How To Fix Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play

Getting the “Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play” error message on the android Google play store is not obvious but common. The error is likely caused by a third-party application downloaded from an unreliable source, not the Google Play store. Here is the way to fix the error and stop “Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play” pop-up error box randomly.

Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play

Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play- What does it Mean?

The error message “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” appears on your phone screen if you have updated Google Play Store on your Android followed by “Turn off any apps that might be drawing over the screen and try again” message.

This is due to the error message being caused by the most recent version of the Google Play Store.

Another variation of the error message is, “It seems that another app is blocking access to Google Play”. The error makes you unable to install apps, update apps, or make a payment on Android.

In such, the easiest method to fix the error is to uninstall the latest update of the Google Play store and restart the phone.

But, if the problem persists, you can follow the methods below to fix the “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” error.

The error message “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” appears on your phone screen if you have updated Google Play Store on your Android. The error makes you unable to install apps, update apps, or make a payment on Android.

How to Fix “Looks like another app is blocking access to Google Play”

Here are 10 methods to fix the “Looks like another app is blocking access to Google Play” error:

  1. Force Restart the Phone
  2. Uninstall Recent Google Play Store Update
  3. Disable “Screen Overlay”
  4. Remove Google Account
  5. Clear Google Play Store Data
  6. Clear Google Services Framework cache
  7. Force Google Play Services to Update
  8. Re-Granting permissions
  9. Enable Google Play Store & Services
  10. Manually Install New Version of PlayStore

1. Force Restart the Phone

The easier method to fix the “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” error is to force restart your Android. A forced restart is quite different from a regular restart. It forces your device to close all the running apps and restart the device.

Force restart the Android system also make sure to recreate the cached data of specific apps that can help you to solve the error. Here is how you force restart your phone;

  1. Press and hold the power button until you feel a vibration.
  2. Keep the power button pressed till the Android logo appears on the screen.
  3. Release the button and wait for the boot.
  4. Open Google Play store and install a new app to see if the error is fixed.

Read Also: How To Turn Off Android Phone without Power Button?

2. Uninstall Recent Google Play Store Update

  1. Open Android Settings.
  2. Tap on Apps.
    another app is blocking access to Google Play uninstall update
  3. Select “Google Play Store” From The List.
    another app is blocking access to Google Play uninstall update 2
  4. Tap on the three dots followed by “Uninstall updates”
    another app is blocking access to Google Play uninstall update 1

After you’ve uninstalled updates, open the Google Play Store and try installing an app.

This time, the “Looks like another app is blocking access to Google Play” error should be fixed.

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3. Disable “Screen Overlay”

To get rid of the “Looks like another app is blocking access to Google Play” error, you need to disable “Appear on top” for all apps.

  1. Open Android Settings.
  2. Tap on Apps.
  3. Select Special access on the hamburger menu(three vertical dots at the top right corner).
    another app is blocking access to Google Play Disable Appear on Top
  4. Open Appear on Top from the list.
  5. Toggle off the Appear on Top option for all the apps listed.
    another app is blocking access to Google paly store Disable Appear on Top

Go back and restart the device and open the Google Play Store and try installing an app.

4. Remove Google Account

Issues with sign-in may also cause the Google play store to show the error, in such you need to remove the Google account from Android and sign in again.

But, make sure to clear the cache data of Play store before you sign-in back.

  1. Navigate to Settings -> Accounts -> Google on your Android device.
  2. You may now access your current Google account.
  3. Select your account >> Click the menu icon >> Account Removal.
  4. Add your Google account once more.

After deleting the Google account that is producing the “authentication is required” display, go to your phone’s Settings menu, then Accounts & sync, and remove the Google account.

Read Also: 4 Easy Method to Change Default Google Account

5. Clear Google Play Store Cache and Data

Clearing Googe Play store cache data comes in handy and can fix the “Looks like another app is blocking access to Google Play” error permanently.

A corrupt cache can keep the apps to run the desired service and may show anomalies. And same goes with the Google Paly store errors as well.

  1. Open Android Settings
  2. Tap on Apps
  3. Open “Google Play Store” From the list
  4. Tap on Storage
  5. Tap on Clear Cache and Clear Data
  6. Go back and restart the device.

Once you have cleared the data and cache of Google Play Store, it’s time to check if the error is gone by simply downloading an app from Play store.

On the safe side you can also clear the cache partition of your android to resolve the error.

Read Also: Fix “your device isn’t compatible with this version”

6. Clear Google Services Framework cache

Google Services Framework is a separate system process in Android. This framework is in charge of synchronizing and storing device data.

