Make old apk work on new android? - General Questions and Answers

I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 with Android 11
I have a Dell network laser printer 3110cn, on a fixed IP on the network
In general It's possible to print directly from the phone to a network printer, using Settings > Connections > More connection settings > Printing, if one selects "Download plugin" and installs e.g. from the Play Store, the correct mobile printing service app for one's printer manufacturer
Aside from the manufacturer-specific mobile printing service apps on the Play Store, there's also a handful of non manufacturer-specific ones.
I've tried all the non manufacturer-specific ones. Most failed to find & recognise the printer, but a couple succeeded & did at least try to communicate with the printer. I never got past garbage being printed, or last minute demands for payment though.
The 'correct' solution would be to use Dell's com.dell.mobileprint / "Dell Mobile Print" printing service app. This was discontinued by Dell a while ago though & was removed from the Play Store.
I did eventually manage to find a clean copy of the Dell Mobile Print 1.2.0.79 apk. It installed OK but with the warning about it being made for an earlier version of Android.
When I try to run it, everything seems fine however, the app only stays open for a few seconds before closing itself. During the few seconds it's open, everything does seem to respond as it should though.
Is there any likelihood I could use the Android software development tools etc. to reverse-engineer the apk & repackage it, such that it'll stay open and maybe work a bit better on newer Android?
I've figured out apktool (on linux desktop pc) & have used it to decode the apk & have a look around, but I'm not too sure what I'm looking at from that point on. I have lots of xml files and icons.
(if there's an easier, simpler solution to achieving the aim of printing straight from my Android 11 phone, to my Dell network printer, I'm all ears. Both phone and printer are on the same 192.168.x.x network)

Under the hood each app makes use of Android APIs - compiled software components ( AKA libraries ): These APIs often change from Android version to Android version.
Hence an app's developer defines for his app both a minimum and a maximum version of those APIs to ensure the app runs as expected.
In your case it would require a complete re-compile of the app.

.

Thanks for your reply.
I found another app from Dell - "Dell Document Hub" - which although also abandoned and removed from Play Store, does work well after sideloading despite 'older version of Android' warnings.
I guess the writing's on the wall for this printer though, no doubt eventually this app too will succumb to the march of Android progress.

Related

[Q] Lost/Stolen Phone - track after the fact?

I did some search and didn't find anything, this may not be possible since it's a security risk but...
Now that installing apps remotely is available through the web browser android market. Are there any phone tracking apps that automatically work with default information?
So I remotely install it from the app market web page, and then track it instantly without having to set anything up on the phone itself. Any Ideas?
Try this one: market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb
I do not thave OT's problem yet...but i downloaded and gave it a try.
Amazing app, even turned my GPS on automaticaly and located the very exact position of my phone. (HTC Desire)
Well all good android anti virus software come with this feature
Like plan b available only from the market website
Some can even sound loud alarms!
Try avg and lookout
Both are nice
Great App.
Although I tested it first on my phone which is not lost and it did not work, but then tried it on the lost G2 and it worked well.
That's one thing Apple will always lack, an environment where developers can create applications quickly when an opportunity arises, such as the android web app market.

[List] Working Sideloaded Android Wear Apps (Not Maintained anymore)

