Google Discover is nothing in comparison to what Google Now was supposed to be but it’s still useful if you want to get news from curated sources on different topics. The feed usually refreshes in the background, when you open or skip different stories. However, some users report that they get the “Can’t refresh Discover right now” error whenever they want to swipe down from the top to manually refresh and get new stories and articles. If you’re among them, check the instructions we provided below.
Table of contents:
- Check the network
- Disable and re-enable Google Discover
- Clear cache and data from the Google app
- Uninstall updates from the Google app and check the permissions
- Remove your Google Account and add it again
How do I refresh Google Discover?
If everything works as intended, you can refresh Google Discover by swiping down from the top. However, if you get an error, check the network and disable the location, troubleshoot the Google app, or remove your Google Account.
You can also try disabling and enabling Google Discover and look for improvements. The details are below.
1. Check the network and disable Location services
Just by following common sense, this and similar errors point toward connectivity issues. It seems that’s not the case here but it’s still a step we can’t skip. So, start by disconnecting and connecting again to the Wi-Fi network. If you can confirm that there’s nothing wrong with the internet connection, you can move on to the next step. On the other hand, if you experience connectivity issues, learn how to fix them by following the instructions we provided in the article dedicated to addressing Wi-Fi issues on Android.
Also, if you use mobile data, make sure that the Google app has permission to use mobile data in the background. You can check that in Settings > Apps > Google > Mobile data.
Furthermore, some users suggest disabling Location Services from the Quick Access menu because, due to a bug, Google Discover won’t load as it tries to get the location readings. If you still get the “Can’t refresh Discover right now” error, try disabling and re-enabling Google Discover.
2. Disable and re-enable Google Discover
If the Discover preview won’t load, you can try disabling it and enabling it again. For some users, this was enough to fix the problem. You can simply disable Google Discover in Google settings, just don’t forget to restart your device before enabling it again.
Here’s how to disable and re-enable Google Discover on your Android phone:
- Open Settings.
- Select Google.
- Open Settings for Google apps.
- Select Search, Assistant & Voice.
- Tap General.
- Disable Discover.
- Restart your Android and navigate again to Settings > Google > Settings for Google apps > Search, Assistant & Voice > General, and enable Discover.
On many Android skins, you have the option to disable and enable Google Discover in the -1 Home Screen in Home Screen settings. Many of them offer alternatives, like Samsung Free on Samsung devices or OnePlus Shelf on OnePlus handsets. Try enabling the alternative and then switch to Google Discover. Hopefully, this will kickstart it.
3. Clear cache and data from the Google app
The next thing you can do is clear the data from the Google app. There are a few services that are configured through the Google app, including Google Assistant, Google At a Glance, and Google Discover. So, consequently, when one of these services runs into issues, the Google app is usually where you need to look for a solution. The best way to do that is to clear all local data the Google app saved.
Here’s how to clear data from the Google app on your Android:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps.
- Select Google from the list of available apps.
- Tap Storage.
- Select Manage storage.
- Clear all data and restart your device.
In addition, you should also clear local data from Google Play Services and Google Services Framework. For the latter, you’ll need to toggle on the Show system processes option.
4. Uninstall updates from the Google app and check permissions
If clearing data didn’t fix the problem, you can uninstall updates from the Google app. Out of all Google apps available on Android, the Google app gets the most frequent updates and, often, instead of improvements, they bring bugs and issues. With that in mind, you can try uninstalling updates and re-updating the app. This might not look like something big, but it fixed a lot of issues in the past for us.
To uninstall updates from the Google app, navigate to Settings > Apps > Google once again. Once there, tap on the 3 dots and uninstall updates. After that, you can re-update the app in the Play Store or sideload an older version of the Google App via an APK.
Alternatively, instead of updating the app, you can navigate to APK Mirror and download an older version of the Google app. Learn more about sideloading APKs on Android.
Once you finish with any of the previous steps, check Permissions for Google App and make sure that everything is allowed.
5. Remove your Google Account and add it again
Finally, we can only recommend removing your Google Account (the default one on your Android) and adding it again. But, before removing the Google Account, navigate to Google Discover from the Home Screen and tap on your profile image at the top right corner. Once there, tap on your account at the top and choose Use without an account. If you don’t get the “Can’t refresh Discover right now” or similar errors, get back and choose your account to use in Google Discover.
If that doesn’t help, here’s how to remove and add your Google Account on Android:
- Open Settings.
- Select Accounts.
- Tap Manage accounts.
- Open your default Google Account.
- Tap Remove account.
- Restart your device and add the same Google Account.
If that doesn’t solve the issue, make sure to report the problem to Google. You can do that in Google Discover > Account > Send Feedback. If you have any questions or alternative solutions to recommend, make sure to leave them in the comments section below. Thank you for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.
