• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help invalid package file...

This issue is a pain in the a$$! It happened to me 2 weeks ago and it was b/c i downloaded the .apk file for google earth b/c i was to impatient to wait for it on the marketplace. If you did, download astro file manager(it's free) and delete all traces of it from your SD card (look closely in all files) then go to settings>applications>manage applications and unistall google earth. Reboot phone. Attempt to download again. If unsuccessful or you never downloaded the .apk, then your only solution is to factory reset your phone. Trust me not as bad as it sounds, but before you do this, use astro manager to delete everything you can do without. (i recommend everything but your photos) Don't worry about the applications as those can be downloaded again, including the paid apps @ no charge (Google has a backup in place that recognizes your specific phone and what apps you paid for on the marketplace so when you search for it, you'll just be prompted to re-download) Next, settings>privacy>factory reset. This takes a minute or two and all you'll need to do after it's done is sync your device w/ Verizon's network (phone automatically prompts and dials, no speaking to anyone just technical mumbo jumbo) which can take 2-3 minutes. Then just set your homescreens the way you had them and download your apps. Google earth will work now 100% guaranteed if you went this route, i know b/c it's what i had to do. Good luck!
 
Upvote 0
The reason i left my .apk (droid-life) is b/c the marketplace will not recognize that you have google earth, and thus, no updates. See for yourself, check the marketplace and it will not show up in your "installed" apps. It's worth resetting for that reason alone, and really only takes 45 minutes to get your phone back the way you had it.
 
Upvote 0
If you did, download astro file manager(it's free) and delete all traces of it from your SD card (look closely in all files) then go to settings>applications>manage applications and unistall google earth.

I had the same invalid package file message with Google Maps and Touchdown when i tried to update them. What worked for me was to delete the relevant apk file from /system/app *as well as* the relevant classes.dex file from /cache/dalvik-cache. Root Explorer is required for this, Astro will show /cache as being empty.
 
Upvote 0
I had the same invalid package file message with Google Maps and Touchdown when i tried to update them. What worked for me was to delete the relevant apk file from /system/app *as well as* the relevant classes.dex file from /cache/dalvik-cache. Root Explorer is required for this, Astro will show /cache as being empty.

Worked great Root Explorer is worth the taxes :)
 
Upvote 0
I have done a factory data reset and even updated my tab to gingerbread but, the problem persists. However i have noticed that the smaller the app the more likely it is to download and install properly. The larger apps are the biggest problem.

The conclusion i have come to is that dropping connection while downloading is the cause of this problem. It can not be the cache of the app as it occurs when i download an app i have never installed before.
 
Upvote 0
Im on T-Mobile (UK)... i have 3 android based phones in the house...none of which will download and install apps when on the T-Mobile network. All get the same error message package file is invalid, as soon as i switch to wifi i have no issues.

I have cleared cache, remounted SD card even done a factory reset but still get the same error message.

Is it T-Mobile or is it Android Market which is the problem? or both?

and does anyone have any advice...as this sucks big time.:mad:


thanks in advance
 
Upvote 0
I've got the very same problem too. I'm convinced it's the T-Mobile network.
A temporary fix is to go to:
settings > Wireless and network > Mobile network settings > Network mode
.... and select GSM only.
Make sure "Use packet data" is ticked under > Mobile network settings.
You should now be able to download and update apps via GSM. It'll take forever, but it should work.
Don't forget to re-enable GSM/WCDMA(Auto mode) when you've updated.
 
Upvote 0
This may or may not be relevant to your situation, but here's what the deal was with mine. I have CyanogenMod 7.1 installed, which puts dalvik-cache in the /cache partition instead of /data.

When you install apps from the Market, it downloads the .apk to /cache/downloads and installs it from there. If you don't have enough room in /cache/dalvik-cache for the installer to put the necessary files there, the install fails with a "package file is invalid" error.

There's nothing wrong with the package file at all. It's purely a matter of not having enough space in your /cache partition.

(forgive me if you see this exact same post in multiple places - if I'd known weeks ago that it wasn't really an "invalid package file" issue, it would've saved me a ton of useless googling - I'm just trying to spare others the same hassle)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Andima
Upvote 0
This may or may not be relevant to your situation, but here's what the deal was with mine. I have CyanogenMod 7.1 installed, which puts dalvik-cache in the /cache partition instead of /data.

When you install apps from the Market, it downloads the .apk to /cache/downloads and installs it from there. If you don't have enough room in /cache/dalvik-cache for the installer to put the necessary files there, the install fails with a "package file is invalid" error.

There's nothing wrong with the package file at all. It's purely a matter of not having enough space in your /cache partition.

(forgive me if you see this exact same post in multiple places - if I'd known weeks ago that it wasn't really an "invalid package file" issue, it would've saved me a ton of useless googling - I'm just trying to spare others the same hassle)

my phone is not rooted can i do anything? cheers for the reply.
 
Upvote 0
As far as I know, there's not much you can do except delete some stuff to free up space. Some people have had some success at moving their dalvik-cache to a partition on their SD card, but I'm not intrepid enough yet to give that a try (and you'd need to be rooted to do that anyway, I'm pretty sure).

Wish I could figure out something - I've got 92 megs free on my phone, but I can't install anything because dalvik-cache has filled up the /cache partition.
 
Upvote 0
I had the same invalid package file message with Google Maps and Touchdown when i tried to update them. What worked for me was to delete the relevant apk file from /system/app *as well as* the relevant classes.dex file from /cache/dalvik-cache. Root Explorer is required for this, Astro will show /cache as being empty.

Thanks, this works perfectly. I was getting the invalid package file message while trying to update google maps.
 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones