Messaging apps like Facebook Messenger have become an integral part of our daily communication. However, sometimes Messenger can freeze or stop responding while you’re using it. A frozen Messenger app can be annoying and disrupt your conversations. Here are some tips on what you can do if your Facebook Messenger app freezes on your smartphone or computer.
Restart the Messenger App
The simplest solution that often works is to close the Messenger app entirely and restart it. Follow these steps:
- On your smartphone, double tap the Home button (iPhone) or Recents button (Android) to bring up the multitasking view.
- Swipe up on the Messenger app preview to close it completely.
- Open Messenger again from your Home screen or app drawer.
Restarting the app refreshes the code and clears any temporary glitches that may be causing it to freeze. Hopefully this will resolve any issues and Messenger will work normally again.
Force Stop the App
If simply restarting the Messenger app doesn’t help, you can try force stopping it:
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Facebook > Messenger.
- Toggle the switch off for Messenger so it force stops.
- Wait a few seconds, then toggle it on again to restart Messenger.
- On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Messenger.
- Tap Force Stop to completely stop the app.
- Open Messenger again from the app drawer to restart it.
Force stopping the app shuts it down completely. This clears out any processes that may be causing Messenger to freeze up.
Update the App
An outdated version of Messenger can also cause lag, glitches, and freezing. Make sure you’re running the latest version of the app:
- On iPhone, go to the App Store and check for any available updates for Messenger.
- On Android, go to the Play Store, tap the menu button in the top left, and check My Apps & Games for updates.
- Install any Messenger updates that are pending. This will upgrade the app to the newest version.
Updating to the latest version also installs any bug fixes and performance improvements released by the developers.
Reset App Preferences
Resetting app preferences refreshes the app’s data and settings. Here’s how to do it for Messenger:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > Facebook > Messenger > Reset.
- Android – Go to Settings > Apps > Messenger > Storage > Clear Data.
This clears temporary files, cached data, and login details. Resetting app preferences often helps resolve app freezing and crashing issues.
Restart Your Phone
In some cases, it may not be Messenger that’s freezing but rather an issue with your smartphone itself. Try restarting your iPhone or Android phone:
- On iPhone X or later, press and hold the Side and Volume Up buttons together until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your phone.
- On earlier iPhone models, press and hold the Power button until the power off slider shows. Slide to power off.
- On Samsung Galaxy, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons together to turn off the phone.
- On Pixel phones, press and hold the Power button and click Restart when prompted.
- On other Android phones, press and hold the Power button and select Restart or Reboot to restart the phone.
Restarting your smartphone reloads the operating system and clears out any glitches that could be interfering with Messenger’s performance. After restarting, open Messenger again to see if that fixed the freezing issue.
Check for Android System Updates
On Android phones, system updates also occasionally cause apps like Messenger to freeze or crash. Check for any pending updates:
- Go to Settings on your Android phone.
- Select About Phone or System > System Update.
- Follow the prompts to check for and install any updates available for your phone.
Updating your Android version or security patches can potentially fix any OS issues disrupting Messenger.
Disable Battery Optimization
On Android, having battery optimization enabled for Messenger could cause freezing issues. Here’s how to disable it:
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special app access.
- Tap Battery optimization.
- Locate Messenger in the list and tap it.
- Select Don’t optimize > Done to turn off battery optimization.
With battery optimization off for Messenger, your phone will no longer overly restrict resources for the app and potentially cause freezes.
Clear App Cache and Data
Clearing the app cache and data can help resolve Messenger freezing or crashing problems. Here’s how to do it:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Find Messenger and tap to select it. Tap Offload App to clear cache and data.
- Android – Go to Settings > Storage. Tap Cached data to clear app cache. Go to Settings > Apps > Messenger > Storage > Clear Data to clear app data.
This wipes temporary files, login details, and any corrupt data that could be causing conflicts. You’ll have to login again after clearing Messenger data.
Disable Chat Heads
Messenger’s Chat Heads feature lets you quickly access chats from a floating bubble over other apps. Unfortunately, Chat Heads can sometimes contribute to Messenger freezing or crashing. Try temporarily disabling the feature:
- Open Messenger and tap your profile photo.
- Go to Chat Heads and toggle it off.
With Chat Heads disabled, check if that resolves any Messenger freezing problems. You can enable the feature again later if needed.
Disable Group Notifications
If you’re part of multiple high-activity Messenger groups, the constant stream of notifications could potentially overwhelm the app and cause freezes. Try disabling group notifications:
- Open Messenger and tap on a group chat.
- Tap the group name at the top and select Manage Notifications.
- Toggle off Notifications to disable them for that group.
Disable notifications similarly for any other busy groups. This prevents notification overload from freezing up Messenger.
Disable Camera Access
Messenger requires camera access for taking photos and videos within chats. If the app has been freezing when you try using the camera, disabling access may help:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > Facebook > Messenger and toggle off Camera.
- Android – Go to Settings > Apps > Messenger > Permissions and disable Camera access.
With camera access disabled, test if Messenger still freezes up during use. You can re-enable it if the issue persists.
Update Your iPhone or Android Phone
Freezes and crashes in apps like Messenger could sometimes point to underlying issues with your iPhone or Android phone version. Always ensure your smartphone OS is updated:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > General > Software Update to update your iOS version.
- Android – Go to Settings > System > System update to update your Android version.
Updating to the latest OS and security patches helps resolve any platform bugs that could be affecting Messenger.
Free Up Storage Space
If your phone is low on storage, it can cause apps like Messenger to lag and freeze. Check your storage space and free up capacity if needed:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see available space.
- Android – Go to Settings > Storage to check for free space.
Free up space by removing unused apps and files, offloading apps, or deleting old conversations and media from Messenger.
Disable Background App Refresh
Messenger may be freezing if too many background processes are running. Try disabling Background App Refresh:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and toggle off Messenger.
- Android – Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Background apps and restrict Messenger.
This stops non-essential background activities that could be overwhelming the app and system resources.
Check for Facebook Outages
In some cases, freezing and crashes across Facebook apps occur due to server outages on Facebook’s end. Check facebook.com/business/status to see if there are any known issues with Facebook services.
If there is an outage, unfortunately you’ll have to wait until Facebook’s engineers resolve it. Continued app freezes are likely network-related during an outage.
Uninstall and Reinstall the App
As a last resort, you can uninstall Messenger completely and install it again from scratch. This wipes the app data and starts fresh. Just be sure to backup your conversations first.
- iPhone – Delete the Messenger app from the Home screen. Redownload it from the App Store.
- Android – Go to Settings > Apps, select Messenger, and tap Uninstall. Get it again from the Play Store.
Hopefully after reinstalling, Messenger will run normally again without any freezing issues.
Contact Messenger Support
If none of the above solutions fix your Messenger freezing issue, you should contact Messenger Support for assistance:
- Open Messenger and go to your profile.
- Tap Menu > Help & Support > Contact Us and select your issue.
- You can send logs and specify when the freezing started.
The Messenger team may be able to help identify and troubleshoot obscure freezing problems specific to your account.
Conclusion
Messenger freezing or crashing can certainly be annoying, but in most cases the issue can be resolved through troubleshooting. Start with simpler steps like force stopping the app, updating it, or restarting your phone. But if the problem persists, disable specific Messenger features that could be problematic. Clearing app data and reinstalling Messenger as a last resort may also fix otherwise unresolved freezing issues.
Hopefully with one or more of these tips, you’ll be able to get Messenger working normally again. Regular app updates and current OS versions also help avoid freezes in the long run. Contact Messenger support if you need further assistance resolving persistent freezing issues.