Help with Restricted Play Store - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This weekend, I flashed the 4.2.2 factory images onto my Nexus 7 and Nexus 4 devices. I am currently in China, and I likely won't return to the States until this summer. After flashing the images, I got some pages in Chinese that I skipped through without reading, then I had to check a box and click a button. I assumed it was a terms of service agreement. After completing the initial setup, I installed my apps using a web browser on my laptop since I was installing so many on both devices. It just seemed more efficient to go through my list of apps, click install, and click on both devices.
Everything went well, and I got both devices set up the way I like, and I thought I was in good shape. Then I saw one of the developers I follow mention that he had updated his app. I hadn't been prompted to update, so I opened the Play Store. The app wasn't there. It is on my N4 and on my N7, but it isn't showing up in either Play Store app.
On the N4, I have a list of installed apps, but it is not a comprehensive list. Many, many apps are missing. On the N7 it's even worse. I just have "Categories" when I open the app. If I click on the "Installed Apps" button, I get a blank page.
I do have a VPN with a server in San Francisco, and I set it up on both devices. I can connect on the N7. Once connected, I cleared the cache and data of the Play Store and forced it closed. Then I reopened, re-accepted the terms, and let it load (all with the VPN still connected). Same thing as before. On the N4, I can't even get the VPN to connect. That might be a completely separate issue, but it's keeping me from seeing if I can get the Play Store to improve.
Anyone have any ideas about what specifically (not "you're in China") might be causing this problem or how I might be able to fix it? I have flashed many roms with complete wipes since being in China, but I'm thinking this is probably my first time flashing a complete factory image. Both factory images were downloaded from Google's developer site. I don't recall if my VPN was connected when I downloaded those files or not.

Bumping to hopefully get some help.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Related

[Q] Market inaccessible

I've been having a weird problem with my Vibrant for the past ten hours or so, and can't seem to find a solution. I was running stock rooted JI6 and attempted to apply some app updates through the Market, but began getting network connection errors. I gave it several minutes, and when it refused to let me in, I restarted the phone, which had no effect. I did an ODIN restore and reverted to factory settings, and the phone refused to sign me into my Google account, saying it couldn't establish a reliable connection. I hunted around and eventually got signed in using the YouTube app workaround, but now when I try to access the Market it says the server is unavailable.
I haven't heard any buzz about a major outage, so I assume this is not something on Google's end. For the record, my connection is fine (tried to sign in to Market on both 3G and WiFi, no go, but browser and other internet-connected apps work fine, as do Google's sync services once I've managed to sign in through YouTube), and my Google account appears entirely normal PC-side. I saw an old thread about people having problems in China etc. after Google was partially blocked there, but as I'm in the United States, I don't think that applies. I am completely at a loss, and now I'm stuck with a factory-settings phone with no apps because I can't get into the Market.
I've followed the XDA forum for a couple months now, but this is my first post. I'll be heading to a T-Mobile store to ask them about it later today, but I'm hoping you folks will be able to shine some light on the subject in the meantime and perhaps even save me the trouble. I'm still pretty new to smartphones and Android, so go much beyond rooting and ODIN 101 and I'm quite ignorant. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks for your attention!
Market works fine on my end. Try clearing the data on market that has helped me in the past. From home screen menu/ settings/ applications/ manage apps/ market/ clear data and cache reboot.
There's no entry for the Market in my apps list, since it's pre-installed.
zorak950 said:
There's no entry for the Market in my apps list, since it's pre-installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click All filter at the top
No change.

