I have a confusion regarding android. this is very general query.
In Computer, first we have to have exe file to install anything and then we click on it to install the app on windows computer generally. when the app is installed on computer, we have installed app files in program files and then a dump (that is exe file) which we keep to install this app on any other computer.
Now, please let me know if this is applicable in android phones also?
I know that in android, there is .apk file instead of .exe file in computer. I observed that after installation apk file disappears. Is this true?
Not sure if in understood well, did you mean if instal anything from SD card? If you are asking that the answer is yes, i install everything from SD card and the apk file stay there after installation.
What if u install any app from Market?
vijay.gupta said:
I have a confusion regarding android. this is very general query.
In Computer, first we have to have exe file to install anything and then we click on it to install the app on windows computer generally. when the app is installed on computer, we have installed app files in program files and then a dump (that is exe file) which we keep to install this app on any other computer.
Now, please let me know if this is applicable in android phones also?
I know that in android, there is .apk file instead of .exe file in computer. I observed that after installation apk file disappears. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even in Android you can see the .apk files under /system/app. Also applications installed by you can be backed up & later restored using software available on market.
"Normally" these apks dissapear when you download from.market, but all of.your apks are stored in your phone, the thing is that you have to hav permission to do that, when you download an apk (the single file) and store it in sd card to install it, the apk is copied to the phone.
Sent from my GT-I5801 using XDA App
But if u back up ur apps as .apk and install them later using softwares (with exception of Titanium backup) u will loose connection between the app and android market (that means no updates)
the best option is to backup ur apps with titanium backup along with user data and restore it using the same
how do i access /system/app? Do I need to root the phone in order to see this directory?
vijay.gupta said:
how do i access /system/app? Do I need to root the phone in order to see this directory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download Terminal emulator from market & you are ready to go to /system/app !!!!
You can also download Root Explorer and so the same
Thank all. Can you please confirm what I am writing below:
Suppose I buy a android phone (with android 2.1 so you cannot install apps from SD card) in which I installed an application named XYZ from Market. Now, there is a apk file for XYZ which gets downloaded somewhere in the phone memory and then it gets installed automatically.
Now, I just want to know, where does this apk file go after XYZ is installed? Does it stay in phone memory with the installed files of XYZ.
If it goes to phone memory and not deleted from there, then phone memory
if u install .apk from market it will be stored and installed in /data/app in phone memory. i do not think it is stored twice in the phone.
Do u mean to say that only the installed file gets stored and. apk. File got deleted automatically after getting installed?
vijay.gupta said:
Do u mean to say that only the installed file gets stored and. apk. File got deleted automatically after getting installed?
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Click to collapse
Remember that an .apk file its a variant of the .jar files when you install an .apk this file gets stored inside the phone along with its necesary dependencies when the app starts, the os reads this file line by line while the app is executed.
In short terms the .apk file its the application itself that need a proper interpreter to run, in that way when you install and app to the phone, it copies this file and links the dependencies, so the .apks downloaded from makret are stored directly inside the app folder, in that way you can extract them from this folder and use it in another android phone.
You are relying too much on the windows ways of things. You see an exe file installion in windows essentially unpacking everything (other things aside) where it is needed and you then often see a bunch of files and folders. This is not what happens in android, the apk file is conserved when installed and can be found in the root part of your phone. Its data/app/ if installed on your phone, mnt/asec. (or something like asec) if installed on your sd card. You can copy that file to your sd card or send it to another device and install it again. I did just that today (I sent an apk to a friend)
anyway i dont think its same if i delete .apk + odex files from /data/app as i uninstall it with titanium backup. i think TB will be delete also data stored by the app inside the database (its the place where the apps are saving data, settings, etc...)
In case you are installing from Android Market:
1. When you are at market, it doesn't ask you to download. You will only get option either to install or update the existing app.
2. If you are a normal user, after installing, you won't be able to see the apk file anywhere on your memory card. But if you are a root user or with the help of special file managers and specific apps like root explorer and terminal emulators, you can locate those spk files in the phone's hidden memory.
3. If you are a root user, or with the help above mentioned type of apps, you can locate the apk files in phone memory and copy it on your memory card and distribute it to your wish.
4. If you are worried for paid apps and losing your phone or apps because of resetting or any other reason then stop worrying. A record of your paid apps is stored in google servers. So, even if you reset your phone or lose your phone, once you log in to a your new android device with the same google account, it will automatically show your paid apps. You don't have to pay for it again. Just need to install it again. This is applicable only if you are paying for the app through android market and you are logging into your android device with the same google account you had before losing your apps.
