Related
[UPDATED] Android Market Apps I bought for my Hero: Are they "paid for" on my Desire?
Updated April 18, 2010
Now I get it. See Post #6 below. Google's dragging their ass on "fingerprint" approval. They need to be SHAMED virally across the web for sheer incompetence -- or intentional malice toward purchasers of a phone that competes with their Nexus One. "Do No Evil" my ass.
========== My Original Posting =========
I bought maybe 6-7 apps for my hero -- 2 different keyboards, "Executive Assistant", some kind of alarm clock... When on my Hero, even after factory reset and resetting up my phone, when I went to MARKET and "My Downloads", those paid for apps showed up as available to install again on my Hero.
I have been using my Desire -- but thus far only for Wifi as I set it up and get acquainted with the phone. Perhaps stupidly (!) I am still using the Hero as my "phone" til I have all my apps and widgets and layouts replicated on my Desire.
Though I do not have my carrier's SIM card installed in my Desire, 90% of the device works fine, especially all wifi usages, Market downloads, email, web, etc... I did set up my Gmail account as well.
It's one's Gmail account which is your linkage to PAID FOR apps, via Google Checkout. So, I am surprised that when I select "My downloads" i don't see any indication of paid for apps.
Is this tied to a SIM card? (if so seems ridiculous)
RELATED: I can't even find BETTER KEYBOARD app in the Market now, nor "SMART KEYBOARD" ... Does the market auto-filter out apps that do not run on Android 2.1 ?
thank you
the paid apps are tied with your google account.
(no longer relevant)
From what I read, some paid and free apps should appear as soon as google finishes some signature thing related to that! so it's a matter of time.
By the way, do you see paid apps in general? For me, I always had to use Market Enabaler on the Hero to open Market to paid apps.
A temporary solution, you can use your Hero to extract the paid applications (apk files) using Root Explorer, copy them to the Desire SD card and install them using any file manager. The only limitation here is that you have to keep checking for updates on the Hero.
Re: Android Market > Apps I bought for my Hero: Are they "paid for" on my Desire?
as far as I know, and experts correct me if wrong, the ability to get access are directly connected to the sim from which you connect.
which is why market enabler used to spoof the apn's from which paid apps were available.
with no sim card you should only be able to get free apps or nothing at all.
I live in Sweden, no paid apps.
was at friends last night who has an old UK sim card, popped that in and I got access to some paid apps. but still with the limitations as previously discussed in this forum. (waiting for Google to get it straightened out)
so, yes & no, the apps are tied to your sim, cuz it tells the phone which apn/ network your phone is connecting from...
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
I just read a few other threads, with links to the official Android Market forums. First off, I have to ask some basic vocabulary:
What are "protected apps" ?
I have no idea what this means.
Second: salahag, thanks for your reply. I didn't respond initially because I didn't understand it at all. Paid apps showed up in my Hero from day 1 and that was for me October 2009. I was baffled because I had no context for even thinking "is everything that's available showing here?" because by default my brain had no reason to pose that question. I just assumed the Market worked one way, and I was seeing everything the way everyone else sees it.
I'm suddenly quite baffled by this emerging mystery now that I can't find a bunch of apps for my DESIRE. But now the mystery of "where are my paid apps that I bought on my Hero?" is solved, replaced by "why are hundreds of apps that were available on my Hero not available on my Desire?"
XDA-devs to the rescue, via another thread here about "Missing apps in the Market" linking to this posting in Android Market forums:
by nprussell - 4/8/10 (LINK to this posting at Android Market forums)
Hi all,
I'm an Android developer from the XDA forum & VillainROM.co.uk. I've primarily worked on the Hero, but I received my Desire yesterday.
I can confirm that I too am missing several apps from the market. I also have an answer to your question.
First things first, it's protected apps that are missing from the market. There are generally two reasons why apps will be missing from the market.
(1) When a new ROM/Phone is released, the manufacturer, in this case HTC, sends the build to Google, which includes a 'Fingerprint' (a unique line of text which governs its market access) in the build.prop file. Generally, it states the name of the phone and Android version in the fingerprint. With Root & system write access, this fingerprint can easily be changed... but we don't have that luxury right now.
