The progress bar does the cruelest thing it can: it climbs — 40%, 70%, 92% — and then the download simply dies. In its place appears a dialog carrying three words' worth of information: "Error 495". Sometimes it wears a longer costume, "Error retrieving information from server. [RPC:S-7:AEC-0]", but it's the same failure underneath: the Play Store's conversation with Google's download servers broke down mid-request, so the app you were installing — or the update you'd been waiting on — never lands.
495 is one of the oldest codes the store has; it dates back to the Play Store's earliest years, and its meaning has never changed: a communication failure. Not damaged hardware, not a banned account. Think of the download as a chain with three links — the Play Store app makes the request, Google Play Services authenticates and manages it, and Download Manager fetches the file — with your account's sign-in token stamping the whole request as yours. Error 495 means the chain snapped at one of those links. The six fixes below check them in order.
Quick Answer: Work the chain from the store outward. Clear the Play Store's cache, then its data (Settings → Apps → Google Play Store → Storage & cache). Still failing? Remove and re-add your Google account to mint a fresh sign-in token, then clear the cache of Google Play Services and Download Manager — the two components that actually fetch the file. A drifted phone clock and VPN-routed networks account for most of what remains.
Fix 1: Clear the Play Store's Cache, Then Its Data
The store keeps temporary files and a local record of every download it has attempted. When that record corrupts, new requests reference pieces that no longer make sense, and the server conversation collapses part-way through — often, as in the classic 495 pattern, near the end of the download. Clearing both stores forces a clean rebuild:
- Open Settings → Apps (Pixel: See all apps; Xiaomi: Manage apps) and open Google Play Store.
- Tap Storage & cache, then Clear cache.
- Retry the failed download.
- If 495 returns, come back to the same screen and tap Clear storage (or Clear data), then retry once more.
Clearing the store's data sounds drastic and isn't: it removes only the store's own temporary files and settings. Your account, installed apps, and purchase history are untouched, though the store may ask you to accept its terms again on the next open.
Fix 2: Mint a Fresh Account Token
Every download request your phone sends carries an authentication token — proof, issued when you signed in, that the request is really yours. Tokens age, and a stale or mismatched one gets quietly rejected by Google's servers mid-conversation. Removing the account and signing back in issues a brand-new token, which is why this fix resolves so many 495 cases that cache clearing doesn't:
- Go to Settings → Passwords & accounts (Samsung: Accounts and backup → Manage accounts; Xiaomi: Accounts & sync) and tap Google.
- Tap your account, then Remove account, and confirm. Make sure you know the password before this step — you'll need it in a moment.
- Restart the phone. The restart matters: it flushes the old session from memory.
- Return to the accounts screen and choose Add account → Google, then sign in.
- Open the Play Store and retry the download.
Removing the account only detaches it from this phone. Your mail, contacts, and photos stay stored with Google and sync back after sign-in.
Fix 3: Clear the Two Components That Actually Fetch the File
This is the step most 495 guides skip, and for a download-specific error it's arguably the most relevant. The store doesn't download anything itself: Google Play Services manages the transfer and Download Manager performs it. If either one's cache is jammed, the store's request dies in their hands:
- Google Play Services: Settings → Apps → Google Play Services → Storage & cache → Clear cache. (Save its full data clear for later — it resets more than you want to redo unless necessary.)
- Download Manager: Settings → Apps → See all apps, tap the ⋮ menu → Show system, open Download Manager, and confirm it is Enabled — a disabled Download Manager guarantees failed downloads.
- On the same screen: Storage & cache → Clear cache.
- Retry the download in the Play Store.
Fix 4: Set the Clock to Automatic
Google's servers check the time as part of their secure connection: certificates are valid only within a window, and a phone clock that has drifted outside it gets its requests refused — sometimes announced as 495 rather than as a time error. Go to Settings → System → Date & time (Samsung: General management → Date and time; Xiaomi: Additional settings → Date & time) and turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically. Restart the phone so the corrected time settles everywhere, then try the download again.
Fix 5: Change the Road Between You and Google
Run the one test that separates phone problems from network problems: switch connections. If you're on Wi-Fi, download over mobile data; if you're on data, join Wi-Fi. Then read the result:
- 495 on Wi-Fi only: the network is interfering. Restart the router; on hotel, café, or office Wi-Fi, open a browser and complete the sign-in page first — the store can't download through an unfinished portal. If it persists, forget the network and rejoin it with the password.
- 495 on both: the network is innocent; the chain fixes above are where your answer lives.
- Either way: disconnect any VPN for the test (Settings → Network & internet → VPN). VPN exit points are a classic silent cause of mid-download failures, and toggling Airplane mode on for ten seconds clears a half-dead connection session.
Fix 6: Roll the Store Back to Its Factory Version
If 495 arrived on the heels of a Play Store self-update, the update itself can be the broken link. Go to Settings → Apps → Google Play Store, tap the ⋮ menu in the top-right corner, and choose Uninstall updates. Restart the phone, then open the store — it will look older, which is expected. Give it a few minutes to update itself in the background (the replacement build is usually the corrected one), then retry your download. You lose no apps, accounts, or settings; only the store app rolls back.
When 495 Shows Up on Every App at Once
Pay attention to scope. If several unrelated apps all start failing with 495 in the same hour, that's not your phone suddenly breaking in five places — it's Google's download servers having a rough patch, and no setting on your device fixes a server. Wait a few hours and try again before doing anything drastic. Two smaller checks while you wait: a nearly full phone can also stall downloads silently, so glance at Settings → Storage and free space if you're close to the limit. And if 495 follows one account across networks and devices while other accounts download fine, contact Google Play support through the Play Store's profile icon → Help & feedback and name the error code — account-side problems need account-side help. Menu names vary slightly by brand. Covers Android 10 through 14.
Watch: Play Store Error 495 Fixed Step by Step
Prefer a walkthrough? This video covers fixing Google Play Store error 495 step by step:
Video by Tree Academy — full credit to the creator.
Related Guides:
What People Actually Want to Know About 495
Does Error 495 mean my phone is broken?
No. 495 is a communication failure between the Play Store and Google's servers — corrupt store data, a stale account token, a wrong clock, or a network in the way. It says nothing about your hardware, and the fixes above address each software cause in turn.
Why do updates fail with 495 while new installs work — or the other way round?
Because the two request types lean on different parts of the chain: updates resume through the store's existing records for that app, while fresh installs start a new conversation. Corruption in the store's local records (Fix 1) or a half-expired token (Fix 2) can therefore break one path and leave the other standing. Clearing both resets the whole chain at once.
Will clearing the Play Store's data delete my apps or purchases?
No. It wipes only the store app's own temporary files and settings. Installed apps, their data, your Google account, and your purchase history all remain exactly as they were — the store simply rebuilds its local records the next time it opens.
By Sameer Zehri | App Fix Guru Editor | Last updated: October 2026
