Fix: Authentication is required on Play Store

You get Authentication is required. You need to sign in to your Google Account when you try to open the Play Store, even though you are already signed into your Google Account. This can be a sync issue, cache issue or an update to Play Store. Caches are usually files that are built with a fixed date to expire, and if they contain older data within them, then it can lead to several other issues as well. So when you try to sign in or do something else that needs authentication, it is highly likely that the phone is looking at the old information in the cache files. many users have been able to fix this issue by clearing the cache.

To fix this issue, follow the steps listed below.

1. Go to Settings -> All and then select “Google Play Store”

2. Tap or Select Force Stop. Then tap/select Clear Data and then Clear Cache.

3. Exit settings and then Start Play Store.

4. At the top left side open the menu options and make sure that the correct account is selected.

If it is now working, you’re GOOD! if not proceed to step 5.

5.  Go to Settings and choose Accounts and Sync

6. Tap or Click on your account and select Remove Account

7. After removing accounts, re-add them and resync with Google from the Accounts & Sync menu.

Note: You can also try to wipe the cache partition and check to see if that fixes the issue for you.

If that Doesn’t Work:

It is possible that sometimes the above solution might not work and if you are getting this error inside an application and are able to open the Google Play store, we can try to implement another fix that should be able to fix this issue for your computer. For that:

1. Close all applications and navigate back to your home screen.
2. Tap on the “PlayStore” icon to launch the Google PlayStore.
3. In the PlayStore, click on the “Menu” button and then select the “App and Games” option.
4. Click on the “Check for Updates” button to check if there are currently any updates available.
5. Click on the “Update” button next to the application with which you are getting this error.
6. Wait for the update to be completed and check to see if the issue persists.

Install PlayStore Again

It is possible that in some cases, this issue might be triggered if your PlayStore installation has been corrupted. Therefore, in this step, we will first remove our Google Account from our computer, after that, we will remove PlayStore and install it again after downloading from the internet. In order to do this:

1. Unlock your phone, drag down the notifications panel and click on the “Settings” cog.
2. In settings, scroll through the options and then click on the “Accounts” option.
3. Click on “Google” and remove all accounts signed into the mobile phone.
4. After this, navigate back to the main settings and click on the “Applications” option.
5. Click on “Apps” and then click on the “Three Dots” on the top right side.
6. Select “Show System Apps” from the list to enlist all the installed applications.
7. Click on the “Google Play Store” option and click on the “Storage” option.
8. Click on the “Clear Cache” button and then select the “Clear Data” button.
9. This should remove the cache and the data being stored by the PlayStore on your computer.
10. After this, navigate here and download the PlayStore apk from the website by clicking on the “Download” button.
11. Click on this “apk” on your mobile and install it on your mobile after allowing it to be installed.
12. After the PlayStore apk is installed on your mobile phone, check to see if the issue persists.

Stop Services Framework

In some situations, the Google Services Framework service might be interfering with some system functions due to which this error is being triggered on your mobile phone. Therefore, in this step, we will be stopping this service from running in the background which should get rid of this error completely. In order to do this:

1. Drag down the notifications panel and click on the “Settings” cog.
2. In the settings, click on the “Applications” button then click on the “App” option.
3. In the system applications, scroll through and click on the “Google Services Framework” option.
4. Click on the “Force Stop” button and then click on the “Storage” option.
5. Click on “Clear Cache” and then on the “Clear Data” button as well.
6. After this, make sure that there aren’t any applications that have been minimized and are running in the background.
7. Start the game or application that you were trying to access and check to see if the issue persists.

Uninstall PlayStore Updates

It is possible in some situations that the error is being triggered because a faulty update has been installed on your mobile which is preventing Google PlayStore from functioning properly. Therefore, in this step, we will uninstall the Google PlayStore updates and then check if doing so fixes the issue. In order to do that:

1. Drag down the notifications panel and click on the “Settings” cog to open settings.
2. In the settings, click on the “Applications” button and then click on the “Apps” button to open the application manager.
3. In the application manager, click on the “Three Dots’ at the top right side and select “Show System Apps” from the list.
4. Click on the “Google PlayStore” option from the list and again click on the “Three Dots” at the top right side.
5. Click on the “Uninstall Updates” option and approve any prompts that appear on the screen.
6. After uninstalling updates, try to launch the PlayStore and check to see if the issue still persists.

Disable Authentication for Purchases

If you are getting this issue while trying to make an in-app purchase, it might be getting triggered due to a conflict with the PlayStore servers that are unable to authenticate your Google Account for your device. Therefore, in this step, we will be disabling the need of authentication for purchases for a limited amount of time so that you can complete the purchase and then turn it back on if you need to. For that:

1. Close all applications and navigate back to your home screen.
2. Tap on the “PlayStore” icon and then tap on the “Menu” button at the top left side.
3. In the menu, click on the “Settings” option and then click on the “Require Authentication for Purchases” under the “User Controls” option.
4. Click on the “Never” or the “For Every 30 Minutes” option.
5. This should change the need for authentication for in-app purchases.
6. Open the application for which you want to make the in-app purchase and try to make the purchase again.
7. Check to see if you are able to make the purchase after disabling the authentication
8. Make sure that you remember to re-enable this option because keeping it disabled can put your Google Account at risk.

Last Resort:

If all of the above solutions fail to work for you, the last option that you are left with is to go for a complete Factory Reset of your mobile device. A complete reset should reinitialize all applications and services installed on your phone and it should help in getting rid of this error completely.