Once Google approve the build, the fingerprint will be added to their allowed database to view protected apps on the market.
(2) The other cause for apps missing from the market in builds (such as twidroid, layar, barcode scanner etc) is that these apps require permissions to use the camera/auto focus. They are NOT protected apps. If the XML permission files are missing from system/etc/permissions, then Google Market will simply block these apps from showing.
So again... to answer your question... we'll see the protected apps as soon as either:
a) HTC chase up Google
b) Google get around to activating the fingerprint
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Un-frikkin-believable.
It's like the equivalence of a dumb low-IQ bureaucrat holding up a long line for Drivers' License renewals at the "Department of Motor Vehicles". No reason at all for the stupid delay other than some asshole letting some work order sit on his desktop til he feels like getting to it.
No wonder the author (gogol) of that other related thread recommends consumer activism or we just stand in line each time and just wait to get ****'d in the ass by beaurocratic process that sounds WAY more like Microsoft than "the smartest guys in the room" at Google -- who pride themselves on only hiring Ivy-league grads and equivalents, like from Stanford. They ought to be ridiculed out of town with this.
gogol writes: I really cannot believe Google screws this great Android platform like this. Think about the next firmware update, from Google or HTC ... We will AGAIN get this issue ... Then wait again very long. I am really mad and hate this.
If one of you guys is capable of writing a good professional article or blog regarding this issue, we could spread the voice all over the internet / twitter / facebook / blogs / news so Google could "end" or "fix" this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm game to SHAME GOOGLE into getting their f-ing act together or be ridiculed for incompetence -- everywhere we can post that message on the web. And they have the nerve to criticize APPLE for their ridiculous App Store totalitarianism?
.
xrrkrrkx said:
I live in Sweden, no paid apps. Was at friends last night who has an old UK sim card, popped that in and I got access to some paid apps. but still with the limitations as previously discussed in this forum. (waiting for Google to get it straightened out)
so, yes & no, the apps are tied to your sim, cuz it tells the phone which apn/ network your phone is connecting from...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you clarify this further. Thank you for information related to SIM card needing to be in use in order to access paid apps -- god only knows why -- it's retarded to me.
But is it correct that I have read other places that there are LOCALIZATION ISSUES? where some apps are only available to certain regions? (Like YouTube does) -- Or can you shoot that one down as rumor. I don't get this. Open source OS. Google's entire revenue model based on ads. More phones = more ad impressions = more money to Google. What possible motivation is there to block access to apps in a marketplace that I am willing to pay for -- where Google gets % of all sales, as well as transactional revenue thru Google Checkout? -- Something doesn't make sense. And usually when that's the case, SOMEONE IS BEING PROTECTED in some corporate deal.
What's the story. Is this another CARRIER-TAINTED example of holding customers hostage? If so, I can't wait til the day we can blow up that Carrier-driven model that strangles the free marketplace. They should make it or break it based on direct delivery of services at competitive pricing. I am so tired of Boardroom Protectionist Policies agreed to by major competitors, to ensure a baseline profit well above anything deserved if there was open competition. ... But I could be off on my little side rant and it has nothing to do with this issue, in which case, .... ooops. sorry
salahag said:
From what I read, some paid and free apps should appear as soon as google finishes some signature thing related to that! so it's a matter of time.
By the way, do you see paid apps in general? For me, I always had to use Market Enabaler on the Hero to open Market to paid apps.
A temporary solution, you can use your Hero to extract the paid applications (apk files) using Root Explorer, copy them to the Desire SD card and install them using any file manager. The only limitation here is that you have to keep checking for updates on the Hero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks - I never even thought to do this. Rooted my Hero, copied the apks (they're in /data/app-private) to the Desire and installed. I now have National Rail and Locale Lockscreen back again
Ta.
you can use your Hero to extract the paid applications (apk files) using Root Explorer, copy them to the Desire SD card and install them using any file manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant to ask: Is Root Explorer an app from the Market (I'll check of course), and does it only work on rooted Heroes? Mine is unrooted. But I have used Astro app many times for moving stuff from my computer to Hero, and now my Desire. So, it would just be a matter of my knowing which folder/directory to look in on my Hero to access the .apk files.
