iPhone app won't open or keeps crashing

• Estimated time: 3 min
• Easy
• Low risk

Choose a branch without erasing data or changing settings.

1. Open another familiar app and note whether the affected app never shows its screen, returns to Home or remains visible without responding. If the entire phone is unresponsive, use the frozen-iPhone guide in related problems.

2. Record the model, iOS version, app version and last safe action. Do not repeat payments, submissions or edits that could duplicate. If the icon requires downloading the app again, resolve that download first: you are not yet testing an installed app.

• Estimated time: 10 min
• Easy
• Low risk

1. If only this app fails, close it from the app switcher and reopen it once. Without a Home button, swipe up from the bottom and pause to open the switcher; with a Home button, double-click it. Swipe up the affected app’s card.

2. If it works again, stop and watch whether the same trigger returns. Reopening changes the running state; it does not prove damaged app data. If it fails identically, check App Store > profile > App Updates.

3. Check iOS requirements and developer notices. If an official update addresses a matching failure, install it and test that action. If it requires iOS your device cannot support, ask for a compatible alternative; reinstalling cannot create compatibility. If unchanged, examine local state only after ruling out service failure.

• Estimated time: 8 min
• Easy
• Low risk

1. If it crashes only with a document or feature, try another feature and an item without private information. If only that item fails, preserve the original and describe the path to the developer; do not erase all data to hide a precise trigger.

2. If it keeps loading or fails at sign-in, check a familiar website and official service status, if available. Try its website with the same account when that is a valid comparison. If it also fails there or an incident exists, address service/account before reinstalling.

3. If another authorized network works, investigate the original connection; consider data costs and do not bypass controls. A working website does not guarantee every app feature, but makes a complete outage less likely. If failure remains isolated to the updated app, continue with its local state.

• Estimated time: 20 min
• Easy
• Low risk
• Restart required

1. If storage is full, use the related storage guide and free only recoverable content. If ample space remains, stop deleting: size alone does not explain crashes.

   1. Settings
   2. ›General
   3. ›iPhone Storage

2. If several apps fail, save work and restart normally once. If they recover, stop; if the pattern returns, record which apps fail and when. Do not reinstall each app before examining what they share.

3. Check for a supported iOS update in Settings > General > Software Update, with backup and adequate power. If this began after updating, keep that version and check official notices; do not conclude that updating caused it. If several apps still fail with space available, contact Apple; if only one remains, return to its branch.