Fixing Galaxy S3 Messaging that crashes after 4.3 update

The Samsung Galaxy S3 stock Messaging app is one of many apps that started to crash after the phone was updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. There are, however, a few variations of the problem. The most common is also the most obvious--an error message that says "Unfortunately, Messaging has stopped" pops up on screen and you have no other choice that to tap "OK."

Other owners who reportedly encountered problems with the Messaging app after the 4.3 update said that it sometimes lags or freezes and occasionally just quit working and you will be redirected to the Home screen for no apparent reason. There were also others who reported to have experienced Messaging crashes once they started typing their message.


Well, it is a minor glitch, which can be solved without the help of complicated procedures or troubleshooting steps.

Clear Cache & Data

This procedure is simple but it is very effective in addressing this specific problem.

1. Pull the Notification Panel down.
2. Tap the Settings icon located on the upper-right corner of the screen.
3. Touch More tab and tap on Application Manager option.
4. Swipe left or right to display contents of the All tab.
5. Scroll to and then tap on Messaging.
6. Tap the Force Close button first.
7. And then tap Clear Cache, then Clear Data.

You can now go back to the Home screen, tap Apps and launch the Messaging app. Try to see it still crashes. If so, follow the second the following steps.

Boot To Safe Mode

The purpose of this procedure is for us to know whether the crashes are caused by a third-party app or not. When in Safe Mode, all third-party apps will be disabled leaving only pre-installed applications and services running.

1. Turn your phone off.
2. Press and hold the Power button until the "Samsung Galaxy S III" logo appears on the screen.
3. Immediately after release the Power button, press and hold the Volume Down button until the phone finished restarting.
4. You would know if you're in Safe Mode if the "Safe Mode" text is displayed on the lower-left corner of the screen. If you can't find it, repeat the process until  you've successfully booted the phone up to Safe Mode.
5. While in there, launch the Messaging app and see if it still crashes. 
6. If it doesn't crash, it means a third-party app is causing the problem.
7. If it crashes, then the app itself has some issues. Proceed to next procedure.

Wipe Cache Partition

There is always a possibility that after the update, new sets of data for the Messaging app were cached by the system without deleting the old ones. There could be conflict so we need to delete every bit of data inside the cache partition. This is going to be a general clean up for caches because we cannot delete app-specific cache.

1. Turn your device off.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power buttons.
3. When the Galaxy S3 vibrates, release the Power key but continue holding the other two keys.
4. When Android System Recovery screen appears, release both.
5. Using the Volume Down button, highlight 'wipe cache partition' and press the Power button to select it.
6. It may take a few seconds to complete the wipe out so wait for it.
7. When done, highlight 'reboot system now' and press the Power button.

For Galaxy S3 Messaging app crashes or freezes, wiping the cache partition is the last resort. However, in case the problem still persists after doing the procedure above, there is no other option but to perform a Factory Reset, which completely wipes out caches of apps and delete every bit of data you have in your phone. So, you better back them up first before you perform the procedure.