Android has a very flexible and dynamic software model but it has one critical flaw.
It is very very common for app updates to break applications and once an app is broken by an update there is no recourse. It has happened to me at least 6 times in the last 2 years.
Here is a typical scenario:
1) You have a great app that works perfectly
2) You get a notification that there is an update to this app ..... you install it
3) The app is now broken after the update either it crashes or it fails to do what it supposed to do.
4) At this point you have absolutely no recourse except email the developer or look for an apk
5) Live without the app you bought sometimes for months
This is not an acceptable situation. The Play Store and developer rules need to be changed so that users can revert to the previous version for at least one month after an update. This is a major flaw and why many people are very afraid to update any app.
The worst example is with HTC phones and Google Navigation. Many HTC One S phones have been unable to run Google Navigation after the 4.1.1 update. This problem has been unresolved for almost 8 months .... that's 8 months without the Navigation app and that's a major function of the phone. If you can revert to a version that works this is not a big issue, but that isn't possible. In the end it was easier to get a new phone than address this issue.
Related
Recently NYCMate app creators broke ties with their partner and as a result had to roll back to an older (crappier) version of their app. They promise to build it back up, bigger and better, but for the time being I'm happier with the old product.
I'm a big fan of the "Update All" feature in the market, but if I'm not going to update NYCMate, I'm forced to update every app one-by-one like the old days. Is there a way to have the market ignore updates for one app, and still be able to Update All?
This is for the Android market if I didn't make that clear.
In the past I had a Samsung phone whose phone app had swipe to call/text. Now I have an Android One device with the pretty bland looking Google Phone app that can't do that so I'm looking for a replacement app with that feature that is still being updated. I use True Phone but my experiences with them concerning updates aren't the best since it took them well over a year to update that app when I was using it on my Nexus 5X and on Android 8 I couldn't use it properly anymore because I couldn't clear the missed call notifications in True Phone. And I'm not entirely certain this app will work under Android Q so I'm looking for a better phone app. It doesn't have to be in the play store though it is a preference. I already tried finding one in the play store but a lot of it is trash.
We've got a couple dozen GPS data collectors that are essentially ruggedized android phones. Even though about half of these are less than a year old they are all on Android 7. An app we commonly use is being upgraded and it is now requiring Android 8. I would like to see if at least out newer collectors will be able to run the updated app so we don't have to replace everything. We've got a lot of additional equipment that tied to these collectors so switching will be a major issue.
Is there a way to download an app to Android 7 that been restricted to 8 and above? I don't see anything in the developer options. I would like to test the app on one of the collectors just to see if there's any real problem.
Hi,
First sorry for this vague post. I am on Android since 2012. During 2012-2014 I used to try out lots of custom ROMs as I was in college and I had mobile like Samsung Galaxy S3 and then later Nexus and the OEM abandoned the updates after a while. After that I started working and since then have been on multiple Google line of devices, first Nexus and now my latest is Pixel3. I am generally happy with the phone. However, my Pixel3 stopped receiving updates I started thinking why I should dump this and buy a new one when it's perfectly working fine for my need.
I just came to this site after like ages to see what is the current status of custom ROMs. It seems overwhelmingly new now. I remember back then we had some sharp edges and something or other didn't work. Since then I am more into google ecosystem now. I use google Fi for phone. I like and use most of the google feature. So just wondering what will I lose by moving to custom ROM and am I ready to live without those features or should I just accept that I will not have any updates and if I need the updates I will have to buy a new phone.
I am not much interested into rooting and gaining advanced controls or doing anything extra nerdy. I will be perfectly happy with just getting the security patches and whatever feature is there if they keep working.
1. what are some good custom ROMs popular these days?
2. What are the things I'd lose moving to custom ROM?
3. Does all hardware for ex: Finger print, NFC work?
4. What about google apps, I mostly like all google app like camera, google pay, phone, play store
5. I like the google specific features like call screening and google assistance, google feed. I guess I will lose those.
