Google Play Store: "Enable"?

spaetzle

Member
Apr 21, 2024
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I just went to Google Play Store hoping to update some already installed apps. To be honest, out of a couple handfuls of apps that I checked, none showed that they could be updated. What I did get presented with was "uninstall" or "enable". WTF is "enable" in this case?

Danny
 
Did you ever Disable the apps in the Settings>Apps menu (in the system settings)? If so, that's why you can't update them.

Can you give us some examples of the apps you're seeing?
 
Did you ever Disable the apps in the Settings>Apps menu (in the system settings)? If so, that's why you can't update them.

Can you give us some examples of the apps you're seeing?
I never disabled them purposefully, but I often do see some drop down messages about apps going or have been idle and permissions are being removed (something like that). Could that be doing it?

Should I choose to "enable" those in Google play if I see that when I go yo Google Play?

Danny

Danny
 
Hmm -- I don't think the feature that remove permissions due to being idle would also disable the app.

What are some of the apps you're seeing that are giving you the option to Enable?
 
Lots of Apps, and it seems to in fact be installed apps that I am not using, or using very little, such as Dolphin browser, TripAdvisor, FlightAware, Flightastic, FlightStats. So far, that is all that I noticed, but I looked only into those, so far. I did start clicking "Enable" on some of those, and they did act normally after and allowed an update if one was available.

Danny
 
Hmm, that's pretty odd, because the only apps that you can typically disable are preinstalled ones (usually system apps, or ones the carrier preinstalled). Keep an eye on when apps have permissions removed again for being idle, and see if that Enable option shows up again when looking at Play Store updates.