(EDIT: I see now from daern above: they're in /data/app-private ... well Astro Explorer shows me root folder and data folder but both say "directory is empty", so I am guessing unless I root my Hero i can't access this stuff... right?)
So, thanks from ME also!
Easy. Install "InstantRook.apk" on the Hero (Google for it, download directly to the device and run from Astro).
Once installed, it will announce "your device is rooted". Now fire up Root Explorer and note that you can see the /data folder. Copy the private apk files to /sdcard and away you go.
It really is as easy as that. It may stuff your Hero (it didn't affect mine in the slightest) but as I'm assuming that you're replacing it anyway, the worst it would require would be a hard-boot anyway.
Took < 5 mins
I posted this a variant of this in the general Android app forum, but the experiments there suggest that the problem may be Archos-specific.
I noticed that after resetting Android on my A43 a couple of times, there were a number of orphan applications in the external storage area. You move an app to /storage on Android 2.2 or higher. Then you reset Android, and you reinstall your apps. Well, it turns out that the app in the storage area can stay there, and a new copy is installed beside it. So, now, you have two 21mb encrypted apk files for Angry Birds sitting there, taking up room on /storage, and you never notice because they're in the hidden secure area on the card. There
I don't know how common this problem is. But I intend to find out. To that end, I made an app that searches that area and, if you allow it, cleans it up. It needs a rooted 2.2 or higher device.
You can download it and run it. But I ask one thing. If you do download it and run it, let me know (a) what device you're using with which OS version, and (b) how much total orphan space it reported being taken up (if it's zero, let me know that, too). You can send me this information by email to [email protected] or just post in this thread. Oh, and bug reports, too, of course.
And one suggestion. If you run this after a reboot, wait for all the icons to show up in the launcher. (The important thing is not to run it before the SD-based app areas get mounted, or CleanApp will think there are more orphans than there are.)
Here it is.
Thanks for posting - seems like you've been busy recently!
Worked fine on my A101 - saved me .... 23.3kb!!
FWIW: Tried it on my Desire too .. runs fine, but no orphan files found.
Hi!
I'll try to explain me as best as possible here about the 2 main issues I have with my One X.
I'm living in Shanghai, and I've bought it here, however, because of the stupid issues between Google and China, my One X doesn't have the Google play store.
I tried to dowmload it, and it doesn't launch, after a second or 2, I'm back to the main screen of my phone.
I contacted HTC, and they basically told me to use the Hiapk market, but it's extremely limited, and some apps won't work. For ex: downloading Foursquare through this parallel market is ok, but when it comes to the install, it would just tell me that the app can't be installed...
I asked HTC if it's possible to overcome these restrictions, as I'm french, and would certainly go back to France someday... Had no answer... As for foursquare, HTC told me to contact foursquare directly.
So, I would like to know if it is possible to change the OS of the phone to put one from anywhere else in the world where the play store is not factory censored, and if that would for example solve the foursquare issue (or any possible issue that I might have with other apps).
Sorry if I'm not using the good terms, but I just switched from IOS to android 3 weeks ago...
The warranty would certainly be void, but I'm up taking the risk as I can't use the phone for more than 2/3 games... I feel like I've just made an expensive mistake...
Thanks in advance for your help!
You can root it and install a custom rom on it that will give you access to the play store.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
How could I do that ? what does root exactly means ?
I'm new to android, and I'm not sure about what I should do. Did few research but I'm not sure about what I should pick and install on it.
I'm not looking for anything fancy, just the same OS but with the possibility to have the play store, I don't really want to overclock or change it at all levels.
Thanks for the answer!
Rooting is like "administrator" access on a PC, if that makes sense. You can install a custom ROM that looks like what you have now but with extra features. I think if you go in the development section there are a few threads you can look at that will help you root and install a custom ROM so you can access the play store. Goodluck
Will definitely give it a shot
Thanks for your help!
If you are rooted you can simply install the 'market enabler' app
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
use a VPN
qtableau,
(and others behind the #@$!%* Great FireWall)
i live in SH as well,
Do yourself a really big favor! Get a VPN!
