How do app crash, and what’s the root cause to blame it on? Are they lacking something either from the developer’s side or from the user’s side? What are the implications for both developers and businesses? There are a variety of reasons why an app could crash to function correctly. Sometimes, developers make errors, and other times it’s the error in the application.

Whatever the cause is, the developer or the business suffers when an app fails to function. It isn’t intelligent to launch an app just to discover that it’s not working. 

Apps are expected to load in just four minutes. Most users will uninstall the app when it crashes, displays errors, or freezes. It’s all chaos when your online store app fails to function correctly. It’s the place where people go to purchase your goods. Here are ten causes that could cause your application to fail.

10 mistakes that could cause app crashes

Yes, there can be a huge bundle of reasons behind app crashing, but as it’s said, staying safe is better than sorry. 

So, how can you stay safe? 

Simply by putting trust in a talented and cooperative app development company. 

AccuWebTech has a skilled and experienced team of app developers who is proficient in the job. From small to large, we’ve developed all sorts of applications (iOS/Android) and are ready to tackle yours! 

Feel free to share your app idea, and who knows; we will polish it even better? 

1. This is blocking the main Thread

The main Thread makes the user interface in good working order. The Thread’s job is to regulate the speeds of the application and ensure that it runs efficiently. 

The science behind calculating the frame rate and how our eyes and brains perceive it is a complex subject that depends on many different aspects. The following general rules will make things easier for you. It’s not smooth when your frames per second (fps) are lower than 24 and the delay is greater than 100 milliseconds.

This means that the actions of users will provide delayed feedback and the app will cease responding. Users can post negative feedback as it’s frustrating when users are unable to control the application.

If the main Thread is closed, the user will get an error that says “App Not Responding” (ANR). The error will be displayed when you stop your main Thread for five seconds during activities and for ten seconds in the case of broadcast receivers. 

Utilize background threads or worker threads to perform SD writing/reading queries, database queries, image processing, and loading of bitmaps, as well as network calls, to ensure that you don’t block the main thread.

2. Fragments aren’t included

Fragments are similar to different building blocks, and they are characterized by their intricate cycles that are a part of an activity. They can be helpful when you need to improve apps to work on various screen sizes. 

The action that is the parent of fragments can manage them, reuse them, and move them around at will. They are required to ensure that all elements are complete and to stop the memory from being overused.

It’s inefficient to start a new task for each app. This is because the system attempts to keep it in memory. Even the activity you terminated is killed. However, it is not able to remove the resources utilized by the other. If you don’t wish to dive into the core of your operating system, you can use fragments.

3. Excluding Intents

Intents are among the essential elements in the development of apps. It helps transfer data between different parts of an application and between applications in the app.

Suppose you’ve got a gallery application that allows sharing an image download link via SMS. If you are not using this intention, you need to make your own code to send the SMS. This way, you will need to explain to your users the reason why your application requires permission to function.

You can use an SMS Intent in contrast to that. In this case, the application designed to work with SMS automatically completes the task. It can be utilized to perform a variety of functions. It can be used to open links, add events, select contacts, record videos or take photos, and share content.

If you offer Android development services, it is essential to be aware of these aspects.

Develop a custom solution for specific tasks, for example, applying filters to your camera. For common scenarios, always use Intents. This will help by removing unnecessary permissions and help save much time in programming.

4. Writing New Code for Everything

Do not overthink it, and begin writing code for everything that is thrown at you. You should not write your code to communicate with the server through your background process. 

The most commonly used things you will find in your application include social login, JSON parsing, database access, loading images, and calls to networks. These are the most commonly used features in all apps present in the market.

There’s a more effective method to accomplish this without writing code. Operating systems have developed and evolved as a platform through time. If you are looking to use something, there is a good chance that someone else has already used it. It might even be utilized by a variety of applications available. Research further and read programming tutorials before creating your code.

Don’t attempt to come up with an entirely new approach. Some developers have accomplished what you want to accomplish. They may have also posted their code to the GitHub library. You may also go to Google for developers to search for examples that are ready to use.

5. Poor Memory Management

A poor memory management system is among the main reasons behind the crash of an application. Memory management is the number of threads the app could use for a particular task. If you use too many threads, you consider that they consume a large amount of memory. This issue can also occur when the device is running more than a handful of applications running in the background.

Developers must consider that device as an application ecosystem. Don’t write code in the belief that your application will be the sole app that runs on your device. For instance, news apps can save lots of data from the operating system. 

They may be saving information from past months.

Different issues arise on iOS as well as Android. iOS, there are many things that leverage Objective-C to deal with memory problems. In Android, you’re in much more control over memory and can let it work as you’d like, but it can be more complex.