THIS DOC IS NO LONGER ACTIVELY MAINTAINED!
Sorry for this, but real life took over and managed to take so much of my time up that I’m no longer able to verify and test stuff on my own. Besides, since Android Wear 6 a lot of things changed and I’d have to test all of these apps again.
Greetings dear Android Wear users!
Today I got my LG G Watch and I'm just amazed by the capabilities of that watch so I thought I'd create a list of all working sideloaded apps.
For everyone who doesn't know: Sideloaded Apps are .apk files installed directly to the watch via ADB.
Since Android Wear is technically the same and the specs for every watch are also kind of in the same range this list will most likely apply to your own Android Wear watch too, even when it's not an LG G Watch.
Please report any weird behaviors here with the keywords mentioned below to make things easier for me to search and add to the list.
--------------------
Useful Links:
Apps2Wear - Directly install APKs onto your watch via your SmartPhone
How to Sideload Apps onto your Android Wear device (YouTube)
Easily download any APK file directly from the Google Playstore
Easily launch apps from your watch
Un/Install Android Wear apps (Google Docs)
--------------------
The list of all sideloaded apps working on Android Wear can be found on Google Docs (to make things more simple for me to update).
------------------------------------------------------------
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST (Google Docs)
Will be updated over time
------------------------------------------------------------​
Want to help?
If you want to help making this list bigger and better please write the following keywords into your reply/report so I can find things easier and faster:
"Tested & Working" - App install works and application is running and starts without a force-close.
"Tested & Crashing" - App installed but crashes/force-closes at start up.
"Tested & Report" - App installed and runs fine but is unusable (e.g. GUI is too big, example would be Temple Run 2)
This makes my work a whole lot easier and my thankfulness for you even bigger
And now: Have fun testing!
Can you make to work the SwiftKey and WhatsApp in a smart watch?
iannolsen said:
Can you make to work the SwiftKey and WhatsApp in a smart watch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably not SwiftKey (minuum is probably best suited to wear anyway), and definitely not WhatsApp. If you look at the guide by Corbin Davinport on pushing APKs to android wear, he says that he found that apps that require internet connection do not work. Therefor, WhatsApp wont be able to directly connect, as you would design the app so that it works through the devices Bluetooth connection to connect to the internet. However, I believe the developer of Wear Messenger has an app that lets you access WhatsApp through text messages, which then allows you to use WhatsApp from wear messenger.
The second point of this post is directed at OP,
In the google docs, it lists "Don't tap the white tile" as partially working and intermittently crashing in certain game modes. Once again referring to the guide by Corbin, the crashes arise whenever the app try's to show an ad. If you go into the settings and disable banner ads and only allow popups, you can get to the end of the game without the app crashing. It probably will crash at the end though if it tries to show an ad as this tries to connect to the internet, and that causes apps on wear to crash. One would probably be able to fix this by decompiling and recompiling the application to remove ads.
thejonnyd said:
Probably not SwiftKey (minuum is probably best suited to wear anyway), and definitely not WhatsApp. If you look at the guide by Corbin Davinport on pushing APKs to android wear, he says that he found that apps that require internet connection do not work. Therefor, WhatsApp wont be able to directly connect, as you would design the app so that it works through the devices Bluetooth connection to connect to the internet. However, I believe the developer of Wear Messenger has an app that lets you access WhatsApp through text messages, which then allows you to use WhatsApp from wear messenger.
The second point of this post is directed at OP,
In the google docs, it lists "Don't tap the white tile" as partially working and intermittently crashing in certain game modes. Once again referring to the guide by Corbin, the crashes arise whenever the app try's to show an ad. If you go into the settings and disable banner ads and only allow popups, you can get to the end of the game without the app crashing. It probably will crash at the end though if it tries to show an ad as this tries to connect to the internet, and that causes apps on wear to crash. One would probably be able to fix this by decompiling and recompiling the application to remove ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for this tip! Will correct it as soon as I'm in the office again
That guide I know, even know the guy who made it. I'll probably create a tiny little program which will make pushing, installing and initializing the connection easier.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 Compact via XDA mobile app
EpicLPer said:
Hey, thanks for this tip! Will correct it as soon as I'm in the office again
That guide I know, even know the guy who made it. I'll probably create a tiny little program which will make pushing, installing and initializing the connection easier.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 Compact via XDA mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be incredibly handy if you made that, I am surprised no one has so far.
Maybe one to add to the list would be Es3, its handy having a file manager on the device.
thejonnyd said:
That would be incredibly handy if you made that, I am surprised no one has so far.
Maybe one to add to the list would be Es3, its handy having a file manager on the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I tested ES File Explorer (if you mean that) and it's pretty well useable actually but some parts would require a back-button sadly. Means via ADB faking a key input.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 Compact via XDA mobile app
