Database Info

[Q] Where's Google Play on ME865?

Hi, i installed the China Retail fxz, but i don't have the Google Play Store.
And i need it so much because all my contacts are in my Gmail account, and i need to download several apps that are in the Play store, too, of course.
The possibly answer that i found on internet is this:
https://motorola-global-en-aus.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/82059/p/30,6720,8109
But none of those fixes solved my problem.
Also, the other i tried downloading the .apk. The instalation went ok, but when i open the app, it closes for it self.
I don't know what more i can do, because the ME firmware it's much better than MB firmware, but, with that problem is useless for me.

brianmoyano said:
Hi, i installed the China Retail fxz, but i don't have the Google Play Store.
And i need it so much because all my contacts are in my Gmail account, and i need to download several apps that are in the Play store, too, of course.
The possibly answer that i found on internet is this:
https://motorola-global-en-aus.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/82059/p/30,6720,8109
But none of those fixes solved my problem.
Also, the other i tried downloading the .apk. The instalation went ok, but when i open the app, it closes for it self.
I don't know what more i can do, because the ME firmware it's much better than MB firmware, but, with that problem is useless for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstall any trace of playstore from your phone. Then put the Phonesky.apk in /system/app set permission -rw-r--r--
reboot and see if the app shows in your app drawer, if not, go back to your system and install the apk from there. Once it shows in the drawer, you should be able to open and use as normal. I think if you just try to install it as a regular apk it goes to /data/app instead of /system/app (I could be wrong), but either way I've manually installed the playstore as I mentioned above and it worked as it should.

There is no Google pre-installed products in China. China is ruled by the Communist Party, that means China is a non-democratic country. Dictators do not allow Google, or Google do not want to play with dictators. Ever heard Google exit from China in 2010? Search "new approach to china" at Google and read

41rw4lk said:
Uninstall any trace of playstore from your phone. Then put the Phonesky.apk in /system/app set permission -rw-r--r--
reboot and see if the app shows in your app drawer, if not, go back to your system and install the apk from there. Once it shows in the drawer, you should be able to open and use as normal. I think if you just try to install it as a regular apk it goes to /data/app instead of /system/app (I could be wrong), but either way I've manually installed the playstore as I mentioned above and it worked as it should.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And should i use a specific version of Phonesky? Or can i download any version from Google?

41rw4lk said:
Uninstall any trace of playstore from your phone. Then put the Phonesky.apk in /system/app set permission -rw-r--r--
reboot and see if the app shows in your app drawer, if not, go back to your system and install the apk from there. Once it shows in the drawer, you should be able to open and use as normal. I think if you just try to install it as a regular apk it goes to /data/app instead of /system/app (I could be wrong), but either way I've manually installed the playstore as I mentioned above and it worked as it should.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, didn't work. Well, im going back to MB firm, and then i'll sell the phone and i'll buy a Galaxy S2.

[Q] How to manually install .apk

I've been trying to install a particular app to my phone, Nexus 4, rooted custom rom, etcetc.
The app in question was pulled from the Play store some time ago and it seems Google went further and removed the free version of the app from users devices without permission as well. I have the pro version as did many others and from what I've read, the pro version was not removed. However I flash roms and eventually lost it and that required a reinstall.
The problem: traditional methods of installing the .apk give the error "App not installed."
How can I install this app manually? The only other method I could think of was to try to root copy it to /system/app but that didn't work. And I'll reiterate, so we're clear, browsing to .apk and installing through explorer by clicking it does not allow the .apk to install. So, suggestions?

You could try sideloading it using Android Injector. (If it fails, it'll tell you why)
Sent from my Nexus 4

Theonew said:
You could try sideloading it using Android Injector. (If it fails, it'll tell you why)
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it failed.
The application itself says install successful, but the app cannot be found on the phone.

