Facebook App Keeps Crashing? 10 Fixes That Work (2026)

You tap the blue icon, the Facebook app opens, and then it closes on its own. Sometimes it flashes and disappears in under a second. Other times it works for a minute and crashes the moment you open a video or scroll the feed. Either way the app keeps crashing instead of letting you use it.

Facebook is one of the largest apps on any phone, and its app keeps crashing on both Android and iPhone for reasons that repeat again and again. Meta pushes frequent updates, old cache data piles up, and phone level limits get in the way. The 10 fixes below are ordered from the most likely to work to the deeper steps, so start at the top and test the app after each one.

Quick Answer

If the Facebook app keeps crashing, force close it completely and restart your phone. This clears the temporary glitch behind most crashes. Next, update the Facebook app from the Google Play Store or App Store, then clear the app cache on Android. If it still crashes on launch, free up phone storage, turn off battery saver restrictions, and check whether Facebook servers are down. As a last step, delete the app and install it again.

Why Does the Facebook App Keep Crashing?

A crash is the app shutting itself down because something it needs stopped working. Based on Meta support pages and thousands of user reports, these are the real causes:

1. Temporary app glitch. The app session freezes and fails to restart cleanly.
2. Corrupt cache data. Old temporary files on Android break the launch process.
3. Outdated app version. A buggy release crashes on newer phone software, or a new app version fights an old phone.
4. Weak internet connection. The app depends on constant data, and a dying connection can trigger a freeze or close.
5. Low phone storage. Without free space the app cannot write the temporary files it needs.
6. Battery saver restrictions. Power saving modes limit what apps can do in the background and can force them closed.
7. Conflicting phone settings. Data saver limits, outdated iOS or Android builds, and permission changes all interfere.
8. Facebook server outage. When Meta has a server side problem, the app misbehaves or crashes for many users at once.

10 Fixes That Work

Fix 1: Force Close and Reopen the App

This is the number one fix and it takes ten seconds.

1. Close Facebook completely. On Android, open the recent apps view and swipe Facebook away. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom and flick the Facebook card away.
2. Wait about ten seconds so the app process fully stops.
3. Open Facebook again from your home screen.
4. If other apps are also closing on their own, the problem may be phone wide. See our guide on apps not opening on Android for the system level steps.

Fix 2: Restart Your Phone

A restart clears the phone memory that force closing cannot reach.

1. Turn your phone off completely. Hold the power button and choose Power Off or Restart.
2. Wait about thirty seconds before turning it back on.
3. Open Facebook once the phone finishes starting and test it for a minute.

Fix 3: Check Your Internet Connection

A weak connection makes the app freeze and close, especially when loading videos and stories.

1. Open any other app or a website to confirm your internet is working at all.
2. If you are on WiFi, switch to mobile data and test Facebook again. If you are on mobile data, connect to a stable WiFi network.
3. Restart your router if the WiFi itself feels slow or unstable.
4. Video feeds are the most sensitive to bad connections. If short videos stutter in a sister app too, read our guide on Instagram reels not working for the video specific checks.

Fix 4: Update the Facebook App

Most crash waves follow a buggy update, and Meta usually ships the repair within days.

1. Open the Google Play Store on Android or the App Store on iPhone.
2. Search for Facebook and tap it.
3. If an Update button shows, tap it and wait for the install to finish.
4. Open Facebook and test it for a few minutes.

Fix 5: Clear the App Cache on Android

On Android, corrupt cache is one of the most common reasons the Facebook app keeps crashing on launch.

1. Open Settings, then Apps, then find and tap Facebook.
2. Tap Storage and Cache, or Storage depending on your phone.
3. Tap Clear Cache. Do not tap Clear Data yet, because that logs you out.
4. Force close Facebook and reopen it.
5. On iPhone there is no cache button, so iPhone users should use the in app browser clear in Fix 6 instead.

Fix 6: Clear the In App Browser Data

Links you open inside Facebook pile up cache in its built in browser, and that data can drag the whole app down.

