Fix: Google Play “Server Error” and “No Connection”

Google Play Store is the most popular Android app market, used by hundreds of millions of users around the world. Although the app is stable for the most part, there are some instances where errors make it unusable or limit its functionality.

Google has made it easier to identify errors related to Google Play Store by providing various error codes designed to point users in the right direction. But so far, not all issues have an error code. This is the case with Play Store’s “Server Error” or “No Connection” errors. Although they seem like two different types of errors, they signal the same thing.

The error message you’ll get is dependent on the Android version that you’re currently using.  Even the errors make it sound like it’s an internal Google issue, most of the time it originates from your device or the router you are connected to.

“Server Error” might appear due to a wide array of factors. Here’s a list of the most common causes:

With this in mind, I have put together a guide that will help you get rid of these errors and make Google Play resume its normal functionality. The methods above are ordered by frequency and severity, so make sure you follow each of them in order until you find a fix that works for your device.

Method 1: Connecting through Mobile data

Before we explore other possibilities, let’s start by making sure you aren’t dealing with a faulty Wi-Fi connection. Sometimes this error appears because your Wi-Fi connection is bad or incorrectly configured. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Close Google Play Store.
2. Turn off your Wi-Fi connection and enable Mobile Data.
3. Wait for a minute and open Google Play Store again.

If you’re still seeing “Server Error” or “No Connection“, move straight over to Method 2. But if Play Store is displaying normally, it’s clear that your router is to blame. Before jumping online to look for a new router, here’s what you can try:

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, and long press on the network you’re currently connected to.
2. Tap on Forget (Forget Network).
   
3. Force your router to restart by unplugging the power cable.
4. On your Android device, re-enable Wi-Fi and go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
5. Tap on your Wi-Fi network again and re-insert the password.
6. While on your Wi-Fi connection, open Google Play Store and see if the error is gone.
   Note: If the error persists, you can try to reset your router. You can either do this by using a pencil or needle to push and hold the reset button(usually located on the rear panel) for several seconds or by following method 3 from ‘failed to obtained IP address‘
   

Method 2: Clearing Data and Cache of Google Play Store 

Now that we ruled out a faulty router, let’s start with the most popular fix for these errors. If you’re on Google Play Store a lot, your cached data will get big really fast, with a decent chance of glitching out. Here’s how to clear its cache:

1. Go to Settings > Apps (Applications) and make sure you’re using the All apps filter.
2. Scroll down and tap on Google Play Store and then go to Storage and tap on Clear data.
3. After data is deleted, tap on Clear cache.
   
4. Hit the back icon and tap on Force Stop.
5. Restart your device and open Google Play store again to see if the error is gone.

Method 3: Updating Date / Time settings

Another efficient fix that will make the “Server Error” and “No Connection” errors go away is updating your date and time settings. Some older Android versions have a minor glitch that will prevent devices from running on with outdated time and date from accessing Google Play Store. Here’s how to update them:

1. Go to Settings and tap on Date & Time. If you can’t find a Date & Time entry, look under Advanced Settings.
2. Enable Automatic date & time and Automatic time zone.
   
3. Restart your device and open Google Play Store to see if the error went away.

Method 4: Changing Play Store language

Some users have reported that “Server error” has disappeared after changing the language to English. Although I wasn’t able to verify it myself, if you’re using a different language when browsing Play Store, it might be worth a shot. Here’s how to do it:

1. Visit this link and sign in with your Google account. You can either do this from your Android browser or from a PC.
2. Click/tap on Account preferences and select Language & Input Tools.
   
3. Click/tap on Language and select English.
   
4. Pick up your Android device and go to Settings >Accounts and tap on Google.
5. Tap on Sync now and wait until the data is updated. Open Play Store again and see if the error has disappeared.

Method 5: Uninstalling Google Play Updates

If you’ve tried the methods above to no avail, uninstalling the updates from Google Play might finally fix it. If you’re rooted, you can try to uninstall Google Play completely if the steps below fail, but I would advise against it.

1. Go to Settings > Apps (Applications). Select the All apps filter and scroll down to Google Play Store.
   
2. Tap on Uninstall Updates. Restart your phone and avoid letting Play Store update again until you confirm that the error is gone.

Method 6: Remove and Re-Add your Google account

Although it’s less common, there’s a slight chance your Google account has glitched on your Android device. This usually happens when you change your account password from another device. Anyways, here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts and tap on Google and tap on your account and hit Remove.
   If you don’t see a remove icon, tap the three-dot icon.
2. Go back to Settings > Accounts and tap on Add account.
3. Select Google from the list and insert your email and password associated with the account. Now, tap on Sync Now.
   
4. Open Play Store again to see if it worked.

Method 7: Clear Google Services Framework Cache

Google Services Framework is the process responsible for syncing and storing device data. If the glitch related to error originates from here, force stopping it and clearing its cache might do the job. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to Settings and tap on Application Manager. Keep in mind that some manufacturers hide system processes somewhere in the app tab. If you can’t find Application Manager, go to Settings > Apps (Applications) and tap on the menu icon (three-dot icon). From there select Show System processes.
   
2. Scroll down and tap on Google Services Framework.
3. Tap on Force Stop.
4. Go to Storage and tap on Clear Cache. Reboot your device and open the Play Store.

Method 8: Editing the Host file (Rooted Devices Only)

If you’re using or have used an ad blocker, there’s a slight chance it ended up blocking the wrong hosts. The bad news is you’re going to need a text editor, but most manufacturers include one in their list of preloaded apps. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Remove your Google account as shown in Method 5.
2. With Root Explorer (or a similar app), navigate to etc/hosts.
3. Open the hosts file present there with a text editor.
4. Look for Google’s IP address and insert an “#” in front of it. It’s usually on the second line. Doing this will disable the blocking of that IP. It The end result should look similar to this “#74.125.93.113 android.clients.google.com“.
5. Save the file, restart your device, re-add your Google account, and open Google Play Store again.
6. If you’re presented with the same error after the restart, try uninstalling any ad-blocker or VPN app you might have and delete the host file completely

Method 9: Doing a Factory Reset

If nothing worked for you so far, there’s one last thing to try before sending your phone to a technician for an OS re-flash. Performing a factory reset will restore your phone to its initial state. This means all your personal data that isn’t present on the SD card will be deleted.

To avoid unnecessary data loss, go to Settings > Advanced settings and tap on Backup & reset. Tap on Back up my data and wait for it to be created.

Once you’ve got that out the way, here are the steps of doing a factory reset:

1. Go to Settings > Advanced Settings > Backup & reset and scroll all the way down to Factory data reset.
   
2. Tap on Reset Phone and confirm.
3. Your device will restart at the end of the process.
4. Once it’s initialized, open Google Play Store and see if it’s working normally.