You want to download an app on the Play Store, but it is stuck on waiting for download, in some instances showing download pending. It takes forever, and no change happens.
In this article, I have curated the Top 25 ways to solve the waiting for download or download pending issue, making the Play Store stuck while downloading apps.
The solutions have been tested and proven to work for various users. Troubleshoot while trying each until you find one which works for you.
By the end of this article, or even before š you will be able to get rid of apps not downloading.
Without delay, Let’s get to it!
Firstly, let’s look at some of the reasons why this happens.
Why are you getting a Waiting for Download Error on Playstore?
Outdated version of the Play Store
Chances are you are running an old version of the Play Store. Bugs and glitches in outdated versions make the Play Store have trouble downloading apps.
Poor Network Connection
The Wi-Fi or Mobile data connection you are connected to is slow. Slow network speeds will make it hard for you to complete downloads.
Has your subscription been depleted? Ensure that you are on an active subscription.
Corrupt Cache
When app cache piles up, it can cause issues and make apps misbehave. This is one of the reasons why the Play Store may get stuck waiting for download.
Insufficient Storage Space
Apps require sufficient space to be installed. Where the storage space left is less, you will be getting issues with downloading apps from the play store.
Having many apps downloading at the same Time
Downloading many apps will make the Play Store download one app at a go.
The other apps in the queue will then show download pending or waiting for download errors.
Now that you know some of why the Play Store is stuck on download pending, let’s get rid of it.
Let’s get started!
How to Fix Waiting for Download or Download Pending Error
1. Internet or Wi-Fi Connection
Network connection issues might be the problem causing your Playstore to get stuck.
Whether you are using Wi-Fior a Mobile Data network, ensure that it has an active subscription and properly working.
Open other apps that use the internet to prove whether your connection is on and active. Head to the browser and search for anything, see whether it brings any results.
The Play Store can get stuck at download pending or waiting for download issues because the Wi-Fi or Mobile Data connection is slow.
If you are on Wi-Fi try switching to Mobile data and vice versa
Enable and disable the Airplane mode to refresh the network and try downloading again.
2. Restart Your Phone
Restarting the phone is a simple fix that you should always use when you are facing issues.
Rebooting your phone kills all running services, clears the memory, and enables the phone to start over refreshed.
Hold the Power button for a few seconds and Tap Restart.
Restarting your phone helps to solve issues that are causing the Google Play Store app to misbehave.
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3. Correct System Date and Time
Is your phone having the correct Date and Time?
The wrong date and Time can cause the Play Store app to get stuck on download pending or waiting for download.
Correcting the Date and Time settings can help solve this issue.
How to set correct system Date and Time
- Head to Settings
- Click on System
- Tap Date and Time
- Chose the option of Use-network provided Time
- Toggle on the Automatic date and Time option. If it has been ON, turn it OFF and turn it ON again.
- Restart your phone.
Try installing apps from the Play Store again
4. Free up Storage
Check your storage to find whether there is sufficient space left on your internal memory.
Having less storage space will cause difficulties with installing new apps from the Play Store.
To Check for Space left on your storage;
- Head to Settings
- Tap on Storage
- Under the next screen, you will view the amount of storage used on your phone.
Free up space by deleting some files to enable the download of new apps.
5. Update System and Security Software
The issue may be with your smartphone running on outdated software.
Ensure to update the device software to the latest versions whenever available. This helps improve the performance and security of your phone.
To Update your System Software
- Head to Settings
- Scroll down and tap System
- Tap System Update
After updating your phone, this will solve the waiting for a download or download pending issue.
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6. Update the Play Store App
Is your Play Store App up to date? Having an outdated version can cause performance issues. It will make the Play Store App misbehave while you try to download apps.
Update the Play Store to solve the issue of apps getting stuck while downloading.
To Update the Play Store App;
- Open Play Store
- Tap the Profile icon
- Select Settings
- Tap About
- Tap on Play Store Version
If your Play Store app needs an update, it will start updating.
However, if you find that your Play Store app is up to date but still getting issues, proceed to follow the solutions below.
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7. Grant the Playstore App Required Permissions
Have you enabled the required permissions for Google Playstore and Play Services to operate?
Google Playstore requires permissions such as storage, phone, contacts, location to function well.
To Grant the Play Store App Required Permissions;
- Head to Settings
- Tap Apps & Notifications/ App Manager
- Tap on Playstore and Proceed to Permissions
- Allow the Play Store Necessary Permissions
8. Allow Unrestricted Background Data Usage
Restricting background data Usage limits apps from seamlessly running in the background.
