Google Play Store not showing Android system app updates [U]

This could be a bug or a behavior change where the Google Play Store is not showing available updates for system-level apps.

Updated 1/1/25: It’s a new year and the old Play Store issues are still there. Here’s a list of common Google apps that won’t appear in the pending download list, but will show “updated” when you go directly to the Play Store listing:

Updated 09/04/24: This issue is still present and we have now seen it affecting the pre-installed YouTube app on multiple devices. Although we received a Play Store notification indicating that a new update was available, upon entering the pending download screen we found that there was nothing to install. Updates can be made when you access the application manifest directly.

7/11 Update: This happens again Google Partner Settings:

Google Partners Setup is a required application to run Google Mobile Services (https://www.android.com/gms/)

• This application is pre-installed by the device manufacturer to ensure proper device functionality on all Android devices with Google Mobile Services; it cannot be disabled or removed.
• Google recently moved this app to the Play Store so that bug fixes, improvements, and critical updates can be delivered to your device faster. This Play Store listing does not result in any other changes.
• If your device is running Android 7 or earlier, it will not receive updates for this app. This app may indicate that it is incompatible with your device, but this does not mean that the app is malfunctioning or causing your device to malfunction.

Updated 7/1: If today’s Play Store notification shows that you have an update that’s not showing up in the pending download screen, the missing app is Google’s data recovery tool:

This system app helps you recover data from your old phone using cable or cloud backup. The application is installed on your Android device.

It can only be accessed and updated by one person Direct Google Play link. The application also won’t appear in the “Installed” list.

Original 2/6: This problem occurs on the “Pending Download” screen. System apps with available updates won’t show up here, even if other apps show up normally.

We first noticed this issue a few weeks ago. What happened recently is Setup service and Google Wi-Fi Configuratorwhich has seen updates over the past few days.

Oddly, system apps with new versions show up in the “New Updates” notification in Google Play, but not when you actually launch them by visiting the page. You may also notice this happening when an alert shows that you have (for example) three app updates but only two are new.

This may be an intentional change and follows the way Google Play services automatically update via the Play Store, but will never appear in the pending download screen. Google may be expanding the system-level apps that are handled this way.

However, if you disable automatic updates, these system apps will never install the latest versions. Therefore, you have to find the download available elsewhere and then manually go to the manifest to update it.

More information about Google Play: