The problem

If you're a Windows user and experiencing any of the following, this article is for you:

• Multiple emails or apps are showing blank or partially blank screens
• Shift is fully blank
• Shift is not launching or continuously becomes unresponsive
• Shift is continuously crashing

Note: if Shift is not launching, it may be due to your antivirus software blocking 3rd-party applications. Try temporarily uninstalling your antivirus program, then re-launch Shift. More on this, here.

The solution

A manual app data reset is what is usually needed and almost always helps set things right. When you manually delete your Shift data, your added accounts, apps, and Workspaces will remain intact. Your saved password data will also remain intact (as long as you've never turned off the Backup & Sync setting). However, any opened web tabs will clear. A manual app data deletion almost always resolves unresponsiveness, crashing, and fully blank screens. Follow the step-by-step instructions below: 👇

Steps

1. Ensure Shift is fully closed and not running in your task manager (you can press Ctrl Q to fully quit Shift)
2. Press Ctrl Alt Delete on your keyboard and open your Task Manager
3. Select Details in the top menu and start typing Shift on your keyboard (just start typing)!
4. For any Shift.exe processes that are running, right-click and select End Task. Continue until there are no more Shift.exe processes in the list
5. Open Windows File Explorer and click on View and select the box next to Hidden items
6. Navigate to the following folder: C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Roaming (<your name> might be the name of your computer or similar), you can also find this folder by typing %appdata% in your Windows Search bar.
7. Right-click on the Shift folder (not to be confused with the .Shift folder you might see!) and select Delete
8. Re-launch Shift and log in with your Primary Shift Account

Note: Make sure the Shift folder does not appear in your Roaming folder! If you've deleted it fully, the folder should be gone from the list.

What's next?

Find solutions to other common questions here.