How to update WhatsApp on Android
To “manually” update Android applications - this you should already know - just search for their name in the Play Store, select them from the search results and press the button Update present nella schermata che si apre.
Alternatively, by pressing on your own profile picture, at the top right, you can go to the section Le mie app ei miei giochi of the Play Store and start the installation of all pending updates by pressing the button Update everything. But if you are here and you are reading this guide it is very likely that you will not be able to complete this procedure correctly.
Then? How to do? What are the causes that can lead the Play Store to "refuse" the download of updates? Let's try to find out together.
Remove Google account and clear cache
It may happen that the update to the WhatsApp app cannot be performed and at the same time you receive an error message that does not clearly explain how to solve this problem. If errors should appear 413, 481, 491, 492, 505, 907, 910, 921, 927, 941 e DF-DLA-15, it means that there are probably problems with syncing the Google account.
In this case, you must first proceed toGoogle account deletion (and consequent reassociation) and then the emptying of the cache of the Play Store. But let's go in order, seeing in detail how to proceed.
To remove the Google account from the phone you need to go to the menu Settings> Accounts> Google, then you have to select your own Gmail indirizzo e pigiare sul pulsating Remove (located at the bottom) for two consecutive times. When done, you need to restart your system and add your Google account again.
I remind you that removing the Google account from the phone involves the deletion of some data and, therefore, I recommend that you make an Android backup first.
With that done, it's time to clear the Google Play cache, the component that allows the installation and update of the apps installed on the device. Go to the Settings Android and select the items App> App (or equivalent path) to view the list of all apps and services installed on the Android phone.
Once this is done, press on the voice Google Play Store and presses on the wording Memory. In the screen that is shown to you, first press on the button Clear Cache and then Delete Data, by responding affirmatively to any messages that may appear on the screen. Always remember to backup your WhatsApp conversations first.
At this point, try again to upgrade to WhatsApp or re-download it. In this regard, I recommend reading my tutorials on how to update WhatsApp and how to download WhatsApp for Android.
Not enough space in the archive
Another problem that might occur is the one that affects it not enough storage space on your smartphone. In this case, it is the errors 101, 498 e 919, which can be solved by freeing up space on the device. Before proceeding in this sense, however, you can simply try to clear only the cache of the Play Store app, in order to see if the problem is solved only by freeing the temporary space allocated by this app.
To do this, I suggest you follow what I have already indicated in the previous chapter, but referring to the second part where it deals with the topic of emptying the cache and data for the Play Store app, without removing the Google account.
Alternatively, if the problem continues to recur, to free up space on the device memory, it is generally sufficient to uninstall the superfluous apps and delete the temporary data. If you don't know how, check out my guides on how to uninstall apps from Android and how to free up disk space on Android.
Download WhatsApp from APK
In case you fail to update WhatsApp even after following these tips or having a device without Play Store (e.g. a Huawei smartphone with AppGallery), try to completely delete the application and reinstall it using the relevant APK package available on its official website. It is not a complex operation, but first make sure to backup your conversations and activate support for applications from unknown sources (i.e. downloaded outside the Play Store).
To make a backup of WhatsApp conversations, start the application, press the button [...], at the top right, and select the item Settings from the menu that opens. Then head to Chat> Chat backup and, if necessary, activate the backup function on Google Drive, by “tapping” on the item Backup to Google Drive and inserting the segunta di spunta accanto alla voce Daily (available only on devices with Google services).
Ad operazione completa, pigia sul bottone Back up and let WhatsApp back up the conversations on your cloud space and, at the same time, on the memory of your device. Move up ON the lever located next to the item include videos if you want to include in the backup also the videos received on WhatsApp (option which, however, lengthens the backup time and involves a greater consumption of space).
To verify that the backup was successful, check that next to the entries Local e Google Drive (under Last backup) indicates today's date, or rather, the time when you backed up the chats.
Now you need to activate support for applications from unknown origins, so you can install WhatsApp from the official website of the application. In this regard, I suggest you take a look at the information I gave you in my guide on how to install APK.
At this point, proceed with the removal of WhatsApp from the smartphone, as I explained to you in my tutorial, open the browser, connected to the address whatsapp.com/android and presses the buttons Download e OK to start downloading the WhatsApp APK package.
