How to fix Google Play Store “Package file is invalid” error on Samsung Galaxy S9

The Google Play Store “Package file is invalid” error on your Samsung Galaxy S9 may occur when you’re downloading or updating an app. It’s one of the most common error messages you may encounter while using an Android phone. This will prevent you from downloading and/or updating an app so you must address it the moment it shows up.

The most common reason why it shows up is when your internet connection is interrupted while the app is being downloaded or updated. The thing is, the error “Package file is invalid” may show up only when it’s about to be installed. If ever you’re one of the users to have been bugged by this problem, continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another.

Before anything else, if you have other issues with your device, try to browse through our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed several issues with this device. Odds are that we’ve already published a post that tackles similar problems. Try finding issues that have similar symptoms with what you currently have and feel free to use the solutions we’ve suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, then fill up our questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

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How to troubleshoot Galaxy S9 with “Package file is invalid” error?

The course of our troubleshooting will be to see if this problem is just a minor issue with the app or the firmware and then we’ll go into other troubleshooting procedures that will have an impact on the firmware if the problem continues. With that being said, here are the things you need to do about this problem.

Perform the forced restart. This will refresh your phone’s memory as well as reload all its apps and services. It is important that you try this procedure first especially if it’s the first time that you encountered this problem because there’s always a possibility that it’s just due to a minor firmware issue. Glitches can easily be fixed by a simple reboot however, in this case, it would be better to perform the forced reboot as it’s more effective than the normal restart. To do so, press both the volume down button and the power key at the same time and hold them down together for 10 seconds or more.

Once the phone has successfully rebooted, try to open Play Store and download or update the app you were have issues with. If the error still shows up, then move on to the next procedure.

Reset Network Settings. Another possibility we have to look into when troubleshooting your phone that’s bugged down by the “Package file is invalid” error is its connection. As I said earlier, this could be entirely due to an interruption with the network while the app is being downloaded or updated. Therefore, we need to refresh the connection by resetting all network settings which will bring your phone’s network configuration to factory defaults. This covers all network-related concerns so regardless whether you’re using mobile data to connect to the internet or connected to a wifi network, this procedure may still fix the problem. Here’s how it’s done…

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > General Management > Reset > Reset network settings.
  3. Tap RESET SETTINGS.
  4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS. Once complete, a confirmation window will appear.

After doing this, try to connect the phone to the internet using the method you prefer. If you were previously connected to a wifi network prior to this procedure, then you will have to reconnect to the network. Once connected, open Play Store and then download or update the app again and if the error still shows up, you have to do after the Play Store itself.

Clear cache and data of Google Play Store. We still have to address the possibility that this problem is just an issue with the Google Play Store so in this step you need to reset the app by deleting its cache and data files. You’re not actually just resetting them, you’re replacing them with new ones and it’s done automatically by the system. None of your apps will be deleted so there’s no need to worry about it. Here’s how it’s done on your Galaxy S9:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. To display preinstalled apps, tap Menu > Show system apps.
  4. Find and tap Google Play Store.
  5. Tap Storage > CLEAR CACHE > CLEAR DATA > DELETE.

After doing this, open Play Store again. This time, it may take a little time to become active as it will rebuild its cache but once it becomes active, try to download an app and see if the error is fixed. If not, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Backup important files and reset your phone. At this point, a master reset is already necessary. This will address all possible software-related issues including this error. The Play Store is a core application or service and it is deeply embedded in the firmware and the error might just be a result of another problem with the firmware. Before the reset though, make sure to create a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted during the process. Once everything is set and ready, follow these steps to reset your phone:

  1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung credentials to finish the master reset.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!

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