Help Android Phone in China - how can I get apps?

[Bg260]

Can't figure out if your device has a cn, hk or tw rom. @mikedt might know.

At anyrate here is the open source .apk.
It is in zip format. Try it if you want. The link will only download not install. You will need to access it via your file system. I hope your file browser can unpack zips.
If not I could recommend one from the p̶l̶a̶y̶s̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ Nevermind

If it helps be sure to thank the developer in the thread.

 

[mikedt]

Would be the CN one I think, for mainland China. HK(Hong Kong) and TW(Taiwan) would both have GMS present.

 

[Bg260]

Would be the CN one I think, for mainland China. HK(Hong Kong) and TW(Taiwan) would both have GMS present.

Did you look at the thread? Says most cn Roms. Doesn't mention Sammie though.

 

[Atom C]

I thought that was a non-rooted thread.
Sorry

Allright, this is what I meant. This is my last shot but it is recent and looks viable...if you are able to access mediafire.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/guide-how-to-install-google-play-store-t3329476

Hmmm... interesting, haven't seen that before. Looks almost too good to be true. Doesn't say anything about whether this works with Samsung devices though, all those mentioned are home-grown China brands. Gonna bear it in mind, though after my recent 'bricking' experience I am rather nervous about doing anything that tries to flout the tight-as-a-drum locking up of these latest phones. Thanks again.

 

[Atom C]

Hmmm... interesting, haven't seen that before. Looks almost too good to be true. Doesn't say anything about whether this works with Samsung devices though, all those mentioned are home-grown China brands. Gonna bear it in mind, though after my recent 'bricking' experience I am rather nervous about doing anything that tries to flout the tight-as-a-drum locking up of these latest phones. Thanks again.

Just for the record, tried it out, didn't work. It downloaded and installed all the bits and pieces, but Google Services Framework crashes like every 5 seconds making the phone unusable until you just uninstall it. Clearly Samsung has made quite sure this is not an option on their phones sold in China.
Anyways.... learned a lot and did in the end get the app I was looking for in the first place, so thanks again to all.

 

[hiredgun]

Now I know what they mean by "Pass me the MIKE!!" Great Job Big Mike, everything and MORE that anyone stuck in China would need to know about phones. I'd just like to add for future reference that looking for FREE apps and downloading them on the PC and then passing them over to the phone would be another way around this. With a little patience you can find almost anything out there!!!

 

[Atom C]

Now I know what they mean by "Pass me the MIKE!!" Great Job Big Mike, everything and MORE that anyone stuck in China would need to know about phones. I'd just like to add for future reference that looking for FREE apps and downloading them on the PC and then passing them over to the phone would be another way around this. With a little patience you can find almost anything out there!!!

Yep, I agree. And as a person stuck in China I've sure learned a lot. For example: if you want to play by the rules and buy the app you want... well, you don't have that option. So... you have no choice but to break the rules... and thereby incur the frowns of the righteous.

 

[mikedt]

Yep, I agree. And as a person stuck in China I've sure learned a lot. For example: if you want to play by the rules and buy the app you want... well, you don't have that option. So... you have no choice but to break the rules... and thereby incur the frowns of the righteous.

Well, yeh we often break the rules in China, where things can be very laissez-faire, and you do what you have to do. However as Android Forums is a United States site, and so does come under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA). As an AF staff member I'm certainly not going to put anything up that infringes copyright, or at least try not to.

One thing Google didn't want to play by the rules in China, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_China
...and that basically why they're out of it and banned. On the other hand Microsoft and Apple are not outlawed, and do quite well probably.

 

[hiredgun]

Just out of curiosity though Mike, aren't the iPhones that are allowed in China limited to certain apps that they are allowed to include on the phone if it wants to be sold in China???

Well, yeh we often break the rules in China, where things can be very laissez-faire, and you do what you have to do.

One thing Google didn't want to play by the rules in China, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_China
...and that basically why they're out of it and banned. On the other hand Microsoft and Apple are not outlawed, and do quite well probably.

 

[mikedt]

Just out of curiosity though Mike, aren't the iPhones that are allowed in China limited to certain apps that they are allowed to include on the phone if it wants to be sold in China???

I don't think so actually, as long as apps comply with Apple's own rules, they're in. Online apps like Facebook won't work unless you're using VPN.

However there's certainly no shortage of VPN apps available in Apple's app store. And many of these should bypass the censoring(GFW). This is the Mac app store for China, but the iTunes iOS store is very much the same.

The first iPhone available in China had WiFi disabled, but I believe that was an approval issue. iOS in China is identical, still with the Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, etc. app integration stuff,.


Microsoft Bing search is available.

However "Some results are removed in response to a notice of local law requirement." I believe that was the original sticking point for Google, they refused to restrict(censor) their search in compliance with Chinese internet law. And so have been blocked ever since.

Not everything of Google is blocked though. Most notably AdSense, DoubleClick and AdMob(ad monetization for Android apps), those are available in China, because they're serious amounts of $$$$$ revenue for Alphabet Inc.(Google). ...as well as Maps and Translate, accessible from google.cn

 

[Tianso]

Google play store a big place to get different kind of apps easily. For different kind of apps you can try on Google Play store. Hope your problem will solve. Thank you!

 

[kristmitche86]

The Great Firewall of China has complete control around the internet censorship, you can access app store in China but for that you need VPN for Android from VPN Logics to get a dedicated internet connection. Also read customer experience to understand which VPN is working good.