How to Fix Google Play Store Error 413
What Error 413 means
You find an app, tap Install, and instead of a progress bar you get a short message: the app could not be downloaded due to an error (413). Trying again changes nothing — every app fails the same way, which tells you the problem has nothing to do with the app itself. The failure happens earlier, in the handshake between the Play Store on your phone and Google’s download servers, before a single byte of the app crosses the wire.
That handshake breaks for a small set of reasons, and they are all on your phone rather than Google’s side. The most common is stale or corrupt cached data inside the Play Store or inside Google Play Services, the background engine that actually carries out downloads. Next is a broken Google account session on the device — the phone’s authentication token has gone bad, so the server refuses the download. And the classic trigger for Error 413 specifically is a proxy value sitting in the phone’s APN settings: it often survives a SIM swap or carrier change, quietly routing Play Store traffic through a dead proxy so every download request fails.
The good news is that each of these is a settings-level fix taking a couple of minutes, and the steps below run from the most likely cause to the least. Start at the top; most people never need to go past step four.
Common causes
- Stale Play Store cache and data: corrupted download session state inside the Play Store app is the single most common trigger for Error 413.
- Corrupt Google Play Services data: Play Services handles the actual server handshake — if its stored data is bad, clearing the Play Store alone is not enough.
- Broken Google account session: a stale or invalid authentication token on the phone makes Google’s servers reject the download request.
- Leftover proxy in the APN settings: an old proxy or port value in your carrier’s access point settings routes download traffic the wrong way; this is Error 413’s most famous cause.
- Clock or network mismatch: a phone clock set far off real time, or a Wi-Fi network sitting behind a filter or proxy, can fail the handshake on otherwise healthy settings.
How to fix Error 413 — step by step
Work through these fixes in order. Nothing here deletes your apps, photos, or messages.
- Clear the Google Play Store cache and data. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Google Play Store > Storage & cache, then tap Clear cache followed by Clear data. This wipes the stale download session state that causes most Error 413 cases. Your installed apps are untouched — the next time you open the Play Store it simply starts fresh and signs you back in.
- Clear cache and data for Google Play Services. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Google Play Services > Storage & cache and tap Clear cache, then Manage space > Clear all data. Play Services is the background engine behind every Play Store download, so a corrupt data blob there can keep throwing Error 413 even after you cleaned up the Play Store itself.
- Remove your Google account and add it back. Go to Settings > Passwords & accounts > Google, select your account, and tap Remove account. This only signs the phone out — Gmail, contacts, calendar, and Drive files stay on Google’s servers and sync back when you sign in again. Then go to Settings > Passwords & accounts > Add account > Google and sign back in. A fresh authentication token clears the sync glitches that block downloads with Error 413.
- Check your APN for proxy values. Go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > your SIM > Access point names and tap the active APN. Look at the Proxy and Port fields — a leftover value here is the classic Error 413 trigger, especially after switching SIMs or carriers. Clear both fields so they show Not set, tap the three dots in the corner, and choose Save. Do not change any other APN field.
- Set date and time to automatic. Go to Settings > System > Date & time and turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically. If your phone’s clock is noticeably off from real time, Google’s servers can reject the download handshake with an error like 413. It is a thirty-second check that fixes the problem more often than people expect, especially after long trips or manual clock changes.
- Restart and retry on a different connection. Restart the phone so the cleaned-up Play Store and Play Services reload from scratch, then try the download on a different network — switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or the other way around. If your Wi-Fi runs through a content filter or proxy, that middlebox can break the download handshake too. Once the app installs cleanly, the error is gone for good.
Did this fix it? Quick checklist
- The app downloads and installs from the Play Store with no 413 error
- Play Store and Play Services show fresh, minimal data under Storage & cache
- Your Google account is signed back in and syncing under Passwords & accounts
- The APN Proxy and Port fields both show Not set
If the error still appears after all six steps, double-check that no VPN or ad-blocking app is routing your traffic — disable it temporarily and retry. Also confirm in Settings > System > System update that the phone is on the latest available update, since an old Play Store version paired with old Play Services can reproduce this error. If only one specific app fails while everything else downloads, the issue is that app’s listing rather than your phone; try installing it a few hours later.
Frequently asked questions
What does Google Play Store Error 413 mean?
Error 413 means the Play Store’s download handshake with Google’s servers failed before any app data arrived. It is almost never a problem with the app itself — it comes from stale Play Store or Play Services cache, a broken Google account session on the phone, or a proxy value sitting in the phone’s APN settings that routes download traffic the wrong way.
Why does Error 413 keep coming back after I clear the cache?
If the error survives a cache clear, the cause is usually elsewhere: a proxy or port value left in your APN settings (Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Access point names), a broken Google account session that needs the account removed and re-added, or a clock set far off real time. Work through those three and the error normally disappears.
Will removing my Google account delete my data?
No. Removing the account from Settings > Passwords & accounts only signs the phone out — your Gmail, contacts, calendar, and Drive files stay on Google’s servers and sync back within minutes when you add the account again. Your installed apps also stay put. It is one of the safest troubleshooting steps for Play Store errors.
Is Error 413 caused by a bad internet connection?
Sometimes, but it is rarely the whole story. A flaky connection or a Wi-Fi network with a proxy or content filter can interrupt the download handshake and surface as Error 413, which is why retrying on mobile data helps. If the error appears on every network you try, though, the culprit is the phone’s own cache, account session, or APN proxy settings.