The game constantly crashes on Android: reasons and 10 working solutions

Nothing spoils the impression of mobile gaming more than sudden crashes from the game. You're at the peak of a battle in PUBG Mobile, almost completed a difficult level in Genshin Impact, or are about to set a record in Call of Duty: Mobile —and suddenly the application closes without warning. Is the situation familiar? According to statistics, 68% of Android users have experienced game crashes at least once, and in 80% of cases the problem can be solved on your own without contacting a service center.

Game crashes on Android are rarely accidental. Most often they signal about system conflicts, lack of resources or software errors. In this article we will analyze all possible reasons from banal overheating to hidden bugs in the firmware, and also give step-by-step guide how to diagnose and fix the problem. We will pay special attention new smartphones from 2023–2026 (Samsung Galaxy S23, Xiaomi 13T, Realme GT Neo 5), where crashes are often associated with aggressive battery optimization and updates Android 14.

Before moving on to radical measures (like resetting settings), check simple solutions —they work in 50% of cases. And if crashes occur in only one game, the problem most likely lies in its files or settings, and not in the smartphone itself.

1. Overheating of the device: why the game crashes under load

Overheating is the most common cause of crashes in modern games, especially on smartphones with processors Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Dimensity 9000+. When the chipset temperature exceeds 45–50°C, Android automatically closes resource-intensive applications to prevent damage to the battery or motherboard.

How to understand that the problem is overheating:

• 🔥 The smartphone body becomes hot within 10-15 minutes games.
• 📉 Performance drops sharply before crashing (laggies, friezes).
• ⚡ After closing the game, the “Device is cooling” notification appears.

Solutions:

1. Remove the case - it may block the heat sink.
2. Play in a ventilated area (not in direct sunlight or on soft surfaces like a bed or sofa).
3. Lower the graphic settings in the game: reduce the resolution, turn off anti-aliasing and shadows.
4. Use game booster (for example, Game Turbo on Xiaomi or Game Launcher on Samsung) to limit heating.

If overheating occurs even on minimum graphics settings, the problem may be in thermal paste (on old smartphones) or battery malfunction. In this case, only diagnostics at a service center will help.

2. Lack of RAM (RAM)

Games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail require minimum 6–8 GB of RAM for stable operation. If your smartphone 4 GB RAM (or less), the system forcesly closes background processes, which leads to crashes. Even on devices with 8–12 GB RAM the problem may arise due to memory leaks in the game itself or conflicts with other applications.

How to check RAM usage:

1. Open Settings → Device care → Memory (on Samsung) or Settings → Applications → Memory (on pure Android).
2. Launch the game and see how much memory it takes up (for this you can use Developer Options or an application CPU Monitor).
3. If there is less free memory 1 GB, the system will begin to forcefully close processes.

Solutions:

• 🧹 Close all background applications before starting the game (especially messengers and browsers).
• 🔄 Enable the "Game Turbo" mode (available on Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo), which blocks notifications and optimizes RAM.
• 📱 If on the device Android 10+, activate the option Settings → System → For developers → Do not save actions (this will limit background processes).
• 🔧 For advanced users: reduce swap size (virtual memory) using the ADB command:

  adb shell settings put global swap_free_kbytes 524288

3. Conflicts with Android firmware or updates

After updating Android or a proprietary shell (for example, MIUI 14, One UI 6.0), games may begin to crash due to incompatibility with new APIs or bugs in the firmware. This is especially true for devices that have received an update unofficial (via custom firmware or beta versions).

Symptoms of the problem:

• 🔄 Crashes began to occur immediately after the system update.
• 📱 The game works on other devices with the same version of Android, but not on yours.
• 🛠️ In the error logs (can be viewed via Logcat) there are mentions ANR (Application Not Responding) or Signal 11.

Solutions:

1. Roll back to the previous firmware version (if there is a backup).
2. Clear the system cache: go in Settings → Memory → Cached data → Clear.
3. Disable battery optimization for the game: Settings → Applications → [Game name] → Battery → Optimization → Without restrictions.
4. If the problem is in custom firmware, try official version or firmware from another developer (for example, LineageOS instead Pixel Experience).

On some smartphones (Samsung Galaxy S22, Google Pixel 7) after updating to Android 14 games crash due to new rules for working with the graphics driver. In this case, all that remains is to wait for a patch from the manufacturer.

4. Corrupt game files or cache

If the game crashes only at a specific level or after loading, the problem may be in damaged cache files or incorrect installation. This is especially true for games with large open worlds (Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Black Desert Mobile), where data is loaded dynamically.

How understand that the files are damaged:

• 🎮 The game crashes in the same place (for example, when loading a location).
• 🔍 In the error logs there are mentions of Failed to load asset or Corrupted data.
• 📥 After reinstalling the game, the problem disappears (but later returns).

Solutions:

1. Clear the game cache: Settings → Applications → [Game name] → Memory → Clear cache.
2. Delete and reinstall the game (important: do not restore data from the cloudif there may be damaged files).
3. If the game supports file integrity checking (for example, Genshin Impact), launch it through the settings menu.
4. For games s OBB files (for example, Asphalt 9):
   • Download OBB again from the official website.
   • Place it in the folder Android/obb/[package name games].
   • Check the access rights to the folder (should be rw-rw----).

Attention! If you use modified APK (for example, from sites like APKPure or RevDL), crashes may be related to incorrect file signature. In this case, only the official version from Google Play or AppGallery.

5. graphics drivers (GPU). data-i="203">) and

Crashes with errors like EGL_BAD_ACCESS or Adreno/Mali driver crash point to problems with the graphics driver. This is especially true for smartphones with chipsets Qualcomm Snapdragon (video driver Adreno) And Mediatek (video driver Mali).

Causes of GPU failures:

• 🔧 Outdated or unstable drivers (often after updating Android).
• 🔥 GPU overheating (especially on Snapdragon 888/8 Gen 1).
• 🎨 Conflict with overclocking settings (if you use Kernel Adiutor or EX Kernel Manager).

Solutions:

1. Update the GPU driver via Google Play Services:
   • Open Google Play.
   • Find Google Play Services and update.
   • Reboot the device.

adb shell settings delete global gpu_driver_bug_report_app

Critical information: On some smartphones (Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+, POCO F4 GT), the driver Mali-G68 has a bug due to which games crash when turned on HDR rendering. The solution is to disable HDR in the game settings.

6. Conflicts with background applications and services

Many games crash due to conflicts with antiviruses, VPNs or optimizers. For example, Avast or 360 Security can block game network packets, and Greenify can force close its processes. Problems are also caused by:

• 🛡️ Antiviruses (Kaspersky, Dr.Web).
• 🌐 VPN clients (NordVPN, ProtonVPN).
• 🔄 Optimizers (CCleaner, DU Speed Booster).
• 🎵 Music players with overlays (for example, Poweramp with a floating window).

How to find the culprit:

1. Start the game in safe mode (hold the power button → “Safe mode”) If there are no crashes, the problem is in third-party software.
2. Disable background applications one by one until you find the conflicting one.
3. Check the error logs via Logcat (required) developer rights).

Solutions:

• 🚫 Add the game to your antivirus exceptions.
• 🔌 Disable VPN before starting the game (or change the protocol to UDP).
• 📵 Prevent optimizers from interacting with the game in the settings special features.
• 🔕 Disable notifications and overlays from other applications.

7. Hardware malfunctions: when it’s time for service

If none of the above methods helped, the problem may be in hardware the smartphone. Most often, crashes are associated with:

• 🔋 Faulty battery (swelling, wear).
• 🖥️ Damaged random access memory (RAM).
• 📶 Unstable Wi-Fi/4G module (if crashes occur when changing the network).
• 🔌 Oxidized contacts on the motherboard (after moisture).

How to diagnose hardware problems:

⚠️ Attention: If the smartphone dropped into water or has been subjected to strong impacts, do not try repair it yourself. Corrosion on the board can lead to short circuit under load (for example, during a game).

For To check the hardware, use tests:

• CPU Throttling Test (check for throttling).
• 3C Toolbox (temperature and voltage monitoring).
• AccuBattery (battery diagnostics).

8. Radical solutions: reset, flashing, replacement of smartphone

If all methods have been tried, and the game still crashes, there remain radical measures:

1. Reset to factory settings (before that, make a backup!).
2. Flashing to stock or custom firmware (for example, LineageOS or Pixel Experience).
3. Replacing a smartphone (if the problem is hardware and repair is impractical).

⚠️ Attention: On some smartphones (Samsung s Knox, Google Pixel), resetting or flashing can lead to loss warranty or blocking Secure Folder.

If you decide to reflash the device:

• Use official firmware from the manufacturer's website.
• Check compatibility with your smartphone model (for example, firmware for Redmi Note 10 Pro not suitable for Redmi Note 10).
• Follow the instructions from the forums XDA Developers or 4PDA.

If the smartphone is older 3–4 years (Samsung Galaxy S9, Xiaomi Mi 9, perhaps its resources are simply not enough for modern games. In this case, it is worth considering upgrade to device from Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Dimensity 9000+.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about game crashes on Android