Apps cannot be installed/updated via Google Play Store after FP3 Factory Reset

Help Fairphone 3
1

Since my FP3 (with most recent build 6.A.040.2) got very slow, I wanted a fresh start and did a factory reset. Though, I don’t get the Google Play Store updating apps or installing new apps again. Updates or new installs stay in “pending” or “downloading”, always. After some minutes Play store notices the failure, reports an error message that links for solutions to

I tried all of it, some of them several times, in different sequences, with additional restarts and factory resets, but the problem stays the same.

Additionally, I unlocked the bootloader, downloaded and installed the most recent FP3 package manuelly via fastboot flash as described here (https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/18896094650513-How-to-manually-install-Android-on-your-Fairphone). Same problem.

Finally, I manually removed the “Google Play Store” via “./adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.vending” and “./adb shell pm clear com.android.vending”, but I am now unable to find a Play store .apk that can be installed. I always get “Existing package com.android.vending signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!”

With a new factory reset, I got the old Play Store version back, being faced to the original problem again.

Any more ideas what can be tried?

Thanx!

2

I have no clue, why, because I am sure I did the following steps already, but this time, it solved my issue: (cf. Fix problems downloading multiple apps - Google Play Help > Uninstall & reinstall Google Play Store updates)

  1. Looked (once again) for the mentioned 3 dots in “App Info” –> still no 3 dots there
  2. Then continued to “reinstall” nevertheless:
    1. Open the Google Play Store app Google Play|autox18.
    2. At the top right, tap the Profile picture.
    3. Tap Settings and then|autox18 About.
    4. Under “Play Store version,” tap Update Play Store.

After clicking it, I always got an error like “Cannot update … will try again later”. But this time I didn’t get this error, the update went through and Play-Store version went from (before 43.5.26-31) to 51.1.20-31. Afterwards, all other app updates in Play store went through smoothly as well.

I don’t know which of all my trialed/errored changes “enabled” the Play Store Update eventually, but I recommend to everyone with similar problems to regularly try above “Update play store version” in between the changes. Possibly, one of my earliest changes enabled it and I could have spared the hazzle of manually installing of FP OS via USB (but could also be that the final factory reset after manual uninstalling Play Store solved it ) :person_shrugging:

ps: with the new Play Store version, the 3 dots top right with option “Uninstall updates” appeared :wink:

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