Clearing error code 505 in the Play Store ▷ ➡️ IK4 ▷ ➡️

Clearing error code 505 on the Play Store

The "Unknown error code 505" is a nasty notification first encountered by Google Nexus device owners upgrading from Android 4.4 KitKat to version 5.0 Lollipop. This problem can not be called urgent for a long time, but due to the widespread prevalence of smartphones and tablets with the fifth Android on board, it is clearly necessary to talk about options for its elimination.

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How to get rid of error 505 on the Play Store

Error 505 appears when trying to install an application developed with Adobe Air. Its main reason is a discrepancy between the software and the operating system versions. There are several options to solve this problem, and each of them will be discussed below. Looking ahead, we note that only one method of eliminating the error in question can be considered simple and safe. Let's start with him.

Method 1: Clear application data from the system

Most of the Play Store errors that occur when trying to install or update an app are resolved by reinstalling it. Unfortunately, the 505 we are considering is an exception to this rule. In short, the essence of the problem is that already installed applications disappear from the smartphone, more precisely, they remain in the system, but are not displayed. So you cannot remove and reinstall them as well as they are supposedly present on the system. The same 505 error occurs directly when you try to install software that is already installed.

To fix the problem, first of all, it is recommended to clear the cache of Play Store and Google Services. The data accumulated by this software while using a smartphone can have a negative impact on the operation of both the system as a whole and its individual components.

Note: Our example uses a smartphone with Android 8.1 (Oreo). On devices with older versions of the system, the location of some items, as well as their name, may differ slightly, so look for others that are similar in meaning and logic.

1. Open "Settings" and go to section «Applications» . Then go to the tab "All applications" (can be called "Installed" ).
2. Find Play Store in the list and tap its name to open the main app settings. Go to item "Storage" .

1. Here, in turn, click on the buttons "Clear cache" y "Delete data" . In the second case, you will need to confirm your intentions, just tap "To accept" in the popup.
2. After completing these steps, go back to the list of installed applications and search for Google Play Services there. Click on the application name and then go to the section "Storage" .
3. Alternatively, tap "Clear cache" y "Manage space" . In the window that opens, select the last item: "Delete all data" and confirm your intentions by clicking "To accept" in the popup.
4. Exit to the Android home screen and restart your device. To do this, hold your finger on the button "Switched on" and then select the appropriate item in the window that appears.

Once the smartphone is started, you must act in one of two scenarios. If the application that caused the 505 error appears on the system, try starting it. If you can't find it on either the main screen or the menu, go to the Play Store and try installing it.

In the event that the steps outlined above do not help to resolve the 505 error, you should proceed to more drastic measures than wiping the application data from the system. All are described below.

Method 2: reinstall Google Apps

Many s, among which owners of old Nexus devices predominate, could "downgrade" from Android 4.4 to the 5th version of the operating system, as they say, illegally, that is, by installing a custom one. Very often firmware from third-party developers, especially if they are based on CyanogenMod, do not contain Google apps; are installed in a ZIP archive separate. In this case, the cause of the 505 error is the mismatch of the OS and software versions described above.

Fortunately, fixing this problem is quite easy - just reinstall Google Apps using custom recovery. The latter is probably present in the operating system of third-party developers, as it was used to install it. You can learn more about where to this app package, how to choose the right version for your device, and install in a separate article on our website (link below).

Tip: If you just installed a custom operating system, the best solution would be to reinstall it through recovery first, after performing a reset, and then launch another Google application package.

Method 3: factory reset

The above methods to remove the 505 error code are far from always effective and, unfortunately, it is not always possible to implement Method 2. It is in such desperate situations that you may try to reset your smartphone to factory settings as an emergency measure. .

Read more: Reset settings on a smartphone with Android operating system

It is important to understand that this procedure involves returning the mobile device to its original state. All data, files and documents, installed applications and settings will be erased. We strongly recommend that you make a backup of all important data. A link to an article on the relevant topic is provided at the end of the next method.

Method 4: restore from a backup

If a backup was created before updating your smartphone to Android 5.0, you can try going back to it. This will help eliminate the 505 error, but this option is not for everyone. First, not everyone backs up data before upgrading or installing custom firmware. Second, someone would rather use the relatively new Lollipop OS, even with some issues, than the even older KitKat, no matter how stable it is.

The article presented in the link below will help you to restore the previous version of the operating system from a backup (of course, subject to its availability). It will also be helpful to familiarize yourself with this material if you plan to update or install any non-current firmware on your smartphone.

Solutions for developers and advanced s

The above options to solve the problem under consideration, although not entirely simple (apart from the first one), can still be performed by ordinary s. Next, we will talk about more complex methods, and the first of them can only be implemented by developers (the rest just won't need it). The second is also suitable for advanced and confident s who know how to work with the console.

Method 1: use an older version of Adobe Air

Simultaneously with the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop, Adobe Air was also updated, which, as said at the beginning of the article, is directly related to the appearance of the 505 error. More precisely, a failure with such a code designation is caused by developed software in the 15th version of this software product. Applications built on the basis of the previous one (14) still worked stably and without glitches.

The only thing that can be recommended in this case is to search for the Adobe Air 14 APK file in specialized web resources, it and install it. Also, in this program, you will need to create a new APK for your application and it to the Play Store; this will eliminate the appearance of an error during installation.

Method 2: remove the problematic app via ADB

As mentioned above, the application causing the 505 error may simply not show up on the system. If you use only standard operating system tools, you will not be able to find it. That is why you will have to resort to the help of specialized software for PC - Android Debug Bridge or ADB. An additional condition is the presence of root rights on the mobile device and an installed file manager with root access.

First, you need to find out the full name of the application, which, as we recall, is not displayed in the system by default. We are interested in the full name of the APK file, and a file manager called ES Explorer will help us with this. You can use any other similar software, the main thing is that it provides the ability to access the root directory of the operating system.

1. After installing and starting the application, open its menu; To do this, simply touch three horizontal stripes. Activate the Root Explorer item.
2. Return to the main Explorer window, where a list of directories will be displayed. At the top of the display mode "SDCard" (if installed), change to "Device" (can be called "Root" ).
3. The root directory of the system will open, in which you must go to the following path:

/system/app

Find the application directory there and open it. Write down (preferably in a text file on your computer) your full name, as this is where we will work the most.

Conclusion

The "unknown error code 505" It is not the most common problem in the Play Store and the Android operating system in general. It is probably for this reason that it is not always so easy to remove it. All the methods considered in the article, with the exception of the first, require certain skills and knowledge of the , without which you can only aggravate the problem situation. We hope that this article has helped you to find the best solution for the error that we have considered and that your smartphone starts working stably and without interruptions.

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