This app was mentioned in 26 comments, with an average of 2.38 upvotes
I have read past cases where the app would start crashing after update in Bluestacks. The fact you were playing when the update occurred did not help. Usually fixed by clean install of the app. Try the following:
Are you on Android?
If so, go into your file manager and check the following directory: Android/data/com.bethsoft.falloutshelter/files.
In that directory, scroll down and look for file labeled Vault#.sav where # is 1, 2, or 3 depending on which slot your vault was in. If the save file is still there, download and install Robot9706's save editor app. It is probable that your save file became corrupted in the crash which is why it is not showing in the list. Robot's save editor has several features for fixing corrupted save files which might help.
If your save file is gone or too corrupted to recover, you can use the save editor to modify a new vault to have resources, dwellers, weapons/outfits/pets, junk, etc close to what your old vault had (or as best as you can remember).
How ever things end up for you, what happened is a perfect example of why I recommend everyone to keep local backups of their vaults and not to rely on the Cloud setting for backup. Robot's save editor app has a good backup feature as well, or you could use Zara's backup app.
The only way to undo an eviction is if you have been making local backups of your vault (which you should definitely do for multiple reasons) and restore your most recent one.
Alternatively if you have not already been keeping backups, you can use Robot9706's save editor app for Android to recreate the dweller (including name, stats, HP, weapon, outfit, and pet).
Going forward you can make local backups, either manually if on iOS or if on Android there is both Zara's backup app (in Google Play Store) and Robot9706's save editor app (which has a backup feature).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup Backup for Fallout Shelter, it let's you backup each of the vaults and restore them! If you've already lost the save, it won't do anything for you to recover them, but if you want to keep playing, this should let you keep the new vaults safer!
I will give you my point of view on this subject, since i've experienced 3 vaults losses and came back anyway.
The main worry will be the device you play on and the safety measures you take : The 3 vault i lost were on a low price phone and the vault data seemingly went wrong due to one of the many crashes I had to endure.
I now play on a Galaxy A5 from 2015, and it goes really better.
There's an app called fallout shelter backup on Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup&hl=fr) which I use, maybe you can find something similar on the App Store : With a backup every day you should not have to face a vault loss. There is also a cloud save option directly in the game.
I'm confused by this line: "the other doesn't even exist)"
Anyway, this app lets you backup and export vault saves, you can use it to pull the saves from your old phone and move them to your new one.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup&hl=en_US
I can't be sure, maybe some people with 1GB RAM + KitKat (or above) devices could say if it works on theirs, but since 1.5 I found the game way heavier to load and play than before. With 2GB RAM on mine, everything else that tries to run while playing (i.e. a phone call) is mostly unresponsive.
Unfortunately it could be the case the phone can't handle it, since KitKat and above is when Google decided to clog every Android device hardware with sh*t resource hungry architecture.
One thing you could try is to clean Cache and all Data in Settings > Apps > Fallout Shelter, then try to run it again - it could be some conflicting leftovers from previous version but I honestly doubt it. (If you're going to try this, first backup your Vaults with Backup for Fallout Shelter so you can restore them later again).
Exactly! I had to buy a new replacement phone recently - low budget but very good for its price, an Asus Laser 2 @ 1.2Ghz and 2GB RAM. Almost 2 months ago, and the game was actually pretty fine, very fast, as you described. I stopped playing because it was taking so much of my life - heh - but then when I saw this update I went to try it out. Ouch - the loading so much slower, those audio glitches and - as you precisely pointed - the unusual but maybe 10-20% crash rate when transitioning between loadings.
Kinda expected, seems almost like a philosophical way of life by Bethesda, to release crippled games that are slowly healed through months..
For myself, I've been dealing with those issues with:
Muted sound: I just activate Airplane Mode straight up - not if I need the notifications for some specific reason, but mostly not, when I'm going to play for a bit. That cuts off 95% of any possible notifications for me.
Occasional crashes and objectives resetting: For both I started using the simplest but most fantastic tool: Backup for Fallout Shelter. I put its icon besides the game's, so every time I exit the game I create a new backup. If at any time I have a huge loss by crashing or objectives resetting I restore it.
I have never personally experienced this particular bug, or even heard of it before. My first instinct is that there is something corrupted either in your game itself or individual vault save file. Have you tried to see if the problem also occurs in a different vault save?
My suggestion would be to first backup your vault save file. If on Android, either Zara's backup app or Robot9706's save editor with backup feature make this very easy. After making backups, completely uninstall the FOS app. Redownload and install it from the appropriate app store. Finally import your save file back into the game.
That should fix any corruption in the game itself. If the problem persists, the issue is with your particular save file. You can try using a save editor to rummage around. You could also create a brand new vault and then use the save editor to give it all the same dwellers, resources, items, junk, etc as the first vault (can be time consuming for larger vaults).
Glad you were able to recover it from the in-game "Cloud" setting.
