‘Download Pending…’: Here’s how to get rid of it.

Just imagine Android without the Google Play Store. Meaningless, I would say.

I mean what could we possibly do without the Play Store?

Nothing! No apps, no games. We will stop calling our phones as ‘smartphones’.

But thank god, that’s not the case!

Now, what if the Play Store on your Android starts behaving abnormally? The app just won’t download. It just keeps on saying ‘Download Pending’.

The download doesn’t even begin. And this is not the case with a particular app, but the whole Play Store starts behaving in this manner.

There are various other Google Play errors but here our focus will only be on ‘How to fix the ‘Download Pending’ on the Play Store.

Also Read: Best Educational Apps for Android and iOS

So..Let’s get started.

How to get rid of ‘Download Pending’ on the Play Store?

There are four different methods and I am gonna take you through each of them one-by-one.

Method #1: The ‘STOP’ Method

This method is the easiest of all and it has worked almost all the time. Here’s what you’ve got to do:

1. See those three-horizontal-lines (also knows as the ‘hamburger icon’) at the top left on the home screen of the Play Store? Tap on it.

2. Tap on ‘My apps & games’.

3. Once you’re into ‘My apps & games’, check whether there is/are any pending update of an app/apps. If that’s the case, then you can do either of two things – Let the update finish first or You can tap on the green ‘STOP’ button to halt all the updates.

4. When you are done with the above step you can go ahead and try downloading that app which you were trying to download in the first place.

download pending

Most probably, it shall begin!

Also Read: Best Music Player Apps For Android

Like I said before, the above method has worked in most of the cases but if still your Play Store is stuck on downloading, then you can try the forthcoming methods.

Method #2: The ‘CLEAR DATA’ Method

Don’t start sweating if Method#1 didn’t work for you.

If ‘STOP’ing the updates didn’t work for you, then you can Clear App Data to get rid of this issue.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Go to the device’s Settings.

2. Scroll down till you find ‘Apps’ and then tap on it.

3. On the next window, keep on scrolling till you want ‘Google Play Store’. Tap on it.

Download Pending

(DISCLAIMER: HERE I AM TALKING ABOUT GOOGLE PLAY STORE AND NOT GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES. PLEASE DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT GET CONFUSED BETWEEN GOOGLE PLAY STORE AND GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES.)

4. Once you’ve tapped on Google Play Store, App Info will open up. There you’ll find ‘Storage‘. Tap on it.

5. Here you will notice two big green buttons namely – ‘CLEAR DATA‘ & ‘CLEAR CACHE‘.

download pending

6. Tap on both of those buttons and that’s it.

Now head back to the Play Store and try downloading that app again, it won’t show ‘Download Pending’ anymore.

Method #3: The ‘DOWNLOAD-THE-LATEST-VERSION’ Method

Google has a tendency of updating the army of its apps with latest versions. These updates, majority of the time, carry bug fixes and minor tweaks.

Google pushes updates to the Play Store as well once in a few months. So there might be a chance you’ve been using an outdated version of the Play Store.

Here’s the fix:

1. Go to APKMirror website.

2. Type ‘Google Play Store’ in the search box and click on the magnifying glass.

download pending

3. Click on the first link which comes on the result page as that will be the latest version available at the time.

download pending

4. On the next page, scroll down until you find a big box titled as ‘Download’. Click on the link just under ‘Variant’. (Refer the below Screenshot)

download pending

5. You’ll be taken to another page. Scroll down a little and you’ll find a blue ‘Download APK’ button, right at the centre of the page.

download pending

6. Click on it and your download will begin.

7. Once downloaded, transfer that apk file to your device and install it. (Remember that you’ll have to allow installation of apps from Unknown sources beforehand.)

8. That’s, pretty much, it. Your problem’s solved! Bingo!

Method #4: The ‘UNINSTALL’ Method

No, no. I am not telling you to uninstall the Play Store. In fact, you can’t even do it. By ‘UNINSTALL’ method I mean uninstalling the updates, if any.

Confused?

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Go into your device’s Settings.

2. Scroll down and tap on Apps.

3. Find Google Play Store and tap on it.

Download Pending

4. On the upper-right corner, you’ll see a three-dot button. Tap on it.

5. Tap on Uninstall updates.

Download Pending

That’s pretty much it!

What if none of the above works?

