Updating Google Chrome comes with immense benefits: improved browsing experience, better security, new features, bug fixes, etc. Sadly, hundreds of Android users miss out on these benefits because they cannot install Chrome updates.
In this guide, we’ll exhaustively cover troubleshooting steps to follow if Google Chrome is not updating on your Android smartphone or tablet. First, we should mention that canceling and restarting the update can fix the problem. Then, proceed to the solutions listed below if the Chrome update keeps failing or gets stuck in the unending “Pending” loop.
Check Your Internet Connection
Updating apps from the Play Store requires an internet connection, either via cellular data or Wi-Fi. If the Play Store won’t update other apps, that tells you the problem is most likely with your network connection, the Google Play Store, or other system components. A quick way to “test” your internet connection is to launch your web browser and check if you’re able to open web pages. Or, open other internet-dependent apps and check if they work.
Other network-related troubleshooting steps include turning off your VPN connection/app, enabling and disabling airplane mode, and rebooting your Wi-Fi router. Switch to a wireless connection if you’re using cellular data and update Chrome again.
If the problem is specific to Google Chrome, force-closing the browser or clearing its data should help. But before then, make sure you have the correct date and time information on your device.
Check Date and Time Settings
Your device’s date and time must be accurate to install apps from the Play Store. So if you can’t update Play Store apps, confirm that your device’s date and time information are up-to-date.
Go to Settings > System > Date & time and toggle on these options: Use network-provided time and Use network-provided time zone.
Cancel Pending Downloads or Updates
Play Store will suspend your Chrome update if there are other ongoing downloads in the background. To immediately update Chrome, cancel other downloads in Play Store’s pending queue.
- Open Play Store and tap your account picture at the top-right corner.
- Select Manage apps and device.
- In the “Overview” section, select Updates available.
- Tap Cancel all.
Force Close Google Chrome
You might be unable to update Chrome from the Play Store if the browser is freezing or unresponsive. Cancel the update on the Play Store and follow the steps below to force-close Chrome.
- Long-press the Google Chrome app icon and tap the info 🛈 icon.
- Tap the Force Close icon.
- Select OK to proceed.
Head to the Google Chrome page on the Play Store and check if you can update the browser.
Force Close and Relaunch the Play Store
Despite being an application warehouse, the Play Store is an app—an application that also malfunctions. So when something goes wrong with the Play Store and Chrome is not updating, force-stopping the store could restore it to normalcy.
- Tap and hold the Play Store app icon and tap the info 🛈 icon.
- Tap Force Stop and select OK on the confirmation prompt.
- Tap Open to relaunch the Play Store.
- Open the Chrome app details page, tap the Update button and wait till you get a success message.
If you still can’t update Chrome, clear the browser’s cache files and try again. See the next section for detailed steps.
Clear Cache Files
Deleting an app’s temporary files (or Cache files) will free up storage space on your device and resolve performance glitches. So if Chrome is not updating from the Play Store, clear the Play Store’s cache files. Do the same for other system apps like the Android Download Manager and Google Play Services.
Clear Play Store’s Cache
Close Google Chrome on your device and follow the steps below.
- Tap and hold the Play Store app icon and tap the info 🛈 icon.
- Select Storage & cache.
- Tap Clear cache to delete all of Chrome’s temporary data on your device.
Try updating Chrome from the Play Store again and check if you strike gold this time. Otherwise, clear the Google Play service’s cache data.
Clear Google Play Service’s Cache
Doing this will fix Google Play issues preventing the Play Store from updating Chrome or other applications.
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info (or See all apps) > Google Play services.
- Select Storage & cache.
- Tap Clear cache.
Clear Download Manager’s Cache
The Download Manager is a system service that facilitates downloads on built-in Android apps. If there’s a problem with the Download Manager, you might encounter issues installing or updating apps on the Play Store.
Often, however, clearing the Download Manager’s cache will solve these issues. Cancel any pending app download, close the Play Store, and follow the steps below.
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > See All Apps, tap the menu icon at the top-right corner, and select Show system.
- Scroll through the apps and select Download Manager.
- Select Storage & cache.
- Tap the Clear Cache icon.
Launch the Play Store and try updating Chrome again.
Restart Your Device
Do this if all troubleshooting steps so far have proved abortive. Hold your device’s power button and select Restart on the power menu.
Uninstall Previous Chrome Updates
Chrome is a system app that’s built into the Android OS, so it cannot be removed or uninstalled. However, there’s an option to uninstall all previous updates made to the browser. That’ll revert the app to the factory version and possibly resolve issues preventing Play Store from updating the browser.
- Open the app’s info page, tap the three-dot menu icon at the top-right corner and select Uninstall updates.
- Tap OK on the confirmation prompt.
- Return to Chrome’s page on the Play Store and tap Update.
Clear Google Chrome’s App Data
Several Chrome users in this Google Support thread resolved the issue by deleting Chrome’s data from their devices. Try that and see if it helps.
- Open Chrome’s app info page on your device and select Storage & cache.
- Tap the Clear Storage icon.
- Tap Clear All Data.
- Tap OK to proceed.
Note: Clearing Chrome’s data will delete your browsing history, site cookies, and other locally stored data.
Last Resort: Sideload Chrome
If you still can’t update Google Chrome on the Play Store, download and install the latest version from these trusted and reliable websites. Before you proceed, we recommend going through this article on installing Android apps using APK files. You’ll learn how to properly sideload Chrome from an outside source as well as the risks involved.