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What To Do When Samsung Galaxy S4 Can’t Access Google Play Store

ByHarold Hisona
13 Comments

While the Google Play Store is one of the apps that come installed with the Samsung Galaxy S4 or any Android phones, it is not free from errors and problems. In fact, there is a huge percentage of Android users that experience having some troubles downloading and/or installing applications from the Play Store. The worst thing that could happen is when you cannot sign in using your account even if you are sure all your credentials are correct. Others also experience “An error has occurred…” kind of problems when trying to use the Android Market app.

There are also some users who cannot seem to find the Play Store from their phone while others were getting an error while trying to download apps from the Play Store from their computer to their phones.

Here are some emails from our readers that best describe the problems they’ve encountered while using the Google Play Store on their Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone:

“I don’t know what happened but the problem just started out today and I haven’t done anything on the phone that could have triggered it. Here’s my problem. When I tried opening the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy S4, it’s asking for my Google username and password and when I enter them, it’s giving me an error that either the username or password is not correct. How do I fix this?” — Mel, NY

“Did you guys encountered and error while using the Play Store that says, “An error has occurred. Please try again later.” I have a Samsung Galaxy S4, which is updated to the latest version, and I have all my apps updated to their latest versions as well. I got a good internet connection but still I am experiencing this problem starting a couple of days ago.” — Bryan, AZ

“I recently did a factory reset on my phone (GS4) so everything has been rolled back to their previous version including the apps. But I cannot find the Play Store anywhere on my phone and when I tried going to application manager, I can’t find it there either. What do I need to do?” — Jay Z, MA

“I tried logging into my computer and accessed Google Play Store from there. I found good apps and I want to download them to my Galaxy S4 but I’m getting an error ‘You haven’t accessed the Google Play Store app on your device with this email account.’ Any suggestions on how to fix this issue?” — Anne, SC

GS4 Unable To Sign In To Play Store

The first thing that would usually come to your mind when you get prompted with an error message saying your username and password are incorrect is whether you entered your credentials correctly. So, you would enter them over and over again. But basically, that’s the most logical thing that needs to be done. However, don’t get stuck in entering your credentials using your phone, instead use your computer and try accessing your Google account from there. If you were able to log in successfully using the same username and password you used on your phone, then try troubleshooting your internet or network connection.

If you are connecting to a WiFi, make sure you’re getting a good signal and that you can browse the internet. Try launching your browser and go to any websites you want to visit just to confirm your connection. If you can’t browse a website, you should focus on troubleshooting your internet connection rather than the Play Store.

‘An Error Has Occurred’ Message

“An error has occurred. Please try again later.”

If you will try again at a later time, you will still encounter the same problem. The thing is, it won’t be fixed unless you address it the moment it happens. But just a backgrounder, this problem most often occurs after the Google Play Store app or the market app has been updated to the latest version. I’m just not sure if it’s a compatibility issue between the most recent app version and the version of Android you have on your device. But I’m sure you already have an idea how to fix this problem as early as now. So, without further ado, you need to uninstall the updates on the Play Store so you won’t see the error message again. Here’s how;

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Menu key.
  2. Tap Settings then More tab.
  3. Choose Application Manager from the options.
  4. If necessary, swipe left or right to the appropriate tab; you need to choose the All tab.
  5. Scroll down a bit and find Google Play Store.
  6. Tap Google Play Store to open its manager.
  7. Tap Uninstall Updates button.
  8. Reboot the phone to make sure the change will be implemented.
  9. Run the Play Store again.

Can’t Find Google Play Store

Well, to be honest, I haven’t encountered this problem before but there seems to be a few hundreds who did. I started using an Android when Gingerbread was on its peak and during that time the other name of the Play Store was simply Market. So, if ever you can’t find Google Play Store app on your phone, try finding “Market” with a little Android logo. But in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Play Store comes installed as one of the pre-installed Google apps.

In case that you can’t really find the Play Store on your S4, the best remedy is to download its .apk file and install it in your phone. One of the reputable sites that offer the Play Store for download is Android Police. Find the latest version of Google Play Store from this link. [Download Play Store]

On the other hand, I am pretty sure the Play Store comes installed with the S4. So, you might also want to do a factory reset (again) using the hardware keys of your phone. Here’s how:

  1. Backup all possible important data from your phone to the internal memory (microSD card).
  2. Turn the phone off completely.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key, Home key and the Power key.
  4. When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue holding both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
  5. Release the buttons when Android System Recovery screen appears.
  6. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ option and press the Power key to select it.
  7. Highlight ‘delete all user data’ option and then press the Power button to choose it.
  8. When the reset is complete, choose ‘Reboot system now’ to restart the phone and that should do it.

‘You Haven’t Accessed the Google Play Store’

‘You haven’t accessed the Google Play Store app on your device with this email account.’

