How to Fix Error Code 506 on Google Play Store
Several users are getting the “Error code: -506” error on their Google Play Store whenever they try to download or update an application. This issue can occur on a specific application for some users and on all of the applications for others. Google Play Store is an important application of your phone to download and use other applications. However, this error will prevent users from downloading or updating any application from Google Play Store.
What is Causing the ‘Error Code -506’ issue?
We managed to discover some of the most common causes that will trigger this particular issue. We have done this by looking at various user reports and the repair strategies that they used to get the issue resolved. Here is a shortlist with common scenarios that have the chance of triggering this particular error message:
- SD card is glitched – On devices that support SD card, there’s a chance that the issue is caused by a case of a glitched SD card. Whenever this happens, you will be unable to download or update any application from Google Play Store. In this case, you can resolve the issue by unmounting the SD card from the phone settings and then downloading the application.
- Google Play Store cache data is corrupt – Another potential case in which this error occurs is when your Google Play Store cache data is corrupt. Several users finding themselves in a similar situation have reported that they managed to resolve the issue after clearing the cache data of Google Play Store from phone settings.
- The application running on external storage – In some cases, the storage location of the application can be responsible for this particular error. This is because Google Play Store can update the application properly if only it is located on internal storage.
This article will help you with different methods to resolve the “Error code: -506“. We will start from the most common and simple method to the detailed one.
Method 1: Restarting Your Phone
The first troubleshooting method you should always apply is to restart your phone. This general solution can fix most of the problems on your device. Applying this method will refresh the memory of your phone and wipe out the previously used application’s data. Sometimes, one or more files stays in memory and keep causing the issue for other applications to work properly. You can easily restart your phone by holding the Power button and choosing Reboot from options. After restarting your phone, you can go to Google Play Store and try downloading and updating the application again.
Method 2: Move Application to Internal Storage
You will get this error when you are updating your application that isn’t located on your internal storage. Google Play Store needs the application to be located on internal storage to update it properly. You can fix this particular issue by moving your specific application from an external location (SD Card) to internal phone storage by following the steps below:
- Go to your phone Settings and open Manage Apps/Apps.
- Search for the application in the list that is getting the error while updating and open it.
Note: If your device has multiple tabs, select ‘All‘ in manage apps to find the application.
Opening the application in the manage apps - Tap on Storage option to reach the option of moving the application.
- Now tap on Change and choose Internal Storage.
Change location to Internal Storage - After you changed the location of application, try updating the application from Google Play Store.
Method 3: Changing the Default Storage Location
This is a bit similar to the above method but the above method was for updating and this is for downloading. When you are downloading the application for the first time and you get this error issue, that is because of your storage settings. Most of the users that have been struggling to resolve this particular issue have reported that they resolved the error by changing the storage settings as shown below:
- Go to your phone Settings and open Storage option.
- Tap on the Preferred install location option and choose Let the system decide or Internal device storage.
Note: Mostly, it is suggested to select “Let the system decide” but you can also try Internal device storage.
Changing the default storage location - After changing this, go to Google Play Store and try downloading the application.
Method 4: Clearing Google Play Store Cache Data
Every application saves cache data to help your device load and complete tasks faster. Google Play Store also creates cache data to save the user information to show related applications to the user in the future. It also saves your search history for the applications and saves the data of the downloaded application on your account. However, this data can become corrupt or broken due to which users will get this error issue while downloading or updating the applications. You can easily fix this by clearing the cache data of the Google Play Store in phone settings by following the below steps:
- Go to your device Settings and open Manage Apps/Apps.
- Now search for the Google Play Store application in the list and open it.
Note: If you cannot find it, you can also type the name to search it or choose the ‘All‘ tab in manage apps.
Opening the Google Play Store in Manage Apps - Tap on Storage option to reach the option about clearing data.
- Then tap on Clear data and choose the Clear all data and Clear cache both.
Clearing the Cache data of Google Play Store - Once you are done clearing cache data, reboot your phone and try to download the application again.
Method 5: Unmount Your SD Card
In this method, the user needs to unmount their SD card from settings. Sometimes, your SD card can be the culprit causing the issue for downloading or updating applications. You can simply try using this option in your settings to fix the issue. To apply this method, follow the steps below:
- Go to your phone Settings and open Storage
- Scroll down and tap on Unmount SD Card
Unmounting the SD Card - Now go and try downloading and updating application from Google Play Store.
