i need help with an unusual problem. this is on official challenge for all you android experts!

[qt3dot14]

first i am going to state the basic problem which is probably not that unusual, although i have yet to find a satisfactory answer to the problem. then i will state the unusual aspect, and maybe that will help someone who is an expert at this stuff to find the reason for the issue and maybe find a solution.

the basic issue is a problem downloading and installing apps. they are all market apps.

i have three basic results (other than a successful download/installation, which occurs on most downloaded apps).

1. i start download and then the download notification arrow just disappears, like nothing happened, like the download just got interrupted.

2. i start download and the download "completes" but then there is the notification that the "download was unsuccessful".

3. i start download and the download completes but then the installation doesnt complete and i get the notification message: "installation unsuccessful, package file invalid".

now if anyone out there can tell me why these different errors keep occurring and how to fix them i would be so grateful.

but now the unusual part: i have TWO IDENTICAL virgin mobile optimus v phones, same rom, same version, same everything. (except for a few different apps).

but the behavior of the 3 problems i listed above are not consistent on the devices when attempting to download THE SAME APPS.

example1: on one phone i have the LOOKOUT SECURITY APP installed. at one point i had it installed on both phones. on one phone LOOKOUT updates perfectly but on the other phone i kept getting the "package file invalid" message when trying to update. so i uninstalled the app and now it wont even download back onto the phone at all.

example2: FOURSQUARE social network app. on one phone the app downloads and works perfectly, on the other phone it wont even download.

example3: GOLAUNCHER downloads and installs perfectly on one phone but on the other phone i get "package file invalid".

example4: ROMTOOLBOX PRO, on one phone the update wont even download, on the other phone it will download but i get the message "update unsuccessful".

i have more but you get the picture. SAME PHONE, SAME ROM, SAME SIZE SD CARD, SAME BUILD, BUT DIFFERENT RESULTS. im pulling out my hair.

things i have tried to "even" the phones out: clearing cache (with several different apps), clearing data (on apps where clearing data wont set me back massive time on re-configuring), re-booting.

phone specs: virgin mobile optimus v, model number vm70, android version 2.2.1, kernel version 2.6.32.9 bumblebee, build number frg83 rr b2, with a current minimum internal memory available of 159.8m and 200.4m and oodles of sd storage space on both phones.

please keep in mind that they are two IDENTICAL PHONES WITH IDENTICAL SPECS.

so the question is not "why are these download/installation issues occurring?" but rather "why are these download/installation issues occurring on one phone but not necessarily on an identical phone with seemingly identical specs?"

another anomaly: when downloading the apps there is usually a check-box allowing me to select "update automatically". on one phone that option is available to chose, but on the other phone that option is grayed out on some apps. same phone, same rom, same version, but i get different choices when downloading the same app! it just makes no sense. there has to be a reason.

this is an official challenge to all you android fanatics! there is something obviously different between the phones that is causing the behaviors to be different. i have done a lot of research over the last 4 months about this and i have had some people make some logical guesses BASED ON ONE PHONE. but no one has come up with a solution to allow these apps to download/install/update as they should.

this is the first time i have documented the issue publicly based on the two-identical-phone scenario.

whoever can figure this out individually or contribute to the real answer will be allowed to stand tall and proud and stroke their ego for a while. but since no one has been able to figure out this download/installation error scenario on just one phone (or at least no one i have come across during 4 months of research), it stands to reason that if someone (or group) can figure out the differences between two seemingly identical devices, that may lead to discovering out the real reason that these errors occur and a possible way to fix this issue. And that discovery would help out thousands of loyal android users like myself. And for that you would get our eternal gratitude.

thanking you in advance for any and all helpful suggestions.

v

 

[zedorda]

I suspect 2 possible reasons for these results and their erratic symptoms. 1) Faulty internal memory or 2) Faulty flash/wipe on one unit but not the other. I would suggest more testing with other ROMs or at least reflashing the phone to eliminate the bad flash/wipe possibility.

 

[qt3dot14]

I suspect 2 possible reasons for these results and their erratic symptoms. 1) Faulty internal memory or 2) Faulty flash/wipe on one unit but not the other. I would suggest more testing with other ROMs or at least reflashing the phone to eliminate the bad flash/wipe possibility.

im kind of new to this so bear with me. i will take these under consideration but im going to wait and see if any other suggestions are presented before i reflash.

but a couple of questions in the meantime:

your idea of faulty memory could be correct but that would entail that both phones have faulty memory as i have the problem on both phones, but not with the same apps. im guessing that when you say "faulty memory" you are referring to some type of hardware glitch. with that in mind would you suppose that this particular model is overall defective or that somehow i just happened to get 2 defective models of the same phone? i know this would just be a guess on your part but thats ok as i dont have an answer so ill just keep asking questions.

