The “Authentication Required” error is a surprisingly common problem on Android devices. You realize how much you rely on Google products for your smartphone activity, especially the Play Store. The good news is that the problem is very easy to fix. Just follow the steps outlined in our guide below.
There are a number of ways to solve this problem, from simply wiping data to a more drastic factory reset as a last resort. We have described the following methods below.
Uninstall Play Store Updates
Sometimes the problem is not with your credentials, but with the Play Store itself. Go to the Play Store in Settings> Apps> Google Play Store. Be sure to select Google Play Store, not Services. Then, click simply on Uninstall updates . That will bring you back
Then you just have to install the latest version from Google Play Store, then reconnect.
Simply delete your Google account
The error could simply be a connection issue, which sometimes occurs when the Play Store is updated. The first trick is to access the main menu Parameters your phone, then to Accounts and synchronization and simply delete the Google account that gets the error “Authentication is required”. Once you’ve done that you can re-add the account and it should work fine. You can also restart your phone before adding it back just in case. However, you may need to complete this step along with the second step below.
Try a new sync
It is possible that things will not sync for some reason and just need a little push. Access your settings , Press on Accounts and synchronization , find your Google account, tap it and select Synchronization of accounts. Then you can go back to the play store and see if the authentication message is gone.
Clear data from Google Play Store
To erase data from Play Store, you need to go to Settings then Apps and find the Google Play Store. Tap on it, scroll down and go to Storage . After that just select Erase data . (You can just try clearing the cache first, if you like, but clearing the data will clear the cache as well).
If the previous step (recent sync) didn’t work for you, try again after clearing cache and data – the results might be better.
Download an app using your mobile / desktop browser
This workaround completely bypasses the faulty Play Store app. Go to your web browser and go to the Google Play Store website. Try downloading an app directly from there rather than through the Google Play Store app. Simply sign in to your Google account through your browser, then install the chosen app.
You can also do this on your desktop browser. You will be asked to sign in to your Google account and then select the device you want to download the app to. As long as your smartphone / tablet is connected to the internet, the download should start almost instantly.
If you’re still having issues after trying all of these steps, run them again in this order, restarting your phone between steps: remove Google account, restart, uninstall updates, install new play store, restart, add an account, etc. . Keep trying until the error goes away.
Have you suffered from the “Authentication is required” error in Google Play before? How did you solve it? Let us know in the comments below.
