Telegram Keeps Crashing on Android or iPhone: Fixes

When Telegram keeps crashing, the cause is usually one of a few things: an outdated or buggy app version, a full or damaged cache, too little free storage, or one specific chat or file the app cannot handle. Start by updating Telegram and restarting your phone, then clear Telegram's cache from inside the app. If it still crashes, use the pattern of the crash to find your cause below.

Before you try anything drastic like reinstalling, make sure you can log back in. Your chats are stored in Telegram's cloud, but signing in again needs a code sent to your phone number or another logged-in device, and your two-step verification password if you set one.

First, describe the crash precisely

"It keeps crashing" covers several different problems. Two minutes spent noticing the pattern saves an hour of random fixes.

• It crashes on launch, before you see your chat list. Points to a damaged cache, a bad update or an incompatible phone system version.
• It crashes when you open one particular chat, channel or file. Points to a specific piece of content: a video, sticker, animated emoji or a very long message the app chokes on.
• It crashes after a few minutes of normal use. Points to low memory, low storage, overheating or a background conflict.
• It crashes when you open a link, bot or Mini App. On Android, points to the system's web component.
• It crashes while typing. Points to the keyboard app.
• It does not crash, it disappears when in the background. That is your phone closing Telegram to save battery or memory, which has its own fix.
• It freezes rather than closes. Often a connection problem rather than a crash, with its own set of fixes for connection issues.

Also note when it started. "Since yesterday's update" and "since I joined a big channel" point to different causes.

Before you start: protect your access

Some fixes below log you out or remove local data. Before you use any of them:

1. Check that you can receive a login code. You will get it in Telegram on another logged-in device, or by text message to your number. If you no longer have that number, do not log out until you have sorted that out.
2. Know your two-step verification password, if you set one. Telegram asks for it after the code. If you have forgotten it, set a recovery email first while you are still logged in. Our guide to two-step verification explains how.
3. Know what lives only on this phone. Secret chats are stored on the device, not in the cloud, and are lost if you log out or delete the app's data. Downloaded files that you saved only inside Telegram's cache will also go, although media in cloud chats can be downloaded again.
4. Never give your login code to anyone who offers to help fix your app. Telegram support will not ask for it, and anyone who does is trying to take over your account.

The quick fixes that solve most crashes

Work through these in order. Test Telegram after each one.

1. Force-close Telegram and open it again. On Android, swipe it away from recent apps, or go to the phone's app settings for Telegram and choose Force stop. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom, pause, and swipe Telegram away.
2. Restart the phone. This clears memory and restarts the background services Telegram relies on.
3. Update Telegram from the Play Store, the App Store or Telegram's official website if you installed it from there.
4. Update the phone's operating system if an update is waiting.
5. Clear Telegram's cache from inside the app. In Telegram's settings, open data and storage, then storage usage, and clear the cache. This removes downloaded media copies but not your chats.

If the crash stops, you are done. If not, find your pattern in the sections below.

Cause 1: An outdated, or freshly broken, app version

How to recognise it: the crashes started suddenly, many people in a group you are in report the same thing, or your app has not been updated in months.

Telegram updates often. Old versions can break when Telegram's servers start sending content the old app does not understand. New versions occasionally ship with a bug that hits certain phones.

Fix:

1. Open the app store and check for a Telegram update. Install it.
2. If the store says it is up to date but you suspect the latest version is the problem, wait a day or two. Telegram usually releases a fix quickly when a crash is widespread.
3. If you installed a beta version, switch back to the normal store version. Beta builds are for testing and crash more often.
4. If you installed Telegram from an unofficial download site, uninstall it and install the official app. Modified apps can crash, and they can also steal accounts.

If it does not work: move on to the cache and storage causes. A version problem that a reinstall cannot fix usually needs Telegram to ship an update.

Cause 2: A damaged or oversized cache

How to recognise it: Telegram crashes on launch or while scrolling, especially on a phone that has used Telegram heavily for a long time. Storage settings show Telegram using a lot of space.

Telegram keeps copies of photos, videos, stickers and files you have seen so it does not download them again. Over time this cache can grow very large, and a damaged file inside it can make the app crash every time it tries to read it.

Fix from inside Telegram (both platforms):

1. Open Telegram's settings.
2. Go to data and storage, then storage usage.
3. Clear the cache. You can clear everything or choose types of media.
4. Consider lowering how long media is kept, so the cache does not grow back as much.

Fix on Android when Telegram crashes before you can reach its settings:

1. Open the phone's Settings, then Apps, then Telegram.
2. Tap Storage.
3. Tap Clear cache. Do not tap Clear data or Clear storage yet.
4. Open Telegram again.

