Samsung Galaxy S10 keeps showing the error “Phone has stopped”

The error message “Unfortunately, Phone has stopped” that seems to be bugging some owners of the Samsung Galaxy S10 actually means that the phone app has stopped. Most of the time, this problem is only with the app but there are also times when it’s a sign of a firmware issue. The best thing you can do about it is troubleshoot your phone to determine what the problem really is and why it’s happening. 

Once you knew the reason why the error occurs or what caused it, it would be a lot easier to fix it. In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your phone that keeps on popping up the error ‘Phone has stopped.’ We will consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can determine what the problem is and hopefully fix it. So, if you’re one of the owners of this phone, continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another. 

Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you happen to find this post while looking for a solution to a different problem, then visit our Galaxy S10 Help Guides page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this device. We may have already published articles that could help you fix your problem. Find issues that are similar to yours and feel free to use our solutions.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S10 with Phone has stopped error

As I said earlier, most of the time this is just an issue with the app but it could also be a sign of a minor firmware problem and in this troubleshooting guide, we’ll from there. Here’s what you should do: 

First solution: Force restart your phone

The first thing that you should do is force restart your phone. If this is just a minor issue with the firmware, then this problem can be fixed by this procedure. It’s a simulated battery removal that will refresh your phone’s memory as well as reload all its apps and services if done correctly. Don’t worry, none of your files or apps will be deleted if you did this. Here’s how: 

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button and don’t release it yet. 
2. While holding down the volume button, press and hold the Power key as well. 
3. Keep both keys held down together for 15 seconds or until the Galaxy S10 logo shows on the screen.

Once your phone has successfully rebooted, try to open the app and see if the Phone has stopped error still shows up. If it still does, then move on to the next solution. 

Second solution: Clear the cache of Phone app

All apps have their own cache. It’s used by the system to make apps run smoothly but there are times when they get corrupted and when it happens, app crashes may occur. So, to rule this possibility out, clear the cache of the Phone app by doing these steps: 

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
2. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
3. Scroll to and then tap Apps. 
4. Find and tap Phone. 
5. Tap Storage. 
6. Touch Clear cache. 

After this, open the app to find out if the “Phone has stopped” error still shows up. If it still does, then try the next solution. 

Third solution: Delete the data of the Phone app

Now this will reset the app back to its default settings and configuration. If this is an issue with the app itself, then this procedure will fix it and make it work perfectly again. Don’t worry, none of your contacts will be deleted if you did this but if you can, try to backup your contacts to be safe. 

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
2. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
3. Scroll to and then tap Apps. 
4. Find and tap Phone. 
5. Tap Storage. 
6. Touch Clear data and then tap OK to confirm. 
7. Restart your phone to refresh its memory again. 

After the reboot, try to see if the ‘Phone has stopped’ error still pops up when you open the app. If it still does, then try the next solution. 

Fourth solution: Run your phone in safe mode

This time, we need to find out if a third-party application or two is causing the problem. By running your phone in safe mode, you’re temporarily disabling all third-party applications. If the phone app doesn’t crash while your device is in this mode, then it means that there is a third-party app that’s causing the problem. So, follow these steps to restart your phone in safe mode: 

1. Press and hold the Power key until options show. 
2. Tap and hold the Power off option until it changes into Safe Mode. 
3. Tap the Safe mode icon to restart your device.
4. Once the reboot is successful, you should see ‘Safe mode’ at the lower-left corner of the screen. 

Assuming that the app doesn’t crash in safe mode, then follow these steps to probe further…

1. Restart your phone normal to boot into standard mode. 
2. Remember the apps you installed about the time when the phone app starts to crash.
3. Once you already have an app in mind, swipe down from the top of the screen to pull the notification panel down. 
4. Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right corner. 
5. Scroll to and then tap Apps. 
6. Find and tap suspected app. 
7. Tap Storage. 
8. Touch Clear data and tap OK to confirm.
9. Tap the back key once and then touch Uninstall. 
10. Confirm that you want to remove the app from your phone. 

On the other hand, if the error ‘Phone has stopped’ still shows even while the phone is in safe mode, then move on to the next solution. 

Fifth solution: Delete the system cache to fix ‘Phone has stopped’ error

The system also has its own cache. It’s very important that these files are up-to-date and not corrupt because if they are, then that could be the reason why you’re having this problem. To rule it out, follow these steps: 

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Galaxy S10 logo shows, release all three keys.
4. Your Galaxy S10 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press Power key to select.
7. Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the problem continues after this procedure, then a reset is necessary. 

Sixth solution: Master reset your phone

A master reset will fix any software or app-related issue, however, I don’t usually suggest it without exhausting all possible solutions. At this point though, it seems that you have no other choice. So, create a backup of your important files and data, remove your Google and Samsung accounts, and then follow these steps to reset your phone: 

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Galaxy S10 logo shows, release all three keys.
4. Your Galaxy S10 will continue to boot up into the Recovery Mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, proceed to the next step. 
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix your Galaxy S10 with ‘Phone has stopped’ error. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!

Connect with us

We are committed to helping our readers fix the problems with their phones as well as learn how to properly use their devices. So, if you have other issues, you may visit our Help Guides page so you can check by yourself the articles we’ve already published that contain solutions to common problems. Also, we do create videos to demonstrate how things are done on your phone. Visit our Youtube Channel and please subscribe to it. Thanks.