Troubleshoot issues downloading, reading, or listening to ebooks or audiobooks.
Fix problems loading your book
Fix ebooks or audiobooks that won't open or download.
Step 1: Check your connection and updates- Make sure your Android phone or tablet is connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G mobile network.
- Make sure your Play Books app is updated with the latest version.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app
.
- To refresh the app, pull the screen down.
- To remove the e-book or audiobook, on the cover, tap More
Remove download.
- To reload and open the e-book or audiobook, tap More
Download.
- If that doesn’t work, go to Step 3.
- On your Android device's mobile browser, go to the Play Store.
- On the left, tap Account.
- Under "Purchase history," find the book you’re looking for.
- On the left, tap More
Show or hide from my library.
- If you see "This item is currently hidden," tap Show in my library.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
- Tap Storage
Other Apps.
- Tap Google Play Books
Clear data.
- Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G mobile network.
- 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- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app
.
- To find the account you're using, at the bottom
tap Home
Profile.
- 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.
- On your Android phone or tablet, go to the Play Store.
- Search for the ebook or audiobook.
- Tap the cover.
- 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:
- Make sure you’re signed in to the Google Account you used to rent the book.
- 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- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app
.
- Find the ebook or audiobook you want to remove.
- Tap Offline
Remove.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
- Tap Accounts
Google.
- Turn off Google Play Books off.
Fix problems playing audiobooks
Step 1: Check the sound settings on your device- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
- Tap Sounds.
- Make sure the media volume is not muted.
If your audiobook stops playing abruptly, you may not have enough space on your device.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
- Tap Storage
Free Up Space.
- Re-download the audiobook.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Settings app.
- 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
- The ebook may not have downloaded correctly. You can remove and then download the ebook again.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Books app
.
- On the cover of the ebook that isn’t working, tap
Remove download
OK.
- Make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi or mobile network.
- Tap the cover of the ebook to re-download.