There are a few websites that allows you to download apps in its apk format. You can install that way. But I'm not sure if its legal. Someone could correct me here.
Please hit Thanks if I helped

techpick said:
There are a few websites that allows you to download apps in its apk format. You can install that way. But I'm not sure if its legal. Someone could correct me here.
Please hit Thanks if I helped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP stated that this method does not work in this situation.
NB. - It is legal unless the app is warez.
Sent from my Nexus 4

I have used easy installer to install .apks.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app

inroot1898 said:
I have used easy installer to install .apks.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That uses the same method as manually installing the apk from a file manager.
Sent from my Nexus 4

The app isn't warez but it is one of the unapproved apps by google now, I mainly just wanted to look for an alternate method of installing apps in case this kind of app blocking became more prevalent. You have to admit, Google did a real number on blocking this app. Thanks for the help anyway guys.

the command that worked for me was:
adb install app.apk

You can make a folder in /system/app with its name without space as folder name and copy the apk to that folder.
Apk name should be same as the folder name +.apk.
Then reboot your device.
After reboot the app will be definitely installed as a system app. But some apps might be stable but some not.

[Possible FIX Need Testers]Google A/C wipe fix on leaked 4.3 Samsung Note II Roms

My Google account was being wiped out in front of my eyes almost every other time i rebooted. After some thread reading and trial and error I finally figured it out. Its been about 18 hours and over 15 reboots (EDIT: Few days now ) either via reboot menu, wanamXposed module and adb, I have not lost my account so far.
This is still being tested, so affected users please test and comment how it worked for you.
There are hundreds of posts out there that tell you the fix is to be on Google play Store version 4.4.21 and many of them have reported that it works. Unfortunately many including me, were on the very same version and yet Google account was being wiped no matter what. Thats when i realized, it is not just being on 4.4.21, but having that version as a system app, instead of having the version installed as an update. The difference is, when you have version 3.x.x installed as a system app, which updates itself to 4.4.21, it does not update the original app, but instead installs updates in the /data partition. So seeing version 4.4.21 in the Playstore app 'About' settings does not mean anything.
Verify if you are on an affected release.
Go to Setting >> more >> Application Manager >> Downloaded. If you see 'Google Play Store' you may be affected.
Now go to the application managers "All" Section (swiping leftward from 'Downloads' section) and navigate to 'Google Play Store'
You will see the version number of your app. Next to it, you will see two buttons, One of them may be "uninstall updates" If you see this option, your version number means nothing. Don't be fooled by it, you have may 4.4.21 installed, but in your /data/app directory.
If the above was true, you have an older version of playstore installed as a system app, and have the latest version installed as an update over the old version in the /data partition.
Instructions
Flash GoogleWipeFix_Flash_CWM.zip from Clockworkmod.
PS: This really only removes your existing Google Play Store, flashes v 4.4.21 and clears data. You may as well flash it, nothing to loose.
Click Show content for Manual Instructions (Not needed if you chose to flash instead).
You do not need this if you flash using my zip. This is for Manual Testing only.
If you are not already on PlayStore version 4.4.21 then download version 4.4.21 and place in in your SDCard as /sdcard/Phonesky.apk
DOWNLOAD
Google Play Store 4.4.21
Instructions for shell users :
Code:
su
mount -o remount, rw /system
cp /system/app/Phonesky.apk /system/app/Phonesky.apk.bkp
mv /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk.bkp
cp /sdcard/Phonesky.apk /system/app/Phonesky.apk
chmod 644 /system/app/Phonesky.apk
reboot
Instructions for Root explorer users
Re-mount /system as read-write
Backup /system/app/Phonesky.apk
Backup and Delete /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk (TIP: you may see warnings that PlayStore Stopped, Thats ok!)
Copy /sdcard/Phonesky.apk and overwrite /system/app/Phonesky.apk
Give the new apk appropriate read permissions to all. rw-r--r--
reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Troubleshooting help
If it does not work for you, it would be of great help if you could post below details.
What rom are you on?
Please check the following:
Go to application manager >> Google Play Store and tel me if you see the button "Uninstall updates" next to "Force Stop"
If you have "Uninstall updates" you need to click it, and then repeat the whole procedure again.
Do you have access to adb or terminal emulator app? if yes, please give me the output of the following.
Code:
su
ls -l /data/app/com.android.ven* /system/app/Phonesky.*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I added a CWM flashable zip. Try that if it didn't work earlier.
XDA:DevDB Information
GoogleWipeFix, a Tool/Utility for the Samsung Galaxy Note II
Contributors
kkoolpatz
Version Information
Status: Testing
Created 2013-11-02
Last Updated 2013-11-05