In case of installing via your SD card:
1. apk files are just like java files (.jad or .jar). You can download it on your PC from various sources and transfer it to your SD card or any of your friends' via USB, bluetooth or any other way.
2. After transfering the apk file to your SD card, it doesn't get automatically installed. You have to click it or open it to install, just like how we double click the exe file in windows.
3. Whether installed or not installed, the apk file you transfer to your SD card will always remain there unless and untill you or someone else delete it or you format your memory card.
4. Once installed, a copy of the same apk file would also be there in your phone's hidden memory, which you can access using special apps.
If you worried about losing your apps, try searching for other apps which backups apk... you can do so at android market. Moreover, also search on the net about having root access on your android device.. it'll let you access files in your phone's memory.
I hope, this would solve down all your queries !!!
Thanks next2 devil. Very gud explanation. It cleared almost all confusions. I have some more confusions that i want to clear out.
1) just a general query that just like exe file got unpacked after double clicking on it and install its files in c: genrally, does the same happen with apk, jad and jar files?
2) just want to clear out that phone memory which is hidden for normal users contains the copy of only those apk files that are currently installed on the phone and not the ones that are uninstalled or not installed at all?
vijay.gupta said:
Thanks next2 devil. Very gud explanation. It cleared almost all confusions. I have some more confusions that i want to clear out.
1) just a general query that just like exe file got unpacked after double clicking on it and install its files in c: genrally, does the same happen with apk, jad and jar files?
2) just want to clear out that phone memory which is hidden for normal users contains the copy of only those apk files that are currently installed on the phone and not the ones that are uninstalled or not installed at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I am not sure about JAD and JAR files, but yes, APK files unpack itself to get installed. You can come to know the exact size/space that would be taken by the app directly from the android market. Details would be given there.
2. Yes, the phone memory would be having copy of files only which is installed. There would be no copy of any apk file which in not installed.
Thanks next2devil. Your response give rise to one more query.
if i compare unpacking logic from windows, there is no need for original exe file to remain in existence after it has been installed and user can delete exe file after installing it. Deleting exe file has no negative impact on the working of installed app. Please let me know if this is also the case with apk files? If yes, then what is the need of apk file to remain in phone memory after it has been installed?
vijay.gupta said:
Thanks next2devil. Your response give rise to one more query.
if i compare unpacking logic from windows, there is no need for original exe file to remain in existence after it has been installed and user can delete exe file after installing it. Deleting exe file has no negative impact on the working of installed app. Please let me know if this is also the case with apk files? If yes, then what is the need of apk file to remain in phone memory after it has been installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Short and simple. Deleting the apk file from /data/app removes the app.
Sent from my Lestatious v1.4.5.5 Galaxy 3 FROYO
I have some friends that want me to install Phiremod onto their Nook Colors. What is the easiest way for me to install free apps in bulk without using the market? I thought it would be cool to have a bunch of free apps loaded on it for them so they don't have to install them all manually. Thanks!
Either push them with adb as a data/app folder or my preferred method....Open the rom with 7zip pre-flashing and just copy the apk's over.
hockeyfamily737 said:
Either push them with adb as a data/app folder or my preferred method....Open the rom with 7zip pre-flashing and just copy the apk's over.
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Click to collapse
Cool. I'll try that. But where is a safe place to legally obtain the free apps as .apk files?
I'd like that info too
OK guys. There are a couple of ways I do this. You can download any rom for any device, open it up and pull the .apk's you want out of it, you can find them on your android phone and transfer them to your Nook, and you can find a lot of good ones right here on XDA. I have a whole library of apps that I've saved over the last couple of years. They're all backed up on my computer andf my dropbox account. Let me know if there is anything in particular you're looking for if I have it I'll share.
I have a question. You download an app from google play store to your device. And it fails to install due to device incompatibility or certificate error.
So where is the downloaded apk file stored in the device. Like in windows we have a temp folder, do we have a temp folder where the apk file is stored temporarily?
I don't think you can grasp the apk file after install failed as you can't even see the file after it installed correctly. (please correct me if that is wrong) I think this is about copyright protection issues.
Anyways as (almost) always there is an app for that: Try "appmonster". There is a free trial availbe in google play. It saves downloaded apk's to your sd card so you can install it again and again.