[Q] Amazon App Store Filters App

Amazon App Store
I have been using the Amazon App store on my Gtablet since it first opened. Apps worked great. Recently all of my apps disappeared from the App store. I can no longer get updates. I contacted Amazon and was told on 3 seperate occasions that Amazon had a new filter in place to filter out Apps that the developer said did not work on your device. Well that is a lie. They filtered out all but about 8 apps that I bought. 40+ apps that worked perfectly like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. What I suspect is that Amazon Filtered every device the developer did not know about. What developer can certify every single android device. The answer is none.
Has everyone else found this to be an issue? Has anyone determined a way to fool amazon into thinking you have a different tablet that amazon things runs most apps? I am not running a custom rom and see no need to but if it it fixes Amazon App store I am open to the issue. I was kind of waiting for a stable Honeycomb (preferably from Viewsonic).
Amazon did give me a credit for the Apps I have purchaced and all the apps I have purchaced are still on my device and work so my only real complaint with Amazon is "How can anyone ever trust them again".
I ran into the same problem on my stock Gtab (build 3588). So far, I've been successful at sideloading several missing "purchased" Amazon apps to the Gtab via my G2 using Titanium Backup. Obviously this is not a preferred long-term solution.
My next step is to try a new build.prop file as noted in thread 861044.
For reference, here's my current Amazon appstore count of "My Apps/All" on three different devices:
T-mo G2: 62
G Tablet: 8
T-mo TP2: 61
The Touch Pro 2 is running Project Android with an uncharged Italian prepaid SIM card, and for some reason, the only app missing is Age of Zombies (which for the most part, works fine on Gtab via sideload).
Amazon only half prevented
I have since found that while you cannot go to my apps and update them you can find the app in the store and it will indicate it needs to be updated. When you select update nothing happens. when you close down and start the store back up it installs the app.
I have also found that you can still buy apps even though you can never update them.
I also have about 60+ apps purchaced and only 8 that show up on my gtablet. The issue I have is I do not have another Android device.
This happened to me as well. I contacted amazon, but they were of no help. So I took what I know, and others experience with different apps and found the solution.
Go to settings, applications. Find Amazon app market, and wipe data and cache. Open the market back up, log in (you'll need to re-enter username and password) and tada your apps have returned.
edit:
another solutions would be to uninstall, and re-install the app market.
Yesterday morning, after downloading the free app of the day, I checked "my apps" and it said that I had only 11 new apps. When I selected "all" I saw 14 apps. After wiping data and cache, I now have 74 "new apps" and 115 "all" apps.
I described the problem to Amazon 2 times, and I still don't think they understood what I was saying. I tried telling them that I had an app (Grisly Manor) installed on my tablet, that I had downloaded for free from them. In the Amazon app, it no longer appeared in any of my lists. On the web version, it shows up as being "purchased" I have a receipt and all...but it no longer shows on my Amazon App interface.
each time they instructed me on how to open an app, or how to open the "all" page in "my apps."
They are morons, I'm just glad I figured it out on my own.
Worked great
I talked to Amazon a number of times and even more than that. Amazon told me that they had corrected their compatibility filter to only allow apps that were compatible with my device. They said incompatible devices were given to them from the developers. I told them that was a load of .... and there was no way developers verified every single device to say if it worked or not. I suspected that if what they said was true they were only allowing devices that the developer said worked and ours is probably long forgotten.
Some kind of corruption issue is a much better answer.
Thanks a lot.
noahbody said:
I talked to Amazon a number of times and even more than that. Amazon told me that they had corrected their compatibility filter to only allow apps that were compatible with my device. They said incompatible devices were given to them from the developers. I told them that was a load of .... and there was no way developers verified every single device to say if it worked or not. I suspected that if what they said was true they were only allowing devices that the developer said worked and ours is probably long forgotten.
Some kind of corruption issue is a much better answer.
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<bow> <bow>
glad I could help!
TJEvans said:
This happened to me as well. I contacted amazon, but they were of no help. So I took what I know, and others experience with different apps and found the solution.
Go to settings, applications. Find Amazon app market, and wipe data and cache. Open the market back up, log in (you'll need to re-enter username and password) and tada your apps have returned.
edit:
another solutions would be to uninstall, and re-install the app market.
Yesterday morning, after downloading the free app of the day, I checked "my apps" and it said that I had only 11 new apps. When I selected "all" I saw 14 apps. After wiping data and cache, I now have 74 "new apps" and 115 "all" apps.
I described the problem to Amazon 2 times, and I still don't think they understood what I was saying. I tried telling them that I had an app (Grisly Manor) installed on my tablet, that I had downloaded for free from them. In the Amazon app, it no longer appeared in any of my lists. On the web version, it shows up as being "purchased" I have a receipt and all...but it no longer shows on my Amazon App interface.
each time they instructed me on how to open an app, or how to open the "all" page in "my apps."
They are morons, I'm just glad I figured it out on my own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't work from me.
Clear cash and data, still no previously installed apps showing.
Uninstalled and re-downloaded and installed, still no apps.
Running stock 3558 with enhancements.
Is anyone else having a problem with Amazon App Store.
I still cannot find any apps compatible with Gtab.
Clearing Cache and Data fixed the issue for me
I am running the stock rom with all updates from viewsonic. When I cleared the data and cache in the Appstore all of my apps returned. It went from 8 to over 80.
It never prevented me from buying apps just seeing them in my apps and updating them. I have never had any issue with finding apps to buy including the free app of the day.

