Google has fixed an issue with Android System WebView that caused apps like Gmail, Google Chrome and others to crash. According to a report, users started noticing these crashes on Monday afternoon, and at the time, Google recommended users switch to the desktop client for Gmail. The search giant acknowledged the problem on its Google Workspace Status Dashboard and regularly updated it with follow-ups until it was able to resolve the issue around noon today, March 23.
Some Google apps, including Gmail and Google Chrome, crashed for Android users due to an issue with Android System WebView – a system component powered by Chrome that allows Android apps to display web content. According to The Verge’s report, these app crashes started on March 22, Monday afternoon, and according to the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, the company acknowledged the problem at 4:35 a.m. today, March 23.
“We are aware of an issue with Gmail affecting a significant proportion of users. The affected users do not have access to Gmail. We will provide an update by 3/23/21, 5:35 AM, indicating when we expect fix the problem, ”reads the Google update.
Then it advised users to temporarily switch to the Gmail web interface on the desktop until the problem is resolved. At 11:48 am, Google resolved the Android System WebView issue and released an updated version – 89.0.4389.105, as well as an update for Google Chrome. Users should update Android System WebView and Google Chrome from Google Play Store in case they face these issues.
“We fixed the issue with WebView that caused some apps on Android to crash for some users. Updating Android System WebView and Google Chrome through Google Play should now solve the problem, ”a Google spokesperson told Gadgets 360.
While services were down, Samsung Support tweeted that removing the latest update from WebView will fix the problem along with the steps on how to do it, which seemed to fix the problem for some users.
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