Related
Hi,
First of fall I've searched the forums and found no recommendations so far, except for this thread, which only lists the alternatives.
So, my issue is that many apps on Google Play are rendered incompatible with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Stock 4.0.4) after I've changed my DPI.
What I'd like is a good alternative to Google Play which:
i) Contains most of the apps on Google Play.
ii) Doesn't render them incompatible unless there's a compatibility issue with the Android version, or something more critical than changed DPI.
I don't mind using the list in the thread mentioned above, but I'd like to save time on testing by asking you for recommendations. Especially developers would probably know which ones they usually use in addition to Google Play.
- rlmaers
There is no other market...
There are unofficial markets. I only found out about there being unofficial ones because of a news report saying how a lot of apps/games have been loaded with some sort of nastyware. For example, Angry Birds Space
worldwideweb.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2167511/cybercriminals-malware-infected-angry-birds-game-target-smartphone-users
With that in mind I wouldn't really try to venture too far down unofficial markets.
Here is an example, AndroLib, of an unofficial market: worldwideweb.androlib.com
Replace worldwideweb with appropriate meaning
There is absolutely no market comparable to Google Play, that has even remotely as much content as it.
Closest you're going to get is the Amazon App Store.
that market is really the worst thing on android. it has so many restrictions its outwitting itself at times. even under stock i couldn't download a ton of apps with my nexus. but when i sideloaded them it always worked.
what you can do is try hacks, there are several here on xda. i made one for my tablet mode topic, you might wanna try: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1543892 it works for me and a bunch of others.
you might want to try amazon market too
Thanks for the input, from all of you.
Apps loaded with malware isn't even an option, so I guess I'll have to stick with Google Play (and perhaps Amazon App Store).
@molesarecoming: Who's done the hack on the Play app you've linked? (I guess I'm paranoid about malware every time I download something, even on XDA).
i did it, but you can trust me ... i guess.
seriously, i had the same problem that you have right now and i did something about it, no evil intentions.
play store mod
about 2 or 3 days ago there was a post on portal about a moded play store
i think it was on i9000 forum
the moded store allows to install incompatible apps or apps that are for other countries.
i tried it and it was fine but i removed it because i didnt use it.
i think it might be helpfull for you
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
Thanks for the help. I'll try it out!
it's old, i know.
I use aptoide store and f-droid
f-droid is really small, but I support it in it's approach (open Software)
aptoide features alot of apps and actually I'm not missing much
NO google-software on my phone!
toggler said:
it's old, i know.
I use aptoide store and f-droid
f-droid is really small, but I support it in it's approach (open Software)
aptoide features alot of apps and actually I'm not missing much
NO google-software on my phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aptoide is "quite" good, yes it has a lot of apps because they let people upload any app in their own store.
The problem is that they do not check that published app are owned by the people who publish it, so it contains a lot of hacked apps !
Other serious app stores: amazon, opera
So i did a quick Google search, however, i didn't find anything answering my question.
So when we think about android we (at least the ones who knows their thing) we know it is related to google. However, so far i know that Android is open source, correct me if i'm wrong, but that means that anyone CAN "cook" their own rom of android. (As soon in the numerous threads in android development). So far so good.
A while back i recall reading Google forbidding Cyanogenmod of including their multi-window feature (the one that allows you to surf the web and watch a youtube video simultaneously as seen in Samsung devices(Note 1/2 probably S4 and S3(?)). Anyways, my guess is they came to terms where they can agree or did Samsung ignore what google had to say? So to make a long story short, what are google's rights when it comes to android?
Can google, for instance, if it doesn't like what a manufacturer is adding to their phone be it a feature or a skin say that they only want manufacturers to stick to the AOSP look and if they do add their own skin they will be taken to court? Can they do this?
Just curious to understand how things are running here. I wanna know the rights google has and if it could have went to court with samsung because of using the multi window feature.
I think that you are asking a good question, to which I have no answer, but would be interested in following this.
Personally, I would like to see an Android ROM devoid of Google.
____________________
Sent from my HD2 JB-CM10 with XDA Premium
shadehh said:
So i did a quick Google search, however, i didn't find anything answering my question.
