Can’t download an app or update from the Google Play Store? Let’s see together how to solve the pending download problem
On some Android phones it may happen that you cannot download your favorite app or update WhatsApp or other essential apps due to a generic error, which manifests itself with the wording Download pending or Download pending on the app page or in the notification shown by Android during the automatic update procedure. This error can prevent you from updating all pending apps, thus causing a real “traffic jam” that paralyzes the updating of apps already on your phone or prevents the installation of new apps.
If we ran into this annoying problem, we came to the right guide: here we will show you all the methods to be applied to solve the ” Download pending ” error on the Google Play Store and restore the correct app update or installation of new apps from the integrated store.
Fortunately, this error is not very common and, if it happens to us, we can rest assured: the problem can be easily solved by following all the suggestions in the following chapters, so as to resume the downloads from where we left off.
Check how apps are downloaded
The first check we can do concerns the way the apps are downloaded, which may have been changed by mistake. To proceed, open the Google Play Store app, press the profile icon at the top right, press the Settings item , go to the General section and then expand the App download preference item.
Inside the screen that opens, make sure that the voice On any network is active , so as to be able to download the apps even when we are connected under the cellular data network and prevent downloads from blocking them when we are away from home. After selecting the right item, press on Finish , go back to the Google Play Store, press the top right on the profile image, open the My apps and games menu and press the X next to the apps blocked waiting, so you can resume interrupted downloads.
Check the remaining phone memory
Another cause of not downloading apps and updates is insufficient residual space, a very common problem on Android phones with 64 GB or less of internal memory. To solve, we block the pending downloads by taking us to the Google Play Store app , we press the menu at the top right with the profile icon, we press on My apps and my games and finally we press on the single X of the blocked downloads. Now open the phone Settings app , let’s go to the Storage Space menu (on Xiaomi it is present in the System Info menu) and activate the space cleaning modes, so as to free up the amount of space needed to install new apps and new updates.
Check your internet connection
Many times the problem is so trivial that it can be solved with a simple restart of the phone connection . To proceed, scroll down the notification bar and first deactivate the Wi-Fi connection, then the cellular data network connection (we can also use airplane mode to deactivate and reactivate both connections).
After restarting the connections we try again to download the app or download pending updates, so as to check if the problem is definitively solved.
Restart the device
If the restart of the connections has not solved, it is better to try to restart the device completely, in order to resolve any problems with the cache or connection “stuck”. To proceed, hold down the power button and press Restart to completely restart the device.
If the problem persists it may be a good idea to restart your Android phone in safe mode and try updating apps in safe mode. If we have never restarted the phone in safe mode, just read our guide Restart Android in safe mode on every smartphone .
Clear Google app data and cache
If all the previous methods didn’t work we can try the last resort: clearing the data and cache for the Google apps built into the phone. To proceed, open the Settings app , go to the App menu (on Xiaomi we must also open the Manage app submenu ) and make sure to open the Google Play Store , Google Play Services , Google Services Framework , Android System WebView and the Download app.
We open all the apps indicated above one at a time and, in the respective screens, we press on Delete data , Delete all data , Delete cache and Uninstall updates (if any). Doing so will reset the operation of all system apps responsible for downloading new apps and updates, “forcibly” removing pending downloads.
Conclusions
The methods we have illustrated above will allow you to quickly resolve the “Download pending” error on the Google Play Store and return immediately to download your favorite apps and updates for apps already on your phone. If the problem persists even after trying all the proposed methods, let’s avoid formatting the whole phone (it’s really wasted in this case) and try to download the apps from the alternative stores.
