I'm wondering if there is anyone here who can speak to the stability of Google Apps (hangouts, Gmail, etc.) sideloading them onto the fire phone along with Google lay services. I'm really interested in this phone but am not sure if I can give up my gapps.
I've only had the Google Apps on my phone for a day. I don't use hangouts, but I do use Gmail and the Drive suite, as well as Maps. I'm using the most recent version of Amazon's OS.
Here's my take on some of the Google apps:
My Gmail isn't getting refreshing emails as fast as I'd like it to, though I'm not sure if that's some sort of issue on my side (connectivity or something) or an issue with the app (Note, while I'm typing this post, my Gmail just instantly got an email as soon as it was delivered and alerted me to it...). Gmail does nice little popup alerts and seems to integrate well with Amazon's OS, though.
Maps has some issues with road labels on the most recent version (seems to work fine with some older versions, as per a post on this forum somewhere). I'd consider this app a no-go for now, unless you don't need to read road names at any point. The Maps app that comes with the phone is good enough though (it actually looks a lot like a skinned version of Google Maps, without the social integration and "places to go" recommendations) and I've used it for a 2h drive already with no hiccups.
Drive, Quickoffice, Docs, all work well and I'm able to access, edit, etc, on my phone.
Chrome and Chrome to Phone work.
Google Play Music works for music downloaded on the device (unsure how it works with Google's cloud music service)
Google Play (the appstore) works and delivers updates to apps.
I can give hangouts a go, but I'm not really sure what to look for in terms of functionality.
Google Play apps install and run. I've tried Snapchat, Pixel Dungeon, Soundcloud, and some others. G+ login works, and your Google account is set up when you first try to launch the play services like it would be on a brand new stock Android phone so you get the same kind of Google account integration that you expect from Google's Android.
Edit:
I'd see if you can get some more info from other people... As far as I'm aware, installing Google Play and Google Services doesn't work for everybody. They have for me though, and I'm really happy with the device as it is now, especially considering what I paid for it unlocked.
snapplefish said:
I've only had the Google Apps on my phone for a day. I don't use hangouts, but I do use Gmail and the Drive suite, as well as Maps. I'm using the most recent version of Amazon's OS.
Here's my take on some of the Google apps:
My Gmail isn't getting refreshing emails as fast as I'd like it to, though I'm not sure if that's some sort of issue on my side (connectivity or something) or an issue with the app (Note, while I'm typing this post, my Gmail just instantly got an email as soon as it was delivered and alerted me to it...). Gmail does nice little popup alerts and seems to integrate well with Amazon's OS, though.
Maps has some issues with road labels on the most recent version (seems to work fine with some older versions, as per a post on this forum somewhere). I'd consider this app a no-go for now, unless you don't need to read road names at any point. The Maps app that comes with the phone is good enough though (it actually looks a lot like a skinned version of Google Maps, without the social integration and "places to go" recommendations) and I've used it for a 2h drive already with no hiccups.
Drive, Quickoffice, Docs, all work well and I'm able to access, edit, etc, on my phone.
Chrome and Chrome to Phone work.
Google Play Music works for music downloaded on the device (unsure how it works with Google's cloud music service)
Google Play (the appstore) works and delivers updates to apps.
I can give hangouts a go, but I'm not really sure what to look for in terms of functionality.
Google Play apps install and run. I've tried Snapchat, Pixel Dungeon, Soundcloud, and some others. G+ login works, and your Google account is set up when you first try to launch the play services like it would be on a brand new stock Android phone so you get the same kind of Google account integration that you expect from Google's Android.
Edit:
I'd see if you can get some more info from other people... As far as I'm aware, installing Google Play and Google Services doesn't work for everybody. They have for me though, and I'm really happy with the device as it is now, especially considering what I paid for it unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you're getting successful results then you should consider sharing what you did and how you did it so we can get the ball rolling.
Also you're able to sideload most apps (besides google apps) and they work normally? Im considering buying this phone with the current deal
sram21092 said:
if you're getting successful results then you should consider sharing what you did and how you did it so we can get the ball rolling.
Also you're able to sideload most apps (besides google apps) and they work normally? Im considering buying this phone with the current deal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I detailed what I did here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57161714&postcount=24
(Here's the post where I got the instructions from: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57095260&postcount=9 )
I didn't change the directory where I sideloaded the Vending.apk, I just sideloaded it in with everything else. I don't remember if I briefly tried to install the Play store before without Google services, but that's probably why I had to adb install with the -r flag.