So when we think about android we (at least the ones who knows their thing) we know it is related to google. However, so far i know that Android is open source, correct me if i'm wrong, but that means that anyone CAN "cook" their own rom of android. (As soon in the numerous threads in android development). So far so good.
A while back i recall reading Google forbidding Cyanogenmod of including their multi-window feature (the one that allows you to surf the web and watch a youtube video simultaneously as seen in Samsung devices(Note 1/2 probably S4 and S3(?)). Anyways, my guess is they came to terms where they can agree or did Samsung ignore what google had to say? So to make a long story short, what are google's rights when it comes to android?
Can google, for instance, if it doesn't like what a manufacturer is adding to their phone be it a feature or a skin say that they only want manufacturers to stick to the AOSP look and if they do add their own skin they will be taken to court? Can they do this?
Just curious to understand how things are running here. I wanna know the rights google has and if it could have went to court with samsung because of using the multi window feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is while 'Android' or rather the AOSP is completely open source and free to use as you like, there are parts that Google have restrictive licensing over, or example the 'Gapp' (gmail, google+, play store etc). Manufacturers then also hold rights over the parts they add into Android (skins, other apps etc.).
Google has no control over manufacturers sticking Android on a device and that manufacture changing Android in anyway (hence the many many random Chinese devices), however Google can prevent a manufacturer from having a license to include the play store etc if they are unhappy with whats being done.
Google didn't forbid the CM team from including it, they said they would restrict access to the Play Store for devices running CM. The Play services is the only thing Google has power over, since that's their proprietary service. They cannot prevent someone from making a device that runs Android, since that's open source.
And I so believe Samsung's method is different, because apps require some changes before you can run then in multi windows, so you can't just run any app (officially, that is).
Lesicnik1 said:
Google didn't forbid the CM team from including it, they said they would restrict access to the Play Store for devices running CM. The Play services is the only thing Google has power over, since that's their proprietary service. They cannot prevent someone from making a device that runs Android, since that's open source.
And I so believe Samsung's method is different, because apps require some changes before you can run then in multi windows, so you can't just run any app (officially, that is).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Doesn't that in theory mean that Samsung could just take their sgs 3, remove all google services and smack their own play store onto it or am i missing something here?
shadehh said:
I see. Doesn't that in theory mean that Samsung could just take their sgs 3, remove all google services and smack their own play store onto it or am i missing something here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh they could. But then it would be blocked from other Google projects as well.
Wayne Tech S-III
whenever I try to download an app I get this message "your device isn't compatible with this version"
please take into consideration that this is my first android tablet
and I have very little technical expertise
also I don't know the technical jargon or terms used on this site
when I posted my Problem before I was shut down and redirected to another forum
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2398788
which I gathered from the thread that apps in google playstore are not always accessible due to various countries terms and laws
I have used the search engine extensively, read every thread related to my issue and it confused me even more
the apps I need are vital it is life are death
they are Vlingo and Robin
how do I Work around this issue?
Maybe the message is true and the apps are really not compatible with your device
Anyway, there is a plugin for google chrome called apk downloader: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100617 I'm not sure whether it allows you to download apk files that aren't compatible with your device but it may be worth a try. But if the apps crash or just don't work, don't be surprised!
Hello everyone
Firstly, I would like to say that xda-developers.com has helped me in a lot of problems I had in the past. The members are really helpful here and the discussions that have been done here are clear and understandable.
Coming to my problem, I have the latest BlueStacks v2.5.97 and use it to play games and some social apps.
I have an app called Topps KICK which is a card trading game. I was playing this game on KOPlayer(which is another Android Emulator), but since the latest update of the game I am not able to play the game on KOPlayer, with an error "Cyclic Dependancy not allowed". This happened with most of the popular Emulators like NOX, MEmu.
When I tried to play it on BlueStacks it worked. But I have another 2 accounts of the game which I had on my spare iphones, I now want to transfer those accounts on the Bluestacks Emulator. But the game allows only 1 account per device.
If someone can help me out with this, I would really appreciate it.
malik_geek said:
Hello everyone
Firstly, I would like to say that xda-developers.com has helped me in a lot of problems I had in the past. The members are really helpful here and the discussions that have been done here are clear and understandable.
