[tgm1024]

4.4.2 / Verizon locked SCH-i605
Hard Reset an hour ago.
Thing's still updating, but 4.4.2 is up to date.

Ok, wait. I had 4.4.2 before and gboard was able to update and work fine. But now it's fighting me on install after I reset?

Did something magically change? Is there an *SAFE* old rev I can get on a verizon locked phone?

I see stuff on uptodown.com, but don't know how reliable it is, nor whether or not it will work on an unrooted/locked phone.

[Rukbat]

Did something magically change?

Not magically, apps get updated regularly, to take advantage of new versions of Android.

Is there an *SAFE* old rev I can get on a verizon locked phone?

You can try https://google-keyboard.en.uptodown.com/android/old.

I see stuff on uptodown.com, but don't know how reliable it is

They're pretty reliable, but I won't guarantee it.

nor whether or not it will work on an unrooted/locked phone.

Keyboards don't care about rooting or SIM locking. (Almost no apps care about rooting, unless they need root to work, or they're secure apps, like banking apps. And no app cares about SIM locking.)

[tgm1024]

Not magically, apps get updated regularly, to take advantage of new versions of Android.

Yes, but that's to the side of what I'm getting at. I'll try to be more precise.

When I reset my phone, I get older versions of some of the apps. (Gmail is one of them). I don't get the latest and greatest just because "apps get updated". I then go through an update-cycle to get them back up to 2019.

What I was confused about was why one set of apps are installed as old when I reset and others are not. I would have thought that a reset would require that all apps would have the 4.4.2 compatible version RE-installed so that people don't reset themselves out of owning apps.

Is the gmail initially older because it's bundled with the original 4.4.2?

[tgm1024]

What if I paid, say, $30 for an app, and then reset my phone only to discover that the latest and greatest no longer worked. I wouldn't have known this, because it never auto-updated before because I was on 4.4.2 and it presumably just avoided it. But after a reset, I get punted because it doesn't know to "back-rev".

That's silly, and IMO wanