Gboard keeps crashing on Android 11

Gboard is not everyone’s cup of tea. But, truth to be told, when it is to your liking, style-wise — the overall usability and feature-richness follow. Now, we run into user reports claiming that Gboard keeps crashing on their freshly-updated Android 11-powered devices.

Considering that we already have encountered similar Android issues, we made sure to cover this problem with an array of applicable solutions. Check them out below.

Table of contents:

1. Check Gboard permissions
2. Clear Google Play Services and Framework cache
3. Leave the Gboard Beta program
4. Clear cache and data
5. Wipe cache partition
6. Disable Chat Bubbles
7. Reset your device to factory settings

Why does my Gboard keep stopping?

1. Check Gboard permissions

If your device comes with a preinstalled virtual keyboard and you want to download and use Google Gboard, make sure to check permission settings after the installation. Chances are that Gboard is missing certain permissions and that, in certain scenarios, might lead to crashes.

Follow these instructions to inspect Gboard permissions on your Android device:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps & notifications.
3. Choose All apps (See all # apps).
4. Navigate to Gboard.
5. Select Permissions.
6. Make sure all permissions are granted and that Gboard.
7. Now, get back to Settings and open System > Languages & input > On-screen keyboard. Make sure that Gboard is set as the default.

2. Clear Google Play Services and Framework cache

Moving to a brand new one (frequently unpolished) Android version without formatting your device tends to create issues. This might be the reason why Gboard is crashing on Android 11 for some users.

For starters, we recommend clearing Google Play Services and Google Services Framework cache and data from your device. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Navigate again to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps.
2. Tap on the 3-dot menu and tap Show system.
3. Locate Google Play Services and Google Services Framework, respectively.
4. Tap Storage & cache and clear cache and data.
5. Reboot your device and check for improvements.

3. Leave the Gboard Beta program

Many users who experienced a variety of issues with Gboard (bottom spacing, crashes, rotation, etc.), resolved the problem by leaving the Gboard Beta program on the Play Store. Beta versions of various Google services are usually stable, but that might not be the case all the time.

Follow these instructions to leave the Beta program:

1. Open Google Play Store and look for Gboard.
2. Scroll down and, under the You’re a beta tester section, tap Leave.
3. After you are removed from the program, you should reinstall the app.

Alternatively, you can roll back to an older version of Gboard by installing an APK from any APK-aggro site, like APK Mirror. If the issue persists and Gboard keeps crashing, make sure to try the additional steps below.

4. Clear cache and data

The next step to try considers clearing locally-stored cache and data from your device. That way, possible corruption caused by the major OS update, might be mitigated.

Follow these steps to clear cache and data from the Gboard on Android 11:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps & notifications.
3. Choose All apps.
4. Navigate to Gboard.
5. Open Storage & cache.
6. Clear cache and data and restart your device.

5. Wipe the Cache partition

Alternatively, instead of tackling certain apps to resolve the problem, you can clear all system cache from the Recovery mode. This should address system-wide issues that probably started manifesting after the update.

Here’s how to wipe the cache partition on your Android device:

1. Power off your device.
2. Press and hold the Power button + Volume Up until the MI welcome screen appears. Let go of the Power button and keep holding the Volume Up button.
3. Once you get into Recovery mode, use the Volume buttons to get to the Wipe Cache Partition option. Press the Power button to confirm the selection.

Additionally, make sure that your device is up to date. To check for updates, navigate to Settings > System > Advanced > System update.

6. Disable Chat bubbles

Android 11 brought a few novelties to improve user experience and one of the significant new features is called Chat Bubbles. Namely, Facebook Messenger-like bubbles are now available to all instant messaging apps.

Some already incorporated Chat Bubbles (Telegram, Google Messages, and obviously, Facebook Messenger), while others should be adding this option soon enough.

But, one might ask, what that has to do with the Gboard crashing on Android 11? Well, it seems that users who were using Chat Bubbles run into issues with Gboard as soon as the screen was turned off during the conversation.

So, for the time being, we suggest disabling Chat Bubbles, until Google sorts things out. In order to do so, follow the steps below:

1. Open Settings again.
2. Navigate to Apps & notifications.
3. Choose Notifications.
4. Tap Bubbles.
5. Toggle Bubbles off.

7. Reset your device to factory settings

Ultimately, if nothing worked, consider resorting to resetting your device to factory settings. In an ideal world, upgrading to a new Android iteration should work flawlessly but that’s, sadly, not always the case.

With that in mind, back up your data to the cloud (Google Drive system backup) or your PC and navigate to Settings > System > Advanced > Reset options > Erase all data. From there, just follow further instructions.

And, on that note, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and, if you want to discuss this article further, but also find even more content like this, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.