Coming to my problem, I have the latest BlueStacks v2.5.97 and use it to play games and some social apps.
I have an app called Topps KICK which is a card trading game. I was playing this game on KOPlayer(which is another Android Emulator), but since the latest update of the game I am not able to play the game on KOPlayer, with an error "Cyclic Dependancy not allowed". This happened with most of the popular Emulators like NOX, MEmu.
When I tried to play it on BlueStacks it worked. But I have another 2 accounts of the game which I had on my spare iphones, I now want to transfer those accounts on the Bluestacks Emulator. But the game allows only 1 account per device.
If someone can help me out with this, I would really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i get your message right:
Use "parallel space" android app to clone it in the same phone (emulator), this way you will have 2 accounts (apps) at the same time, i don't know if you can clone it again but you can give it a try.
MigoMujahid said:
If i get your message right:
Use "parallel space" android app to clone it in the same phone (emulator), this way you will have 2 accounts (apps) at the same time, i don't know if you can clone it again but you can give it a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
I have already tried it, but it says that the device is being used by *my username*
If there was some way I could fake the Device Identity or something like that, so that the app recognizes it as a New Device.
I use restricted user profiles on the S3 to only allow my children to only access a restricted list of apps I download from the Play Store. It seems that any NEW apps that I download from the play store after the Oreo update do not show up in the list of apps (Settings > Cloud and accounts > Users, select a restricted user).
I did a factory reset this morning, and still no luck. Now only stock apps show up.
I chatted with Samsung this morning, and they want me to take it to the local walk-in Samsung clinic to have it looked at. This seems like a software issue - not a hardware issue. Perhaps Oreo changes the way this feature works - and it is an android issue not a Samsung one?
As a troubleshooting step, would any of you be willing to setup a restricted account on your S3, download a few play store apps and see if they show up to be able to enabled for the restricted account? No matter what I do, only the stock apps show up. It would be helpful to know if others have the problem as well.
I'm having the same problem, we're you able to find a solution? Only happened after the oreo update.
Nigle said:
I'm having the same problem, we're you able to find a solution? Only happened after the oreo update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for reporting your experience with this to this thread. No solution as of yet. Now that I know someone else is having the same issue, I will try Samsung support again and let them know it is a problem with Oreo for all users - not just my tablet. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the best we can hope for is that it gets Samsung's attention to be included in the next update - which will likely be some time from now.
Update: I installed the Smart Tutor app from the Play Store which allowed a Samsung Support rep to see the issue. They agreed that it was not working as it should and opened issue ticket #2194272620. Hopefully this ticket will allow the issue to be noticed and fixed in a future update.
bthurber said:
Thank you for reporting your experience with this to this thread. No solution as of yet. Now that I know someone else is having the same issue, I will try Samsung support again and let them know it is a problem with Oreo for all users - not just my tablet. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the best we can hope for is that it gets Samsung's attention to be included in the next update - which will likely be some time from now.
Update: I installed the Smart Tutor app from the Play Store which allowed a Samsung Support rep to see the issue. They agreed that it was not working as it should and opened issue ticket #2194272620. Hopefully this ticket will allow the issue to be noticed and fixed in a future update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick follow up! It's good that they finally acknowledged the issue at least.
Stumbled upon pretty much the same issue when I wanted to create a new restricted user account.
Before the update to Oreo; I had already a restricted account. That one has still the possibility to change the 'run' permission for apps. Not sure if it also works for new installed - I haven't tested that.
de_perre said:
I had already a restricted account. That one has still the possibility to change the 'run' permission for apps. Not sure if it also works for new installed - I haven't tested that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience was that new installed apps would not show up for the existing restricted accounts.
It will be interesting to see if the Tab S4 has this same problem
Hi all together!
Same problem here! This is a mandatory feature for me to share the tablet with my kids. Seems that the oreo update ****ed it up.
The bored Samsung support guy asked me to do a factory reset, and now, after 3 hours of configuration it still doesn't work.
Grrr !!! before the factory reset I had at least these apps working in the restricted profile I configured under android 7.
And ideas? Any update from Samsung ticket you opened?