keep in mind that these are just neutral questions and i have no idea of your experience level (its certainly more than me though!) or which specific areas (hardward, software, other) that you are more knowledgeable in. i want to fix my phone but im also here to learn.

in reference to the bad wipe/bad flash: again the problem exists on both phones to a degree, but it does seem to be worse (more frequent) on one phone than the other, and it is certainly different behavior on the same apps. also these problems didnt commence immediately after flashing the new rom. it was several months before these problems surfaced. these facts would initially steer me away from a bad wipe/install. but if i dont get any better (easier) potential solutions i will re-flash one of the phones to see what happens.

also to note: it was suggested to me that 1. there was too little internal memory to facilitate the download/installation process. but there seems to be plenty of room (relatively speaking) for that process to easily occur, and 2. the "invalid package file" error was potentially caused by an app not being compatible with an older version.

however the apps i seem to have problems with are apps developed by reputable and/or major players (ie rom toolbox pro by jrummey and foursquare which is owned by american express and has over 25 million members.) i have to assume that these developers would incorporate the capability of older versions into their apps/updates because, well, jrummey develops such great apps and foursquare because with 25 million members and growing you would think they have the money and desire to have that app work flawlessly. but that is only an assumption. also neither of these explains the occurrence of the app being interrupted during download.

what obviously complicates things is that this could be a "dr house" scenario in which there is not one problem but several issues interacting.

during my research i have come across many many people who are having the same issues, (although none that i know of where they possessed identical phones to compare the same actions). many of these people have stock roms and it would seem that we all cant have faulty memory. or can we? is there any way to check for "faulty memory" and/or fix that issue? of does it mean that my phone is faulty until the end and that i really cant know if it has "faulty memory"?

on behalf of my android brothers and sisters i am determined to find someone to help me figure this out.

next question about re-flashing as i have flashed bumblebee on both phones but that was a while ago and i dont remember all the details. so A: if i re-flash bumblebee (or a new rom) will this wipe my internal memory in a way that i have to re-install all the apps that are currently stored on the internal hard drive? B: and if the apps were wiped and needed to be re-installed i would also assume that the app settings (configurations/passwords/etc.) would also have to be re-done? So if A is true, would B be a correct assumption as well?

I am also assuming that on a flash or re-flash that i should remove the current sd card, flash or re-flash using a blank sd card, and then re-insert the currently loaded sd card back into the phone. this way all the data/apps/etc on the current sd card would automatically be accepted/integrated or whatever the term may be, into the new rom or the reflashed rom. am i correct in this sd card assumption?

and once again, all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[zedorda]

Sorry I misunderstood and was under the assumption only one was having problems. With the new insight and additional info makes me wonder if you clear your app caches much?

 

[qt3dot14]

Sorry I misunderstood and was under the assumption only one was having problems. With the new insight and additional info makes me wonder if you clear your app caches much?

the procedure i usually go thru is i try to download the app/update normally. then if that doesnt work i clear the app cache (i use App Cache Cleaner or the cache cleaner in the ROM TOOLBOX PRO, then i reboot the phone and then try downloading again.

i dont download many new apps anymore because i pretty much have my phone set where i want it. but now its the updates (just on certain apps) that dont seem to be taking and LOOKOUT wont download at all to one of the phones.

i did download aNdClip free version to both phones and it installed and is operating correctly on both phones.

i also cant download MAGICKINGDOM to either phone, but i just downloaded VOXER to both phones.

right now i have GOTOMEETING installed on phone black, but it wont update. its not installed on phone red. its doesnt seem to work so i didnt want to clutter up phone red.

i have FOURSQUARE downloaded on phone red, but it wont update, and it wont install at all on phone black.

i have ROM TOOLBOX PRO installed on both phones. on phone red when i go to MY APPS on the market the "allow automatic updating" box is filled with a green check mark and underneath the check box is a message in red that says "a manual update is required" but it wont update. on phone black when i go to MY APPS on the market the check box for "allow automatic updating" is grayed out (unable to select) and there is no message about "manual update required"

this is very perplexing that the market is reading my phones differently giving me different choices. this is definitely proof that something is different between the phones, (although neither one will update this app).

on both phones i have GO LAUNCHER EX but neither will update. but again phone red has the option to "allow automatic updating" but i cant make that choice on phone black (grayed out). another detail in this is that sometimes the "allow automatic updating" is usable, sometimes its visible but grayed out and sometimes its not even on the screen.

on phone red LOOKOUT AV is installed but wont update and on phone black it wont even download.

all the other apps are installed, working properly and update properly.

again the hair-pulling thing!

i appreciate your interest. keep the suggestions coming.