6. I also use google Fi, can I still use that seamlessly or is there any gotchas I need to be aware of?
7. Is there any other way to keep my phone Googlized and receive security updates. It is totally acceptable if I can get security patches after some delay and not via OTP but have to sideload manually.
r0b0 said:
Hi,
First sorry for this vague post. I am on Android since 2012. During 2012-2014 I used to try out lots of custom ROMs as I was in college and I had mobile like Samsung Galaxy S3 and then later Nexus and the OEM abandoned the updates after a while. After that I started working and since then have been on multiple Google line of devices, first Nexus and now my latest is Pixel3. I am generally happy with the phone. However, my Pixel3 stopped receiving updates I started thinking why I should dump this and buy a new one when it's perfectly working fine for my need.
I just came to this site after like ages to see what is the current status of custom ROMs. It seems overwhelmingly new now. I remember back then we had some sharp edges and something or other didn't work. Since then I am more into google ecosystem now. I use google Fi for phone. I like and use most of the google feature. So just wondering what will I lose by moving to custom ROM and am I ready to live without those features or should I just accept that I will not have any updates and if I need the updates I will have to buy a new phone.
I am not much interested into rooting and gaining advanced controls or doing anything extra nerdy. I will be perfectly happy with just getting the security patches and whatever feature is there if they keep working.
1. what are some good custom ROMs popular these days?
2. What are the things I'd lose moving to custom ROM?
3. Does all hardware for ex: Finger print, NFC work?
4. What about google apps, I mostly like all google app like camera, google pay, phone, play store
5. I like the google specific features like call screening and google assistance, google feed. I guess I will lose those.
6. I also use google Fi, can I still use that seamlessly or is there any gotchas I need to be aware of?
7. Is there any other way to keep my phone Googlized and receive security updates. It is totally acceptable if I can get security patches after some delay and not via OTP but have to sideload manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. LineageOS
2. I have not found anything lost.
3. Yes
4. You can download the Google Camera app from the play store. Probably the phone app also, but I have not tried it. Google Pay will require rooting and Universal SafetyNet Fix module.
5. Don't know, as I don't use them.
6. I don't use Fi, but would expect it to work.
7. I'm not aware of any other way, but have not looked. Lineage does everything I need.
Hello,
Please help! I have a HTC U11+ with Android 9. For some reason I cannot open the settings app or by tapping the gear icon. I have performed a factory reset by using the power + up during boot but it's not made a difference.
I have noticed if I uninstall Google or updates it starts working again. I don't know if this is an issue with a recent update but it's causing some big issues. Can anyone offer any advice how to resolve the issue or some alternative?
Kindest regards,
Nick
Hi Nick, I have the exact same issue on HTC U12+
I tried booting in safe mode, but also that didn't make a difference.
Uninstalling google also fixes the issue for me, I think I'll report it to google. It's highly doubtful we can get any support from HTC. I just want to hang in there till the pixel 8 is released, didn't think HTC would throw us this curveball
edit: looks like the google app is getting a lot of 1 star reviews recently. For some people the app itself stopped working completely. Interesting. Perhaps we can also just install a "good" version by downloading a verified APK. Then you can disable individual update for the google app. Not ideal though, but a worst case scenario fix maybe. At least we won't be stuck with the 2019-ish version of google that way
I, too, had the same issues where the Settings app (and alll related functions) would crash. After about an hour of freaking out (I was at Disneyland when I discovered this and had no access to tools or a computer), I figured out it was the stupid Google app that caused the issue... just like what was already reported above.
After trial and error, the last "good" version of the Google app that still worked is 14.15.25.28.arm64. You can grab this from APK Mirror.
Thank you for your replies.
Sounds like it's an issue with the latest Google app update which I think is 14.17. Installed 14.15 as per your suggestion and that seems to work fine. Thanks again.
This mproblem now seems to have resolved itself, not sure if Google or htc fixed it but works fine now without needing to uninstall Google Updates
Thanks for the reply. Yes, mines also been resolved since the Google app version is now 14.17.34.28. Don't think HTC are doing any kind of support/updates nowadays