Fix problems using Google Play Books

Troubleshoot issues downloading, reading, or listening to ebooks or audiobooks.

Important: If you use a Google account associated with an institution like work or school, some features might not work. Contact your organization's technical staff for more information. Learn how to turn on Google services.

Fix problems loading your book

Fix ebooks or audiobooks that won't open or download.

Step 1: Check your connection and updates

1. Make sure your Android phone or tablet is connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G mobile network.
2. Make sure your Play Books app is updated with the latest version.

Step 2:  Reload and re-download

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app .
2. To refresh the app, pull the screen down.
3. To remove the e-book or audiobook, on the cover, tap More Remove download.
4. To reload and open the e-book or audiobook, tap More Download.
5. If that doesn’t work, go to Step 3.

Step 3: Reload the Google Play Books app

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app .
2. From the top of the homepage, pull down until a spinning arrow appears. 
3. When the spinning arrow goes away, try to load your book again.

Step 4: Check whether the book is hidden

1. On your Android device's mobile browser, go to the Play Store.
2. On the left, tap Account.
3. Under "Purchase history," find the book you’re looking for.
4. On the left, tap More Show or hide from my library.
5. If you see "This item is currently hidden," tap Show in my library.

Step 5: Clear your app data

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Storage  Other Apps.
3. Tap Google Play Books Clear data.
4. Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G mobile network.
5. Open the Google Play Books app  and sign in. You'll see the e-books and audiobooks you already downloaded, but you'll have to download them again.

If these steps don’t work, the file type likely isn’t supported by Google Play Books.

Find a book in your library

Find an ebook or audiobook you've purchased but isn't appearing in your library.

Step 1: Make sure you're signed in to the right account

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app .
2. To find the account you're using, at the bottom tap Home Profile.
3. Select the account you used to buy the e-book or audiobook. If you don’t see your account, you’ll need to add it to your device.

Step 2: Check whether you bought the book

1. On your Android phone or tablet, go to the Play Store.
2. Search for the ebook or audiobook.
3. Tap the cover.
4. Find the blue button.
   • If it says "Read," you already own it.
   • If it says "Buy," you'll need to buy the ebook or audiobook to read or listen to it.

Fix problems with textbook rentals

If the textbook you rented hasn’t appeared in your library:

1. Make sure you’re signed in to the Google Account you used to rent the book.
2. Make sure you’ve updated the Google Play Books app to the latest version.

If neither of these fix the problem, try these troubleshooting steps.

Fix "device limit reached" problem

Most books limit how many devices you can download them on at the same time. Remove the e-book or audiobook from one of your devices and download it on another, or turn off Books syncing on devices you don't use often.

Remove a downloaded book

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app .
2. Find the ebook or audiobook you want to remove.
3. Tap Offline  Remove.

Turn off syncing for Books on Android

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Accounts Google.
3. Turn off Google Play Books off. 

Fix problems playing audiobooks

Step 1: Check the sound settings on your device

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Sounds.
3. Make sure the media volume is not muted. 

Step 2: Check your device storage

 If your audiobook stops playing abruptly, you may not have enough space on your device. 

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Storage  Free Up Space.
3. Re-download the audiobook.

Step 3:  Disconnect from a Bluetooth or Chromecast device

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Connected devices and choose an option:
   • To disconnect from a Bluetooth device, tap Bluetooth, then disconnect from the paired device.
   • To disconnect from a Chromecast device, tap Cast , then disconnect from the paired device.

 Fix missing or wrong page numbers

Most e-books on Google Play Books adjust to fit your screen when you change page features like font size or line spacing. This means:

• The same page number can appear on more than one page
• The page count you see might be different than the page count on the book’s details page.

Fix problems with missing pages

1. The ebook may not have downloaded correctly. You can remove and then download the ebook again.
2. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app .
3. On the cover of the ebook that isn’t working, tap Remove download  OK.
4. Make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi or mobile network.
5. Tap the cover of the ebook to re-download.