Google Play Store is a great virtual store for every Android user. You can download any apps, games, movies for your Android device, both free and paid. It is a perfect online marketplace for the entertainment sector. However, it does not always work the same which used to do before. We find that some users are having trouble downloading apps from the Play store. One time they see waiting for download on the Play store, and other times their play store stuck on downloading.
Whenever your Google Play Store stuck on waiting for download, then you can check your internet connection, internal device storage, and background downloading apps. You can also restart your Play Store as well as your device. If it’s a common issue, then this will fix your Google Play Store waiting for download problem on your Android device.
However, if you still unable to download from Play Store or your Play Store apps are in a pending state, then you can go through to our other solutions in this article. One way or another way it will solve your Google Play Store issues.
How to Fix Google Play Store Waiting for Download?
When you are installing apps from Play Store, then you must set your Google account on it. It is a compulsory process that you have to follow to download apps. Other than this, you also need to update your device OS from time to time. If you can’t download apps from Play Store, then it might be the app that you are downloading is not supported on your device. So, first, try to fix these things.
Now, who still can’t install an app from Play Store, then let’s move to fix Google Play Store, waiting for download error with following various methods.
Check Your Internet Connection
As I already mentioned, your internet plays a vital role on downloading apps from Google Play Store. If you didn’t have a good Wi-Fi signal or strength, then it will interrupt your download. As long as your device didn’t receive a good connection, then it will slow down the download process. In fact, you can also get a message “you can’t download this app.”
So, first, check your internet connection whether it’s good or poor. In case it’s not good enough, then either call your ISP or switch to your mobile data.
Moreover, you can also unplug your router for like 15 seconds and re-plug back in. This can somehow improve your internet connection. Also, disconnect other devices that are connected to your internet.
Check App Pending Status
If Google Play Store download is in a pending state, then maybe you are downloading other apps in the background. You can’t download multiple apps at the same time on Play Store. The working mechanism of the Play Store for downloads is FIFO (First-in-first-out). This means it will finish the first download and move to the second one.
Restart Your Device
If you can’t download apps from Play Store, then you can restart your device. If the error is on the Play Store, then restarting the device will do the job. Once you restart your device, you can go back to the Play Store and try to download the app.
If it’s still not working, then move to the next method down below.
Close and Re-download App
When you start to download any apps from Google Play Store in a hurry then sometimes it will break the connection between your action and Play Store. This way, Play Store can’t understand your command and hold the download process. That’s why you will see waiting for download status on Google Play Store. So, cancel your current download and re-install the app. But remember, you may have to repeat it multiple times in order to start the installation process.
Check Your Device Storage
Do you have low internal storage on your device? If so, then it might be another reason why Google Play Store stuck at waiting for download. You must have enough device space in order to download apps from Play Store.
The reason is when you tap on the install button; the Play Store will first check your device’s internal storage. If it finds your device storage is way too low, which is not enough for the selected app, then it will either cancel or leave a message “waiting for download.”
Therefore, either clear your device storage or add an external SD card. If you are installing an additional memory card, then you can switch your default Play Store download location to SD card.
Examine App Download Preference
Google Play Store comes with default app download preferences that is “Over Wi-Fi Only.” This means you can only install apps from Play Store if you are connected to Wi-Fi. If you try to download the app using mobile data, then it will show Waiting for download message.
That’s why change your download preferences of Play Store and fix your unable to download issue. For that, follow the following steps down below.
- Open Google Play Store.
- Tap on your profile icon beside the search bar. In some devices, you can tap on three horizontal lines from the upper left corner.
- Next, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Now, tap on App download preference.
- Next, select Over app network.
- Finally, tap on the Done button.
Clear Play Store Cache
If you have a habit of downloading lots of apps from Google Play Store, then remember it will fill up your Play Store cache way faster than you think. By this action, it will malfunction your over all Play Store performance. So, you can delete the Play store cache and data to fix Google Play Store waiting for download issue.
Remember, if you clear out the Play Store cache, then it does not remove any installed apps or data from your device. But deleting data will remove your linked Google account from Play Store. So, don’t worry about that.