Rooted phones do nothing for websites that are blocked (which come and go).
A rooted phone is not a solution to blocked websites
&
Market Enabler, although a great app, can not be used to unblock websites, it merely tells the Android Market/Google play store you are using a different service provider so you can download apps not available in your country (to bypass the “This item is not compatible with your device” MSG) IE my China Unicom Device is displayed as "AT&T HTC Desire" in the play store
AND because almost every non-Chinese website in the world has a facebook, twitter, and a Google+ feed/rss button/, every time a non Chinese page loads the #@$!%* Great FireWall needs time to check it out before it loads, so without a vpn surfing on a mobile can be horrible.
I use a VPN service provided by 12vpn, you can use it with multiple computers and mobile devices simultaneously. It will change your life. I have it on 4 desktops, a laptop, an iphone and android phone.
And you can use it to access online content that is not available outside certain countries ie: i can access the online TV website hulu.com which is only available to US residents.
one caveat: you CAN'T use it on a computer that has a running a torrent program though...which sucks! You have to close the program before you can run the vpn but just on (i pretty sure this a 12vpn policy, other providers should let u use a torrent program simultaneously)`
Costs about 400RMB a year but freedom is PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!
Disclosure: I am 4 year customer of 12vpn.com and have no other interests/connections to the company
IMHO Chinese censorship is mostly a BUSINESS decision. Same as any governmental organization that requires a certain amount of local programming on TV or radio (FCC, CRTC,oxfam etc)
Hi! I was wondering if you found a solution? I have the exact same problem. I recently bought a Galaxy S3 and found out i cant access google play or any of the google apps. i downloaded the APK files and tried to install it, but they don't open at all. I'd love to hear how you solved (and hope you di!)
qtableau said:
Hi!
I'll try to explain me as best as possible here about the 2 main issues I have with my One X.
I'm living in Shanghai, and I've bought it here, however, because of the stupid issues between Google and China, my One X doesn't have the Google play store.
I tried to dowmload it, and it doesn't launch, after a second or 2, I'm back to the main screen of my phone.
I contacted HTC, and they basically told me to use the Hiapk market, but it's extremely limited, and some apps won't work. For ex: downloading Foursquare through this parallel market is ok, but when it comes to the install, it would just tell me that the app can't be installed...
I asked HTC if it's possible to overcome these restrictions, as I'm french, and would certainly go back to France someday... Had no answer... As for foursquare, HTC told me to contact foursquare directly.
So, I would like to know if it is possible to change the OS of the phone to put one from anywhere else in the world where the play store is not factory censored, and if that would for example solve the foursquare issue (or any possible issue that I might have with other apps).
Sorry if I'm not using the good terms, but I just switched from IOS to android 3 weeks ago...
The warranty would certainly be void, but I'm up taking the risk as I can't use the phone for more than 2/3 games... I feel like I've just made an expensive mistake...
Thanks in advance for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found a solution by paying a bit more...
I gave up on trying to read all the tutorials on how to root phones and went to an electronic market in SH (where I live, if you do, go to xujiahui to do so)
For a hundred RMB, I got it changed to a hongkong OS, where everything is allowed and works great. Some updates not even available on the official one in China went with it. Hope it helps and that you'll be able to find a market near your place.
Basically, my advice for some other people reading this thread: Don't buy it in a real shop, go to a market, they're half the price, and already flashed to a "working" version... wish I'd known that
Play Store also don´t work with VPN cause the issue isn´t connection kind but factory blocked. So I wil go also the way to get my OS changed. Guess there´s a big risk of abortive flash so is there any possibility of orig. OS back up to be flashed back if any inconvience happen?
Pls help me
Hi, I do have the exact same problem with my Note2. I bought it in store in Beijing.
And now I'm stuck coz there's nothing more I could do without the Play Store.
How did you find the market? And What did you tell them?
Most of the chinese here cannot understand English so how can we tell them?
Please help me out with this.
