Google play store not downloading apps? Here how to fix 2024

Can’t download apps from the Play Store?  Have problems downloading and installing Android Apps? this could be because of a recent change in the way Play Store handles downloads OR maybe it’s just that your Play Store is stuck. If Google Play is not working properly, it is freezing, crashing or if the apps won’t download, here different solutions you can apply to fix the problem.

If you hurry here quick solution: Go to Settings > Apps > All > Google Play Store and select both Clear data and Clear cache and finally Uninstall updates. Restart your device, open the Google Play Store and try to download the app again.

Play Store not downloading apps

If you first-time encounter this problem “apps aren’t downloading android” then restarting the device can be helpful. With the help of a simple restart, you should be able to fix this issue without getting into deep troubleshooting on your device.

• Check and make sure Your Internet connection is working properly, to download app files from the Play Store.
• If you are using a Wi-Fi network to download the apps then switch to mobile data and check if it works.
• If you have a VPN enabled on your Android device you should disable it. Go into your Settings and tap More or More networks depending on your device. Click VPN and toggle it off.
• Go into your Settings and tap either Apps or Application Manager (depending on your device). You should either see all of your apps or you might have to choose All. From there find Downloads or Download Manager and hit this.
• You should be able to see if the Download Manager is disabled. If it is then you’ll see a button marked Enable. Simply tap this button to switch the Download Manager back on.

Check your date and time settings

When you request to download an app from the Play Store, the Google servers will try to check for the time on your device. And If the time is incorrect it will not be able to sync the servers with the device which can cause a problem in downloading anything from the Play Store.

To correct the date and time of your device follow these steps:

• Go to the Settings menu of your device
• Tap on System and look for Date and Time
• Once you tap on Date and Time, you will be able to find out whether your phone is set to Automatic Date and Time.
• Toggle on the Automatic Date and Time if it isn’t already On.

Note: If your device is already set automatic date & time and your Google Play Store is still not working then you should manually set the date and time, and check if this helps.

Clear the Google Play Store cache

The cache is a storage area that temporarily holds data so it can be quickly retrieved without needing to be reloaded. And wiping the Play Store cache is an effective solution that probably fixes problems related to the Play Store and downloads pending in Play Store.

• Go into the Settings menu of your device
• Tap on Apps or Application Manager (depending on your device)
• Look for the Google Play Store
• Tap on it and scroll down to look for the option that says Clear Cache. Tap on it to delete the cache files.
• Go back to the app store and check if the apps begin to download now.

Clear Google Play Store Data

If the problem is not fixed yet then delete the data files by going through the same steps and then instead of tapping on Clear Cache, you must tap on Clear Data. You will notice a warning that will tell you that all data will be deleted. Press Ok to confirm and then open the Play Store once again to look for the app and begin the download.

Refresh Google Play Services

Google Play Services plays an important role in the working of applications. If Google Play Store is the heart of your Android device, then Google Play Services is its soul.  And a problem in the cache or data files of the Play Services can also cause a problem downloading the applications from the Play Store.

So If clearing the cache and data in your Google Play Store didn’t work then you may need to go into your Google Play Services and clear the data and cache there.

• Go to the Settings menu of your device
• Look for Apps or Application Manager and tap on it
• Scroll to find Google Play Services and tap on it
• On the next screen, look for Clear Cache, tap on it.
• Once the cache files have been wiped, check if the problem is fixed.

Clear Google play services Data

Again if the clear cache of play services didn’t fix the problem, then try clear Google Play services data from there. Now check if there are no more problems download and installing the Play Store app.

Uninstall Google Play Store Updates

Basically, when an app does not perform well we simply uninstall and reinstall it. But Google Play Store is a system app on your Android device and you can’t uninstall it. instead, you can uninstall previous updates to the app and this might help your problem. Once the updates are re-installed, try to download the apps all over again to check if it is working as expected.

• Go to the Settings menu of your device
• Tap on Apps or Application Manager and look for Google Play Store.
• Tap on Play Store and tap on the option that says Uninstall Updates.
• Once the updates are uninstalled, restart your device
• Now open Settings and then tap on Apps again to head into Google Play Store
•  tap on Update and allow the app to update itself.
• Once the app has been updated, head into the Play Store and check if the apps are now being downloaded or not.

Refresh Your Google Account

Resetting the Google Account can help you solve the problem of your Android not downloading the apps. When you reset the account, you will be deleting the entire account and start all over again.

• In the Settings menu, look for Accounts and tap on it
• Tap on Google to check the Google account on your device.
• Tap on the account you wish to remove
• On the next screen, tap on the Menu icon which is the three dots on the top right.
• From the drop-down menu, tap on Remove Account to completely remove the account from your device.
• Restart your device and again open the Settings menu of your device
• tap on Accounts once again.
• Now you will find the option to Add an Account.
• Tap on Add Account and complete the process

You must follow these steps to add all your Google accounts and once this is done, return to the Play Store and find out if your problem has been resolved by this.

Reset your device to Factory Settings

If none above solutions work for you then the last option you may try to reset your device to factory settings. This will bring your device’s software back to the version that it was when it was taken out of the box. All data will be deleted from your device and all third-party apps will be removed. You will also lose personalized settings because the phone will go back to the default settings

We recommend backup your device before resetting your device to factory settings.

Go to your Settings and tap Backup & reset. Now, make sure the Backup my data slider is on. Tap Back up account to select which account you want your data backed up to. Ensure you have access to this account

• Go to the Settings menu of your device
• Tap on Back up and Reset
• Now you can check or uncheck the option to create a backup depending on your preferences.
• Towards the bottom of the screen, you will notice the option to Reset to Factory Settings.
• Tap on it and confirm the Reset when you get a warning message that will tell you that your data is going to be lost.

That’s all, did these solutions help to fix Problems downloading and installing Android Apps? Let us know on the comments below.