I have encountered this problem before so I know exactly what happens and how to fix it…well, it was easy. This error message tells you exactly what happens and what to do. I have several Google accounts or Gmail accounts. When I got my first Android phone, I created an account dedicated for it only while I use separate email accounts online. I often logged into these accounts depending on the number of browsers on my computer.

There was one time when I came across the Google Play Store (using Google Chrome on my laptop) and there was a new game that was offered for free for the first 24 hours of its release so when I saw it, I immediately tried to download it and I was greeted by this same error message. What happened is that I was logged in to one my accounts on the Chrome and I haven’t used that account on my Android phone. What I did was use my phone to download the app and I was able to. Problem fixed.

If you’re on your computer when this problem occurred, try using your phone in downloading the app instead.

Tell us your phone problems

The solutions we provided here are based on reports and testimonies from owners who have encountered these problems. I also ask my XDA developer friends regarding some of the problems. Now if you have other problems or questions with your smartphone that you want answered, don’t hesitate to send us email at [email protected].

We don’t guarantee a reply to all emails because we receive hundreds of them daily, but rest assured your email messages will be read by me. But I urge you to provide as much details as possible so I could easily find references and compare your problems with reports from other owners. If your problem is as common as others, there could already be solutions that exist and I would surely point you to them. Screenshots often help so attach one if you can.

13 Comments

  2. Hello, please I need the link for the updated version of google Play service for Samsung Galaxy S 4, I tried to get it on play store but all I got was “retry”

  3. How I fixed Google Play Store “Couldn’t Sign In. There was a problem communicating with Google Servers” error:

    I kept getting a notification to login to GooglePlay or Google Services, via my Gmail account that I had to create when I setup the phone. So finally, I did this, but the Google Play Store does did not work.. The phone is old, but has been working well. Phone is a stock GT-S7560M, a small Galaxy something or other, running Android 4.0.4, the OS version it came with.

    (Read on, I put the fix at the bottom… It was a bad DNS in my Wifi network config)

    Now, when I try to access the Google Play store, I just get a “white screen of death” – Blank, white screen, until I press the back-arrow. If I wait long enough (about 5 minutes) I get a screen saying “Authentication is required. You need to sign into your Google Account. Retry.” If I click “Retry”, we just go thru the same loop again, as the sign-in seems to be taking place automatically. I get a little spinning-circle throbber on the display, and the same message, and the same authentication demand comes up again. If I right-swipe to get the Google Playstore sidebar menu, I can see the account name is shown, so I am logged in. Some OTA update has been applied?

    I was able to invoke a “Feedback” screen, which indicated a Google Play Store app version number,and I explained I am logged in, but cannot run the Google Play app. I pressed “send>” button, and got a message feedback was sent. (I am on WiFi access, with carrier data-services disabled) Since the feedback message came up, I assumed network access is ok. (I was WRONG) I can ping the phone from my other devices on my LAN. I can FTP to and from it.

    Everything else works ok on the phone. The Google Account is *not* sync’ed, for obvious privacy reasons (sync sends all personal data and all call information to Google). Now, when I start Google Play, all I get is the authentication demand, and some left-sidebar menu options, if I wait long enough. Clicking “Help and Feedback”, and then “Feedback” at screen bottom, gives the following information in a small, topscreen banner:
    “Google Play Store v6.8.24.F-all [0] 3085398”

    It appears this version is the problem. I have no access to Google Play at all, which was working fine prior to what appears to be a *forced* update, which has occured, even though I had the “autoupdate” feature disabled. I may try to return to the factory setting of the Google Play app, and see if that can restore operation. (I didn’t do this…) For now, Google Play access is not working.
    I rebooted the phone, and tried to login again, and got “Couldn’t Sign In”, despite having signed in correctly from my P/C.

    After the re-boot, the device failed to login initially. I have a reliable wifi connection, which it then confirms and tries, and I still get the “Couldn’t sign in” message. It tells me to “Call Customer Care”,
    Lets guess that it is Google’s. So I googled “Google Play Store Customer Care”
    and for Canada, the following numbers come up: 855-836-3987 and 855-702-1123.

    *** But, before I called them, I investigated further…
    I checked Firefox, and found I could not access any webpages. Ah!
    So, I checked the wifi network settings for my local wifi and gateway, and found the DNS settings had not been updated. (I think I had changed them in 2015, when I built a new gateway box, switching from Windows to Linux for the gateway… )
    I updated the DNS values for the existing wifi access point (hint: use 8.8.8.8 and 4.4.4.4, the Google maintained DNS’s. They should work just about anywhere).

