As an Android user, you've probably run into your fair share of app issues and operating system glitches. And one of the more common problem areas is the Google Play Store.

If you keep seeing "Check your connection and try again" in the Play Store, Google Assistant, or other apps, try the following methods to fix it. These steps should work on most Android versions out there.

Fix Incorrect Date and Time Settings

In order to properly function, many apps require that your phone has correctly configured date and time settings.

You should check and correct your date and time settings, if they aren't already, with these steps:

  1. Open Settings, tap System, and select Date & time.
  2. Turn on the toggles for both Use network-provided time and Use network-provided time zone options.

Your phone should now display the correct date and time.

If that doesn't fix the issue, configure the date and time four years in the future, open the Play Store, close the Play Store, and then use the automatic date and time option. This workaround might help fix the issue.

Remove the Hosts File

Your phone uses a file called hosts to define how you connect to various services on the internet. Sometimes, this file has issues and this causes many services not to function on your phone, including the Google Play Store.

One way to deal with this is to delete this hosts file from your phone. This shouldn't have any negative impact on your device, and it can potentially fix your issue.

You need a rooted phone, and then follow these steps to remove the hosts file:

  1. Install a free root explorer app like Solid Explorer File Manager (you can sideload this app on your Android device).
  2. Open the app, tap menu at the top, and select the cog icon.
  3. Enable the Show root storage option, and then head back to the main interface.
  4. Select Root from the sidebar, and open the etc folder on the right.
  5. Find the file named hosts and delete it.

Change the DNS Server

It might be that there's an issue with your DNS servers and so your phone is unable to resolve IP addresses. This can prevent you from accessing various online services.

One way to fix this is to change your DNS servers. You can switch to Google Public DNS which are online most of the time.

Here's how you configure those DNS servers on your phone:

  1. Head into Settings > Wi-Fi & network > Wi-Fi, and tap the cog icon next to your Wi-Fi network.
  2. Tap the edit icon at the top.
  3. Expand Advanced options and select Static from the IP settings menu.
  4. Enter 8.8.8.8 in DNS 1 and 8.8.4.4 in DNS 2.
  5. Enter a custom IP in the IP address field, and tap Save.

Open the Play Store and see if the "Check Your Connection and Try Again" issue is gone.

Use Other Google Apps

The Google Play Store shows "Check Your Connection and Try Again" because your phone can't connect to the Google servers.

When issues like this arise, one thing you can do is to force a connection to the Google servers. One way to do this is to use other Google apps on your phone, and this will initiate and establish a connection to the Google servers.

This method might or might not work, but there's no harm in giving it a try. You can use the method by opening a Google app, like Google Maps, and navigating around a few maps.

Then, open the Google Play Store and see if it works.

Clear Cache and Data for Google Play Store

Like other apps, Google Play Store also stores cache and data files on your device. You can clear these files to see if this fixes your issue.

Here's how to do that:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Google Play Store on your device.
  2. Tap Storage & cache, and then tap Clear cache followed by Clear storage.

This will reset any changes you've made in the Settings, so you'll need to reapply those the next time you launch the app.

Disable Your VPN

A VPN routes your internet connection and this can sometimes come in the way of your phone and the Google Play Store servers. If you use a VPN on Android, toggle the service off and then open the Play Store.

While there's no guarantee disabling a VPN fixes the "Check Your Connection and Try Again" issue, you can give it a try and see if it works.

Remove Your Google Account and Re-Add It

It might be that the issue is with your Google account. In this case, you can remove your account from your phone and then add it back again.

This should likely fix any issues related with your account, and here's how you remove and re-add your account:

  1. Launch Settings, tap Accounts, and find and select your Google account in the list.
  2. Tap Remove account on the following screen.
  3. Once the account is removed, head into Settings > Accounts and tap Add account to re-add your Google account.

Factory Reset Your Device

If nothing else works to fix the "Check Your Connection and Try Again" error in the Play Store, your last solution is to reset your device to the factory settings.

This will delete all your data including your settings and apps. If something was not right on your phone, this should likely fix that.

Before you proceed, make sure to back up your important files on your Android device. Then follow these reset steps:

  1. Access Settings, tap System, and select Reset options.
  2. Tap Erase all data (factory reset) to begin resetting your device.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to reset your device.
  4. Set up your device from scratch.

Making the Google Play Store Accessible Again on Android

The Google Play Store is where you get most of your apps, and if that stops working, you can't get or update your installed apps.

Luckily, the solutions above should help resolve the "Check Your Connection and Try Again" issue so you can connect to the store and access your items. They should also help solve any other internet connection problems you have on Android.

There are many kinds of issues that you can encounter while using the Google Play Store. Fortunately, you can fix most of these issues by using various methods available out there.

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About The Author

Mahesh Makvana (306 Articles Published)

Mahesh is a tech writer at MakeUseOf. He's been writing tech how-to guides for about 8 years now and has covered many topics. He loves to teach people how they can get the most out of their devices.

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