Clear cache is safe. Clear data or clear storage is a bigger step: it logs you out and removes everything stored on the device, including secret chats. Use it only after the "protect your access" checks above.

Fix on iPhone when Telegram crashes before you can reach its settings: iPhone has no separate clear-cache button for apps. Use offloading, described under Cause 9, which removes the app but keeps its documents and data, then reinstall.

If it does not work: the cache was not the problem, or the damaged data is somewhere a cache clear does not reach. Try the storage and specific-content causes next.

Our guide on how to clear Telegram's cache explains what each option removes in more detail.

Cause 3: The phone is nearly out of storage

How to recognise it: the phone warns about low storage, other apps also misbehave, or Telegram crashes when downloading or sending media.

Telegram needs free space to write its database and temporary files. When the phone runs out, writes fail and the app can close.

Fix:

1. Check free space in the phone's settings.
2. Clear Telegram's cache as in Cause 2. This is often the single largest thing you can free.
3. In Telegram's data and storage settings, turn off automatic media download or limit it to Wi-Fi and small files. See how to stop Telegram auto-downloading and saving media.
4. If Telegram saves media to your gallery, check whether those copies are filling the phone, and remove what you do not need.
5. Free space elsewhere: old videos, apps you do not use, and downloads.

If it does not work: if Telegram still crashes with plenty of free space, storage was not the cause.

Cause 4: One chat, channel or file crashes the app

How to recognise it: Telegram works until you open a particular chat, scroll to a particular message, or play a particular video, sticker or animated emoji. It crashes at the same place every time.

The app is failing to process one piece of content. It might be a damaged file, an unusual video format, a very large animated message, or a rare bug in how one message is drawn.

Fix:

1. Update Telegram first. Content-specific crashes are often fixed in the next version.
2. Clear the cache, so the app downloads a fresh copy of the content instead of reading a damaged one.
3. Avoid the chat for now. Archive it from the chat list with a swipe or long press, so it does not open by accident. See how to pin, mute and archive chats.
4. Open the same chat on another device, such as Telegram Desktop or Telegram Web. If it opens fine there, you can read it while you wait for a fix.
5. If the problem is a message in your own chat, you can delete it from the other device. For a channel or group, you cannot remove other people's content, but you can leave and rejoin later.
6. In Telegram's settings, turn off autoplay for videos and animations. Some crashes happen only when the app tries to play something automatically.

If it does not work: report the crash to Telegram, saying which chat and roughly which message triggers it. See "Reporting the crash" below.

Cause 5: Low memory and heavy animations

How to recognise it: Telegram works for a while and then closes, especially on an older or budget phone, during long scrolling sessions, or with many apps open.

Animated stickers, emoji, video previews and large groups all use memory. On a phone with little memory, the system closes the app that is using the most.

Fix:

1. Close other apps you are not using.
2. Turn on Telegram's power saving options, which reduce animations and autoplay. Our guide to Telegram's power saving mode explains each switch.
3. Turn off autoplay for videos and GIFs in data and storage settings.
4. Limit how many accounts are logged in on this phone. Each account adds work in the background.
5. Restart the phone regularly if it runs for weeks without one.

If it does not work: if the phone is very old, it may no longer receive Telegram updates that fix memory issues. Telegram Web in the phone's browser can be a lighter alternative.

Cause 6: On Android, the system web component

How to recognise it: Telegram crashes when you open a link inside Telegram, a bot's web page, a Mini App, or an Instant View article, but is fine otherwise.

Android apps display web content using a shared system component called Android System WebView, which is updated through the Play Store. A broken or outdated WebView can crash every app that uses it, not only Telegram.

Fix:

1. Open the Play Store and search for Android System WebView.
2. Update it if an update is available. Update Chrome as well, since some phones use Chrome's engine for WebView.
3. Restart the phone.
4. In Telegram's settings, you can choose whether links open in Telegram's in-app browser or in your normal browser. Switching to the external browser avoids WebView for links while you wait for a fix.

If it does not work: if a WebView update caused the crash, waiting for the next WebView release is sometimes the only fix. Some users uninstall WebView updates from the phone's app settings to roll back; this is a phone-level change, so only do it if you are comfortable with it.

Cause 7: Your keyboard app

How to recognise it: Telegram crashes when you tap into a message box or while typing, but reading works.

Third-party keyboards hook into the text field, and a buggy keyboard update can crash the app it is typing into.

Fix:

1. Switch to the phone's default keyboard temporarily.
2. Type a message in Telegram. If it no longer crashes, the keyboard was the cause.
3. Update the keyboard app, or clear its cache on Android.
4. Keep using the default keyboard until the keyboard app is fixed.

Cause 8: The phone is closing Telegram, not crashing it

How to recognise it: Telegram is gone when you return to it, opens to a fresh start, and you miss notifications. It never closes while you are using it.