Thank you.
download orbot.apk(requires root to fully function) or hotspotshield.apk look for them on google (how ironic), use them only when using market(they slow down the internet to some extent, but act as a proxy on your phone)
qtableau said:
I found a solution by paying a bit more...
I gave up on trying to read all the tutorials on how to root phones and went to an electronic market in SH (where I live, if you do, go to xujiahui to do so)
For a hundred RMB, I got it changed to a hongkong OS, where everything is allowed and works great. Some updates not even available on the official one in China went with it. Hope it helps and that you'll be able to find a market near your place.
Basically, my advice for some other people reading this thread: Don't buy it in a real shop, go to a market, they're half the price, and already flashed to a "working" version... wish I'd known that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, do you know if you made something else to your phone? i know that this S3 version from UNICOM uses a different modem that wont allow us to install anyother Samsung build and i was wondering about if in the WHOLE world there was another country that used the same modem so i can install that build in my China/unicom phone. If this is a transparent solution I AM SOOOO DOING IT!
Android phone without Google Play
qtableau said:
I found a solution by paying a bit more...
I gave up on trying to read all the tutorials on how to root phones and went to an electronic market in SH (where I live, if you do, go to xujiahui to do so)
For a hundred RMB, I got it changed to a hongkong OS, where everything is allowed and works great. Some updates not even available on the official one in China went with it. Hope it helps and that you'll be able to find a market near your place.
Basically, my advice for some other people reading this thread: Don't buy it in a real shop, go to a market, they're half the price, and already flashed to a "working" version... wish I'd known that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI bleau,
Did the guy explain to you in detail what he has done to your device? I have the same problem with the phone (THl W8) I bought in China.
Vcek said:
download orbot.apk(requires root to fully function) or hotspotshield.apk look for them on google (how ironic), use them only when using market(they slow down the internet to some extent, but act as a proxy on your phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the best way, spoofs ip address.
Sent from...... The Milky Way
Hello guys!
If you have this kind of issues then the only thing you need to do is:
- Download FASTBOOT files, Google it, it should be 3 files. The size small. Make your own folder called "Android" on C: Drive. Put the files there.
- Unlock the Boot loader, go to your respective forums and find a way to unlock your device's Boot loader.
- Get ClockWorkMod recovery for your device, Google it, go to their website, search for newest version for your device, download.
- Put the .img file onto the "Android" folder.
- Enter Boot loader mode (For HTC it's POWER + Volume Down). Navigate using physical buttons, and Select FASTBOOT option.
- Flash it with CMD on Windows by using this command:
--- cd c:\Android
--- fastboot flash recovery name_of_recovery_you_downloaded.img
--- fastboot erase cache
- Done all that, search for a custom ROM that's already pre-ROOTed and has built-in Kernel to avoid troubles like boot loops.
- Put that ROM onto your SD card, DO NOT EXTRACT THE ZIP.
- Enter Recovery by going into Boot loader mode
- Full Wipe/Factory Reset your phone through Recovery, then erase Cache through Recovery too.
- "Install zip from SD" card through Recovery, select the ROM.zip, select YES. Now wait.
- Voila, Democracy speaks for itself ;D
Thank me if i helped! :laugh:
*All credits goes to Mr Hofs, as he is the one that guides me from nothingness *
Hi. I have the same problem and I live in Shanghai as well. Can you let me know where did you get your phone jailbroken?
qtableau said:
I found a solution by paying a bit more...
I gave up on trying to read all the tutorials on how to root phones and went to an electronic market in SH (where I live, if you do, go to xujiahui to do so)
For a hundred RMB, I got it changed to a hongkong OS, where everything is allowed and works great. Some updates not even available on the official one in China went with it. Hope it helps and that you'll be able to find a market near your place.
Basically, my advice for some other people reading this thread: Don't buy it in a real shop, go to a market, they're half the price, and already flashed to a "working" version... wish I'd known that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello guys, I have some questions about data generating and mainly modifying Google Play billing information, hope I can find answers here...
