The application Email (process com.android.email) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again
It appears as though this is a common issue for many frustrated Android users out there, so I’m posting what I did – which actually worked! – in the hopes that it will help at least a few of you out.
A Little Background:
I purchased the Droid on opening day, but never set up my Exchange email until recently (more than two months after the fact). Just never had the need really. After setting it up, it ran pretty smoothly for several weeks. I’ve (apparently) been fortunate enough to not run into the dreaded “The application Email (process com.android.email) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again.” error message… Until Now!
The Problem:
From what I’ve read, the root of the issue is a bug in the Email app/program related to unparsable email headers. When you get an email with such headers (which sorta explains why my email was working fine for a while), you will get the error message above.
The Non-Solutions:
- Killing the app (with programs like Advanced Task Killer Free) and restarting the app doesn’t work.
- Rebooting and restarting the app doesn’t work.
- Killing the app PLUS Rebooting and then restarting the app doesn’t work. Trust me, I’ve tried several times.
- Attempting to kill the app in “Manage applications” doesn’t work (well sorta) because it’s not readily listed and not easy to find (see solution below).
The Solution:
1 ) Go into your email from your desktop client and delete or file away the latest emails that you suspect may’ve started to cause this issue. (I can’t confirm whether or not this step is actually necessary, but I did it anyway to be safe.)
2 ) From your home screen, press the tab on the bottom and go to Settings.
3 ) Select Applications
4 ) Select Manage Applications
5 ) Hit your Menu option/button (the one with four lines usually between the Back/Return button and the Home button)
6 ) Select Filter
7 ) Select Running in the Filter Options pop-up menu.
8 ) Scroll down and select Email. (If it’s not in the list, you probably killed it. Go back and start it first and then return to step 1.)
9 ) In the Email app’s Application Info screen, press the Clear data button. (Be advised that this will essentially clear all of your account info from the Email app, causing you to have to re-set everything up again like your login name, password, server names, etc. The exact prompt says, “All of this application’s data will be deleted permanently. This includes all files, settings, accounts, databases and so on.” Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean it will delete your emails on the server.)
10 ) Open up the Email app again and it will prompt you to set everything up again (log in name, password, servers, etc.). Walah! The error message should now be gone.
Some Linkage:
* Google Code string
* Motorola Support Forum string
Hope this helps y’all! Happy Droiding!
January 21st, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Thanks! I just encountered this problem after having the phone for 3 days…and it’s helped me! My email started working again right after I made any incoming mail go to my Gmail archives instead of to the inbox on the server.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:17 am
Awesome, glad it helped Sarah!
January 26th, 2010 at 3:14 am
[...] moving it to a different box and then wiping your account configuration and setting it up again. The application Email (process com.android.email) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again | World… I had an email come in from a friend right before mine stopped working and when I removed the [...]
January 26th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I deleted recent email, cleared data and set up my account again.
This didn’t help me at all. Com.android.email restarted fine, but went to it’s crashing behavior almost immediately.
If the problem has to do with something someone sent to me, I need to know what can’t be safely sent to me by email anymore.
January 26th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
FYI: On my Nexus One, I was able to solve the problem by deleting the offending email on a computer based client, and then restarting the Email app on Android. I did not need to apply the clear data process, or re-enter my account info.
Thanks!
-John
January 27th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
This advice works!!! Thank you.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
WillReadmore, your issue sounds a bit different than the rest of us if, as you mentioned, com.android.email restarted fine. Maybe you can temporarily archive all email in your inbox and bring them back one (or several) at a time so see which one is the offending message?
January 28th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Cool, good to know John! Thanks for the feedback!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
No problem Dave. Happy to hear it!
February 15th, 2010 at 7:52 am
All these ideas work to get email up and running again. The question is for how long.
I tried moving all mail to a different folder and then bringing stuff back to see what does the deed. What I’ve found is that some spam with graphics, buttons, etc. will prevent my droid from reading email.
I can’t stop all spam from getting through the filters. So, if I’m on a trip or whatever, I can’t count on receiving my email on my Droid.
Disappointing.
February 16th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Agreed WillReadmore, but that’s more of an “app” fixing issue more so than something any of us in this thread can control. Thanks for your feedback!