    So now, when I tried to access Google Play Store, I got “White Screen Of Death” again!
    (It’s been 5 or 7 minutes now… After 10 minutes, it came up with “Google Play Store is Not Responding. WOuld you like to Close it?” Two options: “Wait” and “OK”. First I tried “Wait” and waited another 2 minutes. Then, same message, and I pressed OK.
    This closed Google Play Store.

    I restarted it by pressing on icon, and this time, it came up ! It logged in to my account successfully, and you confirm this by swiping from left screen edge to bring up main Google Play Store menu. (Hint: I disable “Use itineraries from Gmail” in Settings)
    I note this version of Play Store is: 7.5 .08.M-all [0] [PR] 146162341
    Test it…
    Press “Catagories”
    Then, press the little magnifying glass, to get search option, I type in “Gemesys”, which is the name of my little business, and has my programming language applications for APL, GNUplot and gDOSbox. These are all freeware, and have no in-app adverts or tracking. All the APL apps, gDOSbox, and GNUplot37 are shown available, and YES, they display!

    So, that was it. I had to update the wifi network DNS values, for my configured local network.
    Oh, here is how to do that, it is not obvious:

    HOW TO CHANGE YOUR DNS (Domain Name Service) IP number for an EXISTING Network you access using WiFi on your phone: (Android 4.x.x series devices, eg. older Galaxy phone)
    1) Press Settings icon (the little gear)
    2) Press “WiFi” (make sure WiFi is toggled on with the slider bar
    3) Press your currently active Network name (which should say “connected”). ( ie. you can get connected to your router, and the wifi network will show “connected”, but if your DNS is wrong, you will not be able to get on the network from your browser, using WiFi. Wifi is good, because then you are *not* paying for data-charges, on the cellular network, which can be *very* high in some places – ie. where I live!)
    4) You will see your network listed, with “Cancel” and “Forget” as the options. The config buttons “Scan” and “Advanced” are grayed out… Here is the trick: Use the back-arrow Android function, to go BACK to the list of networks. Don’t just press your network name, you have to LONG PRESS the network name. YOu will get two options: “Forget network” and “Modify Network config”
    5) Press “Modify network config”, and then you can scroll down and edit the DNS.
    6) Change the DNS to 8.8.8.8 (or whatever your network specialist tells you to use)
    7) Press “Save” button at bottom to save the revised network config.

    Check WiFi access by opening a web-browser and loading some page. (I use Firefox, but you can use the default browser that comes with Android)
    Hope this long post is useful to someone. It got my phone back on the air (for wifi network access), and I was able to update and use the Google Play Store, which is the source of course, for most all Android apps. I like the older Samsung phones, because they are small, and reliable.
    Hope this is useful, and best of luck!

  4. Hi. My phone is samsung galaxy s4 gt-i9505.my phone is rooted and i use lucky patcher and i delet my google service frameware. Can i add it

  5. I have a Samsung galaxy tab 4 but I can’t use my play store at all and I have the app and my WiFi connection is perfect but every time I click it it says that the “Google play store has stopped working” and when I went online (Chrome, Internet, Facebook, Instagram, etc…,)it worked but when I clicked the Google play store to download apps it would say the same thing but now what I did was restart the tablet but the problem now is that when I try to log into my Gmail account (to download apps) it says that I should check Mt Internet connection is not good try connecting to another server and every time I connect to another server it says the same thing . And I tried enabaling the download manager, clearing cache and data, fixing the time everything and it justo won’t work. What should I do keep it or trash it??????

  6. My Google games just stay at downloading. In other words if I download a Google game it starts to download but it never completes. If I don’t stop it, it will just go on for days. About to scream. My phone us a Samsung Galaxy 4

  7. I have a galaxy s4 mini duos HT 19192 and for the last three weeks I’m getting this message: error retrieving information from server [DF-DFERH-01] retry please can you help me to fix this?

  8. I updated my Samsung Galaxy s4 yesterday with a new system update. The update is SCH_I545_NG6_to_NK1 and was successful. Unfortunately the Google Play has stopped working. Everything was working fine until I changed my password. I keep getting “account action required”. When I click on the icon I am directed to a “couldn’t sign in” and try again. I put the new password in, it appears to accept the password then I get a message that “Google Play services has stopped”. I report it. I have done the steps to uninstall the update for Google Play and restarted the phone. I am still having problems. I can access my email through Gmail but I do get the “could not sign in”, I can access the internet using Google Chrome, I can access Google Maps ~ but that darn window keeps popping up. So far I have been able to cancel it. I did have things set to send me a code when logging into on a new device, including the phone, however I took that requirement off this morning thinking that was causing the problem ~ that did not help either. What else would you suggest?

  9. I recently restored my Samsung galaxy s advance but when they ask for email and password after that they say that it will take a few minutes and then they say couldn’t sign in. why?

  10. What to do when I try to download items from play store but I don’t have it installed to my phone

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