This is not a crash. Battery savers, cleaner apps and aggressive manufacturer settings on some Android phones close apps in the background. iPhones do this too when memory is short, but more gently.

Fix on Android:

1. In the phone's settings, open battery settings for Telegram and set it to unrestricted or not optimised.
2. Disable any cleaner or booster app, or exclude Telegram from it.
3. Some phones have an "auto-launch" or "allow background activity" switch. Turn it on for Telegram.
4. Lock Telegram in the recent apps screen if your phone offers that option.

Fix on iPhone:

1. Turn on Background App Refresh for Telegram in the phone's settings.
2. Check Low Power Mode, which limits background activity.

Missed notifications are often the visible symptom, and the same battery settings usually fix them too.

Cause 9: The app's installation itself is damaged

How to recognise it: none of the above helped, the app crashes in many places, or the crashes began after a failed update or a phone restore.

Fix on iPhone, keeping your data:

1. Open the iPhone's Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage.
2. Find Telegram and tap Offload App. This removes the app but keeps its documents and data.
3. Tap Reinstall App on the same screen, or reinstall from the App Store.
4. Open Telegram. You should still be logged in.

Fix on Android, step by step:

1. Try clearing the cache first, as in Cause 2.
2. If that does not help, uninstall updates if the phone offers it, or uninstall Telegram entirely.
3. Reinstall from the Play Store.
4. Log in with your phone number, the code and your two-step password.

What reinstalling does: your cloud chats, groups, channels and contacts come back after you log in. Secret chats on that phone, and media you only had in the cache, do not. Read what happens if you uninstall Telegram before you do it if you are unsure.

If it does not work: if a fresh install crashes in the same place, the problem is the phone's system, the content you are opening, or a Telegram bug. Use another device for now and report it.

Cause 10: An unsupported phone or system version

How to recognise it: the phone is several years old, has not had a system update in a long time, and the Telegram update in the store says it is not compatible, or the app crashes immediately after updating.

Every app eventually drops support for very old phone systems. Telegram supports old versions longer than many apps, but not forever.

Fix:

1. Check whether the phone has a system update available and install it.
2. If the phone cannot be updated, use Telegram Web in the phone's browser for basic messaging.
3. Consider moving to a newer device. Cloud chats move with your account; secret chats stay on the old phone.

Cause 11: A third-party client or a modified app

How to recognise it: you are not using the official Telegram app, but an alternative client or a modified version downloaded from a website.

Unofficial clients are built on Telegram's open code, and some are well maintained. Others lag behind or contain changes that crash. Modified apps from unknown sources are a security risk as well as a stability one.

Fix:

1. Install the official Telegram app from the official store and check whether it crashes too.
2. If the official app works, report the crash to the developers of the client you were using.
3. Remove any modified app from an unknown source. Then, from the official app, check your active sessions and end any you do not recognise.

A well-known client with an active developer and a public source is a different risk from an unnamed download, but the official app is always the baseline to test against.

Cause 12: Crashes when recording, attaching or sending

How to recognise it: Telegram is fine for reading, but closes when you record a voice or video message, open the camera, pick a file from the gallery, or send a large video.

These actions hand control to parts of the phone outside Telegram: the camera, the microphone, the photo library and the file system. If Telegram's permission was refused or half-granted, or the file it receives is unusual, the handover can fail.

Fix:

1. In the phone's settings, open Telegram's permissions and check camera, microphone, photos or media, and files. On iPhone, photo access can be set to limited; try allowing full access to test.
2. Restart the phone after changing permissions.
3. If one file always crashes the app, try sending it from another device, or send it as a file rather than as a photo or video, which skips Telegram's compression step.
4. Check free storage. Recording and compressing a video needs temporary space.
5. On Android, if you use a third-party gallery or file manager as the default, try attaching through Telegram's own picker instead.

If it does not work: test the same action in another messaging app. If the camera or microphone fails there too, the problem is the phone, not Telegram.

Cause 13: Crashes after a phone restore or migration

How to recognise it: the crashes began right after you restored the phone from a backup, moved to a new phone with a transfer tool, or upgraded the system with a large update.

Restores sometimes copy Telegram's local database from the old phone in a state the new installation does not like. The cloud copy of your chats is fine; only the local copy is confused.

Fix:

1. On iPhone, offload and reinstall the app as in Cause 9. If that does not help, delete the app and install it fresh, then log in.
2. On Android, clear the cache, and if that fails, clear the app's data or reinstall, after the access checks at the top of this guide.
3. Log in and let Telegram download your chats from the cloud again. It takes a little while on a large account.

If it does not work: if a fresh install on a freshly restored phone still crashes, set the phone up once without restoring Telegram's data, to rule out the backup.

