Why Can’t I Download Certain Apps On The Google Play Store
Seeing “this app is not available for your device” on Google Play? Learn why some apps aren’t available to install from the Google Play Store.
Can’t download and install some apps on Google Play? This is frustrating, especially when other apps are available and download just fine.
Whether you can’t even see an app on the Play Store, found it but can’t download it, or the app won’t install, we’re here to help. Let’s look at why you can’t download certain apps from the Play Store and how to fix the problem.
How To Download And Install The Google Play Store On Any Android Device
Picked up a phone that doesn’t come with the Play store preinstalled or simply looking to manually install the latest version? Here’s what you need to know.
Dan Graziano
Associate Editor / How To
Dan Graziano is an associate editor for CNET. His work has appeared on BGR, Fox News, Fox Business, and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn’t tinkering with the latest gadgets and gizmos, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.
There are a lot of good deals out there for Android smartphones and tablets. While the flagship devices from Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola all come with the Google Play store preinstalled, some lesser known devices, especially smaller ones from Asia, may not include the app store. You are usually left with an inadequate alternative store that doesn’t include the big name apps you have come to know and love.
There’s no need to worry, though. It’s relatively easy to manually install the store on any supported Android device. The method outlined below can also be used by users who have the Play store already installed and are looking to manually update to the latest version. Unfortunately, this method won’t work on Amazon devices.
I like to use the site APKMirror.com, which is from the people behind the blog Android Police. Moderators for the site check every app to ensure that it’s safe to use. On APKMirror, search for and download the latest version of the Google Play store
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Download Google Services Framework
Next, youll need to download the Google Services Framework. For that, you will need to check the Android version number of your phone.
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Enable Installation From Unknown Sources
The first step in this process is enabling apps to be installed from unknown sources, if the option exists on your device. This allows you to open and install applications from downloaded APK files, which is how we’ll get the Play Store running.
Open the Settings app on your device, and if there’s a search feature, type in “unknown” and look for an option for “unknown apps,” “unknown sources,” or something else along those lines . If your Settings app doesn’t have a search function, the option should either be located in the Privacy or the Apps & Notifications sections, depending on your version of Android.
Enabling apps from unknown sources on Android 10
Older versions of Android have a simple switch for enabling unknown sources â make sure it’s switched on, if that’s what you see. If you see switches for each individual app, like in the above screenshots, don’t worry about enabling any of them right now.
Google Play Awards And Yearly Lists
In April 2016, Google announced the Google Play Awards, described as “a way to recognize our incredible developer community and highlight some of the best apps and games”. The awards showcase five nominees across ten award categories, and the apps are featured in a dedicated section of Google Play. Google stated that “Nominees were selected by a panel of experts on the Google Play team based on criteria emphasizing app quality, innovation, and having a launch or major update in the last 12 months”, with the winners announced in May.
Google has also previously released yearly lists of apps it deemed the “best” on Google Play.
On March 6, 2017, five years after Google Play’s launch, Google released lists of the best-selling apps, games, movies, music, and books over the past five years.
In June 2017, Google introduced “Android Excellence”, a new editorial program to highlight the apps deemed the highest quality by the Google Play editors.
In 2020, Google Play awarded the Disney+ emerged as the top app of the year for users in the US, and SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off taking the honors in the gaming category.
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On An Android Phone Or Tablet
1. For older versions of Android – before Android 8 Oreo so Android 7 Nougat and earlier – you need to go to your Settings menu. Find the option for Security or Lock screen and security or similar. Within that menu there should be an option to enable Unkown sources. In stock Android this is below a Device administration heading.
So toggle this on, then you’ll get a warning prompt. Tap OK.
In Android 8 Oreo and higher the process has changed. Instead, such permissions are now granted on an app-by-app basis, so we’ll deal with what you need to do in a second.
2. The next step is to download the APK – or installer package – of the Play Store. This is the equivalent of an app installer you’d download on a PC or Mac.
APK Mirror is a reliable source and safe to download from. . Should you be looking to reinstall an earlier version instead, you can get previous versions, too.
3. Now open the installer package – you might need to browse to it in your Files app to find your Downloads folder if you don’t know where it has downloaded to.
On older devices where you have enabled the Unkown sources option, the Play Store will install. You’ll then be able to find it in your apps drawer or on one of your home screens depending on which type of Android phone you are using.
You may get a warning saying “this type of file can harm your device” but you can ignore it.
Working With Managed Google Play Closed Testing Tracks
You can distribute a non-production version of a Managed Google Play app to devices enrolled in an Android Enterprise scenario , Android Enterprise fully managed , Android Enterprise dedicated devices , and Android Enterprise corporate-owned work profile ) in order to perform testing. In Intune, you can see whether an app has a pre-production build test track published to it, as well as be able to assign that track to Azure Active Directory user groups or device groups. The workflow for assigning a production version to a group that currently exists is the same as assigning a non-production channel. After deployment, the install status of each track will correspond with the track’s version number in Managed Google Play. For more information, see .
Note
Required app deployments for non-production app tracks are currently unavilable for devices enrolled in Android Enterprise personally-owned work profile .
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Update Your Apps And Games
To try out the latest features developers have added to their apps and games, you have to update them via the Play Store although you can do this through your devices Settings menu as well. To do so, launch the Google Play Store app and bring up the settings menu by tapping on your profile picture. Then select the Manage apps & device option, which will show you a list of updates available as well as harmful apps. You can update all of your apps at once or choose each update individually.
Step-by-step-instructions:
The alternative is for your device to update apps and games automatically, which is normally done while charging. To enable this option, select Settings from the side menu and tap Network preferences.
