Gmail keeps crashing on Apple iPhone XR. Here’s how to fix it…

When a well-developed and supported app like Gmail keeps crashing on a high-end device like your Apple iPhone XR, the problem could be limited to the app only. However, there are times when issues like this are just a result of a firmware issue. That’s the reason why, as an owner, you should troubleshoot your phone.

When it comes to stable email processing apps for iOS devices, Gmail emerges among the widely used and most popular platforms. In fact, many people prefer to use Gmail over the built-in Mail app as primary email processing platform on their iPhones for reliability and stability. Users are also allowed to choose from various types of interface according to their needs. But despite being maintained by the tech giant, Gmail app can also experience downtimes and random flaws. Tackled in this post is one of the common problems that were plaguing some iPhone XR owners when using Gmail app after updating device firmware to iOS version 12.1.4. Read on to learn what to do if your iPhone Gmail app keeps crashing or stops working after updating iOS.

What else can cause Gmail keeps crashing issue on your iPhone XR?

Aside from iOS update bugs, there are also other factors that can destabilize Gmail app on your iPhone. Among the usual culprits are network problems, app glitches, incorrect settings, and account-related errors. Generally, the transpiring symptoms are attributed to software problems on the phone. This means that the problem can be remedied at home by some workarounds unless Gmail server downtimes are the underlying cause. To give you some inputs on how to solve the problem, I’ve lined up some helpful troubleshooting procedures below. Feel free to refer to this walkthrough when needed.

Troubleshooting Gmail app problems on your iPhone XR

Software-related factors including post-update bugs that caused Gmail app flaws can potentially be rectified by performing any of the following solutions. Don’t forget to run the app after carrying out each procedures to determine if the problem is fixed or not. Continue to the next applicable solution, if necessary. Note that there is no clear-cut solution to this problem unless the root cause is determined.

Before you begin troubleshooting, try to log into the same email account through After signing in, find any alert box or email message from your inbox that says something like “We blocked a sign-in attempt” or something similar. If you happen to see this alert message, it means that Google is just trying to protect your account from possible unauthorized access. In that case, simply click on the provided link in the Review Your Device Now section.

If that doesn’t help, you can proceed and start troubleshooting software-related flaws that caused Gmail keeps crashing problem on your iPhone XR.

First solution: Quit the app then restart it.

Apps that weren’t closed or left suspended during update installation usually ended up crashing or acting up. This is likely what happened to Gmail app if you’ve opened it before and left it opened while updating your device. In this case, quitting the app and restarting it will likely fix the problem. So here’s what you should do:

  3. Swipe up on the Gmail app card/preview to close it.

If you see any other background apps, quit them all using the same method to prevent any of them from causing conflict to Gmail app. After which, open the app and if Gmail keeps crashing still after this, try the next solution.

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Second solution: Restart or respring your phone (soft reset).

It is but very important to restart the device after updating. Restarting also clears errant apps and dumps any corrupted data including those that caused Gmail to act up. It is also recommended to ensure that all recent system changes are properly implemented.

  3. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until the iPhone reboots.

Restarting doesn’t affect any saved information on the phone memory, so creating backups won’t be necessary.

Third solution: Update Gmail app on your iPhone XR.

Apps that aren’t updated will usually be the first to misbehave from an update. If you haven’t set Gmail to auto-update, manually installing pending app updates for Gmail and other apps would be necessary. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. From the Home screen, tap App Store.
  2. From the App Store main screen, scroll down to the bottom and then tap on the Updates tab. Wait for a few seconds to view the list of all apps with pending updates.
  3. Tap the Update button next to the Gmail app. Doing so will install pending update for the application.
  4. If multiple app updates are available, then you can tap on the Update All button on the top-right of the screen to install all app updates simultaneously.

After updating your apps, give your iPhone another restart to refresh the apps and clear out minor app glitches. Then, launch the app and if Gmail keeps crashing even after this, then try the next step.

