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In this post, we provide several fixes for the frustrating Google Play Store 905 error. According to CCM.net, it’s “most likely to happen after a Google Play Store update (corrupted data or failed update). The trick is to revert to the previous version of the Google Play Store app.”
Likely, you’re reporting that you “can’t download apps from play store”, “Google Play services update error”, or “Play store not downloading apps”
Lots Of Complaints
Indeed, over on Twitter, there is some outcry about this issue:
@CommanderStar what's this, error, status: 905 today on Star Wars Commander??? pic.twitter.com/Rv7o95pAJg
— Paul Seal (@saltieseal) January 12, 2016
How To Fix Error Code: 905 In Google Play Storehttps://t.co/tOxjuUnrJp pic.twitter.com/gYNur5IJtw
— Tech MK (@TechMKOfficial) May 21, 2018
*game downloads to 90%*
*game cannot be downloaded due to error 905*
Fuk u— Timmy ∞ (@yahboyytim) October 5, 2015
Quick Video Fix
This popular fix from YouTube solved the problem for a lot of users:
More Solutions
There is no doubt that the Google Play Store is one of the things that makes Android devices so amazing. Even though only a few years ago I seemed that iOS (the Apple mobile operating system used on the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone) was destined to dominate the market, Android has gone from strength to strength over the years. Part of the credit on the success of Android mobile devices is, without a doubt down to the Google Play Store.
For most Android users, the Google Play Store is both easy to access and easy to use. However, there are times when errors occur and it can quite frustrating to fix them. One of the most prevalent errors to occur is the Error 905.
So, if you are an Android user who has just encountered Error 905 when trying to use the Google Play Store, you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will go through all the different methods there are to fix that error as easily as possible. We suggest you use our methods one by one until you find the one that works for you. But do not worry; this will not take you a long time because, as you will see, the methods are both simple and easy to follow.
What Causes Error 905 on the Google Play Store?
The first thing to know when we encounter this error is what actually causes it. If, however, you are not all that interested in the reasons behind this Google error, you might as well skip over this section and go straight to the next one in this article. But if you would like to know more about this error, read on.
The good news is that not everyone using the Google Play Store will encounter this error. First of all, because Error 905 is only an Android bug so if you are accessing the store using a device that does not operate on Android, you should be free from it.
Even if you use an Android device to access the Google Play Store, it is possible that you will not encounter this error.
Generally, this error only occurs when you are trying to download anything with a large size, most typically games. You may also encounter the same error when trying to download apps although this is much less likely due to their smaller sizes.
Another piece of good news is that we know that they know about this bug over at Google so it will be most likely be fixed soon. In the meantime, there are three separate methods guaranteed to make the error go away.
Solutions
1. Uninstalling Updates For Google Play Store
The first method to deal with the error 905 can seem a little bit too radical but it tends to be extremely effective. There are quite a few steps involved in this method but we will go through them one by one in order to make the whole process as simple as possible. Here are the steps you will need to follow if you are prepared to follow this method:
- Grab the Android device where you have encountered the error.
- Go straight to your Android settings.
- From all the different options available, choose “application” and wait until it fully launches.
- Once this has fully open you will be presented with many different options. Look through the list until you find “application manager” (sometimes, this is displayed as “manage applications”), and click or tap on it.
- Then, once more you will be presented with several options, choose the one that says “Google Play Store”. This will, in turn, present you with some new options.
- Select the “uninstalled updates” option. What this will do is to delete all the latest updates that you have been downloading and installing recently. We know that this sounds kind of terrifying but do not worry; all that will effectively happen is that you will get a slightly older (albeit fully functional) version of the Google Play Store.
- Leave the settings option and go to your apps.
- Find the Google Play Store and launch it by clicking or tapping on it.
- Next, you should download all the updates that you have just uninstalled. This may take some time, which will vary depending on the size of the updates in question and the Internet speed you have at the time.
- Once the updates have been fully installed again, you can go ahead and try to download and install the app or game that caused you the error in the first place.
If this method does not work for you, do not despair; we still have two more methods for you and at least one of them is guaranteed to do the trick.
2. Delete Your Cache and Data
This second method is quite a bit simpler than the preceding one.
If you had to go to your general Android settings in order to follow the first method, this time you will need to use the Application Manager. If you do not know what the application manager is, it is the tool that manages all the different apps that you have downloaded and installed on your Android mobile device.
Most users are not even aware that the Application manager exists; let alone where to find it. If you do not know where it is, generally in it is the settings section. So part of the steps we went through in the first method are useful to know now but in order to avoid any confusion here are the full steps:
- Grab the Android device where you have encountered the error.
- Go straight to your Android settings.
- From all the different options available, choose “application” and wait until it fully launches.
- Once this has fully open you will be presented with many different options. Look through the list until you find “application manager” (sometimes, this is displayed as “manage applications”), and click or tap on it.
- Then, you will have to launch the Google Play Store.
- Clear the cache and data there.
- Then, launch the Google Play services and clear the cache and data there too.
This method is also really effective but we only put it as an alternative method because some users may not feel comfortable clearing their cache and data, particularly if they are not really technically minded.
Sometimes when neither method works separately, they should be attempted together. That is, do everything in the first method (except trying to download and install the problematic app or game) and then do everything on the second method. Finally, try to download and install the game or app that caused the error in the first place.
This should really work if you follow our steps one by one but if it does not then move on to our third and final method.
3. Turn Android Screen Display On
This last method should only be attempted if the first methods (separately or combined) did not yield the expected results.
So, in the unlikely event that the previous two methods did not work for you what we would suggest is that you make sure that you keep your screen display on while you attempt to download the app or game that have been causing you trouble. Downloading and installing apps and games from the Google Play Store always happen in the background. Because of this, unlike you are actively using your smartphone or mobile device for something else (i.e., making or receiving a phone call, using an instant messaging platform, browsing the Internet, taking pictures or video, playing games, etc.), your screen will go to sleep.
If you are getting error 905 on Android and nothing else seems to work the only thing left for you to do would be to attempt downloading the app or game again but this time make sure that you do whatever is necessary in order to keep your display screen on. Just take that time to catch up on some messages; update social media; or anything else that would ensure that your display screen stays on while the Google Play Store download and installation goes on.
Sometimes this error occurs just because when the problematic app is downloading we let the display go to “sleep”. If nothing else works it most probably means that this is what is going wrong with your Android device.
Just before we conclude this article it is important to point out that this error should only occur on Android devices, so if you can use a computer instead you may want to give that a try while you work on fixing the problem following our advice. If you are using an Android device and our methods do not work, make sure that you go back to the beginning and ensure that you are following each step correctly and in the right order.
Do you have any experience fixing the error 905? If you do and would like to share it our readers, please leave a message in the comments section below.
Ryan is a computer enthusiast who has a knack for fixing difficult and technical software problems. Whether you’re having issues with Windows, Safari, Chrome or even an HP printer, Ryan helps out by figuring out easy solutions to common error codes.