Fix: Play Store Slow Downloads

Reports about slow download speeds in Play Store are not as common these days as they were a couple of years ago. Still, some users report that bandwidth speed substantially drops the moment they start downloading apps or games on Google Play Store. If Play Store downloads are slow for you, too, check the steps we provided below.

How can I get Google Play to download faster?

1. Check the network

When we say that you need to check the network, we mainly talk about two things that are often mentioned as solutions for this problem. The first one is to disable VPN or proxies on your device. And the second one, often recommended, is to tweak router settings. To be precise, users recommend disabling WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) which prioritizes network traffic for different devices and services.

In this case, it seems that it identifies Google Play Store as a low-priority service and makes downloads much slower than the default bandwidth speed would suggest. To disable WMM or WME, access router settings, and open Wi-Fi network settings. Google your router model to learn how to access these settings.

2. Clear cache from Play Store and associated services

If the previous step fails, you can always try clearing the cache from Play Store and a few Google services. The 3 services we’re referring to are Google Play Store, Google Play Services, and Google Services Framework. These 3 work in unison to allow Play Store to function. And, like all other Android apps, they collect a lot of cache data. Especially Google Play Services.

Here’s how to clear cache from Play Store and two other services on your Android phone:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Apps.
3. Tap on the 3-dots menu (or alternative menus) and choose to Show system apps.
4. Open Play Store.
5. Tap Force Stop.
6. Select Storage.
7. Tap Clear cache.
8. Repeat the action for Google Play Services and Google Services Framework.
9. Restart your Android and check for improvements in download speeds.

3. Clear data from Play Store and associated services

If clearing the cache didn’t help, you can clear data. Have in mind that this can initially cause some system glitches, especially because of Google Play Services. After a restart, things should get back to normal. Also, don’t be surprised that you can clear only a marginal chunk of data as Google Play Services will, over time, store a lot of data and the majority can’t be deleted. Unless you format your data by resetting the device to factory settings.

Here’s how to clear data from Play Store and associated services:

1. Open Settings > Apps > All apps again. Choose to Show system processes.
2. Choose Play Store.
3. Tap Storage and then clear data.
4. After that, open Google Play Services and open Storage.
5. Select Manage storage.
6. Clear all data.
7. Do the same for Google Services Framework.
8. Alternatively, you can tap on the 3-dots and Uninstall updates from all aforementioned services.

4. Remove and add Google Account

If Google Play Store downloads are still slow, you can try removing and adding Google Account again. This is a long-stretch solution but our options are quite limited to start with.

Here’s how to remove and add Google Account on your Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accounts.
3. Select your default Google Account.
4. Tap Delete account.
5. Restart your device and add the account again.

5. Update the firmware

Finally, we can only recommend keeping the firmware up to date in hope that some of the future updates fix the Google Play slow downloads problem.

You can check for updates manually in Settings > System > Software update. Although, you should be notified by default if any updates are available.

That should do it. Thank you for reading what is, hopefully, a helpful article. Have you managed to speed up download speeds from Play Store? Tell us in the comments section below.

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in March 2022. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.