Fix: “The application (process com.android.vending) has stopped unexpectedly.” on Android

Kevin ArrowsUpdated on June 8, 2023
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer

In the event that data related to the Play Store is uninstalled on a non-rooted Android device, the user receives the error message, “The application (process com.android.vending) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again,” whenever they run the Play Store. Following this, the application force-closes. On rooted Android devices, this error message is caused by a problem with the gapps (Google Apps) package installed on the device or if the Play Store on the device or its data starts acting up.

This error message completely annihilates the user’s ability to download any apps onto their device, which is why this error is one of the most serious issues associated with the Google Play Store. This issue has been faced by a large number of Android users from all over the world, and the following methods have proven most useful to them:

Uninstall Google Play Store updates.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Locate and enter the ‘Apps’ section or the ‘Application Manager.’
  3. Select “All” when presented with the list of applications installed on the device.
  4. Locate the Google Play app and tap on it.
  5. Select ‘Uninstall Updates.’
  6. Run the Google Play Store, allow the application to install updates, and the application should then no longer display the ‘process.com.android.vending has stopped’ error.

Clear the device’s cache partition.

  1. Remove the device’s SD card to preserve the data stored on it.
  2. Boot the phone up, go to ‘Backup and Restore’ in settings, and perform a full factory reset.
  3. Wait for the phone to be completely reset.
  4. Set up the phone.
  5. Reboot the phone into Recovery Mode and completely wipe the device’s cache.
  6. Open the Play Store.

Reflash the Google Apps package file (for root users only).

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Reboot the device into Recovery Mode.
  3. Flash the gapps.zip file once again.
  4. Boot the device up and the problem should no longer persist.

Forcefully delete the Play Store data folder (Root Only).

  1. Use the Root Explorer application to gain access to the ‘com.android.vending’ folder in the path ‘Android/data’ or ‘Android/data/data’.
  2. Delete the folder.
  3. “Fire up the Play Store to make sure that the issue has indeed been fixed.

If none of these methods worked for you, you will have to perform a factory reset on your phone to resolve this issue.

Kevin ArrowsUpdated on June 8, 2023
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Kevin Arrows


Kevin Arrows is a highly experienced and knowledgeable technology specialist with over a decade of industry experience. He holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification and has a deep passion for staying up-to-date on the latest tech developments. Kevin has written extensively on a wide range of tech-related topics, showcasing his expertise and knowledge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. His contributions to the tech field have been widely recognized and respected by his peers, and he is highly regarded for his ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.

Comments

20
    NI
    NIKOLA Jan 23, 2016

    not working

    Reply
      OW
      Omar Wagih Jan 25, 2016

      Please specifiy which one is not working and what your error is

      Reply
    AG
    Amanda Gilman Jan 26, 2016

    i have an lgl75 and tried #4 and it didnt work, the folder is still gone, market is still installed but still wont fire up, i cant try #3 because the lgl75 has no recover option what can i do?

    Reply
    LU
    Lucy Feb 22, 2016

    My phone is Samsung Galaxy Young (GT-S5360) and I’m having this problem since 2 days. For the first method, my application doesn’t have the updates anyway. And for the second method, I have just tried it and it’s still not working. Please help!

    Reply
      KA
      K. Arrows Author Feb 23, 2016

      I would suggest a factory restore.

      Reply
        LU
        Lucy Feb 28, 2016

        Well actually I have tried it too but it didn’t work…

        Reply
          KA
          K. Arrows Author Mar 1, 2016

          Uninstall any recent apps installed, and updates made to the apps.

          LU
          Lucy Mar 3, 2016

          Thank you very much but my phone only has WhatsApp and unfortunately uninstalling it didn’t work either…

          KA
          K. Arrows Author Mar 4, 2016

          Try a factory reset?

          PL
          plums666 Mar 24, 2016

          I have different problem, then, I do a factory reset, now the previous problem is gone while i got a new problem which is why I am here, i think factory reset sometimes work sometimes not. Solution, download and install Playstore APK since resetting the phone there will be no updates that can be uninstall. Before anything else, updating samsung young always failed since i use it, it need to be update via Kies.

      DP
      Dipen Parekh Apr 18, 2016

      I have the same phone model and same problem. Did you find a solution for this issue? I have tried everything including factory reset but nothing works!!

      Reply
        LU
        Lucy Apr 27, 2016

        No, I tried many things but nothing has worked. I can’t download anything from PLay Store anymore. I can only download APKs.

        Reply
    WA
    Wat Feb 27, 2016

    Thanks for the good instructions — without skipping steps. Method 2 worked great.

    Reply
    HE
    Hossam Elatraby Mar 27, 2016

    My phone is Etsalat smart phone and I’m having this problem . I have tried Method 1,2,3 but it didn’t work. please help me.

    Reply
    DU
    durga Apr 26, 2016

    My phone is samsung smart phone and I’m having this problem . I have tried Method 1,2,3 but it didn’t work. please help me.

    Reply
    MR
    MeganLoera RubenLoera Feb 9, 2017

    worked perfect.thank you so much. 🙂

    Reply
    CH
    Charles Jul 6, 2017

    Sadly not working. Problem already occurs on a freshly restored phone. No updates installed yet. So that’s not the problem. No cache. So no problem there.

    Reply
    AD
    Anne Donohoe Sep 2, 2017

    Hi, I keep getting the com.android.vending keeps stopping message on my Samsung tablet and the Google play store app has disappeared. The icon has gone and I’ve searched through all my apps but no play store. It’s not allowing me to download the play store app. Help please. Thank you.

    Reply
    IS
    ismile May 27, 2020

    i want play store download

    Reply
      SW
      Shane Warren Author May 27, 2020

      https://apkpure.com/google-…

      Reply