1. Each time I open Titanium Backup or Google Play has some update on apps, my external SD Card will generate 2 folders which are "data\com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup" and "Android\data", the second one will have some system apps folders inside suck as "com.android.gallery3d" and "com.google.android.apps.maps". I rooted my G3 and use ES file explorer to manage my files. But I didn't experience such issues in my previous Galaxy Note, which means those apps or system won't generate any app data on external SD Card. Most importantly those app folders (13+ folders) are empty and all 0.00 KB!
It is somehow annoying and I can't ignore it so each time I access my external SD card I will have to delete them manually. I wonder what is the problem and how can I tweat the system so that it won't generate it in SD card again, internal storage folder already contained all those app data folders!
External SD Card's folder (root):
http://postimg.org/image/ny6jomg2f/
Inside the "Android\Data" Folder:
http://postimg.org/image/f1vrkopg7/
2. It's about Modded Google Play Store. If you guys know the creater of Lucky Patcher also created the modded version of Google Play Store, and I found on the internet that there are a method which almost make you buy paid apps for "free". The website is in below:
http://www.8apk.net/2015/01/modded-google-play-store-download-install-chelpus.html
I wonder if this method is true... If it is then I think it would be chaos and Google will surely patch it... Because it makes you really get paid apps for free, imagine you paid for the app, save it and refund to take back the money, while you didn't really return the "product" you bought... That would be awesome if it can be done but I don't have the time to try all that... Is there anyone who are currently using this trick and it works?
3. Alright recently I have been paying attention on how to crack in-app purchases... I wonder if Freedom and Lucky Patcher works on server-based online games? For example One piece Treasure Cruise and Puzzle and Dragons if you guys heard of it, they require 100 yen to buy 1 magic stone or Gems and 5 stones to play a lucky draw to get a new character. Well although I think it has a very little chance to hack or crack it, maybe the two cracking apps won't work too, but I still have some faith on it which I think it may be possible...
I wonder why it works on Candy Crush or something like that, but won't (maybe) work on the 2 games I mentioned? Aren't they are using the same mechanism in Google Play billing? (Press purchase, connect to Google Play, a Pop-up displaying what you are going to buy, press buy and enter billing information, then complete purchase.) If they are the same then why we can't crack it?
4. I found here:
http://gameguardian.net/forum/topic/6279-another-in-app-purchase-hack-method/
That by using Lucky Patcher to "Patch to Android" and tick on "Signature Verification status always True" and then tap on "Apply" then reboot, and it will change how Google Play's status, that means the cracked apps you installed will also be regonized as purchased apps in Google Play and you got it legally. I wonder if this is true and is it still working?
And by doing that signature verification, can I skip the process of using luck patcher to patch Titanium Backup every time I update it from Play Store? This is a little bit annoying actually...
That's all of my questions, sorry for the long words but I really hope to get the answers... If it can't be done then I want to know because it has been consuming my time trying to find the answers... Thanks a lot in advance, hope you all have a good day!
Sorry, but nobody is going to help you steal apps from the playstore.
Hi folks,
I've got a Fire Phone, with default Fire OS 4.6.1
I am not quite ready to get into rooting it and adding a new OS, as I don't have the time.
So in the interim I have the Google Play Store installed, along with a launcher that's more to my liking.
I have the issue that when I click on links in apps which, I assume, are intended to launch the Google Play Store, I get a message from Fire OS saying,
Continue to Amazon Appstore?
This app is trying to open a link with an external market that is not available on your device. Would you like to open this link with the Amazon Appstore instead?
[CANCEL] [CONTINUE]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I click cancel, then the link does not open. If I click continue it goes to the Amazon Appstore and can't find what the link relates to (obviously).
I saw someone else posting something about this, and they were advised to edit some settings in the Manage Applications settings, and also External Market settings. Since updating to 4.6.1 I don't seem to be able to find any Manage Applications settings, no External Market settings (not even sure if those existed on the pre-4.6.1 OS that was on here when I received it).
Is there a way to set this thing to allow Google Play to launch when Play links are clicked?
Cheers,
J
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Bingo Bronson said:
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Bingo,
Thanks for the help.
