How to download and install the Google Play Store APK
Step number 1: Discover the version you are currently running
If you have a current version of the Google Play Store running on your device, you can open it up to check on the version to see if you have the latest application version or an older version of the Play Store. Keep in mind that the play store does come installed as standard on most Android devices.
To get started: open your app and scroll of the settings section. At the base of your settings you will see the build number for your application.
The most current version at the time of writing this article is Google Play Store 42.9.16 (October 2024) for Android. It’s a good idea to do a quick Google search to see what the most current version of the store could be however as this gets updated sometimes once a week.
In some cases the version of Android that you could be running on an old device may not be compatible with the latest store version. Generally this isn’t going to be a problem if you are installing the APK however as the Google Play Store is not terribly taxing on hardware.
If you have an Android phone that is limited to Gingerbread as an operating system however, it could be time to upgrade your hardware so that you can also upgrade to the latest version of the Google Play Store.
Step number 2: Getting the newest Google Play Store APK
Any version of the Google Play Store or any application on Android for that matter comes in an APK format. This is a file format that’s very similar to an exe on Windows. As a result it’s very important that you download the latest version of the Google Play Store APK only from a trusted source as an un-trusted APK could have viruses, malicious content and more packed into them.
An APK from the official Google website or one that is signed by Google will make sure that you are getting the true version. You can often look this up on a PC and then transfer it to your Android device or look it up in your Android device web browser and find it in the download file on that same device.
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Step number 3: Ready your settings
In order to install APK files that aren’t directly from the Google Play Store you are going to need to adjust the settings on your Android device. Going to the device “Settings” tab, clicking on “Security” and then finding the unknown sources option in the “Security” menu is just how you do this.
After clicking on the “Unknown sources” option you will have to hit “OK” to enable your device to install APK’s from unknown sources. Sometimes this option is also available within the “Privacy settings” of your application settings on select Android devices.
Enabling this option will allow you to install any type of APK file that you source online including the one that you just downloaded for the Google Play Store.
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Step number 4: Located the APK in your file manager and install the latest Google Play Store apk
Finding files on your Android device can be very difficult without the help of a file manager. You can go into your “Settings” and “Find applications”, but it’s much easier to do with the help of an auxiliary file browser. If you can still access the Play Store, you may want to consider downloading the ES file Explorer. You can also find a package installer for this online for your Android device if you do not have it installed currently. Be sure to have the ES file Explorer installed in case you do have to patch your Android device with the latest Google APK.
By opening your file browser you can locate the Google Play Store APK that you downloaded from your device web browser or transferred directly to your device through a USB cable. You can also transfer the APK file to your device from Dropbox to access the APK without having to resort to the file browser.
Once you have located the APK you can click and you will see a pop-up that will allow you to install the APK directly. Your device will recognize previous versions of the Google Play Store and patch to the latest version or install a completely new version of the Google Play Store APK on your device from scratch.
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Step Number 5: Sign into your Google Play account
After the installation you can just sign into your Google Play account as soon as the app finishes installing and you will have full access to the latest version of the Google Play Store on your device. Feel free to use this tip to patch to older versions of the Google Play Store as well!
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Step Number 6: Be sure to disable “Unknown apps” sources again
Go back to your “Security” settings or “Privacy settings” to disable “Unknown sources” for app installation once again. Leaving this box unchecked can be a massive hole in the security of your device later on. Keeping yourself safe means checking this box once again so that other applications cannot install their own APK and to make sure that you don’t accidentally install an APK that automatically downloads in your device browser by going to a malicious website.