How to repair a crack in the wall?

Silicone caulk & skip trowel

Did you use drywall tape over the crack? Fiberglass mesh tape is sticky on one side. Then apply drywall compound. Sand, prime and paint.

Could you provide a picture, not sure what has puffed out. How did you fix it and with What? Drywall? Chalk? Did you dig out the crack to make larger to be able to fill in better?

What are your walls and what did you use to "fix" it?

Any signs of a water leak or vent leak?

What a pain, I guess the next step would be to remove a large section of drywall above the door. Pry off carefully the top trim piece of door cut drywall from center of stud to another center to ceiling and replace with a new piece of drywall that you screw into place . Finish seams, paint. This will also let you see what's going on behind the problem.

I agree with Kelli Milligan, you need to replace the entire piece of drywall. I have a 46 year old split level that continues to settle (and also Kansas is getting earthquakes which can’t help). Hubby fixed cracks in the master bedroom 13 years ago, it lasted a month or so. I’ve lived with cracks ever since. Son is going to replace pieces of drywall ‘someday’. Good luck!

Seems like you did everything right. Looks it may be a settlement crack. The object with mesh tape is not to have to put down any compound before the tape. That's why it's sticky on one side unlike paper tape which requires compound to stick. I cover cracks/seams with mesh tape, mud, sand when dry, prime, and paint. I also like to use no shrink drywall patching compound. Very little or no sanding. Can be smoothed out with a damp sponge. If you put compound in the crack then the mesh tape it's possible the compound broke it's bond and is pushing out the mesh tape.

Here are some ideas https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=How%20to%20repair%20a%20crack%20in%20the%20wall%3F&rs=typed&term_meta[]=How%20to%20repair%20a%20crack%20in%20the%20wall%3F%7Ctyped