Android Common Issues And Their Solution

Hello Android users, if you're facing any problem listed below then I hope you'll get a solution. These are some of the common android problem that people face many times.

Google Play Store Crashing

If Google Play crashes after launching it, you might have a corrupt cache. Most of the time, simply wiping its cache fixes the problem. Most versions of Android use generally the same steps. Go to:

Settings
Apps
Swipe right to locate the “all” tab
Locate Google Play Store and wipe cache and data
Restart your phone

If that fails, you might want to try wiping data and/or cache for the following services:

Google Play Services
Google Services Framework
Remember to restart the device after performing the wipes.

Insufficient Space on Device

Android allocates fixed storage space for apps. Users can’t expand it. So you might run into this error even if your device indicates a great deal of remaining storage capacity.

The easiest way to free up space is to begin uninstalling apps. However, if you use music apps, like Spotify, you might not be able to find where the files are being stored. The quickest way to free up space is to use an app like CCleaner. If you want to get a visual display of where all your memory is going, try using DiskUsage. It will visually display your files’ locations and size.

Google Play Store Not Downloading Apps

Sometimes Google Play won’t install applications. There’s two kinds of popular fixes. The first is to wipe Google Play’s cache. The second is to erase Google Play’s history.

Wipe Google Play Cache

In my experience, the best fix is to wipe Google Play’s cache. Go to:

Settings
Apps
Swipe right to locate the “all” tab
Locate Google Play Store and wipe cache and data
Restart your phone
Wipe Google Play History

I’m skeptical about this fix. However, for those desperate, give it a shot. Here’s how:

Open Google Play Store.
Go to Settings.
Choose Clear History.

How to Reinstall the Google Play Store

You can’t uninstall the Google Play Store without root acces (what’s root?). Most users who think they’ve deleted Google Play actually have disabled it. To reenable the Play Store, go to:

Settings
Apps
Swipe right and locate the “disabled” tab.
Then locate Google Play Store. You can reenable it by tapping on the icon that says “reenable”.

How Do I Install Google Play?

Some imported tablets and smartphones don’t come with the Google Play Store. Users will need to locate an APK (Android installable file) from a third party source and then manually install it. Before getting started, you’ll need to enable third party sources. To do so, go to:

Settings
Security
Then check the box for “unknown sources”
Once checked, you can install the Play Store.

Here is a link to a legitimate Play Store APK: Download Google Play Store.

I Need an Older Version of the Google Play Store

Sometimes the newest version of Google Play won’t work on your device. In that case, you can try installing an older version. Here’s an APK Mirror post that includes links to every major version of the Play Store.

System UI Not Working

Sometimes the System User Interface (UI) can stop working. If restarting your device doesn’t fix the problem, I suggest wiping the System UI cache. To wipe the cache, go to:

Settings
Apps
Swipe left to “All” and select System UI
Then wipe the cache and restart the device

Downloads Not Working

Sometimes downloads will fail. Android includes a dedicated download manager, and its cache can become corrupted. In this case, just wipe the cache.

To wipe the cache, go to:

Settings
Apps
Swipe right to “All” and select Download Manager
Then wipe the cache and restart the device

I Can’t Find My Download

Android by default stores its downloaded files in a folder called “Download”. To locate the Download directory, first install a file manager, like ES File Explorer. Once installed, go to sdcard/Download and you should see a complete list of downloaded files.

Android doesn’t come with a file manager. Google thinks file managers are part of the past – a complicated tool that we shouldn't need when our data is stored in the cloud and retrieved on-demand.

I Can’t Play a Downloaded Video

Try using VLC Player or MX Player. They work on almost every file you can imagine. Sometimes videos in a proprietary format won’t play. There’s no real solution for this issue, other than installing the proprietary video player.

I Installed Malware!

Never install a cracked game or app — it probably has malware on it. But if you already have malware, simply uninstall the culprit. If you’re not sure which app is wreaking mayhem on your phone, try a malware scanner. If that fails, use some of our tips on finding Android malware.

Out of the three malware scanners we’ve reviewed, my favorite is Lookout. It’s free, lightweight, and catches a large number of malicious applications.

Internet Not Working

The biggest cause of mobile Internet not working: Improperly configured APN settings. If you use a prepaid/MVNO to provide Internet, chances are you needed to set up an APN to get mobile data. If these settings aren’t properly configured, you must manually set them.

How Do I Break an Android Password?

If you’ve set a password and forgotten it, you’re going to have to perform a factory reset from the bootloader. The bootloader is a preboot environment that allows the restoration of your operating system. There are ways to break Android passwords, but don’t count on it.

First, you’ll need to enter the bootloader. The method varies between models of phone. For most models, you can access the bootloader by completely powering down the device. After powering off, you will hold volume down + the power button until the phone boots. Once inside of the bootloader, you can then choose to factory reset your device.

WARNING: if you have a custom ROM, don’t do this, as it can render your device unbootable.

Android Device Crashes on Boot

If your phone no longer boots, you can enter what’s called “safe mode” — we’ve covered Android’s safe mode before. Safe Mode allows users to disable all startup apps that might be crashing the phone. Once booted in through safe mode, you can then remove the misbehaving app.

Android Device No Longer Turns On

First try removing the battery. If the battery can’t be removed, hold down the power button for fifteen seconds. If that fails, plug the device into a power source and hold the power button down for fifteen seconds. If that fails, you may need to either have the device serviced or return it.

Android Not Reading microSD Card

This happens all the time. I prefer formatting the SD card from within Android. This solves just a portion of the issues with SD cards — if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s worth a shot.

To format an Android microSD card, go to:

Settings
Storage
Scroll down to the bottom and select “Format SD card”
Then select “Format SD card” again
If this fails, you will need to connect the SD card to a PC with a card reader.

If your files aren’t readable after connecting to a PC, you will need data recovery software. I recommend using EaseUS’s Data Recovery Wizard. It’s free and effective.

Can’t Connect Android to a Windows PC

There are two ways that Android connects to a computer: Android Debug Bridge (ADB) or Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). ADB lets users interact with Android’s operating system while MTP only permits access to specially designated media storage directories. ADB always causes the most amount of problems.