Samsung Galaxy S3: How to Fix Gallery App Crashes When Using the Share Menu After Update to the Android 4.3

Apparently, updating the Samsung Galaxy SIII to the Android 4.3 brings some problems to the users. One of the most frequently asked problem by the insider through the emails or comments is about camera flashes when the alarm goes off or when receiving new email or calls. In fact, this issue is triggered by the new option in Android 4.3 called Flash notification. Basically, this option was designed for the deaf or low-vision users so they will be much more easier to know the notification by the flash light rather than the notification on the screen.

See also: How to Fix Camera Flashes when Alarm Goes Off in Android 4.3 in Samsung Galaxy S3

Another problem occurs in this phone once updated to the Android 4.3 is Gallery app freezes or stopped working when the user open the photo or video files and hit the share menu.


How to fix Gallery app stopped working when using the share menu?
Gallery app and Paper artist app are linked, so if you turn the Paper artist app off then the Gallery app will force close or crashes when you hit the share menu. To fix this problem you need to turn back on the Paper artist app by following the steps below:
  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap More.
  3. Tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe the screen to the left to find the Turned off screen.
  5. Scroll down to find Paper artist app, then tap it.
  6. Tap Turn on button to turn this app on.
  7. Restart the phone.

Due to this problem is caused by inactive Paper artist app, so by turning this app back on the problem of Gallery app crashes when the share menu is pressed should no longer happen. So, hope this helps :)

61 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Nino Chipashvili,
      Thanks for coming.
      Glad to know that this post was help you :)

      Delete
  2. I can't tell you how glad I was to find this. Thank you SO much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi David Byers,
      Thanks for coming.
      So do I. I could never tell anyone how glad I am to know that this blog can provide something useful for the insiders :)

      Delete
  3. Hi,
    I went to Sprint store. They couldn't fix issue. Thanks so much!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elizam,
      Thanks for coming.
      I'm more than happy to know that this post has helped you :)

      Delete
  4. My gallery kept crashing on my Samsung galaxy s3 and galaxy3 10.1 tablet. Nobody, even the sprint guise could fix the issue. Thanks to your blog IVE FINALLY fixed this annoying and stupid issues. Thank u so so so much bro.
    Much appreciation
    -sh!fty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matthew Prosser,
      Thanks for coming.
      I'm so glad to know that this post has helped you :)

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Hi Martin Austin,
      You're welcome.
      Glad to know it has helped you :)

      Delete
  6. So do you know how to fix the app from crashing when you try to "unhide" pics and files.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matthew Ward,
      Thanks for coming and I'm so sorry for late answer.
      Did you receive any error message or notification when the app crashed?
      However, have you ever tried to clear cache of My files app(you said the app crashed when you unhide picture, so I think it's about My files app)? If not, try to clear its cache first and then see whether it helps :)

      Delete
  7. My Paper artist was already on when i was following the steps. Is there anything else i can do to stop my gallery from crashing since my Paper artist is on and it is still crashing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi ASan,
      Thanks for coming.
      Did the Gallery app crash only when you used the Share menu or every time you used this app? If the app only crash when you hit Share menu, try to disable the Paper artist app through Application manager and then re-enable it.
      While if your Gallery app always crash, try to clear its cache and data(this will not make you lost any photo, but if you worry you can backup your photos first) and then see whether it helps :)

      Delete
  8. Your info was a BIG help. Was not able to send photos from my Gallery via Email until I read your fix. Works
    perfectly now. Thank you so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynn,
      Thanks for coming.
      I'm so happy to know that this post has helped you :)

      Delete
  9. Every since the update I haven't been able to shares music via Bluetooth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lakita May,
      Thanks for coming.
      If you can't find the option to share music via Bluetooth in Music Player app, you can share your music files via Bluetooth through My Files app. Navigate to the folder where you saved your music files then select the desired music files you wish to share. Tap the Share button then select Bluetooth and then follow the on-screen instructions.

      Delete
  10. Thank you, never thought this can be caused by some app that seemed completely unrelated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi David Mugalashvili,
      Thanks for coming.
      When you disable a stock app, it may causes errors in other apps because some of them are linked.

