Reinstall Google Play Store - Here's how
Related Videos: How to Download & Install Google Play Store for Android Phone & Tablet (April 2024).
When the Google Play Store stops working, it often helps to reinstall it. We'll show you how to uninstall the Play Store and then bring it back to your Android device.
Uninstall Google Play Store
Before uninstalling the Play Store, you should try to solve the problems without reinstalling. We'll show you what you can do if you can't connect, server problems are shown, or authentication is required. If the problem cannot be solved, remove the Play Store as follows:
- Open the Settings app and tap "Manage apps" or "Manage applications".
- Select the Google Play Store from the list.
- Tap "Uninstall."
- With newer smartphones or tablets it may happen that the Play Store cannot be uninstalled. In this case, you can try to reset the app. To do this, tap "Clear cache" and "Clear data" one after the other. Then restart the device and launch the Play Store to set it up again.
- If you select the app info by a long press on the app icon, you are basically only offered the option to reset the app. In this case, just follow these instructions and select the app from the "Apps & Notifications" menu.
Reinstall Google Play Store
So that the end user does not accidentally run harmful apps on the Android device, Google limits the installation of the apps from unknown sources, i.e. from all sources outside of Google Play. If you are sure that the source is safe, you can disable this restriction.
- Open Settings and tap on "Security & Privacy".
- Check "Allow app installs" to allow third party apps to be installed. If you have a newer device and cannot find the desired option here, follow the instructions in the next paragraph and then continue here.
- Download the installation file from the Google Play Store to your smartphone.
- When selecting the file, the installation should start automatically. If not, open the file, for example with the Google Files Go app.
- Start the installation. When the installation is complete, the Play Store should be back under your apps.
- For safety reasons, deactivate the "Allow app installations" option .
Accept unknown sources for apps on Android 10
Android 10 completely changes the handling of apps that are not from the Play Store. In contrast to the past, you can no longer simply activate or deactivate the option. Instead, you must give one (or more) apps permission to install apps from unknown sources.
- Go to Settings and open the menu item "Security & Data Protection".
- At the bottom you will find the sub-item "Additional settings", open it.
- Go to "Special Access" and scroll all the way down.
- Under "Install apps from external sources" you now select an app in which you can download and install non-Play Store apps. You can withdraw this authorization at any time.
- For example, you could give your browser this permission if you read this article on your phone and want to download and install the Google Play app directly. So select your browser app and unlock the "Allow app installs" option with the slider.
Solve Google Play Store issues
If you have problems with your Play Store app, these could also be solved quite quickly without reinstalling:
- Check the date of your smartphone: An incorrect date or wrong time can cause the Google Play Store to stop working properly.
- Sometimes technical problems with the Google server are simply the cause of your problem. You can use online fault reports to find out whether Google is currently experiencing a technical fault.
In the next article, we will show you how to hide Android apps.