Google Play Store App Download

Most of the devices that have an Android operating system come with Play Store as a pre-installed or default app. For instance, all the latest Android smart phones come with a pre-installed Play Store. When you switch on your new smart phone for the first time, you would be prompted to register your Google account details. But if you skip this step, you will not be able to sign into your Google services including your Play Store. However, you can sign in anytime by following the steps explained in here.

How to log into your Google Play Store app?

If you want to sign in to your Google Play Store for your new Android phone, you have to follow a few simple steps. Play Store gets automatically installed along with your Android phone’s initial setup. So once you are done with the Android setup all you have to do is to log into your Google Play Store.

To log into your Play Store app you have to use your Gmail account. And if you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a new one while following the steps explained below:

  1. Turn on the screen of your mobile phone and go to the Menus. All the inbuilt and default apps would be displayed on your main menu in the form of icons.
  2. Search for the icon of Google Play Store. It would be mentioned simply as “Play Store” below the icon. Tap the icon and open it.
  3. After opening the Play Store you will be getting a window that asks you to “Add a Google Account”. And below that, you will be having the options to sign in using an existing account or a new account. If you already have a Gmail account, you have to tap on the option “Existing”. And if you do not have an account or if you do not wish to use your existing account in the Play Store, you can select the option “New”.
  4. If you choose the option “New”, you will be taken to the Google’s mail creation window. You have to enter all your credentials and details. Once your new account has been verified and registered, you will be redirected to the Play Store’s Sign Up window. And if you choose the “Existing” option you will be directly taken to the “Sign In” window.

In the “Sign In” window, you have to enter your complete Gmail address followed by your original account password. Below the password field, you will be having an option with a checkbox to choose if you wish to receive updates on Google Play offers and news. Tap on the checkbox if you want Google to keep you posted about latest Play Store news and special offers. If you activate the option, you will be getting updates via email notifications. Once you are done, tap on the arrow pointing towards the right side of the screen. This will take you to the next page of your setup.

  • On the next page, you would be asked to enter details about your payment methods. It would ask you to provide payment information, including your billing details. There would be 2 options. The first one would be “add credit or debit card” and the second would be “redeem”. If you plan to make some immediate purchases from the Play Store, you can choose the option of adding your card details. Once you enter the details you have to tap on the option “Continue”.
  • If you are not interested in entering any kind of payment details at this stage, you can skip the step by tapping on the “Skip” option displayed on the bottom of the screen. Note that you can enter your card details whenever you wish to make any purchases.
  • The next window would provide you the option to “Backup and Restore”. Google would create a backup of all the apps you install from the Play Store, in addition to details like bookmarks. Having a backup can help you in restoring your files and apps in the event of an unexpected malfunction or system crash. There would be a checkbox for activating the backup option. Tap on the checkbox to activate the field. Next, you can proceed to the Play Store app and start browsing for apps, games, books, and movies.

How to manage updates for your Google Play Store app?

Once you have signed up into your Google Play Store App, you can start using its features to install games and apps. To enjoy the new feature and improved performance, you have to install the updates released by Google Play from time to time.

To check the availability of new updates and getting them installed, follow the below mentioned steps:

  • Step 1: From your phone’s menu, locate the Play Store app icon and open it.
  • Step 2: Your Play Store would open to display the home page. On the top, you will be having a search field. To its left corner, you have a menu button displayed as 3 small lines. Tap over it to open the menu.
  • Step 3: Once you have opened the menu, you will be getting a list of options. Scroll down to the option of “Settings” and tap on it. opening the Settings page you will be able to check all the General Settings followed by the ‘User Controls’ and ‘About’ sections.

Under the ‘About’ section you have an option called ‘Play Store Version’ that displays the current version of the Play Store installed on your smart phone. Tap on the ‘Play Store Version’ to check for new updates. If new updates are available, the download will start right away. But if there are no updates to be installed, you will be getting a notification that says your Play Store app is up to date. Tap on the option ‘OK’ to return to the settings.

For automatic installation of future updates, you need to check the option ‘Auto-update apps’ in your settings. The option is available under the ‘General’ section of your Settings window.

  • Step 4: Tap on the option “Auto-update apps” to open it. Note that the settings under the ‘Auto-update apps’ are applicable for the Play Store and all the other apps installed on your phone. This includes the default apps that come with the Android OS in addition to the apps you have downloaded from the Play Store.
  • Step 5: Once you open the ‘Auto-update apps’ option you will be getting a small window with three suggestions. The first one would be ‘do not auto-update apps’. If this option is turned on, none of the applications installed on your phone would receive automatic updates. However, you will still be receiving notifications that updates are available and you have to manually install them. This option is useful if you have limited storage space available on your phone and you want only important updates to get installed. However, the option is time-consuming and there is a risk of missing out on important updates.

The second suggestion would be ‘auto-update apps any time’. If you activate this option, you will be getting all the updates installed automatically for all the apps as and when they are released. And this would happen any time provided your phone has an internet connection.

Under this option, it would be mentioned that “data charges may apply”. This indicates that your phone would download automatic updates using your Wi-Fi as well as data connections. This would add to your data charges. You can activate this option if you want automatic updates even when your Wi-Fi connection is not available. Note that, the option can considerably increase your data usage whenever there are major updates.

  • Step 6: The third and the last option would be “Auto-update apps using Wi-Fi only”. This option would allow your phone to receive automatic updates only when your Wi-Fi connection is turned on. This is a feasible option if you have limited data access.
  • Step 7: You can activate only 1 option from the aforementioned 3 suggestions. Note that auto-updates are installed automatically and whenever the updates are downloaded automatically, you will be able to see a notification that indicates the progress of your updates. You can remove the auto-update option for individual applications by making necessary changes via “My apps and games” section of your Play Store’s menu. This is an important feature because it can help you in avoiding unwanted updates.
  • Step 8: Under the “My apps and games” section you will be able to see the submenu ‘Updates’. Tap and open it to view the list of all the apps on your phone. You can scroll down to choose the apps for which you need to change the auto-update settings.
  • Step 9: Once you tap on an app name, it would open and you will be getting a page that offers the basic details like ratings and ‘uninstall’ option. On the top right corner of the page, you have a menu option resembling 3 vertical dots. Tap over it and you will get an option with a checkbox that says “Enable Auto-update”. This option would be active if you have turned on the auto-update setting of your Play Store. You can uncheck the checkbox to disable the option. This would prevent your phone from automatically downloading updates for this particular application.
  • Step 10: The “My apps and games” section will also display the storage space available. Updates may not get installed if there is a lack of free space. In this case, the page would indicate that the updates are pending. Against each app, you will be able to see an option “Update”. There would be a drop-down arrow near the update option. Tap on the arrow to see the details of the update. After checking the details you can decide if the update is necessary or not.

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