Anyone else locked out of Amazon Market?

I'm using the stock os ... and in upgrading my Amazon market have now found that I can't access Amazon App Store any more. I'm told that (everything I try) is incompatible with my device. It used to work, though. Anyone have any ideas?
golfblogger said:
I'm using the stock os ... and in upgrading my Amazon market have now found that I can't access Amazon App Store any more. I'm told that (everything I try) is incompatible with my device. It used to work, though. Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the answer from Amazon:
Hello Al,
I am truly sorry about the troubles that you have been having. I have contacted our development team about this issue here about one week ago. They informed me that there was a increase devices that are not compatible with our apps, but they did not mean for it to take out almost everything for devices that clearly can handle the apps. They are working on getting it fixed but right now there is now estimated time for them to get this completed.
Thank you for your patients and look forward to seeing your soon.
Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?
EPIC FAIL on Amazons part. On a side note, that was on a Froyo rom (calk+clemv6). I'm now on HC (GTabComb3.3) & Amazon work with it.
i an into this problem last week. Deleted the data and cache from the application itself, re-entered my login information, and everything was magically compatible again.
Go to Settings, applications, manage applications, all, find Amazon appstore, and delete cache, then delete data, force close it. Close settings, restart appstore. You'll need to provide login information again, and it shoul work.
Still getting Not Compatible message in Amazon Appstore
I have a Viewsonic G Tablet with the stock operating system, except I did repatition the sd card. When I loaded everything back up I saw that all of my apps were not in my account. At that time I was able to search manually and find and install them, but now I can't even do that. I tried loading the previous version of the appstore but the apps were still not in my account and when I found them it would redirect me to load them from my account, where they are not at. Has anyone found a way around this yet?
james222277 said:
I have a Viewsonic G Tablet with the stock operating system, except I did repatition the sd card. When I loaded everything back up I saw that all of my apps were not in my account. At that time I was able to search manually and find and install them, but now I can't even do that. I tried loading the previous version of the appstore but the apps were still not in my account and when I found them it would redirect me to load them from my account, where they are not at. Has anyone found a way around this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've run into this as well. Amazon rebuilt their compatibility list at some point and the gTab is not listed as incompatible with nearly every app in the store. The reason your apps don't show up is that incompatible apps are filtered from search results, including your purchased apps. This restriction also seems to apply to the installer as well. Don't know any workarounds. I've already contacted Amazon on multiple occasions to bring this matter to their attention, but no action seems to have been taken.
TJEvans said:
i an into this problem last week. Deleted the data and cache from the application itself, re-entered my login information, and everything was magically compatible again.
Go to Settings, applications, manage applications, all, find Amazon appstore, and delete cache, then delete data, force close it. Close settings, restart appstore. You'll need to provide login information again, and it shoul work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked for me, I was getting increasing numbers of incompatible notifications especially for the free app of the day.
Amazon should learn...
About the only thing that the Amazon market had going for it, other than FAoD, is that I didn't have to worry about apps not appearing in searches because someone didn't recognize my device. As a frequent ROM flasher on a number of android devices, it's a pain when a market search shows up nothing even when you know it's there.
Amazon shouldn't follow google in this. If anything, they can just post a disclaimer "This app is not compatible with your device, if you want to purchase it anyway, click here, waiving any liability if it crashes your device, and indicating that you understand that you won't get a refund if it doesn't work." Or even just give advanced users a flag in their profile to sign this disclaimer once and turn on the ability to download "incompatible" apps.
Sometimes I get error logging that's about it
Sent From Nexus 7 XDA Premium HD App