One of our readers, marcus2021, was in a similar situation. None of the above methods worked for him. He did his own trial and error and found a solution to the problem. Here are the steps which he followed in his own words:

STEP:

Open Settings> Apps> then clear cache and data of Google Play Store / Google Play Service / Google Play FrameWork / Download Manager/ then FORCE STOP.

Remain on the Application Settings then select one by one the applications that have been updated prior to the problem then uninstall the update
*uninstalling the google messenger and google play music works for me
*update of a certain application is the cause of the problem
*it prevents the play store from updating other application.

then after uninstalling the previous updates wait for at least 5 mins then try downloading a sample application on your play store.

Thank you marcus2021 for sharing this with us.

I am sure the above-shared methods will get the job done. But if in a very rare case, the problem still persists, feel free to get in touch with me through the comments section below. I’ll be very glad to help you out.

Either way, which of the methods worked for you? Do you know of some other method to fix the ‘Download Pending’ issue? Let me know in the comments section below.

 

And, as always, don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family to help them out.

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108 COMMENTS

  1. None of these worked for me,only thing that worked is I uninstalled the most up to date version of the app and went back to my original factory set Google play app and I was able to download right away. Maybe option #4?

    • Same here. I’ve had this issue ever since Play Store first updated. My original version works but has a habit of automatically updating to one which does not so I have it disabled whenever I am not downloading apps. It always fails to post any review I make, giving an error.
      Although I get the ‘pending’ error, there are no other downloads being done

    • Hello Toini.
      Try uninstalling any new updates. You can do that by going into Settings>>Apps>>Google Play Store, tap on the three-dots on the upper right corner. There you’ll see Uninstall updates. Tap on it. This should work.
      If it doesn’t, let me know.

      • This has only happened in the last few days to me; I’ve got about 15 updates to download and it just says downloading but it never actually downloads it.

        I’ve tried everything. Emptied Cache and Data in both Google Play Store and Google Play Services and Forced them to stop, Uninstalled updates for the Google Play app, rebooted. Reloaded Google Play Store and get up the terms and conditions – select agree, behaves the same as before.

        Everything else on my phone works properly, internet browsing and everything else is fine – just this issue.

          • Tried that just now, exactly the same result, just the downloading bar going across but not downloading anything – maybe I should remove one of my accounts and try again; but it was wroking with 2 accounts so I don’t see where this problem has come from.

          • That ‘downloading’ bar; is it showing just for a particular app? If that’s the case then try uninstalling that particular app. See if it works.

          • I’ve fixed it.

            I uninstalled all updates from Google Play Store, then cleared all data and the cache. I also force stopped the Google Play Services app. I then went to APKMirror and downloaded both the newest Google Play Application and Google Play Services app.

            I then removed both my accounts from Google altogether.

            I then installed the new APKs for Play and Services, went through the setup without registering my details just so it would load the store up, agree to the terms and conditions and see the apps on the phone.

            I then closed the Store app (using holding the home key and swiping it.)

            I then registered my 2 accounts with Google on the phone.

            Then – this is the key bit: When I reopened the Play store, I got a notification that I need to set a back-up account, so I selected my usual gmail one. Then it just automatically started to sync the apps and download the updates. I think this bit is the key part – the backup account needs to be set before the Play Store will update the applications.

            I hope at some point this helps somebody else as I’ve wasted nearly 2 days sorting this out and reading over 20 pages on it.

            By the way Ankit, I really appreciate your input, as without it, I would have probably performed a factory reset – your bit of advice made me explore the other options I had left.

          • Thanks to you Christopher for sharing with us your experience.
            And I am sure other readers will find your comment very helpful.
            And by the way, I am glad that I came of some help. You are welcome if in future you need any help with your smartphone.

      • tried everything, nothing works.
        it says downloading all the time

        I have no updates going on or other apps that are installing.
        i have newest play store.
        I have free space available

  4. It helped me a lot…thnk u …..guys…i luv u…u cant even realize hw much insane i was gonna be..after all this stuff stuck my head….bt u helped me…..ty…soo soo damn much

  6. Auto update has a bug. Turn it off and install manually one at a time.

    On Mi box go to Google Play Store down arrow to my apps. Scroll right. Click on the x to stop updates.

    You can download now.
    I assume most Android devices work the same..

    But, I recommend you click each app, one at a time, to update. Once installed backspace to update and do another..

    This should clear the cache and auto update should work from now on.

  9. Its usually one app causing a problem.
    My solution:
    Download Aptoide from apkmirror.
    Let Aptoide update your installed apps.
    Reboot Phone.
    Now when you restart Google Play will update other apps.
    I keep Aptoide installed as Google Play has a habit of playing up, I find updating using the 2 app stores works great.

  11. Hi. These methods worked for me but i have another problem and was wondering if you could help? Basically my phone vibrates for when i get a notification but the actual notification doesnt show up. If tried anything i could find to help but nothing has. Anyway you could help?

  15. Thank you so very much Ankit for your wisdom. After many days of being unable to download properly apps like WhatsApp & other Australian apps – I tried your “clear cache & clear data” advice & it works a treat. Cheers.

  17. Hi i’ve tried all your suggested methods still the trouble persists. i tried downloading an app from my phone with the same Google Play account, it worked just fine. But when I logged in to my tablet with the same account I have the download pending problem still. Any suggestions?

  18. I have the same problem, play store won’t update google apps. I have tried all the above except the factory reset. This just happened yesterday and now my Bluetooth mouse and keyboard have an annoying lag. The one thing I noticed after the play store started misbehaving was I couldn’t load any web pages! None! One of the fixes I did fixed that, I think it was clearing the cache on the play store that fixed that. I also still have the play store problem of being stuck in the update process and never installing.

  21. Hi, so I have tried each and every one of your steps and none of them have worked…. But after I uninstalled the update it got rid of the pending but it takes literally like 2 hours for a single app to download -_- and while it’s downloading it would just kinda get stuck for a few minutes and then continue downloading and then get stuck again…

  23. Hello sir I used all the first three methods mentioned above. Though it’s showing download pending. Plz help

  26. Hi

    Here’s the answer that helped me

    I tried all the above steps and other blogs answers also, didn’t work.

    Answer:
    Go to your phone settings
    Click on Storage
    Click on Cache data (on the bottom of the screen)
    (this will erase all data)
    Click on cache data to enter sub menu
    (this will erase all data)

    Try downloading from Google play store again

    And it works 😀

  27. hey thanks a lot i was facing problem from long time … few times i googled this problem to find the right fix but nothing worked and than finally find your blog and the step 4 worked for me …. yuppie thanks a tone.

  28. but the bad thing i have noticed it that every time to install new app i need to uninstall my play store and set it to factory setting can there be some permanent fix. thanks in advance.

  31. Hi! I’ve tried all the methods but none still works? Do you think I have to resolve to reset factory settings or please, if you could give me some other options to try. Thanks

  34. Have done this process, a few times nothing works, can’t even update the apps I’ve got, all way out of date!!!

  39. Hi, none of the options in the article, nor in the comments worked.

    I did a factory reset, complete wipeout, and that worked, downloads are now working fine.

  41. I tried that and its still not working. I can only download sine apps and none I’ve had installed before. And it gives me errors like 963 or 903. I am ready to factory reset. But then I don’t know how to back stuff up or what to do with sin card. Help

  44. Method #3 is what ended up working for me. Had just gotten a pixel 2 and the download pending came up for some of the 100 apps and would not change. Thank you for your help!

  46. Nothing works for me I have tried every single thing I possibly can.. When I try to download an app, it just says download pending. Please help me!
    Thanks

    • Try uninstalling all previous updates that have been made with your apps.
      * stop the updating process> open google play store then open my apps>click stop on the application that is still updating> you can see the updating apps on the “installed” tab.
      * open settings>apps> then select the applications that have been updated prior with the problem
      ex. google messenger, gallery, google text to speech, google play music
      *after uninstalling all the updates, wait for at least 5 mins then try downloading desired apps.

      – it works for me, after 2 weeks of trial and error…..

  48. After 2 weeks of trial and errors and frustration i have found a solution for the problem, at least it works for me:

    STEP:

    Open Settings> Apps> then clear cached and data of Google Play Store / Google Play Service / Google Play Frame Work / Download Manager/ then FORCE STOP

    Remain on the Application Settings then select one by one the applications that have been updated prior to the problem then uninstall the update
    *uninstalling the google messenger and google play music works for me
    *update of a certain application is the cause of the problem
    *it prevents the play store from updating other application..

    then after uninstalling the previous updates wait for at least 5 mins then try downloading a sample application on your play store.

    Hope this will help or at least give others a hint of the problem..

