Incompatible???

[tecknoes]

I keep getting this message when I try to download an app on the Play Store.

"This app is incompatible with your device"

I bought the LG G2 through Amazon UK store and had it delivered to me in Spain, I'm not Spanish I've looked on the net and it says something about location services piking up where you are on the play store so I turned location services off and still got the same message.

 

[codesplice]

Is it a particular app that you're having problems, or all apps in general?

 

[tecknoes]

Loads of them... I made a list after some research on the net before I got the new phone, and over half of them are incompatible, I even download a demo of one of the apps which works OK but when I tried to download the full version it said incompatible. had an iPhone and couldn't justify paying the extortionate price for an iPhone 5 decided to go for a cheaper option. I didn't have this problem with the iPhone it never said an app wasn't compatible........ beginning to have thoughts as to whether I've done the right thing; it's a nightmare!

 

[mikedt]

Google Play is not the only show in town fortunately, have a look at Amazon.

 

[codesplice]

Could you name a few specific ones? We can try to check the region compatibility for them and help figure out what's actually the issue. :thumbup:

And, as mikedt mentioned, maybe try out the Amazon App Store: http://www.amazon.com/getappstore

 

[funkylogik]

G2 is a high end phone so it cant be a performance or android version problem.
And if they werent available in Spain, the Play store just wouldnt show you them at all
Maybe Play is showing spanish versions of the apps and saying your phone isnt compatible because it has UK firmware on it?

 

[tecknoes]

Hi there
thanks for all the interest shown ...... the LG G2 is available in Spain.

Some of the numerous app I'm trying to download:-

Acrobits softphone
Nationwide mobile banking app
mSecure password manager
Calengoo
Swiftkey keyboard
to name but a few

Cheers ............ Gerry N

 

[Rukbat]

the LG G2 is available in Spain.

But that's not the same G2 that's available in the UK. If you wanted to use it in Spaiin, you should have bought it in Spain.

As far as regionality goes, your carrier is in Spain. Even on Wifi, the phone picks up regionality. Go through a VPN in the UK and you probably won't have any problem.

 

[funkylogik]

I dont think VPN work with the play store. What if you flashed Spanish firmware?

 

[Slug]

But that's not the same G2 that's available in the UK

It very probably IS exactly the same, except for the default language being English rather than Spanish.

If you wanted to use it in Spaiin, you should have bought it in Spain

It works perfectly well in Spain except for the Play Store issue, which is due to the handset's current IP address being used to determine location. A VPN provider with a UK-based endpoint is one solution, as outlined here.

 

[funkylogik]

Slug, how about changing the.. (im thinking CS Code? Is that right?) So that Play sees it as a spanish phone?

 

[Xyro]

It very probably IS exactly the same, except for the default language being English rather than Spanish.

Yeah, of the hardware variants listed on wikipedia the D802 (the global model) is the only one which you'd expect to find in Europe.

The versions available from the Spanish Amazon and the UK Amazon are LGD802.A6DEBK and LGD802.A6GBBK.

I notice that the first model is also available in Germany, so I would assume the latter codes are for Deutschland and Great Britain firmware releases. It is plausible that the firmware on the GB model is trying to browse the UK market from a Spanish IP and that this might cause this issue.

So, since it's not hardware it should be solvable. As a last resort you might have to switch to the Spanish firmware version, which would presumably still have the English UK language installed.

 

[tecknoes]

I am regretting changing from my iPhone to the LG G2 as the problem goes on and on and on and on.

I have a VPN router set up for a London IP address which the phone is connected to, I've done the setting clear cache and stop the Google play store app, to no avail.

All I see on the Google play store is free apps, nothing to buy which is needed to to complete the instructions I got from the Google store help guy...... what a total nightmare.

Google seem to cause problems for themselves and I'm sure the guy on the end of the help tickets must be really fed up with it. I've just sent another ticket and at the end asked for the mail address of the Google CEO to send a letter of complaint...so we'll see what happens now; probably zilch!

 

[mikedt]

Whether it's Spain or China, apparently Google will try their hardest to lock the Play Store down, to ensure you only see the content available for that country. I don't think that writing to the CEO in Mountain View is going to help, he likely approved the locking down possibly because of pressure from the rights holders.

There's something I know about Google: They're very keen to lock down Play Store content to their respective countries, probably to appease Hollywood, MPAA, RIAA, Gameloft, etc. Maybe Apple has more clout in this area, especially given their ties with Disney.

 

[funkylogik]

To be fair to google, i wouldnt call this a fault or a bug :thumbup:

 

[mikedt]

Here's a possible solution that seems to be working for me at the moment, I'm now using the US Play Store even though I'm in China. Try using a VPN on your PC. Login to Play from your PC and you should then get the country that the VPN is going into, e.g. US, UK, etc. Reset the Play Store on your Android device, clear data and cache. And you should then be able to install items that were showing as incompatible or not available in this country.

 

[mikedt]

Bumping this thread for an update:

Something has definitely happened with Play very recently. Previously I was unable to get access to most content because I was in China, and also the OP was having problems as well, trying to get UK content on his UK account in Spain.

I'm now able to get access to the whole range of Play content for the UK, paid apps, music, movies, books, etc. Even though I'm currently in Hong Kong and not using a VPN, same in Russia as well. Previously I was only seeing content for the country I happened to be in and not for my account, and others have posted about this as well. The only thing I've done was to register a new UK credit card with Google, and did actually make an app purchase which I've never done before. I did have another UK credit card registered previously, but that one expired.

This has never been a problem with iOS, you will always get the iTunes Store and content for your home country, i.e. your credit card and registered details, no matter what country you happen to be in.

 

[tecknoes]

I finally have a temporary solution to the problem .........I use a VPN modem connected to a UK address and use the Google play store on my iPad to access the content and then it downloads to the LG G2 without any problems.
I say temporary as I'm ditching the iPad for an LG Gpad 10.1 as soon as they are available, I'm a little apprehensive as to the lower specs on the Gpad after having had a look at the Samsung Galaxy range, my main concern about the Galaxy is the mirroring of the screen to my LG Smart TV, I don't have any problem with the LG G2 and Miracast; perhaps someone out there knows if there's any problems in mirroring to an LG TV from the Galaxy????

 

[mikedt]

I finally have a temporary solution to the problem .........I use a VPN modem connected to a UK address and use the Google play store on my iPad to access the content and then it downloads to the LG G2 without any problems.

Have you ever made any actual purchases from Play, like a paid app? Because I'm sure that's what kicked it over for me. Always seeing the UK Play store and UK content on my Android devices, even though I've been in Russia and Hong Kong. Whereas before I had to use a VPN on my PC with a browser. It was only three weeks ago I was only seeing the Chinese(limited free apps only) and Russian(all in Cyrillic) Play store on my devices, before I made the app purchase while I was in the UK.

BTW I was flying to and from the UK via Moscow on Aeroflot.

 

[tecknoes]

Yes I used the iPad to purchase apps and also had no problems upgrading from free apps to the "pro" version etc. I tend to keep my LG G2 on the VPN all the time though.

 

[mikedt]

It was good while it lasted....


As of this morning I'm only seeing the Play store and content for Hong Kong on my Android devices. Music and TV shows have gone and most of the books are in Chinese. I can still get the UK and US Play stores on my PC using a VPN, but I shouldn't have to be doing that though.

iTunes never has this problem, I guess the peeps at the Googleplex USA never travel internationally.