Is Google Play Store crashing on your phone? Here are some easy fixes

Google Play Store crashing is one of the most dreadful problems one the Android ecosystem. When this happens, you can neither install any new apps nor update existing ones. It means that you’re locked down with what you have. Unless, of course, you want to start sideloading apps (which is not recommended for obvious security reasons). The good news though is that you can make this problem go away using the following fixes.

Clear the Play Store cache

Clearing the cache is the first thing you should do if any app crashes immediately (or shortly) after you open it. Simply open the Settings app on your device, scroll down to the ‘Device’ category, and tap to select ‘Apps’. This opens a new menu listing where you can control all apps installed on your device. If your phone or tablet is running Android Marshmallow, simply scroll down till you find the ‘Google Play Store’ option. If you’re using Android Lollipop or earlier versions, slide to the ‘All’ tab and find ‘Google Play Store’ from the list of apps that appears. Once you tap on ‘Play Store’, you should have several options: ‘Force Stop’, and ‘Disable’. Possibly, you could even have one that says ‘Uninstall Updates’.Select ‘Force Stop’ and tap ‘Ok’ to clear the warning that shows up. This makes sure that Play Store is not running in the background. Based on what version of Android you’re using, you should see get some more options. On Lollipop or earlier OS versions, simply scroll down and tap on the ‘Clear Cache’ button. On Android Marshmallow, tap on the ‘Storage’ option then chose ‘Clear Cache’. This effectively erases all cached data attached to the Play Store app.Try to open Play Store and see whether it is still crashing. If so, following the same instructions above but rather than choosing to ‘Clear Cache’, tap to ‘Clear Data’. This deletes all login details and other data related to the app. Once you’ve done this, try opening the app again. It should work well, but if the problem persists, you’ve got one final option.

Install the latest version of Play Store

If the fix above doesn’t solve the Google Play Store Crashing issue, it’s time to find an APK file of the latest version of Play Store. To make this possible, navigate to Settings>Security and turn on the checkbox (or toggle) to enable installation of apps from ‘Unknown Source’. Tap ‘OK’ to ignore the warning message that comes up. This practically means that you have authorized the Android system to accommodate apps that are downloaded from outside the official Google Play Store marketplace.Launch the browser of your app on Android and type www.apkmirror.com in the address bar. This is a trusted site that mirrors APKs hosted on the Google Play. As you might expect, APK mirror only hosts free apps and verifies them as legitimate.ON the search field, type ‘Play Store' - the first option you see on the results page should be the latest available version of Play Store.Download the APK file and install it on your phone. You should do just fine following the prompts that appear on your screen.Hopefully, the crashing problem with Google Play Store should clear.If any app is giving you a hell of a time crashing, and it still doesn’t seem to work even after you clear the cache/data, uninstalling it and then re-installing it usually clears it – with any luck.

Image Source: The Android Soul