I hope that helped you ;-)
Manipur, try to look into /data/apps folder. You may require root permission to access this folder. There should be all user installed apk packages stored. But I'm not sure if there are also apks of applications that failed to install. Just look there and you'll see
boelze said:
I don't think you can grasp the apk file after install failed as you can't even see the file after it installed correctly. (please correct me if that is wrong) I think this is about copyright protection issues.
Anyways as (almost) always there is an app for that: Try "appmonster". There is a free trial availbe in google play. It saves downloaded apk's to your sd card so you can install it again and again.
I hope that helped you ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. But applications that failed to install are not backed up.
t-fuse said:
Manipur, try to look into /data/apps folder. You may require root permission to access this folder. There should be all user installed apk packages stored. But I'm not sure if there are also apks of applications that failed to install. Just look there and you'll see
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps that failed to install are not backed up though.
There is a program called "APK Downloader" (codekiem.com) which is able to download apk's from Google Play. It only works with free apps so it is "not illegal" but it is against the ToS of Google Play. Use at your own risk!
I have not tested it though...
I have at last a working 2.3.5 Android on my U8800 Pro. But, I want to clean up the bundled applications that I do not need. In order to do so, I want to find out which apks as well as what other changes I need to do in order to clean up those apps. I know that this is in the http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420728 thread, but I want more details for more applications.
What I want to know is:
I suppose that it is not just enough to remove the apk file from the /system/apps/<appname>.apk , is it? If not, what other actions must I perform?
Should I remove the relevant lines from the /system/filelist.lst file?
Where are the application's temporary/user data stored? In /data/data? Should I remove them too?
If I move the /system/app/<file>.apk to /data/app/<file>.apk, how can I stop the application from starting during boot-up in the first place?
Important note: I will not root the phone. Everything will be performed from the pink screen and the mounting of /dev/sd?{12,13} on my Linux box.
In my B521 setup the APKs that I need your help in order to understand what applications or services/widgets are represent, are:
OMACP.apk
ApkBatchInstall.apk
GenieWidget.apk
DeskClock.apk
DownloadProvider.apk
DownloadProviderUI.apk
HwOUC.apk
MagicSmokeWallpapers.apk
MyCalendar.apk
MyRichpad.apk
RichPad.apk
Service-MultiSNS.apk
SocialExt.apk
SmartcardService.apk
RichPad.apk
UpdaterSolutionEx.apk
What information I am looking for is something like this:
Gallery3D.apk: The image gallery application.
PicoTts.apk: Pico Text-to-Speech
Please for your help. After that list is completed, I will write a list of all applications (apks) that are bundled and how to remove them, I promise
Hello!
Can anybody tell me which .apk files I am safe to delete? My setup:
-NookManager
-GApps
-Kindle
-Will not be using *any* B&N Apps (however removing them using NookManager stops the Market from working)
The only GApp I am really interested in is the Market - Is it possible to side load this *only*? It's just lots of other stuff is installed as part of GApp which I have no need for... But there are so many .apk files in system/app and I'm concerned removing some may cause instabilities.
Thanks.
LavaChild0809 said:
Hello!
Can anybody tell me which .apk files I am safe to delete? My setup:
-NookManager
-GApps
-Kindle
-Will not be using *any* B&N Apps (however removing them using NookManager stops the Market from working)
The only GApp I am really interested in is the Market - Is it possible to side load this *only*? It's just lots of other stuff is installed as part of GApp which I have no need for... But there are so many .apk files in system/app and I'm concerned removing some may cause instabilities.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you can't install just the Market. The Market is dependent on the Google Talk and other backend apks. There are patches to system files to get Android setup to work to activate the market. Better to install NTGAppsAttack and then delete what you don't need. After installing NTGappsAttack you can probably remove GenieWidget.apk, Calculator.apk, Calendar.apk, Gmail.apk and Talk.apk. These are all frontends so they shouldn't cause trouble. Before you do this you probably want to use Gmail to get into account and sync settings to turn off mail, calendar and contacts sync. Then you can try removing some of the backend stuff - GmailProvider.apk, CalendarProvider.apk, ContactsProvider.apk and GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk. I would start with renaming these apk's and seeing how it goes then if all is well you can delete them. Everything else I would leave alone.
Read through the NookManager and NTGAppsAttack threads. There is a discussion there somewhere about the disabling of B&N apps and the affect on the market.