The Play Store (formerly known as the Android Market) is Google’s online store where you can find a variety of different free or paid digital content for smart devices such as mobile apps, games, e-books, music, movies and magazines.
The Play Store installation is always getting new updates, which is satisfactory news.
But the not-so-great news is that users often have a complaint that their play store is not working or is constantly crashing, and the fact that it can take up to a month, and sometimes longer, to upgrade the apk.
The great thing is that the basic functionality of the Play app never changes, so even if you’re stuck on the older version, it’s not that bad.
However, we understand your need to have a freshly updated app store with the latest features installed on your smartphone.
So if you want to find out how to download, install, and update the Google Play Store, you’re in the right place.
See below for 5 simple steps on how to upgrade the app to a laptop, PC, tablet or phone.
Download and install the Play Store in 5 steps
1. Check the current version on your device
The first thing you should do is check your current version. You need to make sure to download the latest version of the Play app.
You can do a check by doing the following:
- Open the Google Play Store.
- go to settings.
- Move to the bottom. There you will find the version number that you have currently installed on your device.
This is important because you don’t want to accidentally install an older version of the Play Store. Also, be sure to download the app compatible with your phone.
2. Download store in APK format
This is a pretty understandable step. The Play Store comes in APK format like any other Android app.
You can download them for free on various websites, but for the safety of your smartphone from malware attacks, below is probably the best and safest option for free download.
Here’s a quick guide to free download of the Play Store app:
- First go to this link.
- Find the version you want. If you want a newer version, check the one you currently have installed on your device and make sure a new one is available.
- Download the Play app by following the instructions of the website.
This is the website that people generally trust the most and there will be no problems when downloading the new version of the Google Store.
3. Adjust security settings on Android
The “Unknown Sources” setting has been an integral part of the Android operating system for a long time. When disabled, it prohibits users (and other apps) from installing any software that is not part of the Google Play Store.
The eighth version of Android – “8.0 Oreo” changed this ban to permission according to the application, but not in the system settings as it was in the beginning.
So there are two different methods of security leakage of applications.
Android 8.0 Oreo:
- Go to the main settings of the device.
- Then go to the “Security” tag.
- Find the “Unknown Sources” option and check the box. A warning will appear that you should definitely read. Once you have done, click “OK” and this will allow you to install applications from unknown sources.
If unknown sources aren’t in security settings, try finding them in your privacy settings or app settings.
Other Android versions:
- Start installing the Play Store using “File Manager” or through your internet browser.
- Android will tell you that the app does not have permission to install. Click the available settings button in this questionnaire.
- On the next menu, select the check box that allows the device to install the app store.
- Press the return button to return to the installation.
This is a slightly more complicated process, but it provides better security to your device. Unlike system settings in previous versions of Android, the only app that can install third-party add-ons and extensions is the one you just gave permission to.
4. Install the downloaded app
Now that everything is ready to go on, it’s time to install this app. Use your favorite file browser (File Manager).
For those who may not yet have it, you can download it here!
- Open “File Manager” and find the previously downloaded Play app. Andwho you downloaded it to your device, then it will be located on your SD card in the download folder.
- Once you’ve found the app, click on it. There may be a framework that will appear, depending on the apps you have installed on your device and which program you want to use. In this case, click on “Installation package”.
- On the next screen, read any permission changes (usually none), and then click “install”. Upon completion, the latest version of the Google Play Store will be installed on your device.
Hey, you did it! But wait, there’s only one step left!
5. Turn off all permissions after installation
Leaving the “Unknown Sources” option open, the main security hole that can cause problems has been confirmed. The best way to keep your device safe is to go back and turn off this permission!
You can do this as follows:
Method for Android Oreo 8.0:
- Go back to device settings.
- Go back to security settings, privacy settings, or app settings (wherever you found them last time).
- Clear the check box. This will prevent all apps (except the Play Store) from installing. You can always check the check box again if needed.
There’s probably a reason they changed it to Android Oreo and that’s it probably.
Method for newer Android versions:
- Go into the device settings, then tap on “Apps”.
- Scroll down and find the app you used to install the Play Store. It’s usually the same browser you downloaded the app with. Touch it.
- Check its permissions on the next page until you find the unknown sources section. Clear the check box to remove permission to install apps outside of Google Play.
HoodEna – This process may vary from device to device. Even the basic Android version is slightly different from Android Oreo and Android 11 when you perform this task.
Update the new version with these methods
Now you know the steps of how to do a download, install, or update the Google Play Store to ensure you have the latest version of the app.
These methods will work on almost all Android devices, but there may be slight variations depending on the version you currently have installed.
Other Services of google play store
The online store of digital products Google Play, was created in 2012 by merging Android Market, Google Music and Google’s eBook store.
In the Play Store, in addition to applications and games, various services of interesting digital content are available, and some of them are:
- Music– Google Play Music provides shopping and listening services for more than 22 million songs, a subscription service called “All Access”, and a service to save your own music to the cloud (up to 20,000 songs). Song prices range from free to $2.
- Movies and TV series – There are many world-class movies and TV series available that can be rented or purchased. Depending on the quality of the content display, prices vary. Google Play Movies is available in 70 countries, including Croatia.
- E-books– Google Play Ebooks, with over 5 million titles, is the largest collection of e-books on the internet. Purchased books can be read on an Android device or can be downloaded in EPUB and PDF format.
- Veat and magazines – Google Play News and Magazines provide the ability to subscribe to world-renowned magazines and newspapers. There is a 14-day free trial for each magazine.