Play Store and Play Services continuously run in the background to sync your device data.
Restricting background data helps save data usage, but it will prevent the Playstore app from operating correctly.
This will lead cause apps to get stuck on waiting for download as you try to download them.
Allowing unrestricted background data usage will solve the issue.
To Enable Background Data;
- Head to Settings
- Select Network & Internet
- Tap Data saver. (If the Data Saver is on turn it off)
- Tap Unrestricted data
- Scroll down the list and toggle ON the Play Store app and Play Services. To allow them run in the background.
This will enable the Play Store app to run in the background and hence fix the issue.
9. Change App Download Preferences
The option for App download preferences lets you choose whether to download apps via Wi-Fi only or over any network or ask every time.
App download preference feature can limit the Play Store over which network, Wi-Fi, or Mobile Network can download apps.
This setting might be why you are receiving the waiting for download error or download pending issue.
To Change App Download Preferences on Play Store;
- Open Play Store Menu by tapping the Profile Icon
- Proceed to Settings
- Tap on Network Preferences
- Under Network Preferences, Tap App download Preferences
- Chose the option of Over any network. Click done.
This will help to enable the Play Store to download apps over any network, Wi-Fi, or Mobile data without any restrictions.
10. Reduce Number of Apps Downloading at a Time
The Play Store manages downloads in a way that it only handles one download at a time.
If you have chosen to install many apps simultaneously, only one download will proceed at a go.
You will see the waiting for download or download pending on the rest of the apps in the queue.
Disable all the apps that are downloading. Only proceed with the one you wish to download.
To Check for Apps being Actively Downloaded on Playstore;
- Open the Menu by tapping the Profile Icon
- Tap on Manage apps & device
- Then click on See details
- Under this, you will be able to view apps being currently downloaded
From there, you can choose which apps to disable and let one actively install first.
11. Disable Parental Controls
Are you having any restrictions set? Parental controls restrict a user from downloading certain content based on maturity level, such as adult-rated content.
If Parental Controls are set, they will prevent you from downloading some apps and show the waiting for download or download pending error.
Disable Parental controls, and this will solve the issue.
To Disable Parental Controls in Google Play;
- Head to the Menu by tapping the Profile icon.
- Tap Settings
- Tap Family
- Select Parental controls
- Toggle OFF to disable Parental controls
12. Disable Scan Apps with Play Protect
Scanning apps with Play Protect looks out for harmful apps on your device.
It scans apps being installed from the Play Store to ensure that it filters out malicious apps.
By default, the feature is always turned on via the Play Store for security purposes.
However, It might cause traffic while apps are being continuously scanned.
When you add the task of downloading apps, this might cause the waiting for download and download pending issue.
Temporarily disable this feature and download your apps to see whether the issue gets fixed.
To turn off the Scan apps with Play Protect feature;
- Open the Playstore Menu
- Select Play Protect
- Tap the Settings Gear icon in the upper corner.
- Toggle Off the Scan apps with the Play Protect option
Proceed with your downloads.
13 Disable App Auto-Updates
Having auto-updates turned on can be why the apps you are downloading are stuck and show the waiting for download or download pending error.
Auto-updates can make numerous apps silently update. Numerous auto-updates can slow the downloading of other apps.
Disable the auto-update option. This will help fix the issue.
To disable Auto-updates;
- Head to the Play Store
- Head to the app you are trying to download
- Tap the Three-dot menu in the top right corner.
- Uncheck the option for Enable Auto-updates.
14. Enable or Disable VPN
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) places your connection in a different geographical location.
Play Store may restrict some locations from downloading certain apps. This will make your downloads stuck and show waiting for download and download pending issues.
Turn off your VPN.
Similarly, if your VPN is off, try turning it on.
Proceed to download the apps from the Play store.
In my case, this helped me solve the waiting for download error.
15. Change the Google Account in Playstore
Have you tried changing the Google Account in your Playstore app? Switch to a different Google Account, or create a new Google Account.
The Google Account may be having details from a country in which downloading particular apps is restricted.
Switch the Google Account and check whether the pending download issue has been solved.
16. Restart the Download
Have you tried closing the current download and starting a new download? It may happen so that the old download may have gotten stuck.
Restarting it will rectify the issue of Waiting for download.
Tap the X button and restart the download afresh
17. Clear Storage and Cache
Cache is a form of temporary storage used by apps to enable them to load faster. When cache piles up, it becomes corrupt.
This causes apps to misbehave.
What you need to do is clear the cache of your Play Store app.