As a cautionary warning though, some folks have been unable to even recover their missing/corrupted vaults from the cloud. That is why I recommend every player not rely only on the "Cloud" setting, but to also keep local backups. For Android, both Zara's backup app and Robot9706's save editor with backup feature are very good.
For using the Cloud setting, once you create the vault you can later go into the vault loading screen where your 3 save slots are displayed and just check the Cloud option.
If the local save's datestamp does not match the Cloud's datestamp for a particular save slot, you will get a popup asking which one you want to load/keep. Also if you have multiple devices, you should be able to check the Cloud box on an empty save slot on 2nd device to load the corresponding vault. For example, on your smartphone you create a vault in save slot 1 and check the Cloud box for that save. On your tablet or PC, you could then go into the load screen and check the Cloud box next to save slot 1 to load the vault you created on your smartphone.
Using the Cloud is great for letting you play the same vault on multiple devices but don't rely on it for backup. Folks have very rarely reported their saves disappearing and even rechecking the Cloud box has been unable to retrieve them. Make sure to use some other form of backup. Android users have a very good backup app. iOS users have to manually copy the save files to keep backups.
Nothing can be done at this moment most likely.
In future you should use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup
At least you can approximately recreate your vault using https://www.reddit.com/r/foshelter/comments/492rq2/misc_fallout_shelter_save_editor/ it also has backup feature.
Dear he_rabidsquirel,
thank you very much for your help. I can confirm that it takes about 5 minutes until the contents of the boxes change. However, I am actually active during this time and collect resources or try to fulfill quests and goals. The way you described works for me and a friend who plays Fallout Shelter on the Playstation 4. For those who use an Android I can recommend another maybe more convenient way.
This program: Backup for Fallout Shelter https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup&hl=en
Works just as well on my Android and also allows you to create multiple savegames. Furthermore, I can confirm that the old trick of simply opening some other kind of box (e.g. pets) to change the contents of a box still works.
So thanks again for your help - I think it's great that you and the_rabidsquirel tested a little bit more :)
Does your phone have a Back button? Pressing that from the FOS Main Menu should bring up a message confirming that you want to exit the app.
Also as a precaution against save file corruption, you might want to use a local backup app like Robot9706's save file editor with backup feature or Zara's backup app. That way you could restore your most recent save if you do suffer corruption. Or you could use the save editor to try and fix the corruption.
I agree it sounds like a bug of some sort. You could try some of the common solutions for fixing the bug itself (like clearing the app's cache, and uninstalling/reinstalling app after backing up your vaults).
Assuming you can't fix the bug, you can protect yourself from its consequences by keeping local backups of your vault. If on Android, there is both Zara's backup app and Robot9706's save editor with backup feature. If you notice something missing, you can just restore your most recent backup to hopefully get it back.
For reclaiming the 3 items you are already missing, I would recommend Robot9706's save editor to add those items back into your vault's inventory.
On the Play Store, there are some apps that can do it for you.
I use this one.
It creates a VaultX.sav.bak in your save folder, and can revert your game to the backup.
Thanks for that. Definitely fixed the issue for me. Was just having a moment of frustration over a constant wave of issues out of the app. Slowly rebuilding yet again, and using this as an excuse to restructure my base layout. Also, found another tool that will help defend against the frustration of full wipes due to bad user interface/selection system. "Backup for Fallout Shelter"; simplifies keeping backups of your saves. So if I do have that one bad battle where I can't heal anyone I can just revert to my previous save. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup
sure. it's ... It's gone! but i swear i still have it in my nexus 7, but that's no surprise as I still have Flappy Bird.
here is another one with almost the same interface
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup
Don't forget to thank Alexandre Zara for his backup app if you play on Android.
Ignore JLHolcomb1776. He is just hating on Android.
I will admit FOS does use a lot of system resources the larger your vault gets, so larger vaults can have trouble running on older devices especially ones with more limited memory. However, you can just as easily run into this problem on an Apple device as you can Android.
Given how hard it is to access your own files on iOS, my personal suggestion would be to avoid Apple. A save file can just as easily become corrupted on both OSes, but it is so much easier to recover and fix on Android than it is on iOS.
As to your specific problem, there are several steps you can try to fix things. The one question I have is does the game crash only in your large vault? Or can you play smaller vaults without crashing?
As I said in Part 1, great work Rabid.
I hesitate to mention this in regards to point 10.8 since I don't know if anyone else is experiencing it. For the past week (not sure if it started right after update 1.5 or not), my explorers have stopped grouping identical items together. Now all items are in order of when found, regardless of whether an identical item had been found earlier in the trip. If this is something only I am experiencing, I might be due for a reinstall of the game on my phone.
Here are some other notes specific to Part 2:
Use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup and/or save editor backup feature. Save editor can also help resurrecting in some cases.
I suggest using a backup app for the game, for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.genial.falloutshelterbackup