Before I installed Google services, some apps were working fine without them. Notably, Snapchat complained every time I brought it up, but ran fine. I would wait a bit for some more input from people... From what I've heard around here, it's just me and another guy (Aztecwarrior, the guy whose method I used in that thread) who have it working at the moment. I'd say you can sideload most applications without installing Google services.
http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ is what I used to pull APKs to sideload before installing the Google services and Play store.
EDIT: I should mention that the Play store doesn't just deliver updates to apps... I've been able to completely install and manage applications through it; it works just as you'd expect it to work on any other phone for the moment. i.e., you don't need to sideload apps first to get them on the phone if you've installed all the Google stuff. Sorry for the ambiguity in my previous post.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Another question: so far have you noticed that you've been getting a number of error massages/application crashes? I had previously installed google apps and services on my fire hdx and constantly received messages that various apps were crashing in the background, which I found super annoying.
Has anyone else had luck with play music? Does it work for all access?
Just a follow up on why I care about hangouts- I run all of my phone and text through google voice and this has been integrated into hangouts. I'm a cheapskate and can use the hangouts app to place calls and send/receive texts so I don't pay for minutes or texts. I'm one of the few people who doesn't care too much about missing play store, since I have the hdx, I've got a bunch of apps off of the amazon store.
bmbriefs said:
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Another question: so far have you noticed that you've been getting a number of error massages/application crashes? I had previously installed google apps and services on my fire hdx and constantly received messages that various apps were crashing in the background, which I found super annoying.
Has anyone else had luck with play music? Does it work for all access?
Just a follow up on why I care about hangouts- I run all of my phone and text through google voice and this has been integrated into hangouts. I'm a cheapskate and can use the hangouts app to place calls and send/receive texts so I don't pay for minutes or texts. I'm one of the few people who doesn't care too much about missing play store, since I have the hdx, I've got a bunch of apps off of the amazon store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No background crashes -- yet -- at all. I've also enabled background ANRs in the dev options, and nothing's popped up from that either.
I don't have all access for Music, so I can't comment on that.
I just installed Hangouts and gave it a cursory launch... It loads up, enabled SMS (loaded all my conversations from the Fire Phone's messenger app), has all my contacts loaded up to start a conversation. Is there anything specific you'd want me to try?
Thanks again! Glad to hear you're not getting the annoying error messages. I think this pretty much seals the deal for me.
On the fire phone, is it possible to change the default sms and dialer apps?
On last request.... could you give the hangouts dialer a shot? This allows you to place calls over wifi using hangouts.
bmbriefs said:
Thanks again! Glad to hear you're not getting the annoying error messages. I think this pretty much seals the deal for me.
On the fire phone, is it possible to change the default sms and dialer apps?
On last request.... could you give the hangouts dialer a shot? This allows you to place calls over wifi using hangouts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding default apps, everything is handled via intents (e.g. I set chrome to take all web requests)... when I enabled hangouts sms, I started getting texts to hangouts without being notified by the default app, so I think that much is configurable. The dialer, I'm not sure.
I'm in class right now (and pretty much until 9pm, and lots of homework), but I'll check hangouts dialer and default apps when I have time.
Did you root it first ,if so, did you use the same method as aztecwarrior?
No root. I used the guide that Aztec referenced, but not his exact steps. Check post #4 in this thread, the first few lines.
bmbriefs said:
I'm wondering if there is anyone here who can speak to the stability of Google Apps (hangouts, Gmail, etc.) sideloading them onto the fire phone along with Google lay services. I'm really interested in this phone but am not sure if I can give up my gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using the Play Store, Hangouts, and Gmail off and on the last 12 hours or so. It's been rock solid for me. No crashes. Haven't found any missing features. Maps does seem to have some issues but haven't tried navigation yet, which is what I really would use it for.
Thanks to you all for your input. I bit the bullet and ordered one before the sale ended.
Now I tried the procedure from scratch (all apks uninstalled and rebooted the phone) several times with different apk-Versions (mainly 2 different links as d/l source).
My Play Store is always not getting any connection and I am not able to d/l apps from the store. Additionally, G Servies crashes every few minutes. I did follow the procedure like apk installation order, reboot, etc. No luck .
Btw. my fire phone is NOT rooted and is on fire OS 3.6.2.
natter.
natter_deluxe said:
Now I tried the procedure from scratch (all apks uninstalled and rebooted the phone) several times with different apk-Versions (mainly 2 different links as d/l source).
My Play Store is always not getting any connection and I am not able to d/l apps from the store. Additionally, G Servies crashes every few minutes. I did follow the procedure like apk installation order, reboot, etc. No luck .
