Running apk installer on LMDE *** [SOLVED]

[abtygwyn]

This is a request for some tech help.

I have an HTC Flyer which will not connect with Play Store (long story). The upshot is I am cut off from using/installing apps in Play Store, so not good.
I do have the ability to connect the HTC Flyer to my laptop so the solution to me appears to be to run an apk installer from my LMDE and install an apk installer on the HTC. That's what I have come to as a decision.

If anybody has any experience of doing similar or knows how best to approach this, or has any other bright ideas, I would love to hear from them.

Thanks

Andrew

[Zill]

abtygwyn: I have a cheap, no-name, Android tablet and, as I refuse to have a Google account, also have no access to the Play Store.

However, I have installed a couple of "Apps" without any difficulty simply by downloading the app from its home website directly to the tablet. Then I just navigated to the file and tapped to install the apk. No PC needed!

Caveat: As an old-timer I am quite happy finding my way around a PC running Linux but all this touchy-feely Android stuff is quite alien to me.

[kevinthefixer]

@Zill, Android is basically another flavor of Linux.

@abtygwyn, Zill's method is probably easiest. The problem of course is aquiring the .apk to install. Neither Play Store nor Amazon will allow you to simply download the .apk. There are some sites of course that do, but be careful with these; many of them carry pirated programs. Your best bet may be to get an Amazon account and use their Appstore; I get most of my Android software from there, especially for the tablets that do not have Google Apps (Play Store is a GAPP).

If you do have a source of .apks, you can transfer them to the Droid via MTP, already set up in LMDE2. That's the box that pops up when you plug your data cable into the PC with the 'phone booted up, and lets you mount the Droid's memory as a drive on the PC. I usually just push files to the Droid's Downloads folder and go from there.

Another option is to set up adb and install that way. Look for android-tools-adb in the software manager. While you're at it install android-tools-fastboot also, it might save your bacon one day. With the Droid booted up and connected, open a terminal in the folder your .apk file is in. If you want to install a program called ES, the command would be:

Code: Select all

adb install ES.apk

If the .apk has a long, hard-to-type filename, simply rename it.

If you have access to another Droid that does have a working Play Store, install an app called AirDroid, and you can use it to download any app on that machine to your PC via wi-fi (as long as they are connected to the same router, the PC can have a wired connection). You can then install these apps to the other Droid; but some may not work without a Google account and/or a working Play Store. Most free apps will, though; ES File Explorer will, that's where I got the example above. I had just installed a custom ROM, without GAPPs, and had no file explorer to find and install the .apks I had waiting on its microSD!

[abtygwyn]

@Zill, Android is basically another flavor of Linux.

@abtygwyn, Zill's method is probably easiest. The problem of course is aquiring the .apk to install. Neither Play Store nor Amazon will allow you to simply download the .apk. There are some sites of course that do, but be careful with these; many of them carry pirated programs. Your best bet may be to get an Amazon account and use their Appstore; I get most of my Android software from there, especially for the tablets that do not have Google Apps (Play Store is a GAPP).

If you do have a source of .apks, you can transfer them to the Droid via MTP, already set up in LMDE2. That's the box that pops up when you plug your data cable into the PC with the 'phone booted up, and lets you mount the Droid's memory as a drive on the PC. I usually just push files to the Droid's Downloads folder and go from there.

Another option is to set up adb and install that way. Look for android-tools-adb in the software manager. While you're at it install android-tools-fastboot also, it might save your bacon one day. With the Droid booted up and connected, open a terminal in the folder your .apk file is in. If you want to install a program called ES, the command would be:

Code: Select all

adb install ES.apk

If the .apk has a long, hard-to-type filename, simply rename it.

If you have access to another Droid that does have a working Play Store, install an app called AirDroid, and you can use it to download any app on that machine to your PC via wi-fi (as long as they are connected to the same router, the PC can have a wired connection). You can then install these apps to the other Droid; but some may not work without a Google account and/or a working Play Store. Most free apps will, though; ES File Explorer will, that's where I got the example above. I had just installed a custom ROM, without GAPPs, and had no file explorer to find and install the .apks I had waiting on its microSD!

