Gboard’s latest update is breaking the app for Android users

A number of users are facing serious issues with Gboard, Google's popular keyboard application. In some cases, users are getting locked out of their smartphones as they're unable to trigger the keyboard app to enter the password. For some, the application keeps crashing.

According to reports, Gboard users started to face problems when the app was updated on December 17. "Screen has a message that says unfortunately Gboard has stopped and also keyboard is unoperable," wrote a user on Google's forum.

"Some context, my phone is a Lenovo VIBE K4 NOTE and has the Android OS. Last night my Gboard crashed while I was asleep, when I open my phone today to imput my password, the keyboard wouldn't show. I've tried restarting my device multiple times to no avail. Please help, I'm this close to going out to buy a connector for my keyboard," wrote another user on Reddit.

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The bug seems to have affected users around the world. Motorola UK confirmed the issue in the Gboard app. "This issue was caused by an update on Gboard, which belongs to Google. If one cannot access their device because Gboard won't come up, then the only way to bypass the Screen Lock is by performing an external reset, unfortunately," said the company in a tweet.

The crashing issue can be fixed by simply resetting data and cache of the application. In order to do so, users need to open Settings on their phones. Then go to Apps > Gboard > Clear Data and Cache. The fix, however, works only for those are able to launch the app in the first place.

While acknowledging the bug in the app, Google said a fix has already been rolled out for Android users.

"We're aware of a bug in a recent update to Gboard users on Android 7.1 and below that caused the keyboard to crash for some users. A fix for this issue (8.9.14) has been rolled out; for most people, the app will update automatically which will resolve the problem. For some users, it may require a reset of their device for the update to take effect," said a Google employee on the company's forum.