Wait, therefore, for the download of WhatsApp to be completed, go to the Android notifications menu (by dragging the bar located at the top down) and first presses on the item WhatsApp.apk and then NEXT, Install e apri, in order to complete the app installation.
Now follow the initial WhatsApp configuration procedure and, when you are asked to restore the chat backup, accept by pressing the button Restore. Within a few seconds you should have the latest version of the application installed on your smartphone with all the conversations as you left them in the old version.
Enable WiFi network and background data use
In addition to the information I have given you so far, another solution that you can put into practice is that of enable the Wi-Fi network. You have to know, in fact, that if you got the error message 490 when updating the WhatsApp app, most likely there are problems on the network currently in use that do not allow the application to be downloaded correctly.
For this reason, enable the Wi-Fi network in the meantime: open the app Settings and select the item Wi-Fi; move the appropriate lever up ON and presses on name of your home Wi-Fi network, by entering the network password, if any. At this point, try again to update the app from the Play Store: you can find all the suggestions on the subject in my guide on how to update WhatsApp.
If you are still having problems, try to check if the Play Store is enabled to use data in the background. Therefore, launch the app Settings, select the items Apps> Apps> Google Play Store> Data usage and move up ON la levetta a fianco the dicitura Background data.
In the eventuality, also clear the Google Play Store cache in the same section, but by tapping on the item Memory and pressing the keys Clear cache e Clear data.
In any case, I also recommend that you enable updates automatically on the Play Store. Start the app of this service, tap on yours miniature at the top and select the items General> Automatic app update. Make sure the item is selected Only via Wi-Fi, in order to be sure that the update takes place under this network.
Also remember to occasionally check for updates for the Play Store and for the operating system of your smartphone. If you don't know how, read my guides on how to update Play Store and how to update Android easily.
How to update WhatsApp on iPhone
Su iPhone it is more difficult for errors to occur during the app update process, however, let's try to analyze some possible problems and related solutions.
If WhatsApp does not update automatically, the download of automatic updates in iOS may be disabled. To solve, you have to go to the Settings device, select the item App Store I will post your ON the relative levetta all'opzione App updates. Also make sure the option Automatic downloads is set to OFF so as not to consume the data network for downloading updates and download them only in Wi-Fi.
If there are problems with the application following an update, you may need to uninstall and download it again (via the App Store of course). In this case, take care to backup your conversations via iCloud, which I told you about in this tutorial of mine. When the app is reinstalled, the chats will be automatically restored from the last backup.
Finally, if there is no space on the phone memory and because of this you are unable to download the most updated version of WhatsApp, delete superfluous apps and temporary data as I explained to you in my tutorial on how to free up space on iPhone.
How to update WhatsApp on PC
If you use the official client of WhatsApp your PC, know that there is no need to manually update the latter, as the most recent versions of the software are downloaded automatically.
If, however, you have installed the program through the Windows 10 or macOS store, you can proceed through the latter, checking the section dedicated to updates or looking for WhatsApp and pressing the relative button updating (if there is only the button apri, it means that the application is already updated to the latest version).
Finally, I'll point out that in the menu Help of WhatsApp for PC find the voice for install beta versions of the program: unless you have specific needs, avoid, as the beta versions of the software are not as reliable as those of the stable channels. Read more here.
Update the status of WhatsApp
Are you trying to view your friend's WhatsApp status but can't load it? Do you want to publish a new status on WhatsApp but the upload remains blocked without being published? In these cases, the problem depends essentially on the network.
If you are using a data network, my advice is to switch to that Wi-Fi, as you are probably in a place where signal reception is not optimal. In this regard, I can only refer you to reading the instructions I gave you in this chapter or consult my tutorial on how to connect your mobile phone to the Wi-Fi network.
However, if using the Wi-Fi network does not solve the problem, then you may suspect that something has gone wrong in configuring the network settings on your smartphone. What you need to do is then reset the network settings on the device, as I indicate below.
- Android - start the app Settings, select the items System and Updates> Reset> Reset Network Settings and premium tasto Network settings reset.
- iPhone - start the app Settings, select the items General> Reset> Reset Network Settings and type il PIN access to the device. Then press the button Reset Network Settings, to confirm.
By following the instructions above, the data on the SIM network, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will be deleted, restoring everything to the factory settings. You won't have to worry about losing any data on your device, as the only information that will be erased is all data saved on data network APNs, saved Wi-Fi networks and paired Bluetooth devices.
