How to add incompatible and location-limited apps to Android?
Often there is a desire to install a new exciting game or an interesting streaming service. Here are just some mistakes that can prevent you from doing this: incompatibility with the device or inaccessibility in the country of location. Don’t give up, there are a couple of ways to make the program work: using a VPN and downloading an APK file.
While VPNs and APKs are effective in specific situations, they are not a complete solution to all smartphone problems. During installation, you may find that some of the applications are banally incompatible with the device and none of the above allows you to fix it. With all the effort, the application refuses to work. Also, be warned that APK files are a potential threat, especially when downloaded from unverified sources. Unfair VPNs are also dangerous for user privacy. Care must be taken.
VPN
Some of the readers have already thought about using anonymizers, proxies and VPNs to disguise their location and deceive the Play Store. This method actually works. There are many applications for replacing IP addresses, and most have their own favorites. One of the decent services is TunnelBear. It is he who is taken as the basis of the next guide. However, the principle of action remains the same in other programs of a similar nature.
How to bypass the region restriction in the Play Store:
- Download TunnelBear app from Google Play store.
- Go to the VPN main menu and create a personal account.
- The next section will display the TunnelBear activity toggle and a world map. You just need to click on a tunnel anywhere in the world and wait for a connection with the selected server.
- If you are prompted to connect, you need to confirm it.
- After changing the current location via VPN, you can safely go to the Play Store and download the previously blocked application.
For example, while in Germany, there was a desire to add the Hulu application, which is not available here. To bypass the blockage, you just need to change your TunnelBear location to the United States. Download access opens instantly. Still, not all apps can be found by searching in the Play Store, because the store thinks that the home country is Germany. However, programs are available by searching by name. An alternative option is to find the application through the browser and click on the go to the store, the link will automatically open in the Play Store.
An important point is that blocking by region can work inside the application, then it will not work outside the allowed region with all the tricks.
Helpful! If the Play Store, after changing the IP, still reports that the application is not available in the current region, it is worth clearing its cache. You need to go to “Settings” in the “Applications” section and open the Google Play Store. It remains to click on the “Clear” button and select “Clear cache”. Now you can repeat the procedure.
APK file
The good news and the bad news is that installing an incompatible app with a smartphone is quite easy, but it only works with free games. The procedure implies the need to download the APK file through a thematic service. It is enough to specify the URL in the target window and the site will offer to download the appropriate file from this application. To get a link, you need to be tricky: click on the “Share” button, and specify the Gmail service.
Algorithm of actions:
- Copy the application URL from the mail service (via the “Share” button).
- Go to the APK downloader site and paste the link in the blank line.
- Download file.
More details about the principle of installing APK files have already been discussed in one of the previous materials – what is an APK file. In a nutshell, before installing, you need to enable the “Unknown sources” setting.
Advice! If the specified site is not working at the current time, you can use a worthy analogue – APK Mirror.
Deceiving Google Play does not guarantee that an application will be able to function correctly on a particular device. Another possible outcome is that the program will not function correctly: in the wrong screen resolution or aspect ratio. However, there is a high probability that the application will still work without any problems.
