Fix: Authentication is required on Play Store

You get Authentication is required. You need to sign in to your Google Account when you try to open the Play Store, even though you are already signed into your Google Account. This can be a sync issue, cache issue or an update to Play Store. Caches are usually files that are built with a fixed date to expire, and if they contain older data within them, then it can lead to several other issues as well. So when you try to sign in or do something else that needs authentication, it is highly likely that the phone is looking at the old information in the cache files. many users have been able to fix this issue by clearing the cache.

To fix this issue, follow the steps listed below.

1. Go to Settings -> All, and then select “Google Play Store.

2. Tap or select ‘Force Stop.’ Then, tap or select ‘Clear Data’ and ‘Clear Cache.’

3. Exit the settings and then start the Play Store.

4. At the top-left side, open the menu options and ensure that the correct account is selected.

If it is now working, you’re good! If not, proceed to step 5.

5. Go to Settings and choose Accounts and Sync.

6. Tap or click on your account and select ‘Remove Account.’

7. After removing accounts, re-add them and resync with Google from the Accounts & Sync menu.

Note: You can also try wiping the cache partition and check to see if that resolves the issue for you.

If that doesn’t work:

It is possible that sometimes the above solution might not work. If you are getting this error inside an application and are able to open the Google Play store, we can try to implement another fix that should be able to resolve this issue on your computer. To do this:

1. Close all applications and navigate back to your home screen.
2. Tap on the “Play Store” icon to launch the Google Play Store.

   

3.  In the Play Store, click on the “Menu” button and then select the “Apps and Games” option.
4. Click on the “Check for Updates” button to check if there are currently any updates available.
5. Click on the “Update” button next to the application with which you are experiencing this error.

   

6. Wait for the update to be completed and check to see if the issue persists.

Install Play Store again.

It is possible that in some cases, this issue might be triggered if your Play Store installation has been corrupted. Therefore, in this step, we will first remove our Google Account from our computer. After that, we will remove Play Store and install it again after downloading it from the internet. To proceed with this:

1. Unlock your phone, pull down the notifications panel, and tap the “Settings” cog.
2. In the settings, scroll through the options and then click on the “Accounts” option.

   

3. Click on “Google” and remove all accounts signed in on the mobile phone.
4. After this, navigate back to the main settings and click on the “Applications” option.
5. Click on “Apps,” and then click on the “Three Dots” in the top right corner.
6. Select ‘Show System Apps‘ from the list to display all the installed applications.

   

7. Click on the “Google Play Store” option, and then click on the “Storage” option.
8. Click on the “Clear Cache” button and then select the “Clear Data” button.

   

9. This should remove the cache and the data being stored by the Play Store on your computer.
10. O: After this, navigate here and download the PlayStore apk from the website by clicking on the “Download” button.
11. Click on this “apk” file on your mobile and install it after allowing the installation.
12. After the PlayStore APK is installed on your mobile phone, check to see if the issue persists.

Stop the Services Framework.

In some situations, the Google Services Framework service might interfere with certain system functions, triggering this error on your mobile phone. Therefore, in this step, we will stop this service from running in the background, which should eliminate the error completely. To do this:

1. Drag down the notification panel and click on the “Settings” cog.

   

2. In the settings, click on the “Applications” button, and then click on the “App” option.
3. In the system applications, scroll through and click on the “Google Services Framework” option.
   
4. Click on the “Force Stop” button, and then click on the “Storage” option.
5. Click on “Clear Cache,” and then on the “Clear Data” button as well.
6. After this, make sure that there aren’t any applications that have been minimized and are running in the background.
7. Start the game or application you were trying to access, and check to see if the issue persists.

Uninstall Play Store updates.

In some situations, the error may be triggered due to a faulty update installed on your mobile device, preventing Google Play Store from functioning properly. Therefore, in this step, we will uninstall the Google Play Store updates and check if doing so resolves the issue. To do this:

1. Drag down the notification panel and click on the “Settings” cog to open settings.
2. In the settings, click on the “Applications” button, and then click on the “Apps” button to open the Application Manager.

   

3. In the application manager, click on the “Three Dots” at the top right side and select “Show System Apps” from the list.
4. Click on the “Google Play Store” option from the list, and then click on the “Three Dots” at the top right side.
5. Click on the “Uninstall Updates” option and approve any prompts that appear on the screen.

   

6. After uninstalling updates, try launching the Play Store and check to see if the issue still persists.

Disable authentication for purchases.

If you encounter this issue while attempting an in-app purchase, it may be due to a conflict with the Play Store servers, which are unable to authenticate your Google Account for your device. To resolve this, we will temporarily disable the authentication requirement for purchases, allowing you to complete the transaction. Afterwards, you can enable the authentication again if needed. To do this:

1. Close all applications and navigate back to your home screen.
2. Tap on the “Play Store” icon, and then tap on the “Menu” button at the top left side.

   

3. In the menu, click on the “Settings” option, and then click on “Require Authentication for Purchases” under the “User Controls” option.

   

4. Click on the “Never” or “For Every 30 Minutes” option.
5. This should alter the need for authentication in in-app purchases.
6. Open the application for which you want to make an in-app purchase and try making the purchase again.
7. Check to see if you can make the purchase after disabling the authentication.
8. Make sure that you remember to re-enable this option because keeping it disabled can put your Google Account at risk.

Last Resort:

If all of the above solutions fail to work for you, the last option you are left with is to perform a complete factory reset of your mobile device. A complete reset should reinitialize all applications and services installed on your phone, and it should help in getting rid of this error completely.