Fix: Google Play Store not opening

Google Play Store is an essential part of the Android platform. One of the main reasons Android got traction in the early days and reached this point of success today. Without it and the millions of apps it has, the user experience would suffer. The reason is more to worry if the Google Play Store is not opening for you, which I assume is exactly the case.

Don’t worry, though. We have a list of solutions that should help you address this with ease.

Table of contents:

1. Clear the app data
2. Inspect the connection
3. Clear Data from Google Services Framework
4. Check the Date & time settings
5. Remove and add your Google account again
6. Disable proxy or VPN temporarily
7. Check Play Store permissions
8. Uninstall Google Play Store updates
9. Reset your device to factory settings

How do I fix the Google Play store not opening?

There’s a variety of causes and associated errors regarding the faulty Google Play Store. The most common reason is the abundance of pilled-up data. Additionally, Google Play Store might not open due to inaccurate time and date, lack of permissions, or full-blown system corruption.

With these 9 steps, we made sure to tackle all possible causes. Move through the list and follow the instructions closely.

Solution 1 – Clear the app data

Let’s start by clearing the app data. Even though it comes preinstalled as a system service, the Google Play Store is still an app. It piles up cache and data to speed up the loading processes, but it actually gets slower once the stored data significantly grows.

Follow these instructions to clear the app data from the Play Store:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps and then Apps Manager or Manage Apps.
3. Locate and tap the Google Play Store.
4. Choose Storage.
5. Clear Data and confirm when prompted.
6. 
7. Reboot your device and try accessing the Google Play Store again.

If the Google Play Store still won’t open, move to the next step.

Solution 2 – Inspect the connection

The Play Store usually opens without the network connection if it’s cached in RAM. However, it won’t work without a stable Wi-Fi connection or Mobile Data. That’s why we encourage you to inspect the network, try connecting to an alternative one, or reboot your router.

Here are some tips to troubleshoot the connection on Android:

• Disable and re-enable Wi-Fi.
• Restart your device and router/modem.
• Enable Airplane mode and disable it after a minute or so.
• Reset the Network settings.
• Check out our articles about Wi-Fi and data issues on Android for more solutions.

Solution 3 – Clear Data from Google Services Framework

If the Play Store still won’t open, we suggest clearing the date from the Google Services Framework. This is another essential part of the Android platform and has a big role in a lot of system functions. It is also known to break certain other Google services on Android devices.

Follow these steps to clear Data from Google Services Framework:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps and then Apps Manager or Manage Apps.
3. Tap on the 3-dot menu and select Show System Processes or All apps.
4. Locate and tap the Google Services Framework.
5. Choose Storage.
6. Clear Data and confirm when prompted.
   
7. Reboot your device and try accessing the Google Play Store again.

Solution 4 – Check the Date & time settings

In case the system time or date is inaccurate, you won’t be able to use Google services. This, of course, includes the Play Store. What you need to do is disable and then re-enable the automatic time.

Follow these instructions to set the date and time automatically:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose System or Additional settings.
3. Open Date & time.
4. Toggle OFF the “Use network-provided time” option.
5. Reboot your device.
6. Navigate to the same path and toggle the “Use network-provided time” again.

Solution 5 – Remove and add your Google account again

Some users suggested a simple but effective solution. They were able to access the Google Play Store again after removing and then adding their Google Account again. This should resolve the issue completely.

Here’s how to remove and add your Google account again:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Accounts.
3. Choose Google.
4. Remove Google Account and restart your device.
5. Get back to Settings > Accounts and sign in with your Google Account.

Solution 6 – Disable proxy or VPN temporarily

The Google Play Store region options are usually not affected by VPN or proxy working in the background, switching DNS to an alternative. However, for the sake of troubleshooting, disable proxy or VPN and try accessing the Google Play Store again.

Follow these steps to disable VPN or proxy on your handset:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Network (or VPN directly).
3. Disable VPN or Proxy and try accessing the Google Play Store.

Solution 7 – Check Play Store permissions

Even though the Play Store is a system app and it shouldn’t be affected by permissions like third-party apps, it’s still recommended to go to App settings and grant all permissions.

Follow these instructions to grant permissions to the Google Play Store:

1. Open Settings > Apps > App Manager or Manage Apps > Google Play Store.
2. Select Permissions.
3. Grant all permissions to Google Play Store.

In addition, some custom Android firmware (MIUI, EMUI, etc.) are quite restrictive and might kill off even system processes. Make sure to whitelist the Google Play Store in the Phone Manager.

Solution 8 – Uninstall Google Play Store updates

With most stock ROMs, you won’t be able to reinstall the Google Play Store. However, you can always uninstall all updates and restore the app to factory values.

That way, once the updates are readministered, you should be able to open the Google Play Store without issues.

Here’s how to remove Google Play Store updates:

1. Open Settings > Apps > App Manager or Manage Apps > Google Play Store.
2. Tap Uninstall updates and reboot your device.
3. Connect to a network and install updates again.

If you are still bothered by this issue, make sure to try the final step we provided below.

Solution 9 – Reset your device to factory settings

Finally, since the presence and functionality of the Google Play Store don’t have an alternative, you need to make it work.

The last solution we can recommend is to reset your device to factory settings. Just make sure to back up everything as all stored data will be deleted after the reset. If you’re not sure how to properly reset your phone to factory settings, check out this article.

Follow these steps to reset your Android handset to factory settings:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose System.
3. Tap Backup & reset.
4. Tap Erase all data (factory reset).
5. Confirm selection.

That should do it. After that, the Google Play Store should open and work as intended. Thank you for reading and tell us in the comments section below if this was of any help or share your solutions with the community.