[Q] Can't Access Play Store After a Factory Reset...

or, stated differently, "I've Been Banned From the Play Store..."
I am unable to get a full restore from my backup on Google servers because I get the dreaded "... no connection" "Retry" message whenever I go to the Play Store. I wouldn't mind that the restore is incomplete if I could just download the apps manually, but I can't.
Here's my tale of woe (and, yes, I'm a bit of an Android n00b, but I'm not new to these computin' devices):
I unlocked the boot loader right after I received the N9 and had it rooted a day or two later. All seemed well...
Yesterday (Thursday, 11/13), I received a notification that there was an update available. I was probably still half asleep, so that's why I said "Okay" to the update--and then realized that on a rooted device, that isn't a good idea. It stopped after a few minutes and said the update had failed. My N9 still worked, but was still at 5.0 (LRX21M) and not 5.0 (LRX21Q) as I'd hoped.
However, some things just didn't feel right and I convinced myself that I should get back to stock and leave my N9 unrooted until things matured a bit--this may have been irrational, but I convinced myself it wasn't.
So, down the "flash-a-system-image" path I went; following the instructions found on Google's "Factory Images for Nexus Devices" page. Unfortunately, I got the "missing system.img" error and knew something was amiss. I resorted to following some steps gleaned from various sources to flash everything manually. This worked and I was presented with a pristine install screen upon initial boot. All seemed well until I realized that the 100+ apps I had chosen from a previous backup were not downloading as they should be.
Numerous Factory Resets later, I am still unable to get access to the Play Store from this device and lately have been getting a message that the Play Store has stopped.
I have tried many of the suggestions and purported fixes that pop up when one Googles this issue, but none have worked in my case.
So, my question is: What options do I have to get the Play Store app available to this device? Should I be considering re-flashing everything manually, again?
I am open to any and all suggestions. Just remember that being a n00b, I may have a few more questions.
Thanks in advance to any and all who read and/or reply
nc
SOLVED!
So, I spent several hours into the early morning wiping, re-flashing and factory resetting the N9 and finally stumbled onto the root cause of my problem--THE BACKUP I WAS RESTORING HAD THE WIFI PROXY SET TO MANUAL!
I had been messing with AdBlock Plus and had changed the proxy settings trying to get that to work. Seems the backup contained these settings and as soon as they were "restored", all subsequent restores were failing due to the device not being able to see the outside world. I discovered the proxy issue when I opened the Chrome browser and it suggested I check the proxy settings as it was blind to the outside world as well. Once I changed the proxy setting to "None", all apps were restored and we're up and running.
Download host editor ... It works 100 %
Sent from my Micromax A106 using xda app-developers app

