Android Apps Crash In Major Overnight Outage
Android users experienced a major service outage overnight, with many apps crashing or showing error messages.
A number of customers with Android-powered smartphones saw notifications pop up on the screen announcing that some apps had stopped running.
Important apps which suddenly stopped working included Gmail, Google Pay, Facebook, Amazon and banking apps.
DownDetector revealed there was a big surge in issues mostly affecting Gmail and Amazon app users.
We’re aware of an issue with Google on Android phones that was causing some apps to crash – specific apps with issues reported were Gmail, Facebook and Amazon. Google’s now fixed the problem (seems an update to the Android System WebView was to blame) 1/2
— 2degrees (@2degreesmobile) March 23, 2021
Google confirmed it was aware of ongoing issues via its Workplace Cloud Status Dashboard and claimed there would be an update to the problem later that day.
The problem reportedly stemmed from an update to the Android System WebView, which allows Android apps to display web content.
Google instructed affected users to update their Android System WebView and Google’s Chrome browser to fix the issue.
Users need to update the Android System WebView and Chrome app in the Google Play store.
“We have resolved the issue with WebView that caused some apps on Android to crash for some users. Updating Android System WebView and Google Chrome via Google Play should now resolve the issue,” Google said in a statement.