The thing is, since it updated to 4.6.1 (and I see that last night it updated itself to 4.6.3 on its own accord) the "Manage Applications" option that was there previously has gone. There is now just an "Applications" option. And that
Okay... at last I've figured out where "Manage Applications" went since 4.6.1 update. There is now just an "Applications" menu. Touching that expands it to show various options. One of those options is "Force quite or clear data for applications". This is now the way to access the "Manage Applications" screen. The first option on that expanded "Applications" menu is "Manage the settings for individual Amazon applications on your phone". The wording of this had me thinking that this had somehow replaced the Manage Applications option.
Cool. I've now disabled Amazon AppStore.
Thanks.
This Fixed My Issue
I fixed my issue by going to the Applications menu under Settings (little gear in dropdown menu) then going to Manage Applications, then selecting All Applications from the dropdown there. I found the Appstore, clicked on it, selected Force Stop and Clear Cache. That seemed to do the trick. I also have Allow 3rd Party Apps selected, which can also be found under Applications in settings.
I've been searching everywhere for this solution. Youtube and google, and yes finally someone who just needed google play apps to not be redirected to kindle appstore. It worked by disabling the appstore. <3 The ES File Explorer helped me to uninstall the updated version and now apps can be directed to google play. Thanks for saving me from having to root. I like the launcher option from google play. Don't have enough patience to root and then it possibly doesn't work. TOT! Ty for solution!
My 4.6.3 new phone seems to work well in this regard without any setting being made. Just disabled Amazon store auto update. At first I had that redirect to Amazon problem, but then some other Google store link just redirected to Google play app.
For me, clicking on Disable App Store doesn't seem to be doing anything. Unable to disable and blocking of external market link continues
Can someone please help, nothing in here worked.
I tried going to settings -> apps and games -> manage all applications -> All -> Appstore and pressed "clear cache", "clear data", and "force stop", and it didn't help.
I also tried going to settings -> Apps and Games -> Amazon Application Settings -> Appstore -> External Market Links -> Don't Open and now it says "External Market Links Disabled You can choose to open external market links with the bracketbracketAppstore_long_namebracketbracket. Update this option in the External Market Links section of the Appstore settings." (I had to type bracket instead of using [ because it said I was using BBcode and couldn't post)
I'm using a 5th generation fire running Fire OS 5.3.6.4
Fixed it
I just figured it out.
Settings, Applications & Parental Controls, Configure Amazon application settings, Appstore, External Market Links, Don’t Open
This will prevent the Appstore from trying to open links for external app markets. It doesn’t prevent the links from opening with the correct market, just makes that message stop popping up and click-jacking you into oblivion. So now when you click on a link, a little box will open with apps to choose from to open the link, like your browser or Google Play Store, for example.
I want to keep using this phone, because it’s potentially a good privacy phone, without all the tracking stuff installed. Sorry, that would mean no Google Apps...but I use some apps that apparently won’t get notifications unless GAPPS are installed. I heard MicroG can fix that but it doesn’t seem to work. Anyway if I could fix that and maybe upgrade the camera module to a better quality camera, it would be a better phone...almost perfect actually.
thanks for your helpful post
Ninja000 said:
I just figured it out.
......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
dini77 said:
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
As for not being able to use your account...you might try a factory reset, BUT...
FIRST: backup your APKs and saved files via USB to PC (can use file browser in Windows)
or MAC (will need this --->android.com/filetransfer/<---), and make sure under Battery and Storage, USB Connection Type is listed as File Transfer.
This is important because once you regeister, it might restore your last cloud backup, which I assume is probably pretty old after reading your reply.
Next:
Perform the Factory Reset OR...
To reregister your phone go to Settings, My Accounts, either "Register your phone" if that is an option (mine says "Deregister"), or maybe Manage your Amazon account.
The later will probably redirect you to the Amazon website, because the Amazon Shopping App is no longer supported on this older OS.
*I haven't found a newer version of the Amazon Shopping App that works on the Android 4.4 based Fire OS 4.6.6.1.
The other thing is you might be able to do it via the Amazon website, you probably have it listed under your account still, just need to find it.
I'd contact Amazon help to learn about how to do it that way. They might not know off hand, since the phone is no longer technically supported,
but they will definitely still try to help you.
