Google Play Market doesn't download apps: How to fix the problem

2022-10-06

It's not uncommon for Android users to encounter the following error: the Play Market application doesn't download anything - it just hangs. In this article we will consider the reasons why applications from Play Market don't download and suggest solutions. Here are some of them:

Google Play Market is the most popular service that publishes new apps. With the help of Play, Android owners can download and install various content like apps and games on their device. The download process, as a rule, does not cause any difficulties. It is enough to find the desired program, read the "Waiting for download" notification and wait for the beginning of the download. If the download has not started after a couple of minutes, it is time to take action.

Easy ways to fix Play Market

The top 7 fast ways to fix Play Market if apps are not downloading:

Check your device thoroughly for viruses . Instructions on how to remove the virus with Kaspersky software. Besides this antivirus, Malwarebytes is also suitable (basic version is free).
Update the Android OS to the latest version, install all the important updates through the gadget settings. Detailed instructions are available here. You can also use the auto update function.
Create new Google account and connect it to the phone instead of the old account (may have authorization or security problems).
Fix a system glitch related to the operation of Google Play services on the phone. This error is very common!
Download another version of the Play Market application on Android. It is not guaranteed that the update will be successful, but it is worth trying.
Owners of Android devices with antivirus installed are advised to temporarily disable the protection . The antivirus program may block the downloading of the applications and prevent to solve the issue by the methods suggested below.
With devices that have a firewall installed the same procedure must be repeated disabling the protection .

If at the beginning one cannot understand why the application cannot be downloaded from Play Market (gives an error) you may start by rebooting the device. This is the fastest and easiest option, which, despite its simplicity, often helps to solve the problem. Rebooting will help if there is a failure in the system. The same applies to restarting the Play Market application.

It often happens that waiting for a download in the Play Market is due to an unstable Internet connection. In this situation you may perform the following steps:

Reboot your wi-fi modem through the power button.
Connect to another network and repeat the download of the application.
Change your connection type from wi-fi to mobile internet or the other way round. In this case you should take into consideration that downloading the application takes traffic.

If you use an sd card on your device (and you have selected the media to download the applications) this too might cause an error for the application download in Play Market. There are two solutions to the problem:

Check the operation of the memory card for read errors, through the card reader or through another device.
If the card functions correctly you can try to temporarily remove it from the device and try to reload the program or application. See the correct way to do this.

Invalid time setting in Android settings

The Google Play application, as well as any system application, may not work properly if the underlying Android settings have some problems. In particular, incorrectly set time (due to incorrectly set time zone, or due to resetting settings or lack of synchronization with the world time) may cause Google Play to malfunction. To correct this, please go to

Go to Settings Android
In Date and Time enable synchronization with the Network (option " Auto time ")
Reboot the mobile device

There are other options to resolve the failure. By the way, here is the instruction how to fix the date and time settings on your phone: Link

Market Update

One of the reasons that often prevent you from downloading applications and service error is related to the automatic update of other applications in Play Market. To solve the problem you must perform the following actions:

Check the Google Play settings. If you have selected under " Auto update applications " or " Wi-fi only ", this might be a problem in installing new applications.
Go to Play Market and open the menu (three bars on the top left).
Find the tab " My apps and games " and open it.
Look at the list of programs that appears. If the download pending message is displayed in front of all the applications, the installation of new applications has to wait. The second variant is to force the completion of the application update by closing it with a cross.

Please note ! If in the Google Play list the "Update" button for each application is illuminated, the reason for the download failure should be found elsewhere.

Safe Mode as diagnostic tool

Android has the possibility to enter the Safe Mode. This feature is necessary to diagnose a malfunction. If Play Store keeps glitching, please try launching it via Safe Mode. In this mode your Android runs without any add-ons or background processes, in as "clean" a state as possible, without being affected by other applications.

Press the hardware button Power
When the menu appears, keep Switch off
Select the option Safe Mode
In Safe Mode open the Play Market

Full Manual Version

If the App Store opens without any problems, it is due to a conflict of programs or services installed by the user. The only way to remove the conflicts is through trial and error removing manually the unwanted software.

Clearing the Google Data

A more complicated method which however does not require any special knowledge if following all the steps step by step:

Go to the Android device settings and locate the Applications section.
Select the option " Google Play Store " and move to the required menu.
Locate to the section " Memory " and click on this item. If the device has an Android version lower than 6.0 all the buttons will be gathered in the same window.
Reset data and clear cache one by one, confirming each action in the pop up windows.
Return to the main menu, find the option "Delete Updates" and confirm the action.
Wait while the system deletes the update and restores the current version by itself.
Restart the service and verify if the downloaded applications and programs works.

It is important ! In order to perform the data cleaning and restore the proper version of Play Market you should have a stable Internet connection available on your device.

Temporary failure on the Google side

No service is stable all the day long. Occasionally (though very rarely) server crashes occur on the Google side. Because of this the Play Store app may not connect to the Internet and you may not be able to install any applications using the site.

There is nothing you can do about this, the only way to deal with this error is to wait a while (usually a few minutes or hours). And then open the Play Store again and check the status.

There is a special service where technical failures on the Google Play service are published.

From the current status on the server you may find out if the failure has been fixed or not.

Installing applications through the Google Play web environment

Open the browser on your PC
Go to the website //play.google.com/store/apps/
Log in to your Google Account (button at the top right)
Search for the application you wish to install on your phone
Click the Install
Select your mobile device from the list
Make sure that you have enabled the Internet on your phone, the Internet on your phone is ON
The application will be installed on your Android

If the application is still not installed on your phone, please try the following options.

Solving the problem through your Google Account

The error of downloading an application from Play Market may also be related to your Google Account that you may clear from unnecessary data following the simple instructions:

Open Settings > Accounts and Archiving .
Go to the accounts section.
Select " Google " and in the window that appears you find the trash can icon and " Delete account ".
delete the account in the popup window.
Return to the accounts section and find the button " Add account ".
Enter a valid e-mail address, telephone number and password.
Confirm each action and accept the user agreement.
Log into your Play Market with your new Google Account and verify that you have resolved the application download error.

Reset Settings

If none of the suggested solutions worked and you do need to restore your Play Market experience, you should reset your device settings. You can do this through the Android menu or through the Recovery.

Go to Settings > General settings
Click the Reset > Reset data buttons one by one.
Click the Reset button and confirm the action.

Please note ! Resetting will erase the /files on your device, therefore you should transfer all your important information to another storage device beforehand.

So you can solve the Play Market download waiting problem with different methods. Which one of them will be suitable in your case? Answering this question in advance is unlikely, so we recommend starting with simple methods, gradually moving to more complex ones if the error has not been resolved.

What is Google Play?

Google Play is the official app store and the starting point for the distribution of programs and games in the Android environment. The platform allows thousands of developers from around the world to distribute their applications to millions of users. However, Google Play is also a lucrative channel for criminals that distribute malware.

Google Play's security is now checked using Google Play Protect, a comprehensive security solution. Meanwhile, the American company has decided to further improve user security by announcing a partnership with ESET, Lookout and Zimperium.

The app checking system consists of two parts.

The basic one is built directly into Google services, this allows it to be present on virtually all devices, regardless of whether the store is installed or not. The system scans all installed applications and warns the user of a possible threat.
The second part of the software is built directly into the Google Play Store, its main purpose is to pre-scan applications that are downloaded to the store by developers.

App Defense Alliance (which includes ESET, Lookout and Zimperium), plans to improve the performance of the second element of the protection system specifically. As a result, all applications uploaded to the store will be subject to strict controls. Malware scanning elements from all members of the Alliance will be implemented.