Btw. my fire phone is NOT rooted and is on fire OS 3.6.2.
natter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried checking for a firmware update in the settings? When did you get your fire phone? I think the ATT/Carrier-bound FPs have some slight differences in hardware and firmware.
snapplefish said:
Have you tried checking for a firmware update in the settings? When did you get your fire phone? I think the ATT/Carrier-bound FPs have some slight differences in hardware and firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi snapplefish,
there is no firmware update available, when I am checking in the settings. I did get my phone from Amazon Germany with T-Mobile Sim lock (German localization - maybe that is why e.g. there is no 3.6.8 fire OS firmware available yet) early october 2014 when it was launched here. They sold it accidently for 10 bucks w/o a carrier contract.
Is there any hardware id of phone that can be checked? I could find:
Fire OS 3.6.2 (122009420)
Model No. SD4930UR
Btw., latest versions of Account Manager and Framework from my second phone do not install. Play Services 6.5 and Play Store 5.0 will install, however, no change compared to the older versions linked in the tutorials --> no 'my apps' tab in G Play Store.
natter_deluxe said:
Hi snapplefish,
there is no firmware update available, when I am checking in the settings. I did get my phone from Amazon Germany with T-Mobile Sim lock (German localization - maybe that is why e.g. there is no 3.6.8 fire OS firmware available yet) early october 2014 when it was launched here. They sold it accidently for 10 bucks w/o a carrier contract.
Is there any hardware id of phone that can be checked? I could find:
Fire OS 3.6.2 (122009420)
Model No. SD4930UR
Btw., latest versions of Account Manager and Framework from my second phone do not install. Play Services 6.5 and Play Store 5.0 will install, however, no change compared to the older versions linked in the tutorials --> no 'my apps' tab in G Play Store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be on Fire OS 3.6.8 if you have unlocked phone. I had some issues with some launchers, but the standard Google Now Launcher for the most part seems fine. Appstore is very limited and playstore seems to have a lot of tools...unfortunately it's going to be playing with some apps and seeing if they are stable or not. Battery Doctor, clean master, home switch, and weather & clock seems to work for me.
frekey22 said:
You should be on Fire OS 3.6.8 if you have unlocked phone. I had some issues with some launchers, but the standard Google Now Launcher for the most part seems fine. Appstore is very limited and playstore seems to have a lot of tools...unfortunately it's going to be playing with some apps and seeing if they are stable or not. Battery Doctor, clean master, home switch, and weather & clock seems to work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, checking the update status does not provide the 3.6.8 version to my phone. It is not rooted and after delivery with 3.6.0 I did nothing else to the phone but update it to 3.6.2.
Only the new GSM unlocked phones come with 3.6.8 Sounds like you got your phone before this all happend therefore you are able to downgrade and root, your one of the lucky ones. You can get a AOSP feel to your phone if you want. Not sure why your not following those guides. Heck if you don't want to root then I'll trade you phones lol.
Gmail conacts
I am transferring my contacts to the FIre phone from Android. All my phone contacts are stored in Gmail(google contacts).
Now the problem is i am not able to find a setting option which would show only contacts with Phone no.
It is showing all contacts of Gmail, but i only need contacts with phone no there.
I had the same issue in Android 2.3 or something, when Android had an option of enabling the contacts with phone no only. Later on in Android 4 they moved to keeping all contacts but at the dialup i could search for only contacts with numbers only.
Any suggestion here. May be a different launcher or app?
Thanks
I received my phone and mostly everything is working. Google voice works, and automatically places calls using my gv number. Only issue I'm having is that the hangouts doesn't send sms messages over WiFi (but will over let) and the hangouts dialer has the same issue, I can't place calls via WiFi either. Anyone else find this?
I have been happily running google services on my phone (fireos 3.6.8). However, Google released an update to Play Services (version 7.3) yesterday (4/15/2015), which crashes. Has anyone else started getting popups saying "Google Play Services has stopped" constantly? Does anyone have a workaround or does anyone know of a way to keep Play Services from updating automatically? I am able to reinstall 7.0.99, which works, but the app immediately downloads the update and installs itself automatically.
I am having the same problem. Installed the previous version but was automatically updated.
I'm also having the same problem and would like to find a workaround or a temp stop too keep these messages from popping up. It makes the phone nearly unusable.
works okay on 4.6.1
I had the same problem, suddenly play services was crashing continually. Just updated to FireOS 4.6.1, and google play services is no longer causing trouble. On the other hand, Google Play Store just hangs. I can downgrade to an older version that works, but it keeps automatically updating. So pick your poison: On 3.6.8 the services will crash, and on 4.6.1 the store will crash. I think the services crash was worse.
No troubles here with newest Services or Store on 4.6.1.
