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[Q] Installing and re-installing android applications

When we download an application from Google Play Store, it downloads and then magically installs on the Android device.
But supposing we do a Factory Reset, or that we upload a new firmware or simply suppose we have another Android device at home and we would like the same application to be installed there too.
Is it possible to somehow maintain the installation files and be able to copy these files off the Android device and then use them on another device?

Yes. An app comes as an 'apk' installer file that can be transferred to another device and installed or re-installed on the same device. But to get the apks of apps installed via Playstore, you will need an app like "App Backup and Restore".
P.S. Sharing apks of paid apps is illegal and not recommended. :good:

immortalneo said:
Yes. An app comes as an 'apk' installer file that can be transferred to another device and installed or re-installed on the same device. But to get the apks of apps installed via Playstore, you will need an app like "App Backup and Restore".
P.S. Sharing apks of paid apps is illegal and not recommended. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this "App Backup" but I am trying to understand the mechanism a bit more.
The apk file is not the end of the story. Try the game "Yesterday". It is a 1GB download, however the .apk is only a few MBs and the rest is the actual game. However this 1GB file comes straight from the app store, so there is a mechanism that App Backup does not cover.
I managed to restore this game by saving the data myself, but every application is different.

[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.

[Q] Uninstall Facebook Chrome Gmail etc..will it brick ur Device

Haiii just curious here...is there anyone have tried to uninstall preloaded apps like Facebook Chrome etc...because when there are update on Google Play automatically the update will store on device memory which i hate that when happened...and can we transfer the update into sd

zensuke87 said:
Haiii just curious here...is there anyone have tried to uninstall preloaded apps like Facebook Chrome etc...because when there are update on Google Play automatically the update will store on device memory which i hate that when happened...and can we transfer the update into sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Third party apps - no problem. Core system apps like systemui etc, then it gets bricked.
Don't quote me on this but i guess you can transfer them (built in app - updates) via titanium backup, however, the app might start acting abnormal.

zensuke87 said:
Haiii just curious here...is there anyone have tried to uninstall preloaded apps like Facebook Chrome etc...because when there are update on Google Play automatically the update will store on device memory which i hate that when happened...and can we transfer the update into sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no never ever....they are all installed for ur conveniennce and u can remove them as desired...but dont messs up with system apps...for safety keep a nandroid backup ready before messing with syatem apps...thanx;

Ok thanks guys...hopefully it won't bricked my phone :good:

Uninstalling these apps won't brick your device but if you want to get rid of that auto update problem then
Go to PlayStore>>Settings>>Auto Update Apps>>Select the option "Do not Auto-Update Apps.....

[APP][4.0+] APK Safe

APK Safe is an app that saves the APK of apps on your device when they are updated.
Later, you can install one of the saved APK to upgrade/downgrade your app.
How to use it:
Long press an app in the list. The app is selected and you can add more apps in the selection. Press the add button in the action bar, APK safe will saves the APK of the selected apps and each time you update (manually or from a store) one of these apps, the new APK is saved as well.
To change the version of an app (there is a green mark at the left of the card), press it. A popup will list the backup APKs of that app and you can select one of them to replace the currently installed one. If you downgrade and app on android 4.2 and later, the app will uninstall it first.
The app doesn't requires root but if your device is rooted and you activate "Install as root" in the settings, you'll get more features:
Silent install: upgrading/downgrading an app will show a progress bar while installing the app. You don't have to confirm the replacement, validate permissions, ...
On android 4.2 and later, you can downgrade without loosing data (without root, downgrading requires to uninstall first meaning loosing data)
Features:
Automatically save the the APK when an app is installed.
Can uninstall selected app, show informations or open the app on the market (support google play, amazon and samsung)
You can choose the backup folder for the APKs in the settings. If you want to save your APKs on a microSD on android 4.4, you MUST choose the folder /mnt/extSdCard/Android/data/net.cyl.apksafe/files/backup, where /mnt/extSdCard/ is the root of your sd card (the name maybe different on your system).
Downloads: https://cyberneticlifeform.wixsite.com/cylonu87/legacy
Feedback, comments and bug reports are welcomed.

Good app mate. I'm going to test it.

[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.