Worked examples

These examples show how the crash pattern leads to the cause.

Example: crashes only in one group

Priya's Telegram crashes whenever she opens a busy crypto group, and nowhere else. She clears the cache, which does not help. She opens the group on her laptop and sees that someone posted a very large animated sticker pack preview. She archives the group on her phone, reads it on the laptop for two days, and the next Telegram update fixes the crash.

Example: crashes on launch after months of heavy use

Marco's Android phone shows Telegram using a large share of its storage, and the app now closes on launch. He cannot reach Telegram's settings, so he opens the phone's app settings, clears Telegram's cache (not its data), and the app opens. He then lowers how long Telegram keeps media so the cache does not grow back.

Example: crashes only when opening a Mini App

Lena's Telegram crashes when she taps a bot's "Open App" button. Links and chats are fine. She updates Android System WebView and Chrome from the Play Store, restarts the phone, and the Mini App opens.

Example: it was the battery saver

Tom says Telegram "crashes all the time". It turns out it never closes while he uses it; it is just gone when he returns. His phone's battery manager restricts background apps. He sets Telegram to unrestricted and the problem disappears.

Reporting the crash to Telegram

If you have found a crash that a fresh, updated official app still has, Telegram's developers want to know.

1. Note your phone model, operating system version and Telegram version. Telegram's version is shown at the bottom of its settings screen.
2. Write down exact steps: "Open this chat, scroll to the video from yesterday, tap play, the app closes."
3. On Android, if the system offers to send a crash report after the app closes, accept it.
4. Report it through Telegram's support option in settings, or through Telegram's public bug and suggestion platform. Our guide on how to contact Telegram support lists the official routes.
5. Do not send screenshots that show login codes or private conversations you would not want shared.

Beware of accounts that message you offering to "fix" Telegram. Real support does not ask for your code, password or remote access to your phone.

What to do while you wait for a fix

A crash on one device does not cut you off from your messages. While you wait:

• Use Telegram Desktop or Telegram Web on a computer. Your cloud chats are there, apart from secret chats.
• Use Telegram Web in the phone's browser for quick replies.
• Archive or mute the chat that triggers the crash so it does not open by accident.
• Keep auto-download off until the crash is fixed, so nothing heavy loads on its own.

Common mistakes

• Tapping Clear data instead of Clear cache on Android. Clear data logs you out and removes secret chats. Clear cache does not.
• Reinstalling without being able to log back in. Check that you can receive a code and know your two-step password first.
• Installing a "fixed" version from a website. Unofficial downloads can contain malware. Only use official sources.
• Treating a background close as a crash. If Telegram only disappears while in the background, the fix is in battery settings, not in Telegram.
• Ignoring the pattern. Crashing in one chat and crashing on launch have different causes. Fixing the wrong one wastes time.
• Leaving the cache to grow forever. A huge cache causes crashes and fills the phone. Set a keep-media limit.
• Sharing a login code with "support". No legitimate helper needs it.

FAQ

Will I lose my messages if I reinstall Telegram?

Cloud chats, groups, channels and contacts come back when you log in again. Secret chats on that device and files only stored in the cache do not. Make sure you can receive a login code and know your two-step password before you reinstall.

Is clearing Telegram's cache safe?

Yes. Clearing the cache removes local copies of media. Your messages stay in the cloud and media in cloud chats can be downloaded again. On Android, clear cache is safe; clear data or clear storage is the bigger step that logs you out.

Why does Telegram crash in only one chat?

The app is failing to process one piece of content in that chat, such as a video, sticker or animation. Update the app, clear the cache, and read the chat on another device until a fix arrives.

Why does Telegram crash when I open a link or Mini App on Android?

Telegram uses Android System WebView to show web content. Update WebView and Chrome from the Play Store and restart the phone. You can also set links to open in your normal browser.

Telegram closes when I switch apps. Is that a crash?

Usually not. Your phone is closing Telegram to save battery or memory. Allow Telegram to run in the background without battery restrictions.

How do I tell Telegram about a crash?

Note your phone model, system version and Telegram version, write down exact steps to reproduce the crash, and report it through Telegram's support in settings or its official bug platform.

Summary

Most Telegram crashes on Android and iPhone come from an outdated or buggy version, a damaged or huge cache, low storage, or one piece of content the app cannot handle. Update, restart and clear the cache from inside Telegram first. Then match the crash pattern: one chat points to content, links point to Android System WebView, typing points to the keyboard, and vanishing in the background points to battery settings. Before any reinstall or data clear, make sure you can log back in, and remember secret chats live only on the device. If nothing helps, use Telegram on another device and report the crash with clear steps. If your desktop app is the one crashing, see Telegram Desktop not opening or crashing on Windows.