HTC Desire Tips, Tricks and Tweaks
FIX: “The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly”
The Problem
Someone reported the other day that their phone was coming up with an error saying:
Sorry!
The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly. Please Try Again.
The only option available was Force Close, and soon as that was pressed the message would appear again.
The Cause
In this particular instance the problem was caused by the user deleting some old homescreens. However, it can be caused by any other action related to HTC Sense. If the HTC Launcher app detects problems it becomes stuck in this loop and makes your phone unusable by constantly springing up that error message.
The Solution
NOTE: by doing this you will lose all your custom homescreens and will have to customise them again.
These are the instructions I provided which seemed to solve the problem:
- Press the Search button on your phone
- Type in Settings and select it from the results
- Select Applications > Manage Applications > HTC Sense > Clear Data
- Press the Home button
- You should now see the default wallpaper and widgets
- Try adding a widget. Either:
- Press the +icon in the bottom-right > Widget
- Press Menu > Add to Home > Widget
- Long-press an empty space on your homescreen > Widget
- If you find that the HTC widgets are missing from the Add Widgets list go to Settings and repeat steps 3 and 4
Final Word
This fix applies to problems caused by performing an action related to HTC Sense. In some cases it can be caused by incompatible applications, in which case the general solution would be to go to Settings using the method described above, then Applications > Manage Applications > Select the app you think is causing the problem and uninstall it.
In the worst case scenario, you would need to backup all your data and applications (MyBackupPro is great for this) and then perform a factory reset of your phone.
Suggestions
This was the fix I suggested and it worked well for the user. If anyone has experienced this problem and found an alternate solution please feel free to post in the comments or email me and I’ll get it added into this post. Thanks!
This entry was posted by MrBrightside on June 3, 2010 at 12:59 pm, and is filed under Tutorials. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
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#2 written by oAlexandros 2 years ago
Got the phone yesterday. Today it asked me to update, after the update i get the “The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly” but I nothing happens if I press the search button. The only button that has an effect is the turn off button. I had only installed 2 apps, so it was pretty vanilla…
I think the update was
Firmware: 2.1-update1
Software: 1.21.405.2Thanks,
AlexLike or Dislike:
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THANK YOU! This worked on the HTC EVO. I believe it was a problem with an uninstalled app being on one of my custom screens. That is a HUGE issue with the EVO – if you create custom screens you have to go back and make sure all the screens match, then re-save them. Who does that? Well, if you don’t…welcome to losing all your custom screens! Argghhhh, but glad I have my phone back.
Like or Dislike:
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Hi,
I travelled from Edinburgh to Amsterdam yesterday and my phone came up with the message noted on your listing. I was here 4 weeks ago and again 2 weeks ago and it worked fine on both occasions and roaming was OK, so it wasn’t the network connection.
Being abroad and losing all my calendars and contacts was distressing to say the least. I was effectively incommunicado. It was like my right arm was missing.
I followed the instructions you posted and it was difficult trying to type in the word settings as the warning kept resurfacing, so it took a while typing just one digit at a time. Apart from that, you saved my life. Thank you very much for listing your solution. Problem solved now and I retained all my contacts and calendar notes.
If you know of a mp3 plyer that’s better than the default one that comes with the HTC desire, then email me please.
Thank you very much for your help, it’s greatly appreciated. Time to visit a coffeeshop now !?!?
Cheers, Mario
Like or Dislike:
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Happened on my desire after uninstalling Camera360Pro while I still had some shortcuts on my home screen (ie quick links to camera shooting modes).
Search Button > Market > Camera360Pro > Reinstall
did the trick in my case, though clearing the HTC Sense data would have worked too (resets the widget layout I guess?)Like or Dislike:
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I also felt I was getting nowhere, even in safe mode. I then found I had to hold down the search button but keep pressing the force close button (several times) until finally the box appeared allowing me to type in “settings”. I could only type a couple of letters at a time as the force close message kept reappearing. However, once you are in settings itself, there should be no more messages. So hopefully if you persevere it will work out in the end. The fix worked great. Thanks for the solution.
Like or Dislike:
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#28 written by Mr_mac 2 years ago
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Step 1 wouldn’t work for me and neither did the Safe Mode but found from another site that if you havn’t already, install the APK of LauncherPro(APK if you don’t have access to the marketplace)
Then when it asks you whether you want to launch the phone in HTC Sense or LauncherPro choose LauncherPro and then attempt to Clear Data for HTC Sense.
Like or Dislike:
0 0 -
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#2 written by oAlexandros 2 years ago
Got the phone yesterday. Today it asked me to update, after the update i get the “The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly” but I nothing happens if I press the search button. The only button that has an effect is the turn off button. I had only installed 2 apps, so it was pretty vanilla…
I think the update was
Firmware: 2.1-update1
Software: 1.21.405.2Thanks,
AlexLike or Dislike:
0 0 -
THANK YOU! This worked on the HTC EVO. I believe it was a problem with an uninstalled app being on one of my custom screens. That is a HUGE issue with the EVO – if you create custom screens you have to go back and make sure all the screens match, then re-save them. Who does that? Well, if you don’t…welcome to losing all your custom screens! Argghhhh, but glad I have my phone back.
Like or Dislike:
0 0 -
Hi,
I travelled from Edinburgh to Amsterdam yesterday and my phone came up with the message noted on your listing. I was here 4 weeks ago and again 2 weeks ago and it worked fine on both occasions and roaming was OK, so it wasn’t the network connection.
Being abroad and losing all my calendars and contacts was distressing to say the least. I was effectively incommunicado. It was like my right arm was missing.
I followed the instructions you posted and it was difficult trying to type in the word settings as the warning kept resurfacing, so it took a while typing just one digit at a time. Apart from that, you saved my life. Thank you very much for listing your solution. Problem solved now and I retained all my contacts and calendar notes.
If you know of a mp3 plyer that’s better than the default one that comes with the HTC desire, then email me please.
Thank you very much for your help, it’s greatly appreciated. Time to visit a coffeeshop now !?!?
Cheers, Mario
Like or Dislike:
0 0 -
Happened on my desire after uninstalling Camera360Pro while I still had some shortcuts on my home screen (ie quick links to camera shooting modes).
Search Button > Market > Camera360Pro > Reinstall
did the trick in my case, though clearing the HTC Sense data would have worked too (resets the widget layout I guess?)Like or Dislike:
0 0 -
I also felt I was getting nowhere, even in safe mode. I then found I had to hold down the search button but keep pressing the force close button (several times) until finally the box appeared allowing me to type in “settings”. I could only type a couple of letters at a time as the force close message kept reappearing. However, once you are in settings itself, there should be no more messages. So hopefully if you persevere it will work out in the end. The fix worked great. Thanks for the solution.
Like or Dislike:
0 0 -
#28 written by Mr_mac 2 years ago
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-
Step 1 wouldn’t work for me and neither did the Safe Mode but found from another site that if you havn’t already, install the APK of LauncherPro(APK if you don’t have access to the marketplace)
Then when it asks you whether you want to launch the phone in HTC Sense or LauncherPro choose LauncherPro and then attempt to Clear Data for HTC Sense.
Like or Dislike:
0 0
Thanks a lot for this solution! Words like ‘brick’ and ‘throw out window’ came to mind but this fixes everything. You earned your kudos for today!
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