Work through Bumble's own list of fixes, quickest first. If messages will not send or the app will not load, check your connection and toggle Airplane Mode, update the app, force close it and open it again, log out and back in, and restart your phone. On Android you can also clear the app's cache. Bumble keeps a list of known bugs on the same help page, and if your problem is on it, the fault is on Bumble's side rather than your phone's.

Start with the connection

Bumble puts the internet connection first, and it is the right place to start. Bumble says a weak or unstable signal can cause trouble loading, sending messages, or updating your account.

Make sure you are on Wi-Fi or have a steady mobile signal. Toggle Airplane Mode on and off, which forces the phone to reconnect. If you can, try Bumble on a different Wi-Fi network or on mobile data. If it works on one and not the other, the connection is the likely culprit, not the app.

Update, then force close

Bumble says an out-of-date version of the app can cause glitches and crashes. Open the App Store or Google Play, search for Bumble, and tap Update if the button is there. Bumble adds that keeping the app up to date helps prevent most bugs, so turning on automatic updates saves you this step next time.

If the app is not responding, close it fully from your recent apps list and open it again. On Android you can also go to Settings, then Apps, then Bumble, and tap Force stop.

Reinstalling is on Bumble's list too. It is less drastic than it sounds. Bumble's page on deleting an account says that deleting the app from your phone does not delete your account, so reinstalling does not remove it.

The slower fixes

If the quick ones did nothing, move down the list.

Log out and back in. Tap your profile icon, open Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap Log out. Close the app completely, open it and log in again. Before you do this, make sure you can actually log back in: the phone number on the account still has to be yours, or you need a second login method set up.

Clear the cache, on Android only. Go to Settings, then Apps, then Bumble, then Storage, and tap Clear Cache. If that does not help, the same screen has Clear Data, and Bumble notes this will not delete your account.

Check permissions and storage. Bumble needs permission to use your location, camera, photos and notifications. A phone that is nearly out of storage can also make apps slow down or crash, so clear out apps and files you do not use.

Turn off battery saver, VPNs and ad blockers for a while. Bumble says these can interfere with how the app connects and runs in the background. Switch them off briefly and see if the problem goes away.

Restart the phone. Turn it off completely for about 30 seconds, then turn it back on.

Check the known bugs before anything drastic

Bumble's troubleshooting page opens with a short list of issues its team knows about and is working on. If yours is there, the real fix has to come from Bumble. The page still suggests trying the steps above in the meantime, in case they help, so run through them without expecting miracles.

If the app is showing you a specific error code, Bumble has a separate page that explains each one. A server error, for example, usually means a temporary problem on Bumble's end, and the advice is to wait a few minutes and try again.

What to send support

If you have tried everything and the app still misbehaves, contact Bumble through the Help Hub. Open your Profile, tap the question mark icon in the top right, scroll down and tap Start Chat.

Bumble says a few details help it sort things out faster. Send the exact problem, a screenshot if you can get one, your phone model and operating system, and what you were doing when it happened. Your Bumble User ID also helps. Open Settings, scroll to the bottom, double-tap the Bumble logo and copy the number that appears.

Look after your matches while it is down

An app that is broken for a day costs more than a day, because Bumble matches run on a clock. Bumble says a match expires if neither of you sends a message within 72 hours of matching.

So when the app comes back, do not start with the People tab. Open your chats first and go to the newest matches, the ones where nobody has written yet. Send each one a real opening message, something that picks up on a detail she wrote, rather than a line you paste to everyone.

Then resist the urge to make up for lost time. a dating coach's advice on the apps is that a steady half hour a day does far more than five hours crammed into one day. A rushed evening of swiping and copy-pasted openers is how a man turns a broken app into a wasted week.