Case of Android, you will encounter issues such as being unable to use memory within Java. This happens because applications load large images or take a long time processing bitmaps. 

It is also possible to encounter problems like linker issues in which you cannot identify an instance of a class or even an exception referred to for being an unclassified linking. iOS apps, on the other hand, suffer from an exception called NSInternalInconsistency. These issues can occur when the developer alters their data set or array in one location while another app reads the current list.

6.Poor Bitmap Usage

Content that is attractive to the eye seems to be enticing to the readers. Images are among the most popular content on an app because of their capacity to communicate more than 1,000 words. The only issue with images is that they use up lots of memory. Prior to displaying images on the screen, the application loads them into the memory.

As an example, let’s imagine that you snapped the picture using a 13 MP camera. The resolution for the picture could have been 4000x3000px, and the memory required to display the image could be 48 megapixels. The amount of memory needed for one image is quite a bit.

Things change When we consider the screen resolution. Imagine you’re trying to display a 4000 x 3000 pixels photo on the 1920×1080 pixels screen. At the maximum, you must not allow more than eight or nine megabytes of memory to show the image.

Use the programming guidelines to display images efficiently. Always notice the screen’s size in which you will display the image. Scale or crop larger images to fit the size of your screen.

7. Error Codes and Exception Handling

The reason for errors is the complexity of mobile application development. The cause of the problem can be anything such as a memory issue that was not noticed previously, an abrupt change in API, or a network issue that interrupts the connection, causing delays in the transmission of video and images.

Crash failure and error handling are the only things standing between a scenario like this and a crash. This way, the app is not able to fail due to an absence of connectivity or an API that provides the user with text rather than a numerical amount in response or an error in the response of the user.

A well-coded application can handle such scenarios by observing the sudden situation, finding an efficient solution to stop the process, and informing users of the issue. It may not be the ideal solution to deal with the issue; however, it can assist in keeping the user.

8. Improper Network Management

Network management is becoming particularly relevant because apps are now dependent on network access to access third-party data or services. The primary reason for an app’s failure is its responsiveness. 

If the app hangs when a user inputs data or attempts to obtain certain information, its non-responsiveness can frustrate the user. It could be due to anything, including a weak internet connection and your mobile’s network issues.

A change in the network can cause the app to cease to respond for various reasons, including switching to 3G instead of 4G and losing connectivity. This can lead to the loss of scrambled transmissions.

There are numerous methods to combat network issues. Inform users of the issue with the network through an app. You can also then offer alternative solutions to the issue. Like ensuring that the user continues working in the app and that the data will be synced with the server once the connection to the network is stable.

Users are less likely to feel irritated by the app when they know that the issue may be a temporary but not permanent issue.

9. Software Lifecycle

App development is a continuous process that is characterized by a steady release schedule. This method lets apps enter the market with an initial minimally viable product (MVP) which can be enhanced over time as users grow. This process has an array of problems with regard to third-party Application Programming interfaces (APIs) and the operating system.

Sometimes it happens that when operating systems are changed, apps could be unable to function properly. This isn’t due to an issue in the application. However, it is due to an unreliable OS update. It is also possible that users update their OS but fail to update the app or forget to download the most recent version of the application.

The increase in cloud-based apps and services has increased the need for APIs and services from third parties. They reduce time and aid in helping bring the app to market in the shortest time, but they also pose issues.

Libraries generally try to find solutions to all the problems that they encounter. However, they are not focused on finding the best solution to any particular issue. To comprehend this problem, think about the performance limitations of the API for a particular application.

APIs may trigger unanticipated changes, like the number of API requests, versions of API data bandwidth, errors, and API delays. These minor issues could turn into more serious issues. APIs have a set of dependencies, which require special tools to identify the problem.

10. Insufficient Testing

App developers understand the importance of testing their app prior to its release. It can be difficult due to the variety of OS versions available. Simulators are helpful for testing the app on various versions of OS; however, they may not offer the same limitations in performance.

Make sure to incorporate testing and benchmarking against the expectations of the users or industry standards. This can reduce the ambiguity between what developers believe to be acceptable and what people believe. 

Testing is a continuous process. The monitoring of performance and the application and seeking feedback from users on the app is crucial. Make sure to address these issues in order of priority.

Conclusion

These are the ten errors that could cause an app crash. Keep these in mind when making an app, and you won’t be able to avoid these issues at all.

Use intents and fragments to simplify things, not to hinder the main Thread as it helps keep the app functional. Use existing code to perform common tasks. Manage memory, bitmaps, and networks properly. Take care of errors and exceptions in a manner that doesn’t annoy users. Continue to test the application to the fullest before launching.