  49. IF your cell phone setting is changed to allow updates when Wi-Fi is available, then you do get this message (DOWNLOAD PENDING). Once I changed it and got rid of that condition, then all the pending apps were installed in a few minutes.

  52. I had tried all three of the methods as suggested by you and others, many times. I never thought of just going back to a version that was working before this problem occurred. Duh. I’m back to version 5.-something, back to when it was just called Google Play. Can now download. Thank you very much.

  54. i am have the problem same of this the app download but take much time in install process like 20 min what is the solution and if i install app from phone same problem please solution

  56. Hi,

    Thanks for the post. I have a seemingly different problem – when I download apps they usually seem to be stuck on pending, though sometimes will download. However, in most cases when I leave it in the background overnight it will download, but again not always.

    Additionally, I have the same problem inside apps. For example, in Spotify or podcast apps download will be stuck on pending in an unpredictable manner.

    The phone is ZTE Nubia Z17 lite, and I think I had this problem since I bought it.

    I tried the various playstore fixes and nothing changed, but I suspect the problem is not with the playstore but in a deeper communication level. I haven’t been able to find anything that would help, I would really appreciate any help you can offer!

    Thanks

  57. The only thing that works for me is uninstalling the Play Store updates and then installing the app/update I need. But the Play Store auto-updates itself soon after that, so I have to uninstall updates everytime I want to install/update another app. It’s very frustrating!

  63. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was stuck in download pending for days. Finally, I found you and now I am up and running. Your diagrams worked for me to show me exactly where to go and what to do!
    Thank you so much,
    Susan

  64. Nothing has worked for me, clearing cache and data, uninstalling updates, uninstalling and re-installing Play Store app and even removing and adding Google accounts. It’s so freaking weird!!!
    Any other advice would appreciated.

  65. Sadly none of these methods worked for me, BUT I did find my solution somewhere else

    Turns out the second app that I was using for downloading some apps APKPURE was causing issues, I only had to force stop APKPURE and the playstore started working again inmediatly, leaving this here in case someone else also runs into the same trouble.

  67. None of this worked but I finally solved it. If you have an ASUS Zenfone 4 like I do, go to Power Master -> Autostart manager and enable it for Google Play Store. This function has actually also meddled with other apps and unables them to notify me of anything so it’s more useful to simply allow autostart for every app. Aaaah, I can breathe now.

  68. Had this problem. Cleared data and cache. Force stopped Google Play Store. Google Play Store was already up to date.
    Turns out simply powering my device off, then powering it on fixed everything and all apps that were pending downloaded in seconds.
    Sometimes the old computer teacher’s advice is the best. “Turn it off, then turn it back on.”
    ASUS ZenPad 3S 10, running Android 7.0

  70. I have this problem only in WIFI, when I do clear cache and data from google play, it works a whiel. Then it goes again download pending when trying to download an app. Issue is not when I¨m downloading over 4G.

  72. Very Helpful Article… I also went to the hamburger Icon, cliciked on download pending apps and cleared the que and then the download started working.

  73. Thanks Dude, You saved me…
    None of the above worked for me. I have followed these steps from each of the method and Playstore started downloading/updating the apps.
    1. Logout from Google account
    2. Clear data/cache
    3. Download/Install the latest APKs Playstore and Google services from the link mentioned above
    4. Go to settings > account – Add Google account (Do not add it through Play store)
    5. Open Playstore, try to download/update a single app at a time.
    It’s done!!!

    2 years ago I replaced my mobile thinking that it was a device issue and replaced mobile worked well. Now when I bought a new mobile, same issue occurred again and then I found your post.
    Thanks again!!!

  78. Thanks so much for all those handy fixes. So nice to have people out there who are ready to help. Thanks a million

  79. Reboot the phone and when the phone logo (Samsung, LG, etc.) is on the screen, press and hold the ‘volume down’ button. Release when the Safe Mode image shows. Now go to Google Play and download while in Safe Mode. Works every time.

  81. Recently, I’ve been very frustrated with the pending message appearing on App install.
    I tried above options except with a new install of Play Store.

    This worked for me:

    Suggestion #4 above: Uninstalled updates to Play Store (as recommended).
    I got an error 491 when trying to install, but, got no more pending message.

    Deactivated my expressVPN.

    Voila, I was able to install my new App (Signal) when my expressVPN was deactivated.

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