In this guide

Open Apps
Tap the app
Tap Force stop
Tap OK
Check that it stopped
If you do not see this option
If this does not work
Good to know
Sources

Short answer

Open Settings, Apps and tap the app. On its App info page tap Force stop at the bottom, then OK. One UI 9 warns: If you force stop an app, it may cause errors.

Device: Android
Shown on: Samsung Galaxy A57 (SM-A576B), One UI 9, Android 17 (build A576BXXU6BZIE)
App: Settings
Path: Settings › Apps › App info › Force stop
Real screenshots: 5 of 5 steps
Checked: October 2026
Sources: 1 official, linked below

Step by step

Open Apps
Open Settings and tap Apps, below Device care.
Done
Tap the app
Apps is an A to Z list under letter headings. Tap the app; we used Chrome.
Done
Tap Force stop
App info opens; Open, Disable and Force stop are at the bottom. Tap Force stop.
Done
Tap OK
A box says Force stop: If you force stop an app, it may cause errors. Tap OK to stop it, or Cancel. We cancelled for Chrome, then tried it on the Clock app and tapped OK.
Done
Check that it stopped
Back on App info, Force stop is greyed out, while Open and Uninstall still work. Tap Open to start the app again.
Done

If you do not see this option

Can't find the app in Apps? The list runs A to Z under letter headings; scroll to the app's first letter.
Force stop greyed out? The app is not running, so there is nothing to stop. On ours Force stop turned grey right after we stopped Clock, while Open and Uninstall stayed available.

If this does not work

App still not working? Google says if problems continue after you force stop the app, you may need to contact its developer. Source: Fix an installed Android app that isn't working
App keeps crashing? More fixes: apps keep crashing on a Galaxy, or clear an app's cache.

About this guide

Force stop shuts an app down completely, which can help when it freezes or misbehaves. Google says you can usually force stop an app in your phone's Settings app.

The screenshots are from our Samsung Galaxy A57 with One UI 9 and Android 17 (build A576BXXU6BZIE), in Dark mode. We opened Force stop for Chrome and tapped Cancel, then force stopped the Clock app to see the result.