Step-by-step-instructions:
News Publications And Magazines
Google Play Newsstand was a news aggregator and digital newsstand service offering subscriptions to digital magazines and topical news feeds. Google released Newsstand in November 2013, combining the features of and into a single product.
As of January 2017, the basic Newsstand service, was available worldwide. As of 2017, paid Newsstand content was available in more than 35 countries.
On May 15, 2018, the mobile app merged with to form . The Newsstand section continued to appear on the Google Play website until November 5, 2018, but now is only available through the Google News app.
Until March 2015, Google Play had a “Devices” section for users to purchase devices, Chromebooks, Chromecasts, other Google-branded hardware, and accessories. A separate online hardware retailer called the was introduced on March 11, 2015, replacing the Devices section of Google Play.
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Install The Play Store
Now comes the final step: installing the Play Store. Find the Downloads/Files app on your device and open it. If you don’t have a file manager, and install it. You should see all four APK files â â if not, go back and figure out which one you missed.
The four APKs ready for installation
Open the apps in the below order, and when the installation is complete, press ‘Done’ and not ‘Open.’ Installing the apps out of order will cause the Play Store to not work. Also, if you have an SD card, make sure to take it out during these installations.
Once you have installed all four apps, reboot your device. If one of the applications didn’t install, it means you probably downloaded the wrong APK variant â go back and make sure you properly matched the CPU architecture and Android version. If your device has the arm64-v8 architecture, try downloading the variant for armv7a. Some low-end devices have arm64 processors, but run Android in 32-bit armv7 mode.
If you can open the Play Store and sign in, pat yourself on the back, you did it! Now you can download all the apps and games you could ever want.
Managed Google Play Store Apps
Note
Most newly-created items in Intune take on the scope tags of the creator. This is not the case for Managed Google Play Store apps. Admins can assign a scope tag to apply to all newly-synced Managed Google Play apps on the Managed Google Play connector pane. For more information, see .
There are two ways to browse and approve Managed Google Play store apps with Intune:
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What Is The Google Play Store
So what is the Google Play Store, anyhow? The Google Play Store is a digital storefront for various types of media. People most commonly use the app to download apps and games. However, the Play Store also sells e-books, TV shows, and movies. Each category also has its own standalone app , so you can browse that way as well.
The store was originally the Android Market and it came out in October of 2008. It received many UI updates over the years, along with additional content and functionality. It changed its name to the Play Store in March 2012 and its been that way ever since.
While Google Play is strongly associated with Android, it is not a part of the stock Android experience. Its actually an extra piece of software for Googles specific Android experience. Thus, just because a device runs Android doesnt mean it automatically has Google Play Store support. OEMs must adhere to a and the Play Store is part of that package. There are alternate app stores available for Android as well.
If you need the Play Store, we have a full tutorial on how to . Okay, lets get started with those tutorials.
How To Use Google Play Store On An Android Device
The Google Play Store gives you access to millions of apps and games you can download to your Android device. It also offers movies, books, and music, although not all of them are available in every country. All you need to get started is a Google account you wont be able to browse or download content if you dont have one. Once you have that set up, heres how to use the Play Store on any Android device.
Although using it isnt exactly rocket science, we want to do what we can to explain a few basic things you should know. These include downloading content, adding a payment method, redeeming a gift card, and much more.
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First Consider The Alternatives
As previously mentioned, this guide isn’t a complete tutorial for every kind of Android device out there. It’s very possible you will reach the end of this guide and still not have the Play Store functional. If you want to save yourself some time and frustration, there are some alternatives you can try first.
The best alternative to the Google Play Store that generally works on all devices is the Amazon Appstore. It has most of the same big games as the Play Store, as well as a decent collection of third-party applications, all without the need for Google services. However, you won’t find any Google apps like Chrome or Gmail on the store. You can download the Amazon Appstore from here.
One more alternative app store is F-Droid. It’s entirely composed of open-source games and applications, so the selection is extremely limited, but there’s a chance it might have something you are looking for. You can browse F-Droid’s library and download the app store from the official website.
Finally, if you just need a handful of apps, and automatic updates aren’t super important, you can always try . It’s a repository of Android applications mirrored from the Play Store â the apps are safe, and not modified in any way.
If you absolutely need the Play Store, you can try your luck with the following instructions.
No Google Apps On Xiaomi Phones
Xiaomi Tech is one of the leading device makers in China which is also popular in India, Hong Kong and Singapore for its impressive looking Android Phones that it makes available at very competitive prices.
Being a Chinese Device Maker, Xiaomi Tech follows Chinese government regulations and blocks access to Google Play Store and Google services like Chrome, Gmail, YouTube and Maps.
Xiaomi has developed its own app alternatives for many of the Google Apps and has its own App Store known as the MI App Store.
While the international version of Xiaomi phones can and should include Google Apps, it is not uncommon to find Google Play Store and other Google Apps missing in Xiaomi phones sold for international market.
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Managed Google Play Private Apps
There are two ways to add LOB apps to Managed Google Play:
Download Google Play Store Via An Apk
Its a pretty self-explanatory step. The Google Play Store comes in APK format like any other Android app. You can download APKs from websites, tech blogs, and trusted people on forums or other places. However, for now, APKMirror is probably your . Here is a short tutorial for downloading the Play Store app:
- Find the version of the Play Store you want. If you want a newer version, reference your current version and see if a new one is available.
There are some other places that have recent Play Store APKs uploaded. However, APKMirror is just easiest method and its one that people generally trust. You shouldnt have problems getting it from there.
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