Sony Tablet S de-Googled

As of Feb. 8/9 of 2017, it looks to me like my Tablet S, which came with 4.0.3 is no longer able to run Google apps. The tablet is still fine for other things, but the Chrome browser is on version 42 and can't be updated. Kinda sucks that one day it works, and the next it doesn't. It is still a fine tablet but much less useful to me without the Google apps. Some can still run in the browser, but it certainly is not as handy.
Hi,
I have the same issue. A couple of days ago (I think on 10.02.2017), all Google apps lost connection to 'mothership' on my STS . I've tried all potential fixes out there (clearing data, cache, uninstalling updates, re-installing updates, uninstalling Google Services, modifying hosts file, disabling two-step authentication etc.) - nothing works. I've made also a factory reset and up until the moment I download Google Services app, the connection is there. However, all new versions of Gapps require Google Services in order to run. So it's either running a couple years old versions or not having Gapps at all.
Is this some kind of intentional action on Google side? Or maybe some bug in Google Services app? I doubt many people here still use STS, but maybe there's hope that someone finds a solution to this issue?
m4q said:
Hi,
I have the same issue. A couple of days ago (I think on 10.02.2017), all Google apps lost connection to 'mothership' on my STS . I've tried all potential fixes out there (clearing data, cache, uninstalling updates, re-installing updates, uninstalling Google Services, modifying hosts file, disabling two-step authentication etc.) - nothing works. I've made also a factory reset and up until the moment I download Google Services app, the connection is there. However, all new versions of Gapps require Google Services in order to run. So it's either running a couple years old versions or not having Gapps at all.
Is this some kind of intentional action on Google side? Or maybe some bug in Google Services app? I doubt many people here still use STS, but maybe there's hope that someone finds a solution to this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. My belief is the Chrome browser cannot be updated on the version of Android it is running. That would mean to me that any other device running 4.0.3 is running Chrome 42, also, and nothing can be done. Sure would like to be wrong. I have plenty of options (toys), but I hate losing normal functions on an otherwise functional machine. It is 5 years old.
Thanks for starting this thread in the first place. Without it, I would still be wondering am I the only one with this issue .
I don't think it's connected solely to Chrome browser. From my point of view, it has something to do with google services. I've tried to revert to some older version (via APK mirror, but with no success). What's worse, now I can't even get into google play store (for a while I could, despite Gapps being down). Not sure what to do at this point. I've used my STS mostly for YT or some movie during travel. I guess I'm left with just the latter . Anyway, if it's not just a bug, then it's a really unfair move from google.
m4q said:
Thanks for starting this thread in the first place. Without it, I would still be wondering am I the only one with this issue .
I don't think it's connected solely to Chrome browser. From my point of view, it has something to do with google services. I've tried to revert to some older version (via APK mirror, but with no success). What's worse, now I can't even get into google play store (for a while I could, despite Gapps being down). Not sure what to do at this point. I've used my STS mostly for YT or some movie during travel. I guess I'm left with just the latter . Anyway, if it's not just a bug, then it's a really unfair move from google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would bet I am correct, but...see which version of Android and the browser you are running and compare to what I reported. I was told the browser was no longer updateable with 4.0.3. The fact that it happened just as Google was announcing its new products is what led me to this conclusion.
You can still watch YouTube through the browser on your STS. I had mine on my bedstand with the dock so that I could watch in bed via Google Cast. Cast will not work because of this issue, even in the browser, because it is a newer app. So, I replaced it with my Nexus 7 2012, which also has a dock. Works fine, as would a phone or tablet.
These are my conclusions - if you find otherwise, please report back! :good:
Of course, I'm not 100% sure, but since I'm not using Chrome browser and still have this issue - wouldn't that indicate that it isn't a browser-related one? Plus, once you do a factory reset and not install Google Play Services, the connection to Google servers is being established. It's being lost after Google Play Services installation. That's what suggest to me that these services are indeed the culprit. In the end it doesn't really matter as whatever the culprit is, it doesn't look like we can solve this on our own .
m4q said:
Of course, I'm not 100% sure, but since I'm not using Chrome browser and still have this issue - wouldn't that indicate that it isn't a browser-related one? Plus, once you do a factory reset and not install Google Play Services, the connection to Google servers is being established. It's being lost after Google Play Services installation. That's what suggest to me that these services are indeed the culprit. In the end it doesn't really matter as whatever the culprit is, it doesn't look like we can solve this on our own .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not disagreeing. Just saying that if the browser can't be updated, then apps can't be either, perhaps for the reasons you state. Sorry for the confusion. I think we're looking at the same thing from different perspectives. Either way, I think the STS is de-Googled. It is a shame as I think it has been a really good machine for its specs. Time to repurpose it or just put it away.
