The Google Play Store is Android’s default app store and, not to mention, the most popular one as well. While it is pretty safe, secure and stable for the most part, nothing in this world is immune to random errors and glitches.
In this article, we’re taking a look at the cause and how to fix Google Play server errors.
What causes the Google Play server error?
The term ‘server error’ is actually rather vague, which means that a bunch of different situations can cause this error.
- Incorrect phone date/time.
- Wrong Play Store language.
- Glitched Google account.
- Weak/inactive internet or WiFi.
- Corrupt cache files.
Also read: What is com.android.mms?
How to fix the Google Play server error?
Here are a few fixes you can try out to resolve this error on your phone
Check your internet connection
The first thing you should do is to check your internet connection. If you’re on WiFi, check to make sure that you have an active internet connection and good signal strength. Restarting the WiFi router will also help. If you’re on mobile data, ensure that you have good network coverage and that mobile data is actually enabled.
Clear the Google Play Store cache
Corrupt files in the cache can cause all sorts of random troubles. Try clearing the Play Store’s cache and data to see if that solves your problem.
- Tap and hold on the Play Store icon and then tap on the small i icon that shows up in the top-right.
- Tap on Storage & cache.
- You’ll have the option to clear your storage and cache both. We recommend that you first clear the cache and check to see if it resolves the issue. If it doesn’t, try clearing the storage too.
Uninstall Play Store updates
If clearing the cache didn’t work, try uninstalling all Play Store updates and installing them again.
- Tap and hold on the Play Store icon and then tap on the small i icon that shows up in the top-right.
- Tap on the three vertical dots in the top right.
- Tap on Uninstall updates.
Now restart Play Store and wait for the updates to download. Your downloads should start right away.
Also read: Why does Gmail keep crashing? 5 Fixes
Date/Time conflicts
More often than not, having a wrong date and time combination on a client device can mess things up with a server. This will often happen when you try to visit a website from a computer with an incorrect date or time.
If your phone’s date and time are also incorrect, this could very well be causing problems with Google’s servers and interrupting your downloads. Here’s how you can fix this
- Head over to your phone’s Settings and search for Date. Tap on the Date & Time option that pops up under System.
- Make sure you’re using the date/time details provided by your network or you’ve set these settings to automatically update.
Now restart your phone and try the download again.
Log out of your Google account
Singing out of your Google account and signing back in can also help resolve issues with the Play Store.
- Head over to your phone’s settings and tap on Accounts.
- Tap your Google account.
- Tap Remove account.
Now go ahead and add your account back again.
Clear the Google Services Framework Cache
The Google Services Framework is responsible for syncing and storing device data. If the framework isn’t working properly, it can cause sync issues and cause this error.
- Head over to your phone’s settigns and tap on Apps & notifications.
- Tap Show all apps.
- Tap the three vertical dots in the top right and tap Show System.
- Scroll down to find Google Services Framework in the list. Tap it to proceed.
- Tap Storage & cache.
- Tap the Clear cache button to get rid of the cache.
Now restart your phone, and the Play Store should work just fine.
Do a factory reset
Now, this might be the most aggressive method of all, and yes, you will lose all your data, but there are hardly any issues that a factory reset can’t solve.
- Head over to your phone’s settings and tap on System.
- Tap on Advanced.
- Tap on Reset options.
- Tap Erase all data (factory reset)
- Tap the final conformation and wait for your device to reboot.
Also read: Fix: A device attached to the system is not functioning