      Delete
  11. Do you know how to fix the problem of my gallery freezing? Every time I open gallery I can go threw s few pics then it freezes I've tried to clear catche and stop it's just. Not working. Camera freeze also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angela Wade,
      Thanks for coming.
      #1 Camera app freezing
      Did you set the default storage in the camera app to the SD card? If so, turn off your phone then remove your SD card, turn on the phone without SD card(it'll make the camera app automatically use phone memory as the default storage) then try to take a picture using the camera app then see whether it helps.

      #2 Gallery app freezing
      This problem can caused by several things:
      - There's may be a corrupted image so the Gallery app will freeze every time you open it. To fix it, try to download Quickpic app from the Play Store then see whether there are a corrupted picture (it's usually displayed with the gray box with no picture) and then delete them. Now, try to open the stock Gallery app.
      - Your SD card may be corrupted or may be contain with a corrupted picture. To fix it, you can try to remove SD card from your phone or formatting your SD card(it'll erase all data in the SD card) or try to find corrupted image with Quickpic app. Once done, try to open the stock Gallery.
      - If you sync the Gallery app with another app (Picasa, Google+, Facebook, etc) try to turn off sync.

      Finally, let me know if one of them works on you :)

      Delete
  12. When I try to view my hidden pictures in my gallery it crashes and says gallery has stopped working. I have cleared the cache on it and still got nothing. Is there a way to fix this crash?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kevin Lee,
      Thanks for coming.
      Did you make any change before encountering this problem (e.g: install any apps, change settings, update OS)?
      However, try to take a look whether there's a gallery-related app that has been disabled. You can do so by going to Settings> tap "More" tab> tap "Applications manager"> swipe the screen to the right until you see "Turned off" or "Disabled" tab and then see if there's a gallery-related app that is disabled. If any, tap the app then tap "Turned on" or "Enabled" button. Once done, try to view hidden pictures.
      Other way, if you attach a SD card, try to remove it then try to view hidden pictures in Gallery app. In some cases, a corrupted SD card can cause the Gallery app crashes.

      Delete
    2. I am having the same problems with my note 3! :( I don't know why my Note 3 wont let me show hidden items or hide any items as well. Everytime I press show hidden items, my galary crashes and says "Gallery has stopped". Help! :(

      Delete
    3. I also tried to remove the SD card and try to open hidden items but still the my gallery crashes. I am using the 4.4.2 version.

      Delete
    4. Hi Stephspeaks,
      Thanks for coming.
      1. Try to install QuickPic app from the Play Store and then take a look whether you have a corrupted image on your phone. The corrupted image is usually displayed with a gray box or incomplete image. If any, delete the corrupted image and then try using Gallery app.
      2. If you don't have any corrupted image, then try to reset app preferences by using the following steps:
      - Go to Settings.
      - Tap "General" tab
      - Tap "Application manager".
      - In the Downloaded tab, tap the Menu key and then select "Reset app preferences".
      - Once done, restart the phone and then try using Gallery app again.

      Delete
  13. my galary does not work even i factory reset the phone really do not know what else i can do cause even when i m massaging someone the phone will say your galary has stopped.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Simai Wang,
      Thanks for coming.
      Have you tried all solutions mentioned here?
      - Clear cache, clear data and force stop the app (with or without restart the phone)
      - Reset app preferences
      - Check whether there's a Gallery-related app has been disabled
      - Check whether there's a corrupted image
      - Check whether your SD card is corrupted
      - Check whether your internal storage has not enough free space to make your phone works well