Fourth solution: Uninstall then reinstall Gmail app on your iPhone XR.

If the Gmail app was totally corrupted from the update, chances are that it will continue to crash after applying all prior solutions. To get it back to its normal working state, reinstalling it is imperative. But before you reinstall the app, you will need to delete or remove the corrupted version first. Here’s how:

  1. From the Home screen, lightly touch and hold the Gmail app icon until it jiggles.
  2. Then tap on the X at the upper-left corner of the app you want to delete.
  3. Tap Delete when prompted to confirm action.

Alternatively, you can uninstall the Gmail app from the iPhone storage with these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap iPhone Storage.
  4. Find and select Gmail app.
  5. Then tap the option to Delete or Uninstall  the app.

Reboot your iPhone after deleting the flawed Gmail app. Then open the App Store to search for, download and install the latest version of the app for your iPhone XR. After the reinstallation, open the app to know if Gmail keeps crashing still after this. If the problem persists, then try our next solution.

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Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XR.

App-related errors that caused Gmail to crash or stop working are usually dealt with by any of the aforementioned procedures. If the symptoms continue up to this point, then you’re more likely dealing with a system error. In this case, performing software resets can be considered as next possible solution. To rule out network-related errors that caused online apps like Gmail to act up, follow these steps to reset network settings on your iPhone XR:

  1. From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
  4. Select the option to Reset network settings.

Wait for your iPhone to restart after the network settings reset. As soon as it boots up, reconnect to your Wi-Fi network to get back online and use online apps and services on your device again.

Sixth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone XR.

If resetting the network settings doesn’t fix the app, then try to reset all settings on your iPhone XR. This reset clears all customized settings including invalid options and other incorrect settings that caused conflict to Gmail. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
  4. Select the option to Reset all settings.
  5. If prompted, enter your passcode then follow the onscreen instructions to all settings reset.

This reset is recommended to clear out minor post-update flaws. After the reset, you will need to enable individual features that are disabled by default, in order to use them again on your phone.

Seventh solution: Remove then set up your Gmail account again.

Account-related issues must also be ruled out in this case. If the update overrides your settings, there’s a tendency that your email account settings might have been adversely affected. In this case, deleting and setting up the email account will likely solve the problem. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap on Accounts & Passwords.
  3. Navigate to the Accounts section then select the email account that you want to delete.
  4. Tap the option to Delete Account.
  5. If prompted, tap Delete from My iPhone to confirm.

Delete any unused or old email accounts from your device to prevent them from causing conflict.

After deleting the account, reboot your iPhone to clear its memory cache. Wait until the phone is finished booting up, then follow these steps to set up your email account.

  1. From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Tap Accounts & Passwords.
  3. Then tap the option to Add Account.
  4. Select Google from the given options.
  5. Enter all required account information then tap Next to continue.
  6. Configure the sync options according to your preferences.
  7. Then tap Save when done.

The email account will then be added into your phone. Give your phone another restart to clear and refresh its memory and then load the Gmail app to see if the problem is gone.

Does Gmail keeps crashing issue still occur on you iPhone XR?

Enabling IMAP for Gmail may also be necessary. You can consider this a possible solution if Gmail is able to load but unable to deliver emails to your iPhone. You can manage this feature by logging into your email account through webmail (  Just look for the “View Gmail In” section then select the IMAP Access section from Settings-> Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, to enable IMAP status.

If nothing else works and you still couldn’t get Gmail app to work properly on your iPhone XR, then you can switch to using the stock Mail app instead. While there may be some features on Gmail that the Mail app doesn’t offer, this may be the only way for you to manage emails while on the go. Just be sure to properly set up your email account using the Mail app.

For further recommendations and more advanced email troubleshooting methods, you can contact Google’s Gmail support to assist you better. Or you can also escalate the problem to Apple Support. The fact that the symptoms instigated following the recent iOS 12.1.4 update installation makes it likely among the post-update bugs that requires dedicated fix patch.