I use my own cooked rom which is posted in the forums as well.. I have hardly had any gapps issues.. Had them once in the beginning but flashing the latest gapps solved everything..!
Thanks for sharing

kkoolpatz said:
Verify if you are on an affected release.
Go to Setting >> more >> Application Manager >> Downloaded. If you see 'Google Play Store' you may be affected.
Now go to the application managers "All" Section (swiping leftward from 'Downloads' section) and navigate to 'Google Play Store'
You will see the version number of your app. Next to it, you will see you buttons, One of them may be "uninstall updates" If you see this option, your version number means nothing don't e fooled by it. you have may 4.4.21 installed, but in your /data/app directory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Tigra v.3 ROM, which has the 4.4.21 version as system app and still I had the Google account wiped yesterday after a reboot from Wanam Xposed.
So maybe your fix solves some problems, but in my case...
Thanks anyway!

My ROM users are already on 4.4.2.1 by default (removed everything related to old versions) and they still have account lost.
The problem is only in XXUEMI6, XXUEMJ2/5 don't have this problem.
Thanks for sharing

tried this on my n7105T
no i no longer get the force close / crash message
just no connection (like i was getting prior to trying a million other fixes)
including factory reset

I haven't been on the forums much lately but can't see anything about this - what is the bug exactly? All your google data being deleted on just the account being removed from the phone? Or something else entirely?

dhuewes said:
I am using Tigra v.3 ROM, which has the 4.4.21 version as system app and still I had the Google account wiped yesterday after a reboot from Wanam Xposed.
So maybe your fix solves some problems, but in my case...
Thanks anyway!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its just been one day, so i'm hoping this fix stays permanent. Are you sure you do not have /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk installed?

fliptechnologies said:
tried this on my n7105T
no i no longer get the force close / crash message
just no connection (like i was getting prior to trying a million other fixes)
including factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by no connection? I am not sure if this will apply to your device since this caters specifically to Note 2 leaked roms.

Tamen said:
I haven't been on the forums much lately but can't see anything about this - what is the bug exactly? All your google data being deleted on just the account being removed from the phone? Or something else entirely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on one of the affected roms, after you reboot Google account is totally removed. As if it was never added. Its known to happen on Note 2 android 4.3 leaked MI6 rom

I've tested your possible Fix.... Had 3 reboots in total now... so far so good... No G account yet....
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I just did try.
I didnt have vending-1.apk in my data folder so didnt do anything with that.
Also when we copy phonesky.apk , do we need to set permission to rw.r.r ???
I actually did it. And now trying.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

I just moved the updated version to /system/app and removed Phonesky.apk.
I'm gonna check out if it does anything, smart tip btw, never thought of this.

I've given it a try, thanks.

Thanx man
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yes,the fix works...rebooted nearly ten times today,no google account loss.
Just remember to set permission as rw-r-r for phonesky.apk after replacing the old one.

akp.ajinkya said:
Yes,the fix works...rebooted nearly ten times today,no google account loss.
Just remember to set permission as rw-r-r for phonesky.apk after replacing the old one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll add the permissions part to OP

I followed your full procedure, the problem persists, wanam v4.0 (mi6).

hi
I have noticed that whenever i fiddle with xposed, my account gets wiped. Otherwise no loss on reboot. Just what i have observed.

kkoolpatz said:
Thanks, I'll add the permissions part to OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked for me on Hurricane v5, note3 apps and Superwolf theme 10.5 -- Thanks