When you force-stop it before emptying the cache, the error will sometimes go away. Here’s how to go about it:

  1. Open Android Settings
  2. Tap on Apps
  3. Open Google Services Framework From the list(on some android phone you might need to select “Show system apps” from hamburger menu if the Google Services Framework is not in the list.
  4. Tap on Clear Cache and Clear Data.
  5. Restart the device.

7. Force Google Play Services to Update

  1. Open Settings on Android.
  2. Tap on Security->Device Administrators.
  3. Turn Off Android Device Manager.
  4. Go back and Open Apps.
  5. Open Google Play Services from the list.
  6. Uninstall the Updates using method 2 explained above.
  7. Restart your device after Uninstalling updates.
  8. Return to Settings > Security > Device administrators and enable Android Device Manager.
  9. Now Force a Fresh Update on Google Play Store to the latest version.

Read Also: How To Fix Unable to Update Google Play Services

8. Re-Grant permissions

  1. Open Android Settings
  2. Tap on Apps
  3. Open Google Play Store From the list
  4. Tap on Permission
  5. Make sure to enable all Permission in the list.

When Google Play Services does not have all of the permissions it requires, it frequently misbehaves.

Although this will not happen on its own, you may have disabled them by accident or through the use of a third-party program.

9. Enable Google Play Store & Services

  1. Open Android Settings.
  2. Search “apps with use access
  3. Enable the Google Play Store and Google Play Services by clicking the Enable button.

10. Install New Version of PlayStore

A conflict with the current Google Play store app version may be also the culprit causing to pop-up the “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” error.

In such, downloading the Google Play Store APK and installing it manually can help you to fix the error and install and update the apps without any error.

Downloading Google Play Store app is quite simple as we all know all Android apps come in APK format. Download Google Play Store from the link below and install it manually.

Before you proceed to download make sure, to download the latest version or at least the same version of Google Play Store you have currently installed on your Android.

Once downloaded, you can use this Google Play Store apk file to install Google Play Store.

What if everything doesn’t work and you are still getting the “looks like another app is blocking access to google play” Error?

However, the methods explained above have fixed the play store error in our test, but still, if the problem persists and you are still getting the same error while updating or installing apps on your android.

Here are some other steps you can follow to fix the “Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play” error.

1. Uninstall/ Reinstall conflicting apps

The anomaly with apps on Android that uses Google Play services may also cause the error to pop-up and keep you from installing new apps on your android.

To resolve the play store error it is advised to uninstall all the conflicted apps you suspect. Also, make sure to remove all the third-party apps as well.

Open Settings>apps and uninstall the suspicious apps.

If the problem occurs again, make sure to uninstall other Google apps like Google apps, such as Gmail, Hangouts, Duo, Drive, Gboard, Google+, Google Music, etc.

Once the error is gone, reinstall all the apps back. Make sure to install the apps from the authorized play store to avoid malware or spyware on the device.

2. Uninstall password managers

Password management apps, such as LastPass or 1Password, have been known to cause this problem on older Android versions.

You can uninstall the app by selecting uninstall option on the tap and hold menu. Alternatively, navigate to settings->apps to uninstall the app desired.

3. Clean Up Space

Low memory space on your android can also lead to “Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play” error. This can keep you from updating or installing the app o he device.

To resole the error, you might try clearing the junk files and cache partition as well. You can follow the guide to these 7 Tricks to Increase Your Android Internal Storage.

Also, you can try uninstalling system apps and bloatware on the device to get some extra memory space and free up RAM as well.

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4. Hard Reset Android

  1. Turn off Android.
  2. Press and Hold power+volume down Button together.
  3. Release the power button once you see the Logo on screen.
  4. This will boot Android in Recovery mode.
  5. Here use volume up/down key to navigate the menu.
  6. Navigate to “wipe data/factory reset”  and press the power button to select.
  7. This will initiate the process of hard reset Android phone or Tabet. Wait for the Android to boot.

Read Also: How to recover deleted data from android phone?

5. Update Android Firmware

  1. Open Android settings.
  2. Scroll down and tap on about.
  3. Tap on System Update.
  4. Click on Download and Install to update the Android firmware to the latest version.

The firmware update depends on the availability of the last OS firmware on the server. Still, you can install OTA update manually to fix the error.

Final Words:

Looks Like Another App Is Blocking Access To Google Play” error message may appear on your android screen while installing a new app or updating the existing app on android. This can be caused by a corrupt cache, an outdated google play store app or conflict with Google play service frameworks.

You can easily fix the error by simply following the methods explained in the article.

OTHER GOOGLE PLAY STORE FIXES