Google Play Store Not Working? Here’s How to Fix It [solved]
Google play store works as a medium between our smartphones and the awesome apps and games. Without it installing apps and games becomes quite troublesome.
What if it stops working all of a sudden? What if it won’t open? What if the downloading never starts or never completes? If you haven’t faced such problem with Google play store, you are few of the lucky ones and deserve the highest of fives.
Here are some of the methods that you can use when Google play store stops working.
1. Restart Your Device
This is the first and foremost thing to do. Sometimes the problem can be solved with just a simple reboot. Not just this problem, if you are facing any kind of problem, it is recommended to perform a reboot before doing anything else.
2. Check Date & Time
Did you know that most of the time you can’t access Google or any other website if date & time in your computer is not correct? I don’t know the exact reason but I guess this happens because Google servers are not able to synchronize with your date & time settings. The logic is similar to the phone. Make sure that your phone’s date & time are accurate.
3. Force Stop
Force stop simply means turning off an app with force. Sometimes a simple force close could solve the problem. To force close Google play store, go to your phone’s settings and open Google play store in the application manager. Once it is open, tap “FORCE STOP” to close. Before doing so make sure that Google play store is removed from your recent apps list.
4. Clear App Cache & App Data
If the above-mentioned methods didn’t solve your problem, it’s time to clear app cache. App cache simply means the information that an app stores in order to reduce the loading time when you open that app the next time. But sometimes the old information, which is not being used any more, may stay there and cause the app to behave differently. So it’s recommended to clear app cache from time to time.
To clear cache, open Google play store in the application manager and tap on “CLEAR CACHE”. This should generally solve the problem. But if the problem is still there, you might need to clear app data.
To clear app data, open Google play store in the application manager and tap ” CLEAR DATA “. Doing so will delete all the data or login information shared with Google play store.
5. Uninstall Updates
Sometimes there may be a problem with the software itself. In such case, you’ll have to uninstall the app. But since Google play store is a system app it cannot be removed. However, you can uninstall the updates. Doing so well revert it back to the older version. To do so open Google play store in application manger and tap on ” UNINSTALL UPDATES”.
6. Remove Your Google Account
If the problem is merely a log in issue, removing and re-adding your Google account may solve the problem. Here’s how to remove your Google account:
Open your phone’s settings app
Look for “Accounts” which is under “Personal” subheading
Tap on “Accounts” and then tap on “Google”
Next, tap on your Gmail ID
Now, tap on the three vertical dots on the top right of the screen
Select “Remove account” from the menu
On the pop-up menu tap on “Remove account”
Now your Gmail account is removed from your device.
To re-add that account simply open any Google app and log in using the required information. This should solve the problem. If not, read on.
7. Don’t Ignore Google Play Services
Google play services are the backbone of all the awesome Google features on your phone. Sometimes the problem could be with the Google play services instead ofGoogle play store. To solve the problem with the services, try clearing app cache, manage space, or disable it once and enable again.
8. Perform Factory Reset
Factory resetting your phone is a dangerous task since all your data will be erased so it should be done only if no other choice of left.
Before performing a factory reset make sure that all your data is backed up since you’ll lose all the data after factory reset.
To perform a factory reset go to your phone’s settings option, then to “Backup & reset”which is under “Personal” subheading, then tap on “Factory data reset”.
9. Edit Host File (For Rooted Users)
If your phone is rooted you can solve this problem but editing the host file. Here’s how to do it:
Open a file manager that supports root directory
Navigate to system > etc > hosts and select edit
Add a hashtag to the front of the second set of numbers and save
your changes (i.e. change from 127.0.0.1 to #127.0.0.1)
Reboot your device
Re-add your Google account
Your Google play store problems should be fixed now.