EpicLPer said:
Well I tested ES File Explorer (if you mean that) and it's pretty well useable actually but some parts would require a back-button sadly. Means via ADB faking a key input.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 Compact via XDA mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep thats what I mean, strange that that happens, I haven't had any issues with needing to get back. Swiping from the centre of the screen to the right has gone back for me in all of the menus :s
Anyway to get c25k free or Nike running app working?
I will let you use many more apps on your wear device
hi,
for information i'm the developer of a companion app for android smartwatch.
SWApp Link
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/108675494963196634299
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.preiss.swapps.link
Since yesterday i'm working on adapting it for wear.
Besides it's own feature, it has a specific feature that could make many more apps working on wear: it has a remote clipboard feature that allow to set the clipboard on the wear device from your phone.
They are many apps that don't work on the wear because they need text entry: this would allow you to type the needed text on your phone and paste it in those apps.
Cyril
cyrilp said:
hi,
for information i'm the developer of a companion app for android smartwatch.
SWApp Link
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/108675494963196634299
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.preiss.swapps.link
Since yesterday i'm working on adapting it for wear.
Besides it's own feature, it has a specific feature that could make many more apps working on wear: it has a remote clipboard feature that allow to set the clipboard on the wear device from your phone.
They are many apps that don't work on the wear because they need text entry: this would allow you to type the needed text on your phone and paste it in those apps.
Cyril
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, awesome! This would make such things far easier
Sent from my Xperia Z1 Compact via XDA mobile app
"Tested & Crashing" All in one Gestures
"Tested & Crashing" All in one Gestures
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phoenixstudios.aiogestures
tonydd said:
Anyway to get c25k free or Nike running app working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nike wouldn't side load but c25k free did but never worked. Still looking for comparable running app.
Nokia Here maps works offline on watch, but only Sony smart watch has GPS atm. And change of density required to be able to start navigation.
I tested Terminal emulator and it is working well with minuun keyboard.
So far I have the following sideloaded and working on an LG G Watch
NES-FC Lite (NES Emulator)
QQplayer (video player WITH BLUETOOTH SOUND!)
ES File Explorer
Astro Bluetooth Module (to transfer files from phone->watch)
v1_Bluetooth_Arduino (to control my garage door connected to an arduino/BT Shield)
wolfebaine said:
So far I have the following sideloaded and working on an LG G Watch
NES-FC Lite (NES Emulator)
QQplayer (video player WITH BLUETOOTH SOUND!)
ES File Explorer
Astro Bluetooth Module (to transfer files from phone->watch)
v1_Bluetooth_Arduino (to control my garage door connected to an arduino/BT Shield)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Added
cyrilp said:
"Tested & Crashing" All in one Gestures
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phoenixstudios.aiogestures
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added but can you please tell me which Watch you used?
EpicLPer said:
Added but can you please tell me which Watch you used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure: LG G W R
Just got my LG Watch G and I tested all sorts of apps after installing the "Ghoma rom", below are some of the apps not on the list I tried.
Tested & Working
Retry
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.retry&hl=en
Game complains about missing Google Play Services but if you "ok" the prompt the game will load and seems to be fully playable. The built in "ad" button that opens a ad to view and earn coins does not work. You must earn coins the hard way in game.
EDIT: The game seems to be usable once every boot, in my case I had to reboot the watch to play the game again.
Tested & Report
Speedtest.net
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.zwanoo.android.speedtest&hl=en
The app loads but doesn't do anything because there isn't system wide internet access.
Tested & Crashing
Youtube
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.youtube&hl=en
Crashes and fails to load anything.
Keepass2Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=keepass2android.keepass2android&hl=en
There are two versions of this app, regluar and offline. I tested the regular one and it crashes and fails to load anything.
8-ball Pool
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.miniclip.eightballpool&hl=en
Crashes and fails to load anything.
NHK World TV Live
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.nhkworldtv.android&hl=en
Starts to load but crashes complaining about internet access.
Starbucks
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.starbucks.mobilecard&hl=en
Crashes and fails to load anything.
ICE
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.queader.ice&hl=en
The game doesn't even seem to try loading, no crash message. But it causes the screen to rotate till it silently crashes in the background.
Angry Birds Friends
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsfriends&hl=en
Loads to a black screen and just sits there. Required putting the watch to sleep with the palm gesture to exit.
2FA apps
Was disappointed to see these crash on start:
Google Authenticator
RSA SecureID
Not really surprised, but it would have been nice
babelmonk