      Delete
  14. Hi. I am using samsung galaxy grand. Few days back my sofware updated automatically. Its working fine but theres one problem. Totally unable to find its solution on google so far!
    My camera is working alright but when I try to share the new pics on whatsapp or viber, I am unale to do so. It says sharing failed, please try again and instead of the pic, there is a sign for unsupported/corrupted file. Similarly when I try to take pics via viber or whatsapp, the camera clicks but the pixture is not stored. Means not taken even. Dont know what to do. And yes, my old pics are all ok. I can share them on whatspp too. But new pics .. nooo.
    please help me how to fix this issue. Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ammara,
      Thanks for coming.
      I don't know much about Samsung Galaxy Grand, but I believe that there some similarities between Samsung Galaxy phones. So, I'll try to help you. First let me know, do you able to share a picture via Gallery app? If you don't, try to follow the steps I've mentioned in the post above. If you have no problem to share picture via Gallery, then try the following options:
      1. Try to install QuickPic app from the Play Store and then use this app to see whether there's a corrupted picture(it's usually displayed with gray box or incomplete picture). If any, delete the picture.
      2. If the #1 didn't help, backup your data first and then clear cache and data of your WhatsApp app from the application manager.
      3. The last, uninstall and then reinstall WhatsApp app.
      Hope it helps :)

      Delete
  15. but paper artist is running on my mobile .. what the solution please ??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shosho Gomha,
      Thanks for coming.
      If you don't mind, please give me your answers for the following questions:
      - Did the Gallery app crash when you opened this app or when you hit the Share button?
      - Did you receive any error message or notification associated with your problem?
      - Have you tried installing QuickPic app to take a look whether there's a corrupted images in your Gallery app?
      - Have you tried removing your SD card from your phone (just to make sure that your SD card is not corrupted)?

      Delete
    2. I installed quickpick, i removed the sd card, i checked the paper artist... My gallery shows for a second, then goes back... No crash info or anything, simply turns off...

      Delete
    3. Hi Anna Habela,
      Thanks for coming.
      Did you remember what have you done before this problem occurred?
      However, after installed QuickPic app, did you use this app to investigate whether your Gallery app contained with a corrupted picture(incomplete picture/picture with grey box)? If any, delete the picture. If you didn't find any corrupted picture, then do the following actions:
      1. Make sure your phone has free space enough to make it works well. You can check your storage by going to Settings> tap "More" tab> tap "Storage"> under "Available space", make sure you have at least 350MB or more.
      2. Try resetting app preferences
      You can do this by going to Settings> tap "More" tab> tap "Application manager"> under the Downloaded tap, tap the Menu key and then select "Reset app preferences". Once done, restart the phone and then try opening Gallery app.

      Delete
  16. The same thing happened to me. I fixed hard resetting with wipe-all option on recovery. I think that there´s a problem with the gallery thumbnail file. Without the wipe all option, the system creates a new thumbnail file every time you open the gallery or take some shots with your camera. I saw this when I rooted my phone and found some .thumbs files.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Buddy,
      Thanks for coming and share you thought here.
      Did you mean wipe cache partition in the recovery mode?

      Delete
  17. I should've looked here first! After about a half dozen email exchanges with Samsung tech support and 4011 detailed instructions from them to perform without any resolution, I finally googled it and found your fix. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Buddy,
      Thanks for coming.
      Glad to know that this post has helped you to solve your problem :)

      Delete
  18. I have all my pics/videos stored on my sd card. I somehow hid them. I can't retrieve them now and it shows that the memory has been used. I've unmounted the sd card and removed it. I also had to do a factory reset to my phone. I've remounted the card but still can't get anything from it. I've even went as far as using an sd card reader and hooked it up to my tv. It shows 1 picture and then folders with two dots like this ..
    What do I do? Help please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ladysteuber,
      Thanks for coming.
      Before answering your questions, please answer the following questions:
      - Your phone model and Android version.
      - The method you have used to hide the picture (adding "." in front of the file name/ using any third-party apps/ etc).

