14 DAY TRIAL // If your iPhone (or iPod touch) apps have been quitting on you lately while you were still using them, you should be happy to know that there is nothing wrong with your device. The problem appears because, while you are using the app, the device starts to run low on application memory.
What does this mean? First of all, this is not related to the lack of space on your device. The issue will appear only when your iPhone or iPod touch will be running too many tasks at a time and it has been addressed by your device’s manufacturer on this support page.
The Problems
What kind of problems might occur when your iPhone/iPod touch gets into this type of troubles? Well, according to Apple, your Safari browser will sometimes close unexpectedly when you are surfing the web and have a lot of web pages opened. After it will close, the device will go directly to your Home screen and you will remain baffled by why this has happened.
Your iPhone might also get spooked and return you to its Home screen and show you all the app icons, while you are listening to music or watching a video. It just happens and you will find out really soon what you can do about it.
Also, you might see your iPhone/iPod stopping the music/video abruptly whenever you will be using Maps or Safari at the same time. And, of course, there is always the occasional app purchased from the App Store that will just refuse to launch despite all the furious tapping on their icon on the Home screen.
The Solutions
Now that we have gone through all the horrific details of the apps going amok on your iPhone/iPod touch, let’s see what you can do to prevent these issues from ever happening again.
First of all, if you are experiencing any kind of problems with your device, you should seriously consider updating its software to the latest version made available by Apple through iTunes. This will not only allow you to have access to any features Apple has implemented in the new software version, but also to be always up-to-date with any software fixes issued in the meantime.
Secondly, if you have problems with Safari closing while you are happily surfing the web, you should be always trying to minimize the number of browsers/web pages you have open at any given time. Besides allowing you to keep the usage of app memory to the minimum, you will also know what websites you are surfing at any given moment and you will not have to hunt for the ones you don’t need anymore.
Thirdly, if your apps seem to have a mind of their own closing arbitrarily when you least expect them, you should try to turn your iPhone/iPod touch off and on using the Sleep/Wake button placed by Apple on top of your device. After turning it on again using the same button, reopen the apps you need and enjoy a device with more available app memory than ever before (certainly more than it had before turning it off and on again).
Fourthly, when you experience problems with the apps you have purchased from Apple’s App Store, you should make sure that you have the latest device software available from iTunes.
If you do have it and you still encounter problems with the app(s), then you should deauthorize and reauthorize your computer, Check for updates, Reinstall the application, or, if everything else fails, Report the issue to the app’s developer (these steps are detailed by Apple on the support page you can find here).
If you have encountered any other situation in which the apps on your iPhone and/or iPod touch went berserk and decided that the Home screen was the place for you to be, leave me a word in the comments. Also, if you have other tips on how to prevent the memory-hungry apps on everyone’s devices from going erratic without any warning, share your knowledge with us and the rest of the readers using the comments section below.