Play Store is the world’s largest app store by the sheer number of apps available to download. It is essential to a great user experience on android devices and comes pre-installed on millions of phones every year.
Keeping your Play Store app updated and working properly is incredibly important for your android device, as it’s the source of most of your applications.
The good news is that updating your Play Store App is relatively simple and there are a few different ways of doing it which we will take you through in this guide.
How to update Play Store app – Don’t forget this
If you want to update the Play store app, you need to ensure you’re connected to the internet and maintaining a solid network connection.
You should also clear your cache and data, and as a last resort, you can consider downloading a Play Store APK. You can also force the Google Play Store app to update on your Android phone too.
To do this, first Tap Settings. Then, scroll to the bottom of the screen – you’ll be able to see the version of the Google Play Store you’re running. Then, tap on Play Store version to run an update on the Google Play Sore app.
Without an updated Play Store, you may not find the most recent apps available, or you could expose yourself to potential security risks if updates have patched a known issue.
Plus, you may find that your Play Store won’t open, which can happen if you don’t keep it updated. If your Google Play store app still won’t open, there’s a few more things you’ll want to do.
Check Airplane mode
Before you start there are a couple of quick things to check, otherwise you might get stuck without realizing it.
Make sure you don’t have airplane mode enabled. You can accidentally enable this mode sometimes when picking up your phone if it’s unlocked, and I’ve done it myself a few times. It will prevent any internet-enabled app from working correctly.
There are a few different ways to update the app, but if you don’t have the app in the first place, you aren’t going to make much progress trying to update it.
If your device doesn’t have the Play Store app, you can skip down to download Play Store APK file. This will get the app on your device and automatically provide you with the most updated version.
Check your connection
Without a good Wi-Fi connection to the internet, you won’t be able to update your Play Store App no matter which method you use.
If you are having connection issues, make sure you are close to your router and in line-of-sight, as sometimes thick walls or multiple floors can reduce your connection quality.
Reset your router
If you are still struggling to connect, you can try resetting your router. By unplugging your power and phoneline from the back and waiting 30 seconds, your router will reset its IP address and essentially give you a brand-new connection.
With this new connection, you should be able to get a good signal once again. If not, it’s probably time to call your ISP about a replacement line and use your mobile data for now.
Update from the Play Store settings
If you are connected to the internet, you can update the app directly from the Play Store settings.
To do this, open up Play Store > tap on your user icon > tap current version > see if it prompts you to update.
Clear data then check for an update
One of the best ways to fix problems with an app, or issues updating, is to clear the cache and data for that app, which basically resets it back to good-as-new.
This has the additional benefit of wiping recently updated files, so you can then automatically, or manually update to the latest version without clutter from previous versions causing problems.
Download Play Store APK
Not having the Play Store app come with your device can make installing new apps incredibly difficult, or maybe you accidentally deleted it.
Either way, there’s a way to get an app onto your device without having an installer app, and that’s by sideloading an APK (Android Package) file.
By going to APKmirror you can find the latest version of the Play Store app and download it. Because this is a non-standard method of installation, your device will probably give you a warning message about opening external files.
Ignore and approve this message and it should install and open on your device, fully updated and ready to use. You can do this with any app, but it’s much simpler to use the Play Store to install others.
Conclusion
Keeping your Play Store app updated and working properly is incredibly important for your android device, as it’s the source of most of your applications.
Without an updated Play Store, you may not find the most recent apps available, or you could expose yourself to potential security risks if updates have patched a known issue.