      Delete
  19. I have the same problem. Gallery freezes whenever i try to move a pic from one gallery folder to another. I checked paper artist and it was active. I cleared gallery's cash and now some of the folders have dissappeared completely. do you know how i can retrieve them? Do you know how i can solve the problem of freezing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nikos Alexiou,
      Thanks for coming.
      1. Gallery Freezes
      If there's no Gallery-related apps that are disabled, corrupted image is the next thing that can make Gallery app freezes. Therefore, try installing Quickpic app from the Play store and then try finding corrupted image (it is usually displayed with gray box or incomplete image). If any, delete the corrupted image and then try moving a picture to another folder and then see whether it helps.
      2. Find disappeared album
      Clearing gallery app cache (and data) should not be able to delete/hide any picture or album saved on your phone from Gallery app except those syncronized from other sources, e.g: Facebook, Picasa, etc. However, since you didn't mention your Android version, I can't tell you other possibilities.
      FYI, in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, Gallery app has an option named "hide items" that can be used to hide pictures from the Gallery app. If you hide pictures using this option and then can't find them using "Show hidden items" then you can try to find the hidden pictures in the /storage/emulated/0/.hide/island/ in the My Files app (you have to enable Show hidden files in My Files app settings to be able to find this folder).

      Delete
  20. Why does face book crash, most every time, I click on a comment? Galaxy tab 3.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vicki Wisehart,
      Thanks for coming.
      Do the following actions to fix your issue:
      1. Make sure you're using the latest version of the Facebook app.
      2. Try performing clear cache (and clear data if clear cache didn't do the trick) of the Facebook app through the application manager.
      3. Try investigating whether there's a Facebook-related app that has been disabled. If any, re-enable the app.

      Delete
  21. My Gallery crashes when I try to delete a picture. I tried deleting my cache and enabling Paper Artist but still to no avail. My phone do not have a SD card.

    May I know what should I do? I do not Want to factory Reset it Yet.
    Samsung S3, Android 4.3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Zi Fung ♥,
      Thanks for coming.
      Try the following actions to fix your problem:
      1. Try installing Quickpic app from Play Store and use this app to investigate whether there's a corrupt image on your phone. If any, delete the image.

      2. Try performing reset app preference(it'll repopulate all apps and re-enable all disabled apps) by using the following steps:
      - Go to Settings.
      - Tap "More" tab.
      - Tap "Application manager".
      - In the Downloaded tab, tap the Menu key and then select "Reset app preferences".
      - If needed, you can restart your phone.

      Delete
    2. Hi. Thanks for the reply. I tried resetting but it still did not work. When I take a photo, I can't delete it using Gallery. If I try, the Gallery will crash. But I can delete it with QuickPic. Any recommendations?

      Delete
    3. Hi Zi Fung ♥,
      Thanks for coming back here.
      Given your explanation, I think there are two possibilities on your issue:
      1. There are another corrupted images.
      Try re-investigating whether there are another corrupted images on your phone using QuickPic app. If any, delete them. Or, you can move all of your photos to the PC and then performing clear cache and data for the Gallery app.

      2. Your SD card (if available) may be corrupted.
      If you have set SD card as the default storage in the Camera app while it's corrupted, it can trigger a problem for the Camera app as well as the Gallery app. Thus, try removing your SD card and then try using Gallery app. See whether it helps :)

      Delete
    4. Thanks for the fast response. I did as told but it still did not solve problem. In the end, I factory reset my phone. It was okay till a few hours ago before the problem appeared again.
      I did download an camera app after factory reset. Is it possible that the app is causing the problem? If so, how do I ensure that I can use both the app and Gallery?

      Delete
    5. Hi Zi Fung ♥
      Glad to see you again :)
      In some cases, third-party app can trigger a problem thus if an issue appears after installing third-party app then uninstall the app to fix the problem. For your case, try uninstalling that third-party Camera app. If the problem doesn't appear again then it may be the culprit of your problem.

      Delete
  22. Sir,my phone samsung galaxy grand 2 wid android 4.4.2, crashes everytime i view gallery app.done erasing cache and rebooted.still it freezes.i dont know what apps are associated with gallery app in the app manager.pls help.thank u.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Zephyrmd,
      Thanks for coming.
      There are several possibilities that can cause Gallery app crashes:
      1. Your internal storage has not enough free space.
      Make sure your phone has free space enough so that your phone can work well. Transferring your files to the PC or other storage periodically will help you on this.