Sad, but true . STS had its quirks, but it has been with me longer than any other equipment.
I won't hold my breath, but maybe next Google Play Services update or some other update could fix this issue. I'll let you know if I find something.
Cheers.
I got out another Android tablet (an Asus 2 in 1) that I was thinking of repurposing and found it had Android 4.0.3 and Google Play Services 10.2.98. There is no access to Google apps except the Play Store and the Chrome browser. I forgot to check which browser number it was but if I had to guess, it is 42. Since I had not been using it, I don't know when this access was taken away, but I'd think it was the same timeframe as the STS.
There are 2 seperate issues.
- Chrome browser does not update: this is normal (I think since quite some time), as the chrome browser does not support Android 4.0 anymore. Just download another browser.
- Since a short time (days, weeks) there are some issues with the google services. Youtube doesn't start, sync doesn't work. Google Photos cannot login. But the play store does work fine.
This problem occurs on 3 seperate tablets, all with different google logins and configurations. I also tried resetting to factory state on one tablet, with the same results.
This is not because of android 4.0, because I have other devices that are older (even 2.3) that still work fine. There is probably a Google-Service update that does not play nicely with the tablet S (or maybe even other tegra 2 chipsets).
---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------
FYI:
It is indeed an incompatability between the latest Google-Services and Tegra2 chip.
All Tegra2 devices seems to be impacted, including the devices that are updateable to a newer version of android.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/uX3Xqk2gi_k;context-place=topicsearchin/play/category$3Aandroid%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
spicyalan said:
There are 2 seperate issues.
- Chrome browser does not update: this is normal (I think since quite some time), as the chrome browser does not support Android 4.0 anymore. Just download another browser.
- Since a short time (days, weeks) there are some issues with the google services. Youtube doesn't start, sync doesn't work. Google Photos cannot login. But the play store does work fine.
This problem occurs on 3 seperate tablets, all with different google logins and configurations. I also tried resetting to factory state on one tablet, with the same results.
This is not because of android 4.0, because I have other devices that are older (even 2.3) that still work fine. There is probably a Google-Service update that does not play nicely with the tablet S (or maybe even other tegra 2 chipsets).
---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------
FYI:
It is indeed an incompatability between the latest Google-Services and Tegra2 chip.
All Tegra2 devices seems to be impacted, including the devices that are updateable to a newer version of android.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/uX3Xqk2gi_k;context-place=topicsearchin/play/category$3Aandroid%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info! I will keep looking at the various sites to see if a fix for the Tegra devices comes out, but I'm not counting on it. Again, everything by Google but the Chrome browser and the Play Store seem to be affected, so the main reason I use Google is gone for two devices. If it isn't a Google app, they do work. YouTube works in the browser, but not Cast, etc. Hulu works.
I have other tablets and phones that have ARM processors, so I don't need to buy anything, but it is disappointing that they screwed up two good Google devices I have, one being in use everyday until it happened. That reminds me, I have a Chromebook with a Tegra chip - I'll have to check on that...updating from 59..0.2924.87 to...56.0.2924.110 - no problems. This is a Samsung XE303C12.
Thanks a lot spicyalan for the info about all Tegra2 devices being affected.
I've just installed Google Play Services version 10.5.42 (beta) and it seems to have solved the issue . At least I can use Gmail and YT freely, without crashes or FCs.
Afterwards, I have checked your link (https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/uX3Xqk2gi_k;context-place=topicsearchin/play/category$3Aandroid%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false) and others have confirm this to be a working solution (at least for the time being).
Cheers!:good:
m4q said:
Thanks a lot spicyalan for the info about all Tegra2 devices being affected.
I've just installed Google Play Services version 10.5.42 (beta) and it seems to have solved the issue . At least I can use Gmail and YT freely, without crashes or FCs.
Afterwards, I have checked your link (https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/uX3Xqk2gi_k;context-place=topicsearchin/play/category$3Aandroid%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false) and others have confirm this to be a working solution (at least for the time being).
Cheers!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, the 10.5.42 beta works on my Asus TF101 and my Sony Tablet S, both having Android 4.0.3.
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