Why does my phone say unfortunately the process android process Acore has stopped?

One of the most common errors encountered on Android devices reads the following, "Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped". This error mostly occurs when you try to access the contact or dialer app on your phone.

You can make the pop-up disappear, but it will keep coming back. It's a frustrating error that can cause your phone to crash. If you happen to be stuck with this error, we have come up with various solutions to get rid of it.

What Causes the Error?

This error is common and has multiple causes. The main cause tends to be having a corrupt file in your contacts' cached data. Files can be corrupted due to various reasons, such as an error occurring during an operating system or firmware upgrade.

Other causes can be your syncing process being abruptly stopped, not having enough storage space, system crashes, or a malicious virus attack.

Most of these issues are unpredictable and unavoidable but it is important to keep them in mind. Before attempting any of the solutions below, please remember to take a backup of your information. A backup will ensure your important data is not in any harm.

1. Update Your Apps

It's important to check the Play Store for any new updates, especially for the Contacts, Phone, and other system apps on your device. Having the latest version of the apps helps ensure that any bugs present would be fixed. It helps clear any circumstances relating to having an incompatible version or glitches.

Once you have installed the latest versions of all the apps, restart your phone and check to see if the error is gone.

Clearing the cache and storage on your contact apps helps remove any corrupt files that may be causing the error. By clearing data for the Contacts, Contacts storage, and Google Contacts sync, your apps will be reset, eliminating any associated bugs or cache data issues.

Your Contacts app's cache contains files that help it work more efficiently. Cache files are created for ease of use and a better user experience in terms of speed. By clearing the cache, your data is not in danger, but the app may operate more slowly for a while.

Clearing storage on the other hand will remove all your files, although re-syncing with your Google account will bring them back. Or restore your backup if not.

Here's how to clear storage and cache for the Contacts app:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Apps & notifications > See all X apps.
3. Select Contacts.
4. Tap Force Stop to kill the application.
5. Select Storage & cache.
6. Tap Clear cache.
7. Tap Clear storage.

After clearing your Contacts app's cache and storage, the next step is to perform the same steps for two more apps, Contacts storage and Google Contacts sync. If you cannot find the Contacts storage, tap the three-dot menu on the App info screen and select Show system.

Facebook is also notorious for causing this error during its syncs so it is a good idea to turn off contacts sync on Facebook and Facebook Messenger.

3. Reset App Preferences

Resetting your app preferences will restore all apps to their default settings and auto-enable any disabled apps.

Disabling an important system app can cause some features to break on your phone, resulting in the "android.process.acore has stopped" pop-up occurring. You may not even be aware of accidentally disabling an app, so it's a good idea to reset your app preferences as a safety measure.

Here's how to reset your app preferences:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Apps & notifications > See all X apps.
3. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
4. Select Reset app preferences.
5. Tap Reset apps to confirm.

4. Remove and Re-Add Your Google Account

If there are any conflicting errors between your Google account and Contacts, this can be a cause for the error. To clear up any issues, a quick solution is to remove and add your Google account again.

By removing and then re-adding your Google account, the fresh start might erase any glitches present and fetch any new software updates that might have been missed.

Here's how to remove your Google account:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Accounts.
3. Select your Google Account.
4. Select Remove account.
5. Tap Remove account once more to confirm.

To re-add your Google account, select Add account from the bottom and then select Google. Enter your credentials and you have your Google account back. If you had synced any data, the app will now re-sync all of it which may take a while.

5. Clear System Cache Partition

Wiping your phone’s cache partition can help resolve issues any issues on your phone. Any random glitches or errors that have gone undetected by your phone can be resolved by performing a cache wipe. This will delete any temporary or corrupted data on the phone but will not remove any of your data. It is still recommended to keep a backup of your data.

Here's how to perform a cache partition wipe:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press and hold Volume down + Power button or Volume up + Power button + Home button all together.
3. System Recovery mode will be seen on the screen.
4. Use the volume up and down key to navigate.
5. Select Wipe cache partition and then click the power button to confirm.

If you want to know more about the cache partition, check out our in-depth guide.

6. Factory Reset

If no other solution works, the last bet to fix the “Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped” error on Android is to perform a factory reset. This will erase all data and reset your device to a blank slate with factory default settings.

If you made a backup, then you don't have anything to fear as your phone will sync all its data and re-install all your app for you after performing a factory reset. If you haven't made one yet, it's advised to do so before performing this step.

To perform a factory reset:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select System.
3. Select Advanced > Reset options.
4. Select Erase all data (factory reset) and confirm your passcode.

Resolving Android Errors on Your Phone

Fixing errors can seem difficult if you don't know what you are doing. You may panic if you see an error for the first time, but the important thing to remember is that there is always a solution to any problem. Sitting down and calmly analyzing what went wrong is half the work when resolving errors.