Android Market Fix for Common Issues

lfom

Senior Member
Developer
Sep 12, 2011
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I haven't found it elsewhere with concise steps, so here it goes...

You have successfully installed Android Market on your tablet using one of the many tutorials available in the forum (generally you don't even need to root your tablet, just find the correct package for your tablet, install files in the provided order and then reboot). You added your Google account and you can open Market but you can't download. Then try this:

1. Go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications, select the "All" tab on top
2. Search for these 3 apps: Google Services Framework, Download Manager and Market
3. For each of the 3 apps above, click on them and use Clear data
4. Try to open Market again, it should show an error if you did it right
5. Restart tablet (shut it down and then turn on again) and try using Market again (it will display the familiar agreement).

Market should work now and downloads should complete successfully.

If you can't see some apps or they have a yellow badge saying "Not compatible", then you need to make sure you have a recent version of Market (3.x), clear Market's data as explained before (just for Market) and change LCD density to 160 (requires rooting in most tablets, and it will reboot tablet). If you can't change LCD density, keep using an older 2.x version (latest is 2.3.6 AFAIK) but be aware that you may not find some apps. After rebooting, opening Market and testing, you can change LCD dpi back to whatever value you prefer that Market should still work as long as you don't use "Clear data" again.

There are other factors that affect the apps you see on Android Market:
1. the device "fingerprint": only apps compatible with your device model will be listed, so you may need to use a "fake fingerprint" in order to see more apps (obviously, they may not work as expected since they were not tested on your device). Search for more infor about this, changing device fingerprint requires a tablet with root enabled;
2. your location: some apps are available only to some countries. If your device doesn't have 2G/3G then Google will try to detect your location via GPS or your IP, if it has SIM support then it will use your carrier. So it's possible to "fake" your location with an app like Market Enabler if needed (search for more info, root required as well).

Side loading apps via a web browser while using a computer doesn't work normally because Google blocks devices that the manufacturer doesn't have an agreement with them to include Market, but if you can download apks using the Market application on tablet.


This thread isn't about how to install or use Market. If you don't know how to do it, use the forum's search box to find a thread/tutorial about doing it on your tablet's model. It works really well. ;)
 
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