WhatsApp Desktop app crashes or freezes on Windows PC

If the WhatsApp Desktop app keeps crashing or freezing on your Windows 11/10 PC, this guide will show you how you can fix the issues. Many users prefer to use WhatsApp service desktop client on their Windows PC. It keeps you up to date with recent important messages while you continue working on the desktop. Although it works well most of the time, some users have reported encountering crashes or freezes with WhatsApp’s desktop app. For some users it crashes on startup, while others crash after launching the app. A few users encountered the issue while uploading or downloading a file. This problem is known to exist on different versions of Windows.

Now, if you are one of those who are facing the same problem with WhatsApp then this guide will help you to fix the problem. Here we are going to mention several fixes to fix WhatsApp crashing issues on Windows PC. Let us check.

Why WhatsApp keeps crashing on PC?

Here are some of the possible causes for WhatsApp keeps crashing on PC:

• The problem can be triggered due to an outdated operating system which is not compatible with newer software and applications. In this case, you can try updating Windows to the latest version to fix the problem.
• Along with an outdated operating system, using an outdated version of the WhatsApp desktop client can be another reason for the same problem. So make sure you have an up-to-date WhatsApp client.
• Corrupted or faulty WhatsApp updates can also cause WhatsApp to crash on desktop. You can relaunch the update executable to properly apply the updates and resolve the issue.
• The crashing issue can also be caused by a corrupt or damaged installation of the app. Try reinstalling the app to fix the problem.

Depending on the scenario that applies to you, you can apply an appropriate fix from those mentioned below.

WhatsApp Desktop app crashes or freezes on Windows PC

Here are the methods you can try if WhatsApp desktop app keeps crashing on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC:

1. Install all pending Windows updates.
2. Update your WhatsApp desktop app.
3. Disable WhatsApp notifications.
4. Run the WhatsApp Update.exe file again.
5. Rename the WhatsApp Update.exe file.
6. Use the old WhatsApp installation folder.
7. Reinstall the WhatsApp desktop client.

1]Install all pending Windows updates

First, make sure you have updated your operating system to the latest version. If WhatsApp desktop client keeps crashing randomly on your PC, it might be caused by an outdated operating system. So, if you have not checked or updated your system to the latest version, consider installing all pending Windows updates and see if the error is fixed.

For this, you can simply open the Settings app by pressing the Windows + I keyboard shortcut. Then go to the Windows Update section and click on the Check for updates button. After that, download and install all available updates. Windows will restart and on next boot try to launch WhatsApp desktop client and see if it still crashes or not.

2]Update your WhatsApp desktop app

If you are using an older version of WhatsApp’s desktop client, chances are it has become incompatible with your operating system and the app is crashing. So if you haven’t updated the app for a long time, go ahead and update it.

If you are using the Microsoft Store version, you can follow the steps below to update the WhatsApp desktop client:

1. First, open the Microsoft Store app.
2. Now go to the Library section.
3. Next, click Get Updates button to check and install updates for installed apps.

If that doesn’t work, you can try downloading the EXE version of WhatsApp desktop client from whatsapp.com. Then run the installer and complete the installation process by following the on-screen guide. See if the EXE version works for you or not.

Read: WhatsApp does not show notifications on Windows.

3]Disable WhatsApp notifications

Crashes may occur due to WhatsApp Sound and Notifications API not being compatible with your operating system due to a software issue. If the scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the problem by disabling sound and notifications in WhatsApp. It’s kind of a workaround and it might work for you. Here are the steps to follow:

1. First, try to start the WhatsApp Desktop client and once you are successful, tap on the three-dot menu button present at the top right corner.
2. Now click on Settings option and then go to Notifications.
3. Next, uncheck all notifications including sound, desktop alerts, incoming call alerts, etc.
4. After that, relaunch the app and see if it has stopped crashing.

4]Run the Update.exe file of WhatsApp again

The desktop version of the WhatsApp application may crash if a WhatsApp update failed or was not applied correctly. If the scenario applies, you can try running WhatsApp’s Update.exe file again and it might fix the bug fix crashing issues. Here’s how:

1. First, open Task Manager and make sure all processes related to WhatsApp desktop client are closed.
2. Now press Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box and enter the path below:

   %localappdata%WhatsApp

3. Next, right-click on the update file (executable) and select Run as administrator option to run it.
4. After that, let the update process complete and when done, restart your PC.
5. On the next boot, start the WhatsApp desktop application and see if it works without crashing.

See: How to know if you are blocked on WhatsApp?

5]Rename the WhatsApp Update.exe file

If method (4) does not work, it is possible that the WhatsApp update file is corrupted. It can also lead to crashing issues. So, you can try renaming the file in question and see if that fixes the problem. New files will be automatically fetched from servers when updating the app. Here’s how:

1. First, make sure that all processes related to the WhatsApp desktop app are disabled from Task Manager.
2. Now open Run using Win+R key then type and enter the following path:

   %localappdata%WhatsApp

3. Then rename the Update.exe file to oldupdate.exe or something else.
4. After that restart your system and launch WhatsApp to see if the issue is resolved.

Read: How to send WhatsApp messages without saving numbers via PC?

6]Use the old WhatsApp installation folder

The WhatsApp client may start to crash if new updates are not applicable to the previous installation and some files are missing from its installation directory. If the scenario applies, what you can do to fix the problem is to copy the old installation files to the new update directory. Here are the steps to follow:

1. First, navigate to the following address in File Explorer.

   %localappdata%WhatsApp

2. Next, you need to open the most recent folder in the above directory and then right-click on the WhatsApp file.
3. Now select Run as administrator option and check if it works fine. If it works well, you can create a shortcut for the new WhatsApp client from the above directory.

If the above method does not work, you can try to start the WhatsApp client from the old folder in AppData. Here are the steps to follow:

1. First, kill all tasks and processes related to WhatsApp.
2. Now navigate to the directory below in File Explorer:

   %localappdata%WhatsApp

3. Then there will be two folders with the app in the version name like app-2.2142.12.0 and app-2.2144.11. Open the old folder and copy all its files using Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C.
4. After that, open the most recent folder and paste all the files copied earlier.
5. Now don’t overwrite the files and paste the files which are not present in the destination folder.
6. Once done, restart your PC and run the WhatsApp client and see if the issue is now resolved.

Read: Best WhatsApp Web tips and tricks that you can use.

7]Reinstall WhatsApp desktop client

The last resort to fix the problem is to reinstall the desktop client of WhatsApp, as you might be facing the corrupt installation of the app itself. You can try uninstalling and then reinstalling WhatsApp desktop software. To uninstall WhatsApp’s desktop client, open Settings and go to Apps > Apps & features. Locate WhatsApp, then uninstall it. While uninstalling, download the WhatsApp installer and reinstall it on your system. Hopefully the app won’t crash anymore.

Read: WhatsApp desktop app not working or connecting.

How do I update my WhatsApp desktop on Windows 11/10?

You can easily update WhatsApp desktop client on Windows 11/10 depending on the version you are using. If you are using the Microsoft Store version, you can update the app by opening the Microsoft Store app. If you have used the installer version from the web, you can use a software updater or directly download the latest version from the official website and install it on your system. We have discussed the steps in detail above, so proceed to checkout.

Now read: WhatsApp Web does not work on PC.