Help Google not working AT ALL on my HTC - even after factory reset

[1971791]

Hi everyone,

There has been a problem with Google on my phone for a few months now. I couldn't log into any Google-related apps, although I could still access apps like Chrome and Maps and use them. I also was not able to enter the Play Store at all, so I couldn't install or even uninstall any apps. I usually have a backup saved on Google Drive but as I couldn't log in, I used Dropbox instead (and using my HTC account). Just now, I decided to do a factory reset and then restoring the backup, in the hope that the issue with Google would be resolved. Unfortunately, the issue is STILL there even when the phone has been reset completely - I cannot log into my Google account. I tried to restore my backup but I was not able to log into Dropbox because it is not available on the factory version, yet it is not possible to install Dropbox because whenever I click on the Play Store, it flashes and then goes back to the home screen (although with no error message)! I don't know how this can still be a problem after a factory reset. I've tried deleting caché and data for the Play Store and Play Services, to no avail. This means that I can't make any changes to the phone and I'm stuck in this factory state.

Does anyone have any clue about what I could do to fix this? I don't have a problem with Google on my laptop at all. Without logging into Google/Google Drive on my phone, I can't get Dropbox and restore my phone I've had the phone for nearly three years now and I can't take it to the place I got it anymore because the warranty must have expired after two years. It's not looking good at all.

Would appreciate any help!

 

[1971791]

Just some more info - what made me do the reset in the end was that when I tried to add a new contact (on the default People app), pressing on the plus button would make the app crash instantly, with an error message (People has stopped unexpectedly, can send a report). This error is also still on my phone after the factory reset.

Google Maps works but Chrome doesn't, I get an error message when I click on it. When I try Google Drive, it says that I'm not signed into Google and exits the app.

In other words, the factory reset hasn't fixed any of the original problems.

I downloaded and installed Dropbox just now, by getting the APK file. I have signed in, but there's still no option to do a restore on the Backup & reset section of Settings. The backup I've been doing is via Dropbox on my HTC account and I'm signed in on that account on my phone now.

The question now might be, how can I do the backup with what I've got? To be honest, I can deal with the Google/contact problems as long as I have my other apps and data from those apps...

 

[svim]

Reading through your write-up this does seem complicated. I'm taking a guess that there's something going on between the Google account your phone was originally linked to and the Google account you use on a day-to-day basis. If you go into Settings >> Accounts >> Google and tap on your Gmail address are all the listed 'Sync ...' items enabled?
This link walks you through some possible solutions to re-establishing a Google account:
https://www.wikihow.tech/Change-Your-Google-Sign-in-on-Android

 

[Dannydet]

Log in to your Google account on a PC and check your trusted devices.
I'd change my password asap for the account so you aren't hacked

 

[1971791]

Reading through your write-up this does seem complicated. I'm taking a guess that there's something going on between the Google account your phone was originally linked to and the Google account you use on a day-to-day basis. If you go into Settings >> Accounts >> Google and tap on your Gmail address are all the listed 'Sync ...' items enabled?
This link walks you through some possible solutions to re-establishing a Google account:
https://www.wikihow.tech/Change-Your-Google-Sign-in-on-Android

Thanks for the reply.

On the Account & Sync section, Google isn't listed (because I'm not signed in). If I click on the plus and then add Google, nothing happens and I just get taken back to the Account & Sync screen. The problem could be with the account (although as said, it's not a problem on my laptop at all), but I think that it's not the main reason here. As I can't access Gmail, Chrome, Play Store, Drive at all and can't even get to a sign-in screen for Google, there's no chance of using an alternative Google account.

 

[1971791]

Log in to your Google account on a PC and check your trusted devices.
I'd change my password asap for the account so you aren't hacked

Password changed and there's no problem with my trusted devices.

-

What I don't understand is why the problems are still present having done a factory reset. That contradicts the very purpose of a factory reset, it's bizarre.

 

[svim]

...On the Account & Sync section, Google isn't listed (because I'm not signed in). ...

You're mixing up two different things, your HTC phone itself needs to be linked to a Google account, at a deeper level involving the Android operating system. You're looking at it as a matter of having your email app or other apps logged into your Google account. Until you actually go through the process of getting your phone re-linked to your Google account, you're going to continue to have those problems accessing your online info.

 

[svim]

... by changing the password to your Google account without having your phone linked to your account, you might run into a problem where you have to wait a specified number of hours to actually link it up again. Let's hope not but that's a security measure Google implemented to address phone theft. By trying to re-link your phone to your account now after the fact, the operating system itself is still linked to your original Google I.D. and password.

Regarding a Factory Reset, it does NOT wipe your entire phone's storage memory. All it does is wipe clean the partition where a user's data is stored. The Android operating system is left as is. It's actually a very confusing name that someone working at Android should have realized wasn't very accurate. Their view is by wiping a user's data off the phone it's 'mostly' like it is when it leaves the 'factory' but as you're experiencing now it's quite a misnomer.

 

[James L]

Why not try a RUU?

 

[1971791]

Why not try a RUU?

I don't know what that is, I just checked and it seems that I can reset the phone with it? What would be different about this and just doing a reset directly on the phone itself?

You're mixing up two different things, your HTC phone itself needs to be linked to a Google account, at a deeper level involving the Android operating system. You're looking at it as a matter of having your email app or other apps logged into your Google account. Until you actually go through the process of getting your phone re-linked to your Google account, you're going to continue to have those problems accessing your online info.

OK, I understand... but as far as I can tell, it seems to be impossible to get my phone re-linked to my Google account if anything Google-related on it isn't working. Everything is still fine on my laptop with respect to the account.

For what it's worth, I don't think that any of my accounts are in sync - just checked my HTC account and sync is off.

... by changing the password to your Google account without having your phone linked to your account, you might run into a problem where you have to wait a specified number of hours to actually link it up again. Let's hope not but that's a security measure Google implemented to address phone theft. By trying to re-link your phone to your account now after the fact, the operating system itself is still linked to your original Google I.D. and password.

I changed it after I read the message advising me to, I was having the account problems before this.

 

[Hadron]

The difference between an RUU and a reset is that the RUU completely replaces the phone's software as well as doing a reset.

I'm still not sure whether the problem is with your device or with Google. Unfortunately it seems hard to find information from Google on devices that haven't been connected in the last 28 days. So what exactly happens when you try to set up the Google account on your phone after a reset?

 

[1971791]

Hi guys, I have some good news. I tried Safe Mode (which didn't work) but then when I restarted the phone and tried HTC Setup, the restore from backup option was available, and I was able to restore from Dropbox. It crashed the first time, but it worked the second time. I don't have the right background or the apps in the right place on the home screen, but what I had has been restored.

However, some of the apps won't work because I need to update Google Play Services... which I can't do because I'm still having the Google problem haha.

Does anyone have any idea about what I could do from here? I tried an APK file for Play Services but it can't be parsed.

In the meantime, if anyone knows of a simple and reliable alternative Contacts app which doesn't use the default People app (just so I can actually add numbers), I'd be grateful if you could let me know so I can try and get the APK file.