      2. There's a corrupted image in your phone (both in internal storage or SD card).
      Try installing QuickPic app from the Play Store and then use this app to find the corrupted image. If any, delete the image.

      3. Your SD card may be corrupted.
      You can either remove the SD card from your phone or format your SD card(it'll erase all of your files in SD card).

      4. There's a Gallery-related app that has been disabled.
      Try performing reset app preferences from the application manager. It'll re-enable all disabled app so that if your Gallery crashes because a disabled app(but don't know what the app name is) then it'll help you to fix this problem.

      Delete
  23. Galaxy s4 version 4.4.2

    Hello,

    I went to open my show hidden items in gallery and there should be about 50 pics and some videos in there and instead it has one video and one pic both with the corrupt logo. Any ideas?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Adam Green,
      Thanks for coming.
      First, I'm so sorry if I'm little bit misunderstand with your question. So, please correct me If I'm wrong. Given your question, I conclude that there are two things that you may wanted to ask to:
      1. You have hidden 50 pics and some videos using the hide items option in Gallery app, but when you wanted to unhide them, they were missing.
      If it's your issue, you can find those pics and videos in the .hide folder in the internal storage. FYI, some hidden pics are randomly moved to that folder thus you should be able to find your hidden pics that are missing in that folder. Feel free to read our post to know the complete steps to retrieve your hidden pics that are missing here: http://inside-galaxy.blogspot.com/2014/05/samsung-galaxy-s4-how-to-fix-cant-find_30.html

      2. You have some corrupt pics or videos and want to repair them.
      If it's your issue, I can't suggest you any app that can be used to repair those corrupt pics or videos. Try looking at the Play Store to find the app that has the ability to repair corrupt pics. Or, you can move those pics to your PC and repair them using an app in your PC. But, it's important for you to move/delete those corrupt pics from your phone since they can trigger problems (e.g: Gallery app crashes, Gallery app won't open, etc) and make your phone not work properly.

      Delete
    2. Rehan,

      Thanks. For the reply. Inside my .hide folder there is no island folder. The .hide folder is empty.

      Delete
  24. Hi Cheryl Boger,
    Thanks for coming.
    There are some possibilities that can cause this problem:
    1. The internal storage has not enough free space.
    Move the files to the PC or other storage periodically will help you to make sure that the phone has enough free space.

    2. There's a corrupted image in your phone, either in the internal storage or SD card.
    You can install QuickPic app to find the corrupted image. If you find any corrupted image, delete it.

    3. The SD card is corrupted.
    You can try removing the SD card from your phone to know if the SD card has a problem or not.

    4. There's a Gallery-related app that is disabled.
    You can either re-enable that disabled app(if any) or perform reset app preferences from the app manager so that all disabled apps will be enabled.

    Other tips that may help you:
    1. Restart the phone.
    2. Do clear cache (and clear data if needed) for Gallery app.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am using Samsung S3 version 4.3
    recently my phone gallery started to crash whenever I tried to delete photo. Though it crashed, the photo still got deleted when I checked.
    Then I factory resetted my phone.
    And tried deleting photo again but still it crashed. And then I tried the methods you told but still it's not helping. What am I to do now :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sp Romeo,
      Thanks for coming.
      Well, if you have tried all suggestions within the comment section but had no luck, you can try moving all of your photos from your phone to PC and then remove SD card(if any) from your phone. Once done, restart your phone and then take some photos. Now, try deleting a photo in your Gallery to see whether the issue is still persist or not.

      Delete
  26. God bless you! It worked like a charm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Suki,
      Thanks for coming.
      I'm happy to know that this post has worked on you :)

      Delete

Hi the insiders,
Thanks for coming and I hope you can get something useful here.
Before submitting your comment to ask about an issue, please make sure to provide information as much as possible (at least write your model number and Android version) and describe the problem clearly.
Also, since all comments will be moderated, all comments with irrelevant links(if any) or contain with offensive/harsh word will be deleted.
The last, if you have a question and can't find the relevant article, please feel free to reach me through the Contact us page. I'll be more than happy to reply the email and answer the question :)