Regards from cologne, Germany
Sui
No new ideas. I am USA but I noticed the korea build was a bit newer so I tried installing that. That didn't help but was interesting.
My understanding from the Samsung rep was that others could call and give the ticket number to get status and add a
"Me too" to it and that may help it get more attention
Having same issue on my Galaxy Tab S3 after Android 8.0.0 install. Did factor reset and still not working. Contacted Samsung using a Samsung Community of "Restricted Profile - New Apps not listed in App and Content Access Menu" and after Samsung suggesting a factory reset, which did not fix problem, they private messaged me to contact Google. I am struggling as there appears to be no way to contact Google for a response other than the mounds of help websites that do not acknowledge or provide fixes. As a parent who is trying to restrict my children's use of tablet to choke off internet and inappropriate items, I am at a loss for now and my kids are whining that they cannot play on any new apps without bugging me to let them use my signon; totally unacceptable.,
Same problem (Samsung Galaxy Tab A6, android oreo 8.1). Completely ruins my restricted account setup for the kids. They're not happy and neither am I!
Solution
"Same problem (Samsung Galaxy Tab A6, android oreo 8.1). Completely ruins my restricted account setup for the kids. They're not happy and neither am I!"
Give restricted account permission to use chrome and search for the app you require as an apk. Then install from that.
99% of apps can be found as an apk so it works as a solution until android gets there acts together and sorts it out.
Same here. I just upgraded my Galaxy Tab 10 A6 T580 to Oreo 8.1.
My kids keep asking when they can get the tablet back...
Same problem here after the Oreo update.
Old restricted accounts still have their previously enabled apps, new restricted accounts only get standard Google/Samsung apps.
New apps installed under Oreo from the Play Store do not show up in the app restrictions list.
Somehow, as restricted users also cannot use the Play Store directly, how are they supposed to get any app other than the standard ones?
This is a bug, not a feature.
If it should prevail, I will dump my Android devices and get Apple iOS phones/tablets for the rest of the family.
Same problem here too. I installed few apps after i upgraded my Galaxy Tab 10 A6 T580 to Oreo 8.1. They are not shown..so even resetted the device. Now all is gone on the redtricted users...
My kids also want to get the tablet back...
If anyone has a solution...pls let me know how!
I talked to the Samsung Germany support on Thursday. They know about and acknowledged the problem, however, there is no cure. The technician I talked to hypothesized about the upcoming Android P (roll-out to Samsung devices is planned for 2019) may fix the issue.
The point is, restricted users may also not use the Play Store to install new apps, so in effect, there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to get any apps except the standard stock apps into a restricted user's account. That does not make any sense at all.
Unless this is really intended (making the restricted account option useless), this looks like a gross oversight in QA on behalf of Samsung.
I'll see how this develops. My immediate solution is to use MobileFence to restrict my kids' accounts on mobiles and tablets (working with normal user accounts).
--j.
Scott_B1 said:
Having same issue on my Galaxy Tab S3 after Android 8.0.0 install. Did factor reset and still not working. Contacted Samsung using a Samsung Community of "Restricted Profile - New Apps not listed in App and Content Access Menu" and after Samsung suggesting a factory reset, which did not fix problem, they private messaged me to contact Google. I am struggling as there appears to be no way to contact Google for a response other than the mounds of help websites that do not acknowledge or provide fixes. As a parent who is trying to restrict my children's use of tablet to choke off internet and inappropriate items, I am at a loss for now and my kids are whining that they cannot play on any new apps without bugging me to let them use my signon; totally unacceptable.,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem, Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018), Android 8.1.0 - massively frustrating!
Same problem here - is there any point in contacting Samsung to log this?
Any work around anyone can recommend? We use the tablets for a lot of lessons and set reading and the kids can't even access Kindle on it any more. I saw someone recommended Mobile Fence already, thanks.
It's causing major family tension because of how it's affecting Minecraft too. Huge frustrations.
Same here. I wonder why restricted user feature persists, it is useless now. A can assign only application installed before upgrade to Android 7.x, now on 8.1 and still no new app for assigning to restricted user.
Samsung Tab A6 (2016).
Same problem, subscribing to thread just to be able to see if there is any resolution.