1. Open Facebook, or try to, and tap the Menu icon with three lines.
2. Open Settings and Privacy, then Settings.
3. Scroll to the Permissions section and select Browser.
4. Tap Clear next to Your Browsing Data.
5. Restart the app and test it again.

Fix 7: Free Up Phone Storage

Facebook needs free space to write temporary files. When storage is nearly full, the app crashes.

1. On Android, go to Settings, then Storage, and check how much free space you have.
2. On iPhone, go to Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage.
3. Delete unused apps, old downloads, and duplicate photos until you have at least one to two gigabytes free.
4. Open Facebook again and test it.

Fix 8: Turn Off Battery Saver and Data Saver

Power and data saving modes restrict apps aggressively and can force Facebook closed.

1. On Android, open Settings, then Battery, and turn off Battery Saver or Power Saving Mode.
2. On Android, also go to Settings, then Apps, then Facebook, then Battery, and set it to Unrestricted if the option exists.
3. Check Data Saver in your network settings and turn it off while testing.
4. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Battery, and turn off Low Power Mode.
5. Test Facebook with these modes off.

Fix 9: Check Whether Facebook Is Down

If the app started crashing today out of nowhere, the problem may be on Meta side and no phone fix will help.

1. Open DownDetector and search for Facebook.
2. Look for a sudden spike in user reports in the last hour.
3. Try opening Facebook in your phone browser at facebook.com. If the website works but the app crashes, the issue is app specific.
4. If reports show an outage, wait an hour or two and try again. During a server outage the best fix is patience.

Fix 10: Update Your Phone Software, Then Reinstall Facebook

If nothing above worked, wipe the slate clean.

1. First update the phone itself. On iPhone, go to Settings, then General, then Software Update. On Android, go to Settings, then System, then System Update. Install any available update and restart the phone.
2. If the app still crashes, uninstall Facebook completely. On Android, long press the icon and tap Uninstall. On iPhone, long press the icon, tap Remove App, then Delete App.
3. Restart the phone after removing it.
4. Install Facebook fresh from the Google Play Store or App Store.
5. Log in and test the app. A clean install fixes almost every remaining crash.

Still Not Working?

If a fresh install still crashes on launch, the issue is unusual and needs a different angle.

1. Log out and log back in. In the app menu, log out of your account, force close the app, reopen it, and sign in again to refresh your session.
2. Try Facebook Lite on Android. It is the lighter official version and runs fine on phones where the main app crashes.
3. Use facebook.com in your browser as a temporary home. Add it to your home screen so it feels like an app.
4. Check your phone age. Very old phones that no longer receive updates may simply be past what the current Facebook app supports.
5. Contact Facebook support through the Help Center and report the crash with your app version and phone model. If you have had enough of the app entirely, here is how to deactivate your Facebook account without deleting anything permanently.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does my Facebook app keep crashing today when it worked yesterday?

A sudden crash wave usually means a bad app update or a Meta server outage. Update the app first, then check DownDetector for outage reports. If others report the same problem, wait for Meta to fix it on their side.

2. Why does the Facebook app keep closing on Android but works in Chrome?

That pattern points to the installed app or its local data, not your account. Clear the app cache, update the app, and if it still crashes, delete and reinstall it. The browser version uses completely different code, which is why it keeps working.

3. Will clearing cache delete my Facebook posts or messages?

No. Your posts, photos, and messages live on Meta servers. Clearing cache only removes temporary local files. Only Clear Data or deleting the app signs you out, and even then nothing on your account is lost.

4. Why does Facebook crash only when I watch videos?

Video crashes usually come from a weak connection, full storage, or battery saver limits. Switch networks, free up at least one gigabyte of space, and turn off battery saver. If short videos also fail in other apps, the connection is the likely cause.

5. Is Facebook Lite a good replacement if the main app keeps crashing?

Yes, on Android it is an official Meta app designed for low end phones and weak connections. It covers the core features while using far less memory and data.