How to Fix the Google Play Store Error Code 944

Earlier this week I ran across the Google Play Store Error Code 944 issue when trying to update an application and wanted to share how I fixed it.

So earlier this week I wrote up a guide on how to fix a Feed Has Stopped error that many Android Wear owners were having. From what I could gather, this issue started happening with a recent update to the Google application. Not the stable version of the Google application though (as that would have prompted an even bigger outcry), but actually the beta channel for the Google application. This is something you have to manually opt in to test out within the Play Store.

To replicate this, I needed to download opt into the Google application beta program and make sure I was able to see the same thing on my device.

This way, I would know that when I opt out of it the issue is gone and that I could write it up. So a little while after I opted out of the Google application beta, I noticed the Google application had an update. When I went to install the update, I was given the Google Play Error Code 944 as shown in the notification at the top of this article.

I searched online to find out how to fix it and the first result suggested that I just wait. The article (which I won’t link here because it didn’t help) said this error code happens when the Play Store is down and there’s a connection issue. While this may well be true in some cases, it certainly wasn’t for me. After waiting a couple of hours I still got the same Google Play Error Code 944 when trying to update the regular Google application.

I mention this here because while it didn’t work for me, it very well may work for you. The method I detail below will be faster since you don’t have to wait, but at least you have a couple of options to go through.

Fix Error Code 944

1. Launch the Google Play Store application
2. Search for and tap on the application you’re having an issue with
3. Tap the Uninstall button
4. Confirm you want to uninstall all the updates (optional)
5. Wait for it to be uninstalled
6. Then reinstall it or download the updates from the Play Store

Explanation

Since for me, the issue I was having was with the Google application, I simply cannot uninstall it. When I find and open the application page in the Play Store, I am given two different buttons, Uninstall and Open. This will be the same for you but if it’s not a 1st-party application, then you’ll be able to completely uninstall it from here. For me, with the Google application, tapping the uninstall button asks me if I want to uninstall all of the updates for it.

In regards to this Error Code 944 message though, the end result was the same for me. For some reason the Play Store was simply unable to update me from the version of the application I had to the version that it was trying to update me to. If you can uninstall it completely, that will be just as good because then you can do a fresh/clean install of the application that includes the latest update anyway. So again, the end result will be the same no matter which one you go with.

So while you may be having this Google Play Error Code 944 with a different application, you should still be able to fix it like I did. Assuming it’s an issue with the update, uninstall it or the previous updates, and that should fix it for you. Alternatively, you could try to wait like I was suggested and it could end up working out for you as well.