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I have an app with 100k~ downloads on Play, which I started to develop like a year ago. Back then, it had the default crappy android UI. A month ago, I decided to include the ActionbarSherlock+HoloEverywhere libraries, so it could provide a much better user experience, with the Holo UI. Here comes the problem.

I got a few user reports, that they cannot update, since Play is keep telling them, their device is incompatible with the app. NOTHING changed besides adding and using the above mentioned libraries, so their device SHOULD still be compatible with my app. Here is what I know, and tried so far, including reports from the most helpful user, who cooperates with me, and want to use the app.

  • his old device broke, so it got replaced, and he couldn't install the updated version
  • on the new device, he can't install the old versions, which he could on the old device
  • the mentioned device is an atab5 MTK6577
  • the minimum API level is currently 8 (Android 2.2)
  • my app requests the following permissions:
    • android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
    • android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
    • android.permission.INTERNET
  • the features the device has to got are the following:
    • android.hardware.LOCATION
    • android.hardware.location.GPS
    • android.hardware.TOUCHSCREEN
  • I found a nice tool (http://codekiem.com/2013/02/13/market-helper/) , which I asked the user to try if he can trick Play to install the app, he did, and the app finally installed
  • after the installation, he got a new error message, "Missing shared library", so he still couldn't run the app
  • after some research, I found that some device may not have proper Google Maps api, or something like that, but it can be fixed by adding Google Apis to the apk, by explicitly adding Google Api to the Build path
  • I sent him the newly compiled apk, the new error message is: "Application not installed"
  • the user has problem with more apps, not just mine, typically with apps that uses GPS, and I guess Google Maps too, so it may be a device fault
  • as a side-note, I am using standard MapActivity, not the ActionbarSherlock mapactivity, but since the problem is there for the old, non-holo version of the app too, it shouldn't matter

Is there any way for me, to solve the issue on my end? I dont really care, if he still won't be able to run another apps, if he can use mine. Of course, if all his problems would be solved, that is the best case, but my priority is, can I add something to my apk? Or, what is the problem here? A corrupted Google Maps?

Thanks in advance, cheers

hundeva
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1 Answers1

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after the installation, he got a new error message, "Missing shared library", so he still couldn't run the app

This will come from some <uses-library> element in your manifest.

but it can be fixed by adding Google Apis to the apk, by explicitly adding Google Api to the Build path

Um, no, that will not work.

Is there any way for me, to solve the issue on my end?

Other than by switching to something like OpenStreetMap, no.

A corrupted Google Maps?

More likely it is a device (or ROM mod) that has pirated versions of various Google apps, such as Google Maps, and therefore did not set up the Maps SDK add-on properly.

CommonsWare
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  • The user took his phone to a service, they identified the problem: the shared libraries were incorrectly installed, it is all sorted out now. Thanks! – hundeva Feb 26 '13 at 14:32