 

[zedorda]

I got nothing sorry.

 

[qt3dot14]

I got nothing sorry.

no problem. it is a puzzle for sure. i appreciate your interest and your honesty. if you stumble across anything in the future that might help with a diagnosis remember to come back here and post.

 

[joey92]

With every passing android update Google play store is becoming less compatiable with older Android versions your phones are probably not at fault its more than likely the play store that is glitching what I would do is load a gingerbread build on them and see if you still are having the same problems

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

 

[sfrrr]

OK. The first thing that struck me was your comment about the two phones being ALMOST identical. They are not compatible unless they are identical. As in entirely identical. (But then, can you be partially identical?)

The second thing that struck me was that, occasionally, one installed app will disrupt another seemingly unrelated app. I remember that, once, I installed something that gave me a longer date readout on my status bar. After that, I couldn't get my weather app to update.

Since the offending program may not be on both phones, there is no mystery, no puzzle. Except go which two apps are incompatible.

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[qt3dot14]

the "almost" identical refers to the fact that there are some different apps on the phones. many are the same, but each individual phone may have some apps installed that the other one doesnt.

as far as hardware, rom and version number the phones are 100% identical.

the problem with following your line of thought (and you could very well be correct) is that for some of the apps, once i uninstall the app i cant re-install it. so if i uninstall a bunch of apps to find the culprit, if that is not the problem, i may not be able to get those apps re-installed.

keep in mind here that im basically talking out loud to myself with these replies. im trying not to jump to any action that i may not be able to redo, but at the same time i have to take that plunge eventually.

i really appreciate your suggestions. in the reply above yours it was suggested that i try to install the gingerbread rom to see if that fixes my problem. i cant do anything over the weekend as i will not be near a computer. so i will check back for options on monday. if nothing easier comes up i will flash gingerbread and if that doesnt work i will go with your suggestion. regardless of the results ill post them here.

again thanx for your help!

 

[qt3dot14]

did you send that message from an optimus v?

i cant do anything over the weekend, but next week when i get back, if there are no easier potential solutions posted here i will try flashing gingerbread.

im very inexperience here. not a complete noob, but certainly not an android wizard.

so just curious, why would you suggest gingerbread? is it considered more stable? is it newer? will it update my 2.2.1 version? or some other reason?

i will post back here with the results.

and thanks for your time and your help.

 

[joey92]

Yes I am using an ov a gingerbread "rom" is 2.3.x and it is more stable for me than any 2.2.x build it will update your 2.2.1 also I would recommend harmonia 2 found in the rooting roms and hacks sub-fourm of the optimus v. The gingerbread builds also have everything working

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

 

[riggerman]

One thing you can try, go into settings-apps, find and clear cache and data for the play store and google services framework, then reboot immediately. I had similar (although not identical) issues after updating some roms. This would usually clear up the problems.

 

[giordan007]

Omg I have the exact same problem! For some reason my phone won't install apps from the market anymore. It always says "invalid package" or just an error message. I don't know what wrong but here's the trend...

Every time I install a new rom, I can download apps from the market, but after a few days the error messages start popping up. My only solution usually is to re flash or install a new rom.

How do I fix this?

Help!

 

[sfrrr]

Sounds like a conflict with one of your apps.
Perhaps, the next time you change roms, don't just restore all your apps and data. (I.e.clean install.) Restore only the data you need for the next few days. Then add a fresh download of the play store. Use the store as often as you can for a few days, trying to get the message to recur.If it recurs. You know you've got a data problem.

If it doesn't recur, add back one app, play with it as much as you can during the few days until the play store's app message appears.when the message arrives, the latest app is your culprit.

This sounds to me like an unbelievably tedious process.compared to this, a factory reset doesn't sound so bad.

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[glarepate]

Search the forums for "invalid package" I'm pretty sure this has been seen before and there is a fix for it.

 

[sfrrr]

You're right! I think there are more solutions, but here's a start.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=2227908

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[giordan007]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the help. I'll check it out and hopefully i can fix everything!

 

[giordan007]

Btw i was actually wondering if this app (App Backup & Restore https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.infolife.appbackup) caused the problem?

If any of you guys have ideas, that would be sweet!

 

[A-android-B]

I have an ov baseband zv5 and my girlfriend has a zv4, I have seen these errors before on different roms and it happened to my girlfriend on stock. It is because your be running out of space. Even if it looks like you have some internal memory left it won't let you fill it up, instead you get these stupid errors. Set up a second partition on your sd card and flash a newer rom that automatically moves stuff to sd-ext. Why not try out ics? Bobz latest cm10 is pretty awesome as well. I'm running cold as ice, an optimus s rom, with a patch that makes it work just the same as an optimus v rom.

come to the dark side