How to Fix Google Play Store "Error 505" Unknown Error During App Install

By FixMyError · Updated October 15, 2026 · 6 min read

What "Error 505" means

When you install an app on Android, the app's package lists every permission it needs and every custom permission it defines. Android keeps one registry of custom permissions, and each permission name may be claimed by exactly one app on the device. Error 505 fires when the app you are installing tries to declare a permission that another installed app already owns — Android refuses the whole install and the Play Store shows the blunt message "Unknown error code during application install: -505."

This is a local conflict on your phone, not a Play Store outage, which is why retrying later or switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data never changes the outcome. The classic scenario is two apps from the same developer that share a custom permission — banking apps are the textbook example, since a bank's login app and its main app can declare identical permission strings. Another common trigger is having both a sideloaded APK copy of an app and the Play Store version installed at once, or a beta and a release build of the same app side by side. Clearing the Play Store's stale data and removing the duplicate clears the conflict in most cases, and the fixes below walk through each layer in order.

Common causes

• Two apps declaring the same custom permission: a second app from the same developer (common with banking or company apps) claims an identical permission string, so Android blocks the new install.
• An APK copy plus the Play Store version of the same app: a sideloaded build signed differently from the store build creates a permission clash even though the apps look identical.
• Beta and release builds installed side by side: both builds declare the same permissions, and Android treats the second install as a conflict.
• Stale Google Play Store or Google Play Services data: corrupted cache or storage in the store apps can misreport the conflict or keep replaying the failed install.
• Outdated Android system software: older Android versions handle permission declarations more strictly, so conflicts that newer versions would reconcile still surface as 505.

How to fix "Error 505" — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Step 1 removes the conflicting install state and step 5 removes the conflicting app itself — those two resolve this error for most people.

1. Uninstall the app you are trying to install or update, then install it fresh. Open Settings, then Apps, then "See all apps." Scroll to the app that triggered the 505 error and tap it, then tap Uninstall and confirm — this clears any half-installed package and its claimed permissions. Restart your phone so Android fully releases the permission registry. Then open the Play Store, find the app through search (not through an old APK file), and install it from the official listing. A clean install avoids the conflict that an in-place update tripped over.
2. Clear the cache and data of the Google Play Store. Open Settings, then Apps, then "See all apps," and tap Google Play Store. Tap "Storage & cache," tap Clear cache first, then tap Clear storage and confirm. Go back to the Play Store — it will ask you to accept its terms again, which is normal — and retry the install. This wipes stale state that can replay the failed install even after the real conflict is gone, and it does not touch your installed apps or purchases.
3. Clear the cache of Google Play Services. The install handshake between the Play Store and Android runs through Google Play Services, and its corrupted cache can sustain a 505 loop. Open Settings, then Apps, then "See all apps," and tap Google Play services (note the plural "services"). Tap "Storage & cache," then tap Clear cache. Do not tap Clear storage here unless the error persists — unlike the Play Store, clearing Play Services storage resets more system state, including some sign-ins.
4. Uninstall Play Store updates to reset the store app. Sometimes the conflict lives in the Play Store app itself rather than on the device. Open Settings, then Apps, then "See all apps," and tap Google Play Store. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and choose "Uninstall updates" — this rolls the store back to its factory version. Restart the phone and wait a few minutes; the Play Store updates itself to the current version in the background. Open the store again and retry the install that failed with 505.
5. Remove the app that declares the same permission. Error 505 is a duplicate-permission conflict, so the lasting fix is finding the twin. Look for the usual suspects: a second banking or company app from the same developer, a beta and a release version of the same app both installed, or a sideloaded APK copy of the Play Store app you are trying to install. Open Settings, Apps, "See all apps," and uninstall the duplicate — when in doubt, keep only the official Play Store version. Restart the phone so the permission registry updates, then install the app you wanted from its official Play Store listing.
6. Update Android, then consider a factory reset as a last resort. Open Settings, then About phone, then System update, and install any pending Android updates. Newer Android versions reconcile permission declarations more gracefully than the versions where 505 was most common, so staying current removes an entire class of conflicts. If every step above has failed and 505 still blocks installs, the conflict may be baked into system state: back up your photos, messages, and important files, then go to Settings, System, "Reset options," and choose "Erase all data (factory reset)." This is genuinely the last resort — only do it after the other five fixes have all been tried.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• The target app installs or updates without the 505 error
• No duplicate version of the same app remains installed on the phone
• Play Store and Google Play Services caches are cleared
• Android is on the latest system update available for the device

If you've done all six steps and installs still fail with error 505, the remaining suspect is an app with system-level privileges declaring the conflict — a preinstalled carrier or manufacturer app you can't fully uninstall. Disable it instead (Settings, Apps, "See all apps," select it, tap Disable) and try the install again. If even that doesn't work, contact the developer of the app you're trying to install and mention error 505 with the words "duplicate permission" — that tells them exactly where the conflict sits in their package manifest.