Now, to clear Google Play Store cache, follow the following steps.
- Go to your device Settings.
- Tap on Apps.
- Now, search and tap on Google Play Store.
- Select Storage option.
- Finally, tap on Clear Cache.
If clearing out the Play Store cache doesn’t work for you, then you can follow the same steps to clear data. Simply, search for the Clear data option instead of clear cache.
Enable Play Store Permission
Google Play Store needs certain permission in order to run properly on your device. If you don’t allow permission for Play Store then you will find issue on Play Store. So, provide all the necessary permission such as storage, SMS, Contacts, Location, and more.
To enable Play Store permission on Android devices, follow the following few procedures.
- Open your Mobile Settings.
- Go to the Apps.
- Next, search and tap on Google Play Store.
- After that, tap on App Permissions.
- Finally, allow each and every option for Play Store.
Now, go to your Play Store and try to download the app. If it doesn’t work, then move to the next method. Don’t forget to close all the recently opened tab of the Google Play Store before re-downloading.
Also Read: How to Fix Google Chrome Not Responding on Windows
Change Your Google Account
Google Play Store requires your Google account in order you to allow install apps from it. If your current linked account has an issue for some reason, then you can use your other Google account for Play Store. Link your other Google account and try to download from it.
You can create a new Gmail account and link that account to Play Store. If you already have a Gmail account, then you can also directly add that account to Play Store.
Want to know how? Follow the steps down below.
- Go to Play Store.
- Tap on your profile icon from the upper right side.
- Next, tap on the down-faced small arrow from the upper right side.
- After that, select Add another account.
- Now, tap on Google.
- Add your another Google account.
- Finally, switch to your new linked account and download the app.
Change Date and Time
If you have the wrong date and time on your mobile, then it can prevent Play Store from downloading apps. It will not happen all the time, but some other times, you can have trouble installing apps from Play Store. So, use the actual date and time on your device.
To change the date and time on an Android device, here are a few simple steps.
- Go to your device Settings.
- Tap on Additional Settings. On some devices, you can find the System option.
- Now, tap on Date and Time.
- Finally, select the Use network-provided time or Automatic date & time option.
Update Google Play Store
You can also have an issue with your current version of the Google Play Store. This will cause the Play Store waiting for a download issue. In addition, using an older version of the Play Store is not a good thing to install the latest version of apps. You will find newly released apps on your Google Play Store.
Re-install Play Store
If your Device Play Store has some technical error or corrupted then you will face trouble downloading the apps. You can’t do anything if the issue is on the Google Play Store itself. So, you have to uninstall the Play Store then re-install.
You can’t directly uninstall Google Play Store, so removing Play Store means clearing out data of it. It will delete all the stored data of Google Play Store and take it back to default settings.
Now, to uninstall Google Play Store, simply,
Note: it will not delete your installed apps on your device.
- Go to your Device Settings.
- Tap on Apps.
- Now, locate and tap on Google Play Store.
- Next, tap on Uninstall updates option at the bottom.
- Finally, Tap on the Ok button.
Update Device OS
If Google Play Store not downloading apps on your device then you can update your device OS (Operating system). Sometimes, your current version of OS doesn’t support the latest version of apps on the Play Store. So, make your device compatible with Google Play Store.
To update Android device OS, firstly,
- Open your Device Settings.
- Tap on System or About Phone.
- Next, tap on Updates.
- Now search for available update; if there is one, then update your device OS.
- Once the update is complete, restart your device.
Switch to Web Version of Play Store
If none of the above methods works for you to fix Play Store waiting for the download issue, then you can switch back to the web version of Google Play Store. There, you can search for your apps and download them on your device.
Moreover, you can also use the third-party application called “apkpure” to download the apk version of your apps directly on your device.
Conclusion
Play Store is quite helpful to download any apps for Android devices. But, because of its technical error, sometimes it will ruin all the fun. So, if the Google play store waiting for download, then you can follow the above-mentioned different methods to solve it.
If you have any queries regarding Google Play Store, then feel free to ask in the comment section.
