For many, "Unfortunately, Google search has stopped working" or "The request cannot be completed" is as frustrating as having a bad day.
If you've been trying to lookup an unfamiliar word, make research for your work, or confirm a fact online, but your Google search is not working, there are various ways to fix it. In most cases, your Google search not working could be because of a poor network connection or bugs in the software, which can be fixed by simply restarting your phone. Below are 9 different ways to resolve Google search not working on your phone.
Check the internet
Before you blame Google Search for holding your search result for too long, be sure you have an active internet connection. To check that, try doing another thing like sending a WhatsApp message, playing a video on YouTube, or anything that requires an internet connection. In case the other apps are not working, too, you may check your data balance, contact your network provider, or connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Restart your phone
Performing a simple system reboot can fix Google search not working on Android in most cases. Restarting your phone will close all running apps and processes, refresh the system, and repair some software-related issues. So, restart your phone to see if it will fix the Google search issue.
To restart your phone, long-press the power button and tap/swipe on Restart. Alternatively, you can restart your phone by holding the Power button for 8-10 seconds.
Restart the Google App
Restarting your phone should fix the Google search issue in most conditions. But you can also force restart the Google app if that's not true for you. Here's how to do it.
- Long-press the Google app icon in your drawer.
- Select "App info" on the pop-up menu. You can also go to Settings > Apps > All apps > Google to visit the app info interface.
- On the "App info" window, hit Force Stop to shut down the Google app. You can now re-launch it to check if it's displaying your search results suitably.
Update Google app and the phone system
Running the outdated version of the Google app could pose issues sometimes. Perhaps the version you're using is buggy or not fully optimized for your phone. To be sure that's not what caused the problem, check and update the Google app from the Play Store. Here's how to do so;
- Launch Play Store on your phone.
- Tap the menu button on the top-left corner of the screen.
- Click on My apps & Games.
- Wait for a few seconds to fetch available app updates. Locate and update the Google app from there.
Also, ensure your phone system is up-to-date - it ensures you have the latest security patch, system improvements, bug fixes and more. Go to Settings > System > System Update to check and install all pending updates and restart your phone.
Is Google restricted in your country?
While Google is currently not banned in any country, it actually won't display some search results in some regions. The restrictions may be because of any reason including community restrictions, age restrictions, or parental controls. Initially, Google won't display a certain contents if your Google account is restricted from such keywords, or maybe you're under parental controls. The restrictions go on and on.
Toggle Airplane mode
Toggling Airplane mode — that is, enabling and disabling it — may help fix Google search not working. While this sounds simple, it's worth giving it a try to fix your malfunctioning Google app.
Swipe down twice from the extreme top of the screen to open the quick settings panel. Locate the Airplane tile there and tap to turn it on. Wait for a few seconds before tapping again to turn it off. Now, try searching on the Google app again to see if it works perfectly.
Clear the Google app cache
While the cached data helps the Google app work efficiently and use fewer resources, it could cause problems when it's too much or corrupted. To fix that, you need to wipe cached data for the Google app. Here's how to do so:
- Long-press the Google app icon in your drawer.
- Select "App info" from the pop-up menu. You can also go to Settings> Apps > All apps > Google to visit the app info interface.
- Once you're on the "App info" window, click on Storage & Cache.
- Tap Clear cache to erase the Google app's cached data.
- You may also tap on Clear data if clearing the cached data doesn't fix the issue. Doing that will wipe the Google app, but could fix the issue most times.
Reinstall the Search widget
If you're having issues with the Google widget, you should consider reinstalling it; all you need is to remove and place it on your home screen again. This will restart the search widget if it's idle.
To reinstall the Google search widget, long-press on the existing widget and tap on Remove to delete it from your home screen. Long-press a space on your home screen to show the launcher's menu; click Widgets from there. Find the Google search widget and place it on your home screen again.
Try Google Search on a browser
Open Chrome or any other browser on your phone and type your query into the search/address bar. If Google Search's server is not down at the moment, you'll get your search results instantaneously. If Google search is working on your browser, you may continue using it for the meantime until the Google app is resolved.
