Apps not working properly

Hi Amit,

The symptoms you are experiencing—Google apps crashing, Settings looping back to the home page, and the Play Store refusing to open—are the classic signs of a corrupted Android System WebView or an unhandled crash loop in Google Play Services.

Android System WebView is the system engine that powers in-app browsers and login frameworks across third-party apps and device settings. When it corrupts, apps crash upon launch.

Since you cannot open the Play Store normally, follow these steps to resolve it:

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1. Step 1: Boot into Safe Mode (To Bypass the Settings Crash Loop)

Safe Mode stops third-party services and background tasks from crashing the Settings app:

1. Press and hold the physical Power button until the Power menu appears.

2. Touch and hold the on-screen "Power Off" (or "Restart") icon until the prompt "Reboot to safe mode" appears.

3. Tap OK and let the phone restart.

(You will see a "Safe Mode" watermark at the bottom-left/right of your screen).

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1. Step 2: Clear Storage & Uninstall WebView Updates

Now that Settings won't force-close continuously:

1. Open Settings > Apps (or App Management) > See all apps.

2. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner and select "Show system".

3. Scroll down and locate Android System WebView:

- Tap Storage & cache -> Tap Clear Cache, then Clear Storage / Data.

- Go back, tap the three dots at the top right of the WebView page, and select "Uninstall updates" (this rolls WebView back to the stable factory build).

4. Go back to the App list and locate Google Play Services:

- Tap Storage & cache -> Tap Clear Cache.

- Tap Manage space and select Clear All Data.

5. Repeat the same cache/data clearance for Google Play Store.

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1. Step 3: Reboot and Trigger Component Update

1. Restart your phone normally (this exits Safe Mode).

2. Ensure you are connected to a strong Wi-Fi network.

3. Open the Google Play Store:

- It may take 15–30 seconds on the first launch as it re-indexes services.

- Tap your profile picture at the top right -> Manage apps & device.

- Immediately update Android System WebView and Google Chrome to the latest stable versions.

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1. Step 4: Sideload Update (If Play Store Still Won't Launch)

If the Play Store remains unresponsive:

1. Open Google Chrome (which you mentioned is still functional).

2. Navigate to a trusted APK repository like APKMirror.com.

3. Search for the official release of Android System WebView (ensure it matches your device architecture, typically arm64-v8a) and download the APK.

4. Install/update the APK directly through Chrome to overwrite the broken installation file.

Once WebView is cleared or reverted to stock, the Settings loop and app crashes will stop immediately.