I would really love it if someone on this forum could pull the launcher and everything from this version of Fire OS to work on the newer Android Roms like Cyanogen Mod,
because then we could just replace the old unsupported apps with the new versions. That would be awesome! I realize 2gb Ram would be a little low for the latest Android,
but just having a little newer OS version that is still supported by Amazon would be great. I really enjoy the Kindle App on this, because it has text to speech and
that is really convenient.
BTW, do you have the Google APPS installed on yours? I have them installed on mine, and it drains the batter like crazy,
granted, it's the original battery from 2014, but still.
Side note: If anyone has an extra screw(s) for the bottom they're willing to part with, I'd be willing to buy one (or a handful).
Lost one in the carpet (I know *rolls eyes) when I had to replace the camera module due to some (I guess) scratches or something actually on the sensor itself.
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
Ninja000 said:
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
dini77 said:
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I completely agree. I got mine for $199 and a year of Amazon Prime included made the phone basically $99. ? I happened to think of one more possibility. Maybe there is an Amazon Fire ?services app (like Google services) or account manager app that got automatically updated by your Google Play store, or even replaced by a version off the Play store that led to this issue, because like I mentioned mine is actually still working aside from the Amazon Shopping app, and some apps that require a newer google services to get notifications.
I actually had flashed several different Roms on this phone and yeah the stock (but updated) Fire OS 4.6.6.1 is definitely the best. --Amazon account registration is part of the initial setup BTW, so factory reset might work.
I made the jump over to iOS after experiencing the Android 7&8 difficulties on a few other devices and battery gate with Samsung phones. Now I am experiencing a crapy battery life issue with my iPhones. My Fire Phone is from 2014, original battery and still has better battery life than even my iPhone XS Max. Wow ? So yeah, there is something to Fire OS being so light that makes it probably just about the best OS for a phone. The last time I flashed back to stock I used a ROM from this website, but I don’t remember what thread that’s on. I think it’s in the Cyanogen 11 Rom thread for this device. Maybe try flashing that. And you could actually (if you don’t mind losing the storage space) create a backup Rom from your current one, then make a new slot in twrp or whatever it’s called and have the other Rom installed on there. Then check to see if it’s possible to register on that version. If it doesn’t work, no big deal you will still have your backup rom with all your data. If it does work, then you could transfer your stuff over via usb. That would save you quite a bit of time incase it decides not to work. You can do a root and install the other rom right from your fire phone these days. That’s a bonus.
What happens when you open Amazon Instant Video? Does it ask you for a loggin? That would be awesome. BTW My Kindle Fire HX 7 is still working great too, just starting to slow down a bit. I also have a 6" Fire HD. I really agree Fire OS is super clean and alot of modern OS's are not that great and way too heavy for what most people need, especially on mobile devices.
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
dini77 said:
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was just thinking of going back to this phone as my primary phone. My problem is trying to get Micro G or something to work, for spoofing google services, because I want to use some apps that require google services, else they won't receive notifications. I also found on app I use, it's Korean, Kakaotalk is not receiving notifications when closed anymore. I haven't figured out why yet. Saw another thread about notifications on 3rd party apps not working, but didn't see a solution. I would also like to see a camera upgrade (4k video) and maybe a speaker upgrade and storage would be nice, but obviously that would require some soldering that I'm not willing to do, but maybe if I had a few doner phones would try it.:laugh: happy thanksgiving by the way!
I just went back to a Nokia N9 as my primary, at least for voice and weather and such basics (MeeGo OS, and battery lasts for days, good quality voice, nice small size, does not crash, etc). But I have my iPad and iPhone SE (the older model) always turned on so that covers all my needs. So, it is perfectly fine to use an old phone as primary so long as you have another device to supplement what the primary lacks. The Fire Phone would also make a primary. Tho in my experience it is not as stable. The "mishap" in this thread was not my first serious hiccup. See also the thread on all apps crashing if they require the address book (including the phone). That one is serious and reoccurs. (I think it is caused by having a very large number of apps on the phone. Usually fixed when I delete one of the larger apps.) So in other words at least with the original OS, stability is an issue. Maybe the custom firmware on this board is more stable.
Have a great thanksgiving!