How To Resolve The Play Store Download Pending Issue (2023)

by
The Play Store is like the most important part of our Android phone, it is like the supermarket which supplies us with all the necessary groceries and essentials along with everything else that we might want. Not only do we need the Play Store to download new apps and games on our phones, but we also need it to update the already installed games and apps. Without the updates, we won’t be able to enjoy the latest versions of these apps and games and sometimes the old versions don’t even work. So yes, the Play Store is one of the most important parts of our phones.
Sometimes, the users have complained that their Play Store isn’t working and if you select an app to download or update, it would say “download is pending”. It is not a very uncommon issue that Android users face and neither it is limited to any phone model.
Since you are here, we assume that you are also facing the issue on your Android phone. Well, like we said it is not a big deal and happens to a lot of users. And you can easily solve it on your own as well. All you need is effective and easy ways to resolve the issue. Well, you are at the right place because we happen to have all the ways that can help you resolve the issue.
So let’s take a look at the following article and find out which are the best ways to fix the Play Store download pending issue.

How To Resolve The Play Store Download Pending Issue

1. Cancel The Current Downloads/Updates

One of the most common reasons behind the download error is the fact that you are already downloading or updating an app or game. You may as well forget about it and the Play Store won’t download the app or game until the previous one is downloaded or updated on your phone. So if that is the case then you may as well need to cancel the current downloads or updates to download the app that you are trying right in that movement.
For this you will need to follow these steps:
  • Go to the Play Store
  • Now go to My Games and Apps
  • See if any app or game is downloading or updating
  • If yes, then cancel it or wait till it is completed, then you can download the next app or game from the Play Store

2. Enable Mobile Data Downloads

Another one of the reasons why you are not able to download apps and games from the Play Store is that you haven’t enabled the download from mobile data option in the Play Store. If that is the case, then you need to enable it as soon as possible. This would allow Play Store to download apps or games from mobile data without needing the WI-Fi.
For this, you will need to:
  • Launch Play Store on your phone
  • Go to the Settings
  • Choose the App Download Preferences in the Settings
  • Enable the Over Any Network option in the settings

3. Turn Off VPN App on Your Device

If you are using a VPN app on your device then this can also be the reason behind the download pending issue. Here, the VPN can restrict the downloading of certain apps or games on your phone or it would make your data speed too slow which makes it difficult to download apps or games on your phone.
There isn’t much that you need to do in this case as all you need to do is to stop the VPN app on your phone. This would increase the download speed on your device and would make it easier to download apps and games from Play Store as before.

4. Delete Play Store Data

One of the leading reasons behind the Play Store not being able to download and showing the Download is Pending Error is that there is a lot of unnecessary data being stored in the Play Store itself.
This is an easy fix and has proven to be most effective as well. So what you need to do is to delete the Play Store data, this would delete all the unnecessary files and configuration stored in the Play Store.
For this you need to do follow these steps:
  • Launch the Settings apps in your android phone
  • Tap on the Apps and Notifications settings
  • Find Google Play Store App and select it
  • Tap on the Storage of the app
  • Now select the Clear Storage Data
  • You can also clear the Cache for the Play Store app as well.
This should fix the Download is Pending Error on the Play Store.

5. Uninstall Play Store Updates

Another one of the popular ways to fix the Download is Pending Error is to uninstall the Play Store updates. A lot of users (including myself) have reported that after installing the updates the Play Store started working again and the issue of pending downloads was also resolved.
Many times the latest updates for the Play Store feature several bugs and cause the error. Since you can’t really uninstall the Play Store App and install it again, as you would normally do with any other apps on your phone, uninstalling all the Play Store updates is the only option left.
For this you will need to follow these steps:
  • Go to the Settings on your phone
  • Select the Apps options
  • Now find and Select Play Store App
  • Now look for the Uninstall Updates option and select it
  • It would uninstall all the updates for your Play Store and go back to its original version for a while.
  • But it would be automatically updated as well.
Now go to the Play Store and see if it is working again and download the apps and games on your phone.

6. Free Up Space on Your Phone

If your phone is full and there is no space left for the new updates or new apps then this can also be the reason behind the infamous Download is Pending Error while using the Play Store.
First, you will need to look at how much free space is left on your phone. And if it is not much then you might need to free up space. You can do so by deleting unnecessary photos, videos, documents, apps, games, or anything that is taking a lot of space and is irrelevant for the phone.
Just go to the Storage in the Settings of your phone and see how full your memory is and what kinds of things you have on your phone. After that, just delete the unnecessary data and then download an app or game from your Play Store. If you can’t delete anything, then you may need to expand your memory with a bigger memory card or you can also keep the data in your computer or anywhere else.

7. Remove Your Account and Add it Again

Sometimes, removing and adding again your Google account to your Play Store can also help to fix this issue as well. For this, you would need to go to the Settings and then select the Accounts and Backups or the Accounts section of your phone.
Now, you will need to find out the Google Account and Remove it.
After a while, log back into your Google Account and see if it would download the apps now. You can also remove the account from the Play Store as well and then log back in.
This should help and fix the issue as well.

8. Check Your Connection

Another one of the leading culprits behind the Download is Pending Error in your Play Store is the slow internet connection. If you are using the WiFi, then you can turn off the adapter or router and then turn that back on and connect to it after a while and see if there is an improvement in the internet speed.
You can do the same with the mobile data as well, just turn it off and back on or switch off and on your device to increase the speed.

9. Factory Reset Your Device

If nothing else worked for you so far, then you would need to factory reset your device. This may be a drastic step, but it would be the only chance that would fix the issue as well.
Make sure you have a backup for all of your data and files, so you would get back everything on your phone. By Factory Reset, it would clear all the unnecessary configuration, settings, and data. Overall, I’d nothing else works, then this should be your best shot.

Conclusion

So these are some of the most effective and easy ways to fix the download is pending error in your Play Store. Since it happens due to various reasons, you will need to try various solutions as well. Overall, we think one of them would work for you.
That would be all and we hope that you found everything you needed and would be able to use Play Store as before. Thank you.

Leave a Comment