Thanks. I updated to 4.6.1 and everything is much better.
apo383 said:
I had the same problem, suddenly play services was crashing continually. Just updated to FireOS 4.6.1, and google play services is no longer causing trouble. On the other hand, Google Play Store just hangs. I can downgrade to an older version that works, but it keeps automatically updating. So pick your poison: On 3.6.8 the services will crash, and on 4.6.1 the store will crash. I think the services crash was worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try deleting all Google services,play store,account manager and framework and reinstall
Also noticed google play store wont load after update
Also Clash of Clans refused to open. Uninstalled everything google, and now clash opens but wont sync to my google+ account because I cant get google services to actually open, so I've lost all my progress.
All in all, happy its not giving me the stopped working message but irritated google services is acting so crazy. Also cant get gmail to open because of all this.
rich8511 said:
Also noticed google play store wont load after update
Also Clash of Clans refused to open. Uninstalled everything google, and now clash opens but wont sync to my google+ account because I cant get google services to actually open, so I've lost all my progress.
All in all, happy its not giving me the stopped working message but irritated google services is acting so crazy. Also cant get gmail to open because of all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you uninstall and go back to the older version of google play services, none of the google apps will run. They REQUIRE the danged update.
Lots of folks using many different phones are having issues with the latest version of Google Services. Might not just be the Fire phone having issues then. My services is still 7.0.99 even after updating the OS. Play store still reports that's the latest version for me so maybe they froze the update. I think I may set that file to read only until this is sorted out.
after using my phone with the updated OS for a few days now, I've also experienced some more issues. some apps don't open or stall on opening such as Redfin and some open, but don't seem to work such as Pandora (opens, but music won't load).
anyone else?
Downloaded and installed this,
Google Play Store 5.4.12
still not working acts like it can't see phone
installed tab and if you try to install just spins.
worked yesterday made the mistake or resetting and trying again.
rbeavers said:
Downloaded and installed this,
Google Play Store 5.4.12
still not working acts like it can't see phone
installed tab and if you try to install just spins.
worked yesterday made the mistake or resetting and trying again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing here. I uninstalled play store and installed older version 4.1.10. I can then open up the store and update applications, but the next time I open Google auto updates (despite settings not to) it to the latest version that just spins on a white screen. At least this is a work around to keep other apps updated while we wait for a fix.
It looks like Google Play Services 7.3.29 was just released this morning. I have fireos 4.6.1 installed, my play services auto updated, and Play Store and Gmail now appear to work without hanging! Google hangouts still does not let me send messages.
Well, I spoke too soon. Play Store and Gmail open, but they don't refresh properly. That's frustrating.
I am not very technical, I did manage to sideload the play store with someone from this forum's easy to follow directions a few months back. That being said today I am having the issue with google services crashing non stop, can't load gmail and this phone is virtually useless because I have to keep replying 'ok' to the crash...
I'm on 3.6.8 and it says I'm up to date, no new updates to download ... how can I get the newer version of 4.6.1 so I can solve this crashing issue? I'd appreciate it if someone has easy to follow directions for the somewhat technically challenged... (me!)
I'm running it with T-Mobile's network and I'm in the USA.
I don't know what version google play services I use (or how to check for that matter).
Thanks!!
mjp123 said:
I am not very technical, I did manage to sideload the play store with someone from this forum's easy to follow directions a few months back. That being said today I am having the issue with google services crashing non stop, can't load gmail and this phone is virtually useless because I have to keep replying 'ok' to the crash...
I'm on 3.6.8 and it says I'm up to date, no new updates to download ... how can I get the newer version of 4.6.1 so I can solve this crashing issue? I'd appreciate it if someone has easy to follow directions for the somewhat technically challenged... (me!)
I'm running it with T-Mobile's network and I'm in the USA.
I don't know what version google play services I use (or how to check for that matter).
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updating wont help the google play store not working at lest for long.
same issue. don't see fire os update
Google play services crashing even after multiple uninstalls and updates. I don't see the fire OS update available for me yet, still showing 3.6.8 as the latest. Any ideas to try?
rbeavers said:
Updating wont help the google play store not working at lest for long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks! Are you saying that even if I updated to the latest Fire OS I'd still get these 'Google play services has stopped' errors constantly? Also do you know if Google play store is having issues with other phones and OS's and if they are working on a fix? (it's so annoying.. can't get to gmail and the error is constant)... thanks everyone!
not just us
mjp123 said:
thanks! Are you saying that even if I updated to the latest Fire OS I'd still get these 'Google play services has stopped' errors constantly? Also do you know if Google play store is having issues with other phones and OS's and if they are working on a fix? (it's so annoying.. can't get to gmail and the error is constant)... thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go look at google play services on the google play store. Everyone is having problems and giving it 1 star (including me). Multiple phones are having the issue:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.gms&hl=en
So two days ago I installed freedom on my phone. I patched minecraft for the skins and then just left it and the next day my friend came over and was using my phone as a hotspot but he couldn't use snapchat. It just wasn't loading anything even though everything else was fine and it worked fine when he connected to my wifi. I then noticed my snapchat wasn't loading anything either so i logged out and that was the last time i've been logged into snapchat for two days now. It just thinks about logging in for ages then tells me it cant reach the servers. The other problem is my playstore won't work. It says check connection and retry instantly and ive tried uninstalling all updates to play store, clearing cache and data etc. Another weird thing is my phone was taking ages to boot up. I removed freedom cus I suspect it has sabotaged my phone but I have no idea what to do about it. I use snapchat a lot and it's really getting to me as this issue makes no damn sense. Sorry for the rushed typing.
Factory reset?
Oh, and anything related to Lucky P****** is a taboo on XDA. The mods are dead serious about it, you might want to edit your post quick.
Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the reply and I've edited my post now. I have narrowed the issue down to being google play services as snapchat requires that to log in. I tried to remove google play services to reinstall it but it can't actually be removed fully not even with titanium backup so now it's just one big mess. My google account has been removed from my phone and I can't add it back because it just tells me "There was a problem communicating with google play servers". I really don't want to factory reset my phone as I have it rooted etc and it's just a major pain in the arse to get everything back to how I want it so I'm going to just try and sort it out by trying different things.
Edit: I solved it. Went into the hosts file in etc/hosts and commented out the ip for google play services then restarted my phone and that allowed me to log into google play account and everything works fine now. It said my hosts file was last edited at 9 oclock of august 30th so I don;t know what edited it but I feel like it as purposely sabotaged.
I don't know if this might help but i remember i had the same problem (coudn't use play store right after using freedom) on my s3. When you're done with freedom just remember to click on "stop" in the app or play store won't allow you to access it
My phone is becoming a huge pain in my ass. It starts when google cannot be opened, same with the google assistant. I cannot use the app at all, and force closing, restarting, and clearing cache does absolutely nothing. That isn't that huge, I just have no assistant and have to use chrome. The problem comes when the google play store won't open, the photos app, or youtube. This all started happening since I updated to the Oreo beta for the Moto Z Play via the soak tests, and even after going to the second and third versions, it has not been fixed. The only way to fix it is to factory reset, and this takes a long time to set back up since I have a lot of apps and have to download many more apps via apks such as slide for reddit. This factory reset doesn't even fix it permanently, it comes back within a week. There is no common event that triggers it at all either.
Does anyone know how to alleviate this problem? I saw some potential solutions of deleting your google account from the phone and adding it back, but it doesn't help. I also cannot go back to stock nougat since it isn't too easy to leave the soak test, and I have 0 bugs on the soak test otherwise.
My guess is that there is some google play services problem.. try manually updating/uninstalling updates and if necessary do a restart
First, thx for reporting this issue.
Are you part of official SOAK or you have done you shouldn't, flashed leaked SOAK?
Anyway, I just read that one SOAK tester has the same problem. For now, I don't but I'm having some others.
From rock stable Nougat, we are now on problematic Oreo. Hopefully Google and Moto will sorted out eventually.
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk
It happened on July 25th 2018.
I was managing without rooting, with only side loaded Google Apps (Thanks to this forum), managing to get by with pretty much everything I needed in a phone. Occasionally I will hit a bump saying "Your phone doesn't support this app" because the Android is some defunct version. I will either get by without the app, or side load the apk and manage.
But, starting yesterday, WhatsApp is quitting out immediately with no visible error message. It just doesn't run. I think it happened after the latest WhatsApp update which happened on July 25th 2018.
Is this the end of the road?? WhatsApp is something I need in the phone.
What is my way forward.. other than buying a new phone?
For me, wapp sideloaded from play store works good. Some lags from sideloaded apps but is ok. Maybe u have an virus, I recommend to reinstall your rom
ozan2 said:
For me, wapp sideloaded from play store works good. Some lags from sideloaded apps but is ok. Maybe u have an virus, I recommend to reinstall your rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I side loaded WhatsApp Messenger version 2.18.217 from apkpure. That is working. Just lost a day's worth of messages. Not too bad. I also disabled auto app updates for Google play store.
But I still have one question. Since this WhatsApp version is side loaded, and not downloaded from Google Play Store, should I still be concerned about auto updates, or can I turn auto updates on, and this will remain undisturbed?
Thanks..