When your Fairphone 5 apps start closing unexpectedly or freezing, it can really interrupt your day. This is a common issue on Android, and it's often a quick software hiccup rather than a hardware problem with your modular phone. I'd start with a simple restart, as that clears out temporary glitches in the system memory.
Restart Your Fairphone 5
Press and hold the power button on the side of your phone until the power menu appears. Then, tap "Restart." If the screen is completely unresponsive, you can perform a force restart by holding the power button down for at least 10 seconds until the device vibrates and reboots.
Given the Fairphone 5's user-replaceable design, you also have the unique option to remove the back cover, take the battery out for 30 seconds, and then reinsert it to perform a hard power cycle. This can be especially effective for deeper system freezes.
Update Your Apps via the Play Store
Outdated apps are a prime culprit for crashes, as developers constantly patch bugs. Open the Google Play Store and tap your profile icon in the top right corner. Go to Manage apps & device and look under the "Updates available" section.
Tap "Update all" to get everything current. If you're only having trouble with one app, you can find it in your list of installed apps and update it individually from there.
Force Stop and Relaunch the Problem App
If a single app is misbehaving, force stopping it closes all its processes completely. Go to your phone's Settings > Apps and find the troublesome app in the list. Tap on it to open its info page.
On the app's details screen, tap the "Force stop" button. A warning will pop up, just confirm it. Once it's stopped, go back to your home screen and open the app again fresh. This is a good first step before clearing any data.
Clear the App's Cache and Data
Corrupted temporary files, known as cache, can cause apps to crash. Clearing them is safe and won't delete your login info or saved files in most cases. From the same app info page in Settings, tap on Storage & cache.
Tap "Clear cache" first. If the app continues to crash, you can try "Clear storage" or "Clear data." Be warned, this second option will reset the app completely, deleting any settings or offline data stored within it. You'll likely need to sign back in.
Check Your Phone's Available Storage
The Fairphone 5 can sometimes feel slower than other phones in its price range, and running low on storage exacerbates performance issues. Android needs free space to operate smoothly. Go to Settings > Storage to see how much space you have left.
If you're below 10% free space, it's time to clean up. Uninstall apps you don't use, clear out old downloads, and consider offloading photos and videos to a cloud service or your computer. The modular design makes it easy to swap files via the USB-C port.
Reinstall the Problematic App
A fresh install can fix deeper corruption that clearing cache doesn't resolve. To uninstall, long-press the app's icon on your home screen or app drawer and tap "Uninstall." Alternatively, go to Settings > Apps, select the app, and tap "Uninstall."
Then, head back to the Google Play Store, search for the app, and install it again. This gives you a completely clean version. Remember that any data stored only within the app will be gone unless it syncs to an account.
Update Android on Your Fairphone
One of the Fairphone 5's biggest strengths is its long-term software support. Keeping the system itself updated is crucial for app compatibility. Navigate to Settings > System > System update.
Tap "Check for update." If an update is available, download and install it. It's best to do this while connected to WiFi and with your phone plugged into a 30W USB-PD charger, as the process can take some time and use battery.
Check for Conflicting Apps or Settings
Sometimes, an app you recently installed can cause conflicts with others. Think about if the crashes started after you installed something new. You can try booting your phone into Safe Mode to test this.
To enter Safe Mode, open the power menu by pressing the Power and Volume up buttons together (on Samsung phones, the Side and Volume down buttons) or by tapping the power icon in the quick settings panel, then touch and hold Power off and tap Safe Mode or OK. Then, long-press the "Power off" option on your screen. You'll get a prompt to reboot into Safe Mode, which temporarily disables all third-party apps. If the crashes stop in Safe Mode, a downloaded app is likely the cause.
Perform a Factory Reset
This is your last resort and will erase everything on your phone, returning it to its out-of-the-box state. Before you do anything, ensure all your important photos, contacts, and files are backed up. You can use Google's backup service or manually transfer files to a computer.
To reset, go to Settings > System > Reset options. Select "Erase all data (factory reset)" and follow the prompts. After the reset, you can choose to restore your data from a backup during the setup process. This nuclear option will almost certainly fix any persistent software issue causing the crashes.