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This article was published on May 18, 2018

Google Maps is broken on some Huawei and Honor phones. Here’s how to fix it

How to fix that annoying "Google Play Services are updating" bug.


Google Maps is broken on some Huawei and Honor phones. Here’s how to fix it

Google Maps has stopped working on some Huawei and Honor phones. When people open it — or use any app that depends on Google Maps, most notably Uber — it presents them with the following error message: “Google Play Services are updating.

It’s a weird little glitch. It’s not clear how it came about, but what’s obvious is that it’s massively inconveniencing a lot of people, as they are suddenly unable to hail rides or pull up directions.

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I’m speaking from experience here. I carry a Huawei P20 Pro, while my wife uses an Honor 7X. Given we don’t own a car, we depend heavily on Uber to get around. Suffice to say, this issue has been a little disruptive to us.

Fortunately, it’s easily fixed. As you might have expect, you’ve got to delve deep into your phone’s settings, similar to how John McClane crawled through air vents in Die Hard, but with fewer mulleted German mercenaries trying to kill you. Read on to find out how to solve this annoying problem.

From the main settings menu, tap “Apps.” On some handsets, it might be “Apps and Notifications,” from which you’ve again got to tap “Apps“. Annoying right? What do they think this is, Farmville?

Once you’re inside, scroll down until you come across Google Play Services. It’s the one with the logo that’s a jigsaw piece illustrated in the Google Play colors.

Then tap “Storage.” Here, you need to clear the app’s cache, which you can do by tapping “Clear cache.” But wait, your job’s not done.

Then you’ve got to tap “Manage Space.” The last step involves you purging all data from Google Play Services, which is done by tapping — you guessed it — “Clear all data.”

You’re done. Finished. You should have no problems figuring out where you are, or ordering an Uber to pick you up from the bar. You’re welcome.

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