Why does my browsers home page keep changing?

This is on a generic a23 q8h tablet, I was also getting popups in the form of fake facebook alerts about some stupid drone company.I deleted 2 apps/plugins/whatever they were and the popups went away but my homepage changes between smartdrone.com, vandroidnews.com and kszz.com.I want to put a boot up someones ass for installing this garbage on these tablets and selling them.
What browser do you use ?
Check the browser settings it may have option to set the desired homepage.
Stock browser, there was also baidu browser installed but i uninstalled with titanium backup.I changed the setting but it gets replaced with one of those three pages.
Tried clearing data of the browser?
I just got a Q88 A33 "generic" tablet and I too get the "default" page and the "home page" in the browser changed to "smartdrone.com". This was/is the behavior on delivery so it is probably part of their installed firmware.
If you have made any progress on how to fix this then please let me know, I will be reading up on Android and how to take a look at the files in the ROM and see if I can find a solution but I am not very familiar with Android so some pointers would be great. For example, would this be the result of some .apk that can simply be removed or is it some shell script or file somewhere in the actual ROM files?
It's because theres a factory installed trojan, yes its baked right into the factory firmware and if you remove it with say an anti-virus program the word DEMO in big red letters will be superimposed on the screen making the tablet useless.I've seen manufacturers offering an apk to 'fix' it but that just re-installs the trojan.Here is a fix that I got from another website and uploaded to my Box account.
Instructions from another forum:
A backup will be made before actual modification are made. To restore the backup, rename SystemUI-backup.apk to SystemUI-A20/A23.apk and restart the corresponding function.
HowTo use:
1. Scan for Device: searches and verifies a connected android device.
2. Scan for Trojan: checks if the trojan responsible for the demo lock is active.
3. If 2. is positive, check the Build.prop to see if you have a A20 or A23 model.
4. A20 FIX or A23 FIX, depending on the results from 3., you choose one of these.
5. The script will reboot the device to recovery mode, manually perform a factory reset.
Definition for Cloudservice / DEMO Trojan:
For clarification let me state that Android by "default" or "origin" is not susceptible to virus' and being built on Linux platform it is "open source" so that is where you get some LAME people and large corporations making these virus' encoded into the devices original configuration [ROM] and NOT NATIVE TO ANDROID.
Perfect example for how we the users can infect our own devices would be the small flashlight apps we all use daily and available for free on Google Play Store... these can factually be classified as "Intrusive Adware" that we install for quick access to our devices camera flash for use as a flashlight and yet we tolerate the pop-ups generated by the app.
Again not NATIVE to Android... this is something we the USERS have put on our devices. Harmless but annoying and same principle.
What is the Cloudservice / DEMO Trojan?
My definition based on learned knowledge as no "official" definition is or most likely will ever be available.
Firstly, in some devices it seems to be in a "sleep" mode until one day it simply "shows up" according to some reports. Our new Tool at TechKnow seeks and destroys the hidden files and configs totally eliminating all traces of the Trojan.
[SPECULATION: it could possibly be incorporated into some downloadable apps in the future. The same basic principle as adware is incorporated into the flashlight apps would suffice. However, it being included in downloadable apps is NOT confirmed and if/when it is the confirmed apps will immediately be reported to their distributor whether Google Play or Amazon App Store etc... by your friends at TechKnow]
It is a truly deceptive application that is hardcoded into the must have system dependent "framework-res.apk" on some of the newer Android devices ROM from the factory. The Trojan can track your app content such as Browser and can lock your device into a "demo" mode which will display large red DEMO text in caps across all your screens. The app is also linked to Baidu.
Baidu, Inc., incorporated on January 18, 2000, a Chinese web services company headquartered in the Baidu Campus in Haidian District in Beijing.
ok.... so you are being tracked and monitored by the Chinese?
but that's not all...
The secondary part to the Virus/Trojan is more of a pain in the :wub: imho than tracking and reporting my web history to an unknown Chinese web service company [for who knows what they seek to learn or truly have access to with this Trojan on your device]...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allwinner Demo Fix: https://app.box.com/s/wpbl5nfrxtjdbgvgrwp2tbgvzlt31oqk
I can't remove Trojan virus from my tablet azpen. A739 ?
Sent from my A739 using XDA Free mobile app
Allwinner Demo Fix
This is how I removed the trojan without getting the red "Demo" letters on the screen http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/chinese-tablet-demo-mode-t2853062#post64002423

Question app isn't installed as app isn't compatible with your device?

getting this when trying to side load various apps. instander for example. no problems on pixel 6. am I missing something?
It seems many of the modded apps are 32-bit builds--which won't run (at this point) on the new Pixels (64-bit only?)...
Having the same issue with the instander app and also with 3rd party gallery. Is there a fix for this or do I just return this phone back to Google? thanks.
What a bummer
hmm. this is not good. instander. quikpic. also a sound recording app called tape machine that I use since forever. these might be show stoppers. alongside the new complications with safety net etc
& I was pulling my hair what is going on why its not installing apks? Guess have to wait for the updated apk or a solution.
Android has supported 64bit native binaries forever. There really is no excuse for any application developer to have only 32bit support. Going forward, google has specified 64bit only.
You should look for alternative software unless you're planning to stick with a pixel 6 (at highest) forever.

Recommended apps/ways to help managing elderly people's Android phone remotely, from being scammed?

Hi,
What's your recommended apps/ways to help managing elderly people's Android phones remotely?
It's getting harder and harder for my parents to follow the fast-changing pace in the smart phone world.
Instead of trying to check and teach them through video links, or ask them to manually activate Teamviewer quicksupport every time (black screen on privacy screens),
is there any good apps with good reputation for this purpose?
Mainly I wish it could start up on power on and can wait for connection without manual activate service.
List installed apps and allow me to uninstall unwanted apps, maybe update apps as well.
Able to prevent apps being installed would be great.
Able to add phone numbers to blacklist/whitelist of phone calls / SMS.
Open source one would be preferred. Paid apps are ok.
Best Regards,
Try this
adbLink2 v5.5
adbLink2 is companion software for Android devices Features: Install Programs without Android SDK ADB/Fastboot enabled command-line Busybox for root and non-root Built-in WIFI/USB remote Manage devices via USB or IP address Root-aware File...
forum.xda-developers.com
Thanks. I might give this a try. Also I found boomerang parental control and Google family link might be useful .

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