Why is Google Play Store app crashing after 10 seconds?

[disman00911]

On my Samsung Galaxy Tab A Android tablet, Google Play Store app suddenly closes every 10 seconds after I open up the app. For example, whenever I try to click "My Apps & Games", Play Store suddenly crashes each time! However, I don't get the pop-up message "Unfortunately, Google Play has Stopped". The app just crashes and I'm back on my main page. Also, when I try to download an app, it gets stuck on "Download Pending" and Google Play crashes.

I tried cleaning Play Store's cache, but that didn't work. I also tried to clear data, but Play Store keeps crashing. I tried disabling the app and returned to Factory Settings but that didn't do it. I even tried rebooting my tablet under Safe Mode, but the problem still persists.

It is not virus-related because I use Clean Master and other anti-virus apps installed on my tablet and use them daily. It is also not storage-related as my tablet currently has over 2 GB of free space. My tablet is 8 GB. Finally, my tablet software is up to date with the latest version of Android.

I am considering doing a factory reset in hopes to solve the problem, but I don't want to risk losing all my game data. I don't understand what could be wrong with Google Play Store. It didn't act like this until about a month ago when the problem started. Help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[methodman89]

1st.Clear your cache and reboot.
If that doesn't work, boot into Safe Mode.
You can Google the button sequence for the above steps.
If in Safe Mode it persists, I would think your ram is bad.
It will need a diagnostics to be sure if it comes to that.

 

[B. Diddy]

I think @methodman89 is suggesting that you try clearing the system cache partition: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-28352

As an aside, I would uninstall Clean Master and anything else from Cheetah Mobile. They're known for doing some shady things, and "booster" or "cleaner" apps often cause more problems than they claim to solve.

Do any other apps suddenly close and dump you back to the homescreen? If so, I'd also suspect a problem with the Home or Back buttons -- if one of them is registering a false press, that could cause this kind of behavior.

 

[disman00911]

Again. I already tried clearing the cache and booting into safe mode but Google Play Store still keeps crashing and I can't figure out why.

As far anti-virus cleaning apps go, which ones are reliable? How about CCleaner or AVG?

This only happens with Google Play Store. My Chrome browser crashes immediately whenever I try to save an image. Other than that Chrome has no other problem I can think of at this moment. Maybe it's a Google-related issue. However, YouTube works fine without a problem.

Under "Apps", I have "Google Play services", "Google Play services for Instant Apps", and "Google Play Store" listed. My "Google Play services" is version 12.2.18.

 

[disman00911]

Here's an update. Just now, I cleaned out Google Play Store's cache again and rebooted to Safe Mode. I also uninstalled Clean Master and put several of my apps to sleep (meaning that they won't run in the background when I don't used them. I cleaned up as much RAM (memory) as I could. I opened up Google Play Store and was able to update and app and Google Play Store didn't crash after 10 seconds. I hope that this is the last time I deal with this problem.

I have the following apps installed in my app. Could these be causing unintended problems?
- Security Master
- Cooler Master
- AVG Cleaner
- JuiceDefender
- Startup Manager (free)

Update again: I restarted on regular mode and opened up Google Play Store and it is no longer crashing. Whatever I did must had done had done the trick. My issue with Chrome crashing whenever I downloaded an image was also fixed. Thank you all for your help.

 

[methodman89]

You don't need any cleaners, and as Diddy said, they are sketchy. If you download file size explorer, you can see and clean what you want when you want to. The other things for startup are unnecessary. You have probably fixed your problem for now by deleting the offending app.

 

[B. Diddy]

Again. I already tried clearing the cache and booting into safe mode but Google Play Store still keeps crashing and I can't figure out why.

I had also suggested wiping the system cache partition, which is different from the individual app cache -- but I'm glad it's working after what you did.

I suggest getting rid of all those apps. The problem with any app called Booster, Cleaner, or Master is that they claim to speed up your phone by doing things like killing apps automatically, under the mistaken impression that Android works like Windows (it doesn't). Android wants RAM to be mostly full -- that's how the system switches apps more efficiently. Killing an app might free up RAM for a few seconds, but the system will recognize the free RAM, and proceed to open another app in the background to reside in that RAM. If this happens constantly, it uses more power, and also impacts the performance.

For antivirus, this is my usual spiel:

For the most part, it's still quite difficult to get an actual virus on your phone, because malware requires you to manually accept the installation (which is why they try to fool you into thinking you're installing something legitimate). Use common sense:


1. Avoid shady websites that deal with things like porn, gambling, and "free" (aka pirated) apps/music/movies.


2. Never ever tap on a link that appears in a popup while browsing, especially if they're warning you that your phone is infected -- they're just trying to scare you into installing some bogus "antivirus" app that is probably malicious itself.


3. Only install apps from well-established app sources like Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore. Read a bunch of app reviews before installing an app to look for any complaints about adware or suspected malware.


4. Turn on Google Play Protect features in Settings>Google>Security. This allows Google to periodically scan your phone's apps to look for malware.


5. Turn off "Unknown Sources" in Settings>Security. This prevents any app that wasn't obtained from Google Play Store from being installed (which could include malicious apps that are inadvertently downloaded).