Alipk52 said:
I followed your full procedure, the problem persists, wanam v4.0 (mi6).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reporting. I wonder if you need to remove .odex file since wanam is an odex rom
Please check the following for me.
Go to application manager >> Google Play Store and tel me if you see the buttons "Uninstall updates" and "clear data"
If you have "Uninstall updates" something went wrong in your procedure.
Do you have access to adb or terminal emulator app? if yes, please give me the output of the following.
Code:
su
ls -l /data/app/com.android.ven* /system/app/Phonesky.*

[Q] Titanium, Detach from market, not stick

Sprint gs5, CM-root, TWRP, SDfix...
I have an app which I do not want updates to...
The developer is making changes to the app to fix issues with other brands/models...
The current version works well on mine and I don't want it to update to a version which might break it for my brand/model...
In the playstore I disabled auto-update, but it still shows up in the manual and group update list...
I went into titanium (pro) and detached it from the market and it showed 'attach to market (forced)'
I checked playstore and it is off my app list...
Several minutes later it re-appeared in playstore and titanium went back to 'detach from market'
So the detach function is not sticking...
Any Ideas?

KaptainRandom said:
Sprint gs5, CM-root, TWRP, SDfix...
I have an app which I do not want updates to...
The developer is making changes to the app to fix issues with other brands/models...
The current version works well on mine and I don't want it to update to a version which might break it for my brand/model...
In the playstore I disabled auto-update, but it still shows up in the manual and group update list...
I went into titanium (pro) and detached it from the market and it showed 'attach to market (forced)'
I checked playstore and it is off my app list...
Several minutes later it re-appeared in playstore and titanium went back to 'detach from market'
So the detach function is not sticking...
Any Ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its been an issue with Titaniium before and appears as it does on your device. Try this:
1) get the Apk you wanna detach (ex using TitaniumBackup) into location you can easily get to (ex. SD card)
2) install ZipSigner from play store
3) re-sign the extracted Apk using ZipSigner and test key
4) uninstall the original app and install the re-signed Apk you made
5) profit

Hi, I realise this is an old post but it's something I've been trying to do for a while too. I've finally accomplished it successfully so I thought I'd share it on in some of the topics.
It works by changing the apk signature so the app typically becomes 'different' to the one on the Google Play Store and therefore doesn't appear in your Google Play Store list. But by doing this, you won't be able to update the app from Play Store.
How to:
Need Root.
First do a TB backup of current apk just to keep it.
With a file explorer, go to root\data\app and copy the app apk that you want to change and paste it somewhere on SD card.
Now uninstall the app
Download and install: ZipSigner by Ken Ellinwood from Play Store.
Open ZipSigner, choose input file and navigate to earlier copied apk
I used key/mode: auto-testkey
Sign the file
The new signed apk will be put in the same directory the original file was.
Now install that signed apk and your're done. Check market.
Worked for me - hope it works for you!
HTC One

RevelationOmega said:
Its been an issue with Titaniium before and appears as it does on your device. Try this:
1) get the Apk you wanna detach (ex using TitaniumBackup) into location you can easily get to (ex. SD card)
2) install ZipSigner from play store
3) re-sign the extracted Apk using ZipSigner and test key
4) uninstall the original app and install the re-signed Apk you made
5) profit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing, Thanks for this.

[root] Playing around and accidentally uninstalled the play store - how to undo?

So, this is my first time rooting a phone, and once I managed to get it to work, I started playing around to see what capabilities I had now.
In doing this, I uninstalled the play store. I've tried multiple methods to reinstall it, but none have worked so far.
I've tried installing a new play store apk and used systemize to turn it into a system app, but that didn't work (the app crashed on launch)
I've also tried using link2sd but the app wouldn't let me convert to system app.
If anyone else has any tips for me I'd be grateful.
Using a samsung running android 11 - rooted with magisk, recovery method.

