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Google Play: “Download unsuccessful” Error Fix

Google Play: “Download unsuccessful” Error Fix

July 26, 2018 by Mitch Bartlett 28 Comments

I recently started getting “Download unsuccessful” errors on my Android device whenever I tried to upgrade or download an app using Google Play. This seems to be a common error for the entire line of Android devices. Luckily, the fix was easy for me. If you’re experiencing the same problem, give these steps a try.

Fix 1 – Restart

First, give a power down and restart of your device a try. Be sure to power it completely off.

  1. Unlock the screen.
  2. Press and hold the “Power” button until a menu appears.
  3. Select “Power off“.
  4. Wait for the device to power off.
  5. Wait 10 seconds, then press and hold the “Power” button to power the device back on.

See if you can download items now.


Fix 2 – Clear App Data

If a power down didn’t fix your issue, try these steps.

  1. Open “Settings“.
  2. Select “Applications“.
  3. Select “Manage Applications“.
  4. Tap the “All” tab, then scroll down and select “Google Play Store“.
  5. Select “Storage“.
  6. Select “Clear cache” and “Clear data“.
  7. Back out of the screen and select “Download Manager” (May also be listed as “Downloads”).
  8. Select “Clear cache” and “Clear data“.
  9. Also clear data for “Google Services Framework“, “Google Apps“, “Google Hangouts“, and “Checkin Service“. Some users are reporting they had to clear data for the “Browser” and “Chrome” apps as well. You may not see all of these apps listed on your particular device.

See if downloading from the Google Play works now.

Of course, this works with any Android device.

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Filed Under: Android

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shahidul Islam says

    August 26, 2022 at 1:17 am

    I recently started getting “Download unsuccessful” errors on my windows 10. whenever I tried to upgrade or download an app using Google Play. This seems to be a common error for the entire line of windows 10.

  2. Hloniphile says

    February 15, 2021 at 6:31 am

    Hello I need help with my Google play. I use to download thing but now when I want to download Microsoft Teams it says there an Error plz help

  3. Greg Baker says

    December 13, 2020 at 3:36 pm

    My Nokia 5.1 plus downloaded an update now I can’t even turn off my phone to reset the system Help

  4. Olwethu says

    October 2, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    No it did help can u please…. help

  5. iman says

    July 28, 2020 at 5:13 am

    Hello
    I downloaded the mp3 music downloader on my note 10 samsung phone and all the downloads were working well. Then when i wanted to listen to undownloaded songs or download new ones i get error, which means i cant listen/ download new songs. But all the already downloaded ones works perfectly. Any help plz. Knowing i followed all the above instructions.
    Thanks

  6. iman says

    July 28, 2020 at 5:13 am

    Hello
    I downloaded the mp3 music downloader on my note 10 samsung phone and all the downloads were working well. Then when i wanted to listen to undownloaded songs or download new ones i get error, which means i cant listen/ download new songs. But all the already downloaded ones works perfectly. Any help plz. Knowing i followed all the above instructions.
    Thanks

  7. P Hefferon says

    July 16, 2020 at 10:38 am

    No Not help me at all..
    My samsung S2 tablet has the error message .. Unfortunaltey, Google Play services has stopped working…
    I have powered on and of several times it will not go away.
    It will not let me into any menu or apps… so cannot get into settings to change anything?
    So Mr Genius where do I go from here.. there is nothing on the web relating to this problem.. Other than go into settings?? cannot? impossible.
    ????

  8. Christian says

    March 27, 2020 at 3:34 pm

    It don’t work for me, I have tried many of the steps, it still write waiting for download. And will not download

  9. David says

    September 16, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    Hard power off vs the “restart” which I had been trying was all it took for me. Thank you!

  10. veronica jefferson says

    May 21, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    i have a Motorola android and its been acting up a lot lately. I have rebooted it and factory reset it so many times. I even started the android as new and created new emails just in case my hone has been hacked or a virus. for example i have never downloaded the facebook app and it appears on my phone eventhough i clear it and disable. i ont know much about technology but i know for a fact that when i bought the phone i did not have a lot of the apps that are on it. i don’t know how to begin i cant get to my important stuff because of it. and what is sandboxed? i see that a lot under some of my apps? like my location, microphone and camera settings will come on also when i keep taking them off for security reasons. its creepy. and that’s why it wont let me do my factory resseting on my google play services. whats stopping it? or whats helping it to start the other weird apps?? what is summit RCS sevice version 1027-65c4a641028-aedad73??

  11. Jack says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:40 am

    Thanks very much for the help. Worked a treat.

  12. Sandi says

    June 1, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Thanks so much!!! It worked! :)

  13. Dewaldt says

    December 7, 2016 at 8:49 am

    I have a Samsung galaxy S2 my whatsapp worked perfect 3days ago then an update came up i installed the update then it stopped working. I uninstalled whatsapp and reinstalled but only gets to 66% completion then I get an error code -11. I updated my Google play services, uninstalled Google play updates in the application manager and updated them again. I cleared all the caches in the app management tab under downloads. My download manager only shows force close next to it cancel which is greyed out can’t select it and there isn’t a disable or enable option.

    Please give advice to resolve this problem.

    Many thanks

    Dewaldt

  14. Luke says

    June 16, 2016 at 3:31 am

    Steve, your solution worked, thanks :)

  15. Steve says

    May 16, 2016 at 8:05 am

    Cleared Play Services and Download Manager data. Got rid of the “ErrorReport” constantly downloading and I was able to download my app. Thank you.

  16. Felicia says

    April 23, 2016 at 5:21 am

    i have tried many times but still gives me unknown errors !help please.

  17. Ben says

    April 9, 2016 at 12:12 am

    Thanks alot genius

  18. Tiffany says

    March 13, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    I did all of this and when it didn’t work I factory reset my phone and it still isn’t working. I was getting “%1$s unknown error has occurred “

  19. MIKE says

    March 4, 2016 at 10:39 am

    After AT&T , Samsung and Google techs inside my phone it is a total mystery to all of them. My pro stopped downloading everything in August 2015. I was told AT&T COULD backup my stuff to try a reset. I went to the store they said they had NO way to do it. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS ???

  20. Kye Tyme says

    January 27, 2016 at 5:10 am

    Thankyou, easy to follow instructions

  21. Muhammad says

    December 4, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    I don’t know what to say , but it works like genius , please, please please keep the hard work,you are rocks..Thanks a lot.

  22. jt says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    Thanks a lot..really it worked..plz help for this type of issues further and be blessed.

  23. joey says

    July 28, 2015 at 1:06 am

    uninstall play store
    reboot the unit
    re install play store
    should be ok

  24. Marike says

    July 27, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    It worked!!! Thank you so much!!! Fix 2 works perfectly.

  25. Samantha says

    June 13, 2015 at 10:40 am

    Fix 2 has sorted the mess that was my daughter’s phone – thank you so much :-)

  26. Walmir says

    April 9, 2015 at 8:51 am

    Hi guy! thank you for the information and may the force be with you.
    I wish much success in your life.

  27. Ivan says

    March 9, 2015 at 9:55 am

    Thanks a Lot.. !!!!!

  28. richard says

    February 26, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    Sorted thanks

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Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

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