How to Fix Random App Crashes on the Pixel 10
If you’ve been experiencing random crashes on your Pixel 10 smartphone, you’re not alone. Over the weekend, several Reddit users complained that their Pixel 10 phones, which were just released in August, were already experiencing severe slowdowns and frequent crashes when loading apps. Worse, the issue seemed to persist across all apps and smartphone models, leaving users virtually unable to do anything on their new devices.
“If the app opens and loads, it won’t let me touch anything and crashes,” wrote user cdriese , and several others expressed similar sentiments.
This unfortunate news surprised me a bit, as I didn’t encounter any similar issues when I tested the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro immediately after launch, and I really liked both of them. But it seems like the problem only appeared recently.
Several Reddit users pointed to the October 10th Google Play Services update as the cause of the issue, with some claiming that uninstalling the update resolved the issue. “My theoretical theory is that the October Play Services update is somehow conflicting with the September Android update,” wrote user PuzzleHeadedSquid , adding that he hasn’t experienced any crashes since uninstalling the Play Services update. Indeed, when I installed both the September Android update and the first October Play Services updates on my phone, I also started experiencing issues.
In a way, it’s still a relief. Your new device isn’t broken yet, but uninstalling the Play Services update creates its own problems. Luckily, another solution emerged this morning, and it’s quite simple.
If you’re experiencing app crashes on your Pixel 10, here’s what you can do.
Official decision
It wasn’t just random Reddit users who encountered this issue. Android Police founder Artem Rusakovsky also mentioned the problem in a post on October 12, claiming his Pixel 10 Pro XL was “affected.”
This tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or has been removed.
Fortunately, as a member of the press, he had slightly more resources to fix the issue than the average Reddit user. Over the weekend, Russakovsky quickly contacted his contacts at Google, who, he says, deployed several teams to resolve the issue and have since released a server-side fix.
In theory, this means that a simple reboot should return your phone to normal, although if the issue persists, you should also make sure you’re running the latest version of Google Play services (you can check this in Settings > Apps > Google Play services > App info ) and then perform another reboot.
This is a pretty quick fix that doesn’t require much on your part, but if you’ve put your Pixel away for a while, it’s worth turning it back on and checking to see if the issues persist.
Unofficial decision
However, it’s possible Google’s engineers missed something. If you’re still experiencing issues downloading apps, you can use the community-suggested method for uninstalling the October Play Services update. However, this will sign you out of your Google accounts and won’t include Google’s official fix, so I only recommend it in emergency situations.
However, if you’re ready to tear your hair out, go to Settings > Apps > Google Play Services > App Info and tap “Uninstall Updates” to begin the process. Just be sure to remember your Google passwords (or passkeys !) first.
But first, try tapping the “Update” button next to it and then rebooting your phone. I did just that after running an initial test without the morning update, and now my apps are running as fast as before.