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Apps to sdcard Problem(zip. instead of apk.)

i am moving my apps to the sdcard obviously, and when i copied my apps to the sdcard(cp -R /data/app/ /sdcard), i get a zip file for one of the apps. it should be an a apk. but the res, resources, and the android manifest, are all in this zip folder and i dont know a way to install that app to my sdcard to make it work.i tried the package installer on the phone, it worked by recoginzing the app but it said install uncessfull. so does anyone know a way so i can install the app someway or get it to a apk. format?
id appreciate it very much and thank you!!!!

mybackup saves backups in a "zip" file, could this be what you are seeing?

davidhooper4 said:
i am moving my apps to the sdcard obviously, and when i copied my apps to the sdcard(cp -R /data/app/ /sdcard), i get a zip file for one of the apps. it should be an a apk. but the res, resources, and the android manifest, are all in this zip folder and i dont know a way to install that app to my sdcard to make it work.i tried the package installer on the phone, it worked by recoginzing the app but it said install uncessfull. so does anyone know a way so i can install the app someway or get it to a apk. format?
id appreciate it very much and thank you!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i noticed the paid apps are showing up in /data/app as *.zip and in /data/app-private as the *.apk .. things like pac-man etc

[Q] apk question

Is the apk file essentially the same as a .deb file or .rpm file in that once it's installed it can be removed from the phone? Or is the .apk required for the application to run?
Thanks.

Basically, what you said. It can be removed once installed.

Thank you.

ktmdms said:
Is the apk file essentially the same as a .deb file or .rpm file in that once it's installed it can be removed from the phone? Or is the .apk required for the application to run?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Depends what you mean. If you mean the apk on the device itself (/data/app or /system/app), then don't touch it, as Android runs from the apk.
If you mean the sd card, then sure, delete it

Ah, nuts! /data/app has 4 apk files in it. /system/app has 75. What I was hoping to do was clear out the .apk's in /system/app (or move them to the sdcard and maybe link /system/app to a directory on the sdcard) to make room in the phone. Not safe to do that, huh?
Thanks.

I wouldn't think so. I'd leave them just incase.

[REQUEST] Unlocked Teeter

Teeter is one of the few games I play on my Evo (when I'm not playing Angry Birds or Drop), but recently, I decided to switch between MIUI and CM for a while.
At first, when I couldn't find it in the Market, I figured I would just copy it from Myn's /system/app/ folder and install it manually in CM. Needless to say, it didn't work.
Shortly after, I found an unlocked version in, I think, the MyTouch 3g forum, but it's too low res to play. So, I was hoping that it wouldn't be too much trouble for someone here to unlock the Evo apk for me. I tried to attach the original apk, but for some reason, I couldn't upload it from my phone, so here's a link to my dropbox.
Edit: now i can post links
http://db.tt/WD1OJ2F

I'm flashing from myns warm to miui and didn't realize teeter isn't on the market. Have you had any luck finding a version for any rom?

I found a version for Desire, but Amon RA won't flash it. I just resigned it with signapktic, and I'm about to test it.

weehooherod said:
Take the tether game out of /system/app from a rom that has it. Push it over to /system/app on your new rom. Just plug in your phone and run the adb commands.
adb remount
adb push C:\wherever\you\put\the\file.apk /system/app
adb reboot
Or just install Root Explorer ($2) and copy the tether.apk file from your memory card and then go to the system app folder. Push the R/W button at the top right of the screen, it should now say R/O. Then paste the apk inside that /system/app folder and reboot.
Either way, it will install itself.
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Click to collapse
I think the main problem is that the stock teeter game checks for Sense-related files. I could be wrong, though. I'll try your way and report back. I had some file zipping problems (ES file explorer messes up the directory structure), so signapktic didn't quite work.

weehooherod said:
Or just install Root Explorer ($2) and copy the tether.apk file from your memory card
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Click to collapse
tether.apk is not the teeter game, that is the app file for the tethering application for the sprint hotspot.

[GUIDE] Merging updated system apps with old one, GET MORE FREE MEMORY!!

(Preface for noobs : /system and /data are two different partitions. Freeying up /system won't get you more intrenal memory, but /data does. Old apks rest in /system and updated versions placed in /data. You can replace the old apks using newer versions)
I heared Titanium Backup PRO does something like, but you can do this with any File Explorer with ROOT access. Its works 100% for Android Gingerbread 2.3.x , try on other versions.
### Do it on your own risk, I am not responsible for anything ###
1. Update the desired app to the latest version from Google Play Store
2. Open File Manager, Enable ROOT_ACCESS, remount /System as writable
3. Goto /system/app and backup the desired apk to sdcard
4. Goto /data/app and copy updated apk
5. Paste into /System/app
6. Note down the filename of old apk and delete the old apk
7. Rename the new apk into the old filename
8. You may encounter a FORCE CLOSE if the app was running in background
9. The updated apk in /data/app will be removed automatically
10.Restart your device, Done!
I replaced Playstore, Maps, Google Search ect..
Example: For PlayStore, updated apk will be com.android.vending-1.apk, and old apk is vending.apk
Hit thanks it it works, Thanks

thanks, nice guide! All is ok (PlayStore, Terminal Emulator), but if I merge last version of "Google Play Service", then Gmail or Maps shows the message "Unknown issue with Google Play services" when I open them... do you know how to solve? thanks in advance
p.s. configuration in signature

Better use Link2SD. It makes the integration of updates into system seamless. Rebooting the device is optional (restart only if you encounter errors).

thank you for your suggestion! I tried TitaniumBackup but it gives me the same error, then now I'm trying with Link2sd and it works well, BUT the new apk file is in system/app instead of system/priv-app, and its name is "com.google.android.gms-1.apk" instead of "PrebuiltGmsCore.apk"... can this create some problems in future?
EDIT: I tried moving to the priv-app folder and renaming the apk to be identical as before and it seems to work... for now...

It's the package name, it won't create any problems. There is no need to rename the app to match the old one. Default location when converting to system app is in /system/app. I don't know if you can change the location, but you can move it manually to /system/priv-app thru root explorer. Just restart the device afterwards to eliminate FC errors.

[Tutorial] Install problematic APKs in /system (or /preload)

You may have tried to move some APKs to /system/app/ and end up with continuous crashes, usually resulting in abandoning your plan to save some otherwise wasted space (or preventing to accidentally uninstall all keyboards...)
This is often said to be a permissions issue, yet that's not enough for some packages: those with external libraries.
Copy the APK to /system/app/, then `chmod 644` it as usual.
You can also install to /preload and symlink to system
On your computer (easier but not required), open the APK (as a renamed ZIP).
Go to ./lib/{architecture}/, where on the Ace2 this is lib/armeabi-v7a.
Extract all the (.so) files here and put them in /system/lib.
There's no step 5!

Ryccardo said:
You may have tried to move some APKs to /system/app/ and end up with continuous crashes, usually resulting in abandoning your plan to save some otherwise wasted space (or preventing to accidentally uninstall all keyboards...)
This is often said to be a permissions issue, yet that's not enough for some packages: those with external libraries.
Copy the APK to /system/app/, then `chmod 644` it as usual.
You can also install to /preload and symlink to system
On your computer (easier but not required), open the APK (as a renamed ZIP).
Go to ./lib/{architecture}/, where on the Ace2 this is lib/armeabi-v7a.
Extract all the (.so) files here and put them in /system/lib.
There's no step 5!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much :good:

All of the above is still true if you want to package apps in CWM format, but people who just are tight on /data (and don't want to repartition) can just use the convert to system app in Link2SD, which now actually works on apps with libraries