Outline
Facebook Messenger suddenly stopped working on my main phone, a Pixel 10 Pro XL.
"Waiting for network connection"
It stopped working and when I tried to reinstall it,
I can't even install it.
I ended up in that situation.
When I asked Chatgpt, they suggested initializing Play Services (my wallet!) or doing a factory reset, which I thought was a problem, but in the end, my wallet contents remained intact.restoration Now that I've managed to fix it, I'll systematically summarize the causes and solutions.
symptom
The problem occurred in two stages.
Phase 1: Communication failure
- Only Messenger is unable to communicate.
- Other apps are working normally.
- The display shows "Waiting for network connection".
Phase 2: Unable to install
- Uninstallation performed
- Reinstallation failed
- Restarting, etc., if you get an error messageThe page where I was told to do this.Doing everything listed there won't work.
Cause
In conclusion, the cause is A combination of two problems It seems that was the case. The reason I couldn't reinstall it was apparently due to a ghost package issue.
Cause ①: Ghost package (Package Manager inconsistency)
According to ADB research:
./adb shell dumpsys package com.facebook.orca
The result is:
installed=false
dataDir=/data/user/0/com.facebook.orca
In other words:
The state where data has been deleted but remains (DELETE_KEEP_DATA)
Further logs:
INSTALL_FAILED_VERSION_DOWNGRADE
Downgrade detected...
What was happening?
- The device still has versionCode 340411198.
- The Play Store distributes an older version (why?).
- Android rejected it, deeming it a "downgrade."
It seems so. But some mysteries remain.
Cause ②: Communication restrictions / App state inconsistency
Furthermore, the initial communication problem was
- Background data usage restrictions
- Token inconsistency
- Cache corruption
It seems like something like that is the cause.
Solution
So, how did I get out of this situation? I took the following steps.
Step 1: Force repair with the same version APK
I didn't really want to do it, but it seemed like the only option, so I did. It involved downloading the APK and installing it using adb.
First,https://www.apkmirror.com/ Download the Facebook Messenger APK from [website/platform name]. The downloaded APK must have the same or a newer version code as the one you previously had installed. The downloaded file had a very long name, and escaping it to type it from the command line was cumbersome, so I renamed it to messenger.apk in Finder and then installed it by running the following command.
./adb install -r -d messenger.apk
Result
Success
First of all, the installation was successful. Now,
- Overwrite the state of the Package Manager
- Normalize the KEEP_DATA state.
- Avoiding downgrade detection
Was done.
Step 2: Reset app state
Next, we will reset the app state.
設定 → アプリ → Messenger → ストレージ → データ削除
However, this only returned the app to the original problem state, stuck in a "waiting for network connection" state. This symptom often seems to be caused by an inconsistency in "Google Play services / FCM (push) / network control" rather than the app itself. Steps 3 and 4 were performed to resolve this.
Step 3: Unlock communication restrictions
It's difficult to find on a Pixel, but:
設定 → アプリ → Messenger → モバイルデータ使用量
Then check the following:
- Background data ON
- Unlimited mobile data usage ON
In my case, unlimited mobile data was turned off, so I turned it on.
moreover:
設定 → バッテリー → 制限なし
And the.
Step 4: Play services are "cash only".
Google Play 開発者サービス → キャッシュを削除
* Do not delete data. The contents of your wallet will be erased.
Result
- Launch Messenger
- Communication restored
- Play Store updates are now working normally.
Happily ever after.
Looking back
Why did reinstalling make things worse?
So, why did I get stuck in a loop where I couldn't install it?
When uninstalling, I was asked if I wanted to "keep my data" and I answered YES.
That seems to be the case. Seriously, don't break it over something like this orz
This will:
- "Deleted, but the version number remains."
- → This violates the downgrade ban.
It seems that this resulted in an infinite loop.
Why does it get fixed with APK?
So why does forcibly installing the APK fix the problem?
- Overwrite with the same version → Restore integrity
- Package Manager returns to normal
That's what it means.
preventive measure
The order in which you should not do it
❌ Don't simply think, "I can't connect to the network, so I'll try uninstalling and reinstalling it."
❌ When asked whether to keep data during uninstallation, choose not to keep it.
That's about it, I guess.
But seriously, this kind of recovery method is practically impossible for the average person, isn't it?