screenshot of… “nothing”?

That is, often when I see an image on my smartphone screen; double-click on it; and choose ‘Download to phone’, the desired action *is* accomplished …but this apparently may take up to 10 seconds (with my network setup here); and when the image file is done downloading, my Chrome browser – along with every other window I have open (e.g. Weather Underground, Yahoo Finance, etc.) – minimize to show my smartphone’s desktop.

When I hit the key to view all my open windows, I click on the Chrome window to return to what I was doing, and there’s a popup error message:

“Chrome isn’t responding. Do you want to close it?” [Options: Close app; Wait; Send feedback]

If I choose Wait, I can return to Chrome, but as soon as I download another image, the cycle repeats itself.


Strange, indeed. I hope I’ve given you enough details to be able to offer some suggestions. I’ve heard your request for a screen shot, but like I said – and as has been pointed out here - I don’t think that’s really possible (or informative) here.


Thanks,
Steve


P.S. Also as an FYI, I just ran a virus/malware scan with Norton 360, and everything looks fine.

Thanks for updating, did you try B. Diddy suggestion to clear data and force stop chrome ?

 

[sbutk]

Thanks for updating, did you try B. Diddy suggestion to clear data and force stop chrome ?

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion to me, thanks!

Two things…

a. Could you provide me instructions on how to accomplish that.
b. Will doing so cause me to lose all my Bookmarks, History, etc.?

 

[mustang7757]

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion to me, thanks!

Two things…

a.Could you provide me instructions on how to accomplish that.
b.Will doing so cause me to lose all my Bookmarks, History, etc.?

You won't lose history or bookmarks , but will lose pages you had open , as long as you have sync on .

Long press chrome then tap info>scroll to storage clear data then force stop the app

 

[sbutk]

You won't lose history or bookmarks , but will lose pages you had open , as long as you have sync on .

Long press chrome then tap info>scroll to storage clear data then force stop the app

And then one more question... how do I make sure Sync is turned on?

(Sorry for all the "noob" questions, haha.)

 

[mustang7757]

And then one more question... how do I make sure Sync is turned on?

(Sorry for all the "noob" questions, haha.)

Lol no problem , open chrome the 3 dots upper right corner then settings you should see your account under should say sync

 

[B. Diddy]

If that doesn't work, see if it also happens in Safe Mode: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/huawei/huawei-mate-s/safe-mode/ (this assumes Chrome was preinstalled -- if it wasn't, then you won't be able to test it in Safe Mode).

 

[sbutk]

Lol no problem , open chrome the 3 dots upper right corner then settings you should see your account under should say sync

Thanks, I enabled Sync, in preparation for clearing my cache.


And just in the event it should prove useful information…

Today Chrome has gone back and forth between periods of downloading images that send the browser crashing; and downloading images with no problem.

Last night I’d been preparing to clear my cache, as you suggested, by copying (to a text file) all of the URLs of the tabs that had been open in my browser – and there were a lot. So during the initial period where I was [briefly] experiencing no further download troubles at all, the thought occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, having so many tabs open at once – you should see the browser on my desktop PC! – was the culprit of my minimizing issue. …However, since the download troubles once again resurfaced, that seems to have been wishful thinking.

With all tabs backed up now, I’m going to go ahead and clear that cache, and see whether that offers any improvement. I’ll be sure to let you know what I find out.

 

[sbutk]

If that doesn't work, see if it also happens in Safe Mode: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/huawei/huawei-mate-s/safe-mode/ (this assumes Chrome was preinstalled -- if it wasn't, then you won't be able to test it in Safe Mode).

I will keep that in mind as a possible next step, thanks!

 

[mustang7757]

Thanks, I enabled Sync, in preparation for clearing my cache.


And just in the event it should prove useful information…

Today Chrome has gone back and forth between periods of downloading images that send the browser crashing; and downloading images with no problem.

Last night I’d been preparing to clear my cache, as you suggested, by copying (to a text file) all of the URLs of the tabs that had been open in my browser – and there were a lot. So during the initial period where I was [briefly] experiencing no further download troubles at all, the thought occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, having so many tabs open at once – you should see the browser on my desktop PC! – was the culprit of my minimizing issue. …However, since the download troubles once again resurfaced, that seems to have been wishful thinking.

With all tabs backed up now, I’m going to go ahead and clear that cache, and see whether that offers any improvement. I’ll be sure to let you know what I find out.

Ok but not just clear cache , clear data and force stop

 

[sbutk]

Ok but not just clear cache , clear data and force stop

If that doesn't work, see if it also happens in Safe Mode: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/huawei/huawei-mate-s/safe-mode/ (this assumes Chrome was preinstalled -- if it wasn't, then you won't be able to test it in Safe Mode).

Clearing the cache and data in Chrome seem to have worked. Thank you both for your help!

 

[mustang7757]

Clearing the cache and data in Chrome seem to have worked. Thank you both for your help!

Glad to hear that

 

[sbutk]

Glad to hear that

Hi again mustang7757 and others.

Unfortunately I’m back, with a related problem (or two)…

As I’d said last time, the fix that you all walked me through *seemed* to have solved my problem of Chrome minimizing to the desktop after every [jpeg] download. After several weeks, though, I noticed that the problem has resurfaced (sort of). To my amazement (though, maybe not to those familiar with the Android OS), now, as soon as the Chrome browser minimizes the first time, I’ve found that if I restart the phone, the minimizing problem disappears. …For a period of about 24 hours, that is, until the problem recurs and I need to restart again. An acceptable tradeoff, for sure; but the conscientious user in me worries that I still have a problem, cache-related or otherwise.

…I’ll let you digest that, before unloading my second question on you. Or, though possibly related, this one might even warrant its own thread.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mustang7757]

Hi again mustang7757 and others.

Unfortunately I’m back, with a related problem (or two)…

As I’d said last time, the fix that you all walked me through *seemed* to have solved my problem of Chrome minimizing to the desktop after every [jpeg] download. After several weeks, though, I noticed that the problem has resurfaced (sort of). To my amazement (though, maybe not to those familiar with the Android OS), now, as soon as the Chrome browser minimizes the first time, I’ve found that if I restart the phone, the minimizing problem disappears. …For a period of about 24 hours, that is, until the problem recurs and I need to restart again. An acceptable tradeoff, for sure; but the conscientious user in me worries that I still have a problem, cache-related or otherwise.

…I’ll let you digest that, before unloading my second question on you. Or, though possibly related, this one might even warrant its own thread.

Thanks,
Steve

Hi , came back
Ok any updates available for chrome in play store?