Copy it from another device using ApkExport then transfer the installable copy over to the victim device and install.
I haven't tried it with Playstore but it works on other apks even if the donor device is on a different Android OS version.

blackhawk said:
Copy it from another device using ApkExport then transfer the installable copy over to the victim device and install.
I haven't tried it with Playstore but it works on other apks even if the donor device is on a different Android OS version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sadly the only other device i have is a samsung galaxy S2 that is barely functional. I doubt that'll work.

Before you do anything I'd make sure you have a good backup of your device. Copy text messages, contacts, photos, etc all to external storage.
My first thought was just download install APK, but I see you've done that.
Someone else may have a better suggestion, but, if nothing else works, I'd try installing pico GApps to restore Playstore functionality.
https://opengapps.org/
Pico Package​This package is designed for users who want the absolute minimum GApps installation available. In this package you will find the core Google System Base, Google Android Shared Library, Google Play Store, Google Calendar Sync, Dialer Framework and the following Play Store applications:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

FreSchDude said:
sadly the only other device i have is a samsung galaxy S2 that is barely functional. I doubt that'll work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try it. It will copied system apks and updates.
I copied apks from a S4 running on Kitkat to my Note 10+. If it loads Playstore will need to update, that may be a problem... or not.
APK Export (Backup & Share) - Apps on Google Play
Manage and extract your apps.
play.google.com

blackhawk said:
Try it. It will copied system apks and updates.
I copied apks from a S4 running on Kitkat to my Note 10+. If it loads Playstore will need to update, that may be a problem... or not.
APK Export (Backup & Share) - Apps on Google Play
Manage and extract your apps.
play.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No dice. App crashes on launch.
SMcC2 said:
Before you do anything I'd make sure you have a good backup of your device. Copy text messages, contacts, photos, etc all to external storage.
My first thought was just download install APK, but I see you've done that.
Someone else may have a better suggestion, but, if nothing else works, I'd try installing pico GApps to restore Playstore functionality.
https://opengapps.org/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill give it a shot, thanks

FreSchDude said:
So, this is my first time rooting a phone, and once I managed to get it to work, I started playing around to see what capabilities I had now.
In doing this, I uninstalled the play store. I've tried multiple methods to reinstall it, but none have worked so far.
I've tried installing a new play store apk and used systemize to turn it into a system app, but that didn't work (the app crashed on launch)
I've also tried using link2sd but the app wouldn't let me convert to system app.
If anyone else has any tips for me I'd be grateful.
Using a samsung running android 11 - rooted with magisk, recovery method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Play Store app by type is a normal 3rd-party app. Wondering why you want to convert it to a system app?

jwoegerbauer said:
Google Play Store app by type is a normal 3rd-party app. Wondering why you want to convert it to a system app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's originally a system app. trying to get mine fixed because no matter what I do the app crashes on launch.

FreSchDude said:
it's originally a system app. trying to get mine fixed because no matter what I do the app crashes on launch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's a system app on my Note 10+, can't be uninstalled*.
Normally it doesn't crash although it's common for it to not connect to Playstore. It does that if Google play Services is disable but even then it doesn't crash.
* I think, it has a disable option but to find out if there's an uninstall I would need to revert to the factory load first... which isn't something I want. It appears to be as I originally stated.

blackhawk said:
Yeah it's a system app on my Note 10+, can't be uninstalled*.
Normally it doesn't crash although it's common for it to not connect to Playstore. It does that if Google play Services is disable but even then it doesn't crash.
* I think, it has a disable option but to find out if there's an uninstall I would need to revert to the factory load first... which isn't something I want. It appears to be as I originally stated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is no uninstall option. I uninstalled it through other means as my phone is rooted. Now I'm having issues re-installing it and getting it to work.

My last 2 cents here:
Per definition only apps that are needed by Android OS to work are called system apps and are stored in /system/apps. Other apps - called 3rd-party apps like Google Play Store - may be stored in /system/priv-apps.
BTW:
If you manually install Google Play Store APK then it installs to /data/app directory - as expected.