To Clear App Cache;
- Long Press the Play Store app Icon on your Home screen or App drawer
- Tap App Info/ Application Details
- Head to Storage & Cache
- Tap Clear Cache
If this does not solve the issue, go ahead and Clear storage.
Clearing storage of the Play Store app will delete stored settings such as auto-updates, download preferences, Play Store search history e.t.c.
However, your apps and their data, subscriptions, and other information will remain intact.
You will not be logged out of the Play Store since your android uses a Google Account.
18. Reset App Preferences
Various apps on your device have different settings. These can clog up and cause issues that interfere with others.
Resetting App Preferences will restore disabled apps, clear background data restrictions, and clear app defaults.
Resetting app preferences does not delete any app data. It returns the original presets of the apps on your phone.
To Reset App Preferences;
- Head to Settings
- Tap Apps & Notifications/ Apps
- Tap the Three-dot icon in the upper right corner
- Choose Reset app preferences
- A confirmation screen will appear. Click Reset Apps
- Restart Your Device
Head to the Play Store and Try downloading again. Check whether this will solve the waiting for download or download pending issue.
19. Force Play Store to Stop
Force stop kills all the running processes of the app and causes it to restart. Force stop helps to fix misbehaving apps.
To Force Play Store App to Stop;
- Head to Settings
- Select Apps / Apps & Notifications
- Tap on the Play Store app
- Tap Force Stop
Re-open the Play Store app again and continue downloading the apps
Check whether this will solve the issue.
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20. Uninstall Play Store Updates
Playstore automatically updates to new versions whenever they are available. The process of updating happens in the background process.
At times The Play Store app may not have installed the new update properly.
It can come along with bugs, so you are waiting for download or download pending error.
To Uninstall Play Services updates;
- Head to Settings
- Tap Apps or Apps & Notifications
- Under All apps list, select Google Play Store
- Tap the three-dot (3-dot) button in the upper right corner
- Select Uninstall Updates
If after uninstalling updates, you still get issues, re-install Play Store so that it installs correctly.
21. Check for Recently Disabled/Installed Apps
Various apps react differently when they are installed on the phone. They can cause the rest of the other apps to return errors, thus the issue of waiting for download or download pending.
If you have recently disabled a particular app, consider re-installing it.
Similarly, if you have downloaded a new app, disable or uninstall it.
Head to the Play store and try downloading apps again.
22. Update Android System Web View
Android Web View is a feature in Android Operating System that enables apps to display web content directly in applications.
Since your Play Store is not responding, you have to manually download Android System Web View from a trusted website.
Allow the necessary permissions for downloading apps from unknown sources and proceed with downloading Android System Web View.
23. Turn on Bluetooth
For some users, turning on Bluetooth has proved to help the waiting for download or pending issues.
Try turning on Bluetooth and downloading your apps. Check and see if the waiting for a download or pending issue gets fixed.
24. Download the Apps via Browser (Web Play Store)
If your Play Store is still stuck, try downloading the apps via the Web Playstore on your browser. Allow the necessary prompts like inputting your google account password and choosing which device you wish to install the app.
To download Apps via Web Play Store;
- Search your desired app, i.e., Google Translate
- Select on the app
- Click install
This will send the command to install the app to your phone.
This can help fix the problem of waiting for downloads or downloads pending.
Alternatively, you can use APK Mirror for trusted, accessible, and safe APK downloads of apps on the Playstore.
Proceed to APK Mirror, search for any app and download the apk.
Install the apk on your phone.
25. Manually Install the Play Store
Suppose you are still getting issues. You need to install a previous version of the Playstore manually.
Before installing a new Playstore version, first, check for the Play store version on your phone. This will help you find the Play Store app that is compatible with the performance of your phone.
To Check for the Play Store Version on your phone;
- Open the Play Store
- Tap Settings
- Scroll down and tap About
- You will be able to see the Play Store version, i.e., Version: 28.0.34-21 [0] [PR] 410833180
After noting the Play Store version, next is to download the apk you are going to install.
- Head to APK Mirror by following this link
- Chose the version of the Play Store you are interested in getting.
- Download the Play Store apk
Note; Remember to allow the necessary permissions;
Allow downloading apps from unknown sources for Chrome or any browser you are using.
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Conclusion
In brief, I have listed the reasons that bring about the waiting for download or download pending error on the Play Store.
In addition, I have covered the top 15 ways to solve these errors.
Over to you!
Which solution worked best for you? Are you finding any troubles still?
Let me know in the comment section. I will be glad to help.
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