Wow. Thank you do much. The browser in the HTC is none too clever either so adb looked promising. The google play services apk didn't work. Etor message saying SDK older version. Not sure if this refers to my laptop or the HTC. BUT, I tried transferring MX movie and it worked. So I tried ES File and it worked too! The HTC is now usable for my boy who is going on a long coach trip. Job done. Play Services can wait since it was never an end in itself. Access was the key. Well chuffed. Thanks.

[kevinthefixer]

No, you will not be able to install either Play Services or Play Store from an apk. Even if you managed to install them manually they will not work from the partition you would/could install them in. They must be installed to and run from the system partition, so basically if your machine did not have it to begin with you need to do a lot of homework to get it to work. The usual method is to install a custom recovery, then use that to flash GAPPS to /system. In other words, WAY beyond the scope of this forum, try one dedicated to your device, or to Android in general like maybe XDA developers.

Glad to hear you got it where you wanted it though. From my point of view that is what open-source software and OSs are about: WE decide how it ought to work instead of some bigwig at Microsoft launching an ad campaign to tell us what we need to have.

Couple of points I forgot to mention (I've been doing that WAY too much lately): In order for ADB to work, you must have "USB debugging" enabled in Developer Options in Settings. Don't have any Developer Options? Go to About, find "build number", and tap it seven times. If you've rubbed the proper amount of blue mud into your navel, you now have Developer Options in Settings. You may also need to enable "unknown sources" under Security.

[abtygwyn]

No, you will not be able to install either Play Services or Play Store from an apk. Even if you managed to install them manually they will not work from the partition you would/could install them in. They must be installed to and run from the system partition, so basically if your machine did not have it to begin with you need to do a lot of homework to get it to work. The usual method is to install a custom recovery, then use that to flash GAPPS to /system. In other words, WAY beyond the scope of this forum, try one dedicated to your device, or to Android in general like maybe XDA developers.

Glad to hear you got it where you wanted it though. From my point of view that is what open-source software and OSs are about: WE decide how it ought to work instead of some bigwig at Microsoft launching an ad campaign to tell us what we need to have.

Couple of points I forgot to mention (I've been doing that WAY too much lately): In order for ADB to work, you must have "USB debugging" enabled in Developer Options in Settings. Don't have any Developer Options? Go to About, find "build number", and tap it seven times. If you've rubbed the proper amount of blue mud into your navel, you now have Developer Options in Settings. You may also need to enable "unknown sources" under Security.

I appreciate that installing Google Play Services apk may not be meant to work, but all I can tell you is that it was missing and it is now in place and working. Actually, there was a blip at one point and I looked and there were multiple versions of Google Play Services listed in App Manager. I assumed this was not correct, so I deleted all and started again. I also deleted all the relevant apk files of various versions of Google Play Services which were present in various download directories. Not sure if these were causing a conflict or not, but the problem has not resurfaced and the HTC Flyer is now working well.

Again thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

PS I've just noticed that my other android also have multiple copies of Google Play Services running, so that must be normal then? I've no idea how these things work really.

[kevinthefixer]

Glad it's working. If you get really curious about Android, I'd suggest joining one or more Android forums; might want to start with androidtablets.net, or search for one dedicated to your exact device. There is a bewildering number of them, no need to hijack this Betsy forum for that.

[abtygwyn]

Glad it's working. If you get really curious about Android, I'd suggest joining one or more Android forums; might want to start with androidtablets.net, or search for one dedicated to your exact device. There is a bewildering number of them, no need to hijack this Betsy forum for that.

Comment not meant as a hijack. In fact, while I appreciate that Android matters are best discussed on Android forums, I have to say that Android Central failed to come up with the goods whereas Linux Mint did!

[kevinthefixer]

I don't mean to criticize, either, it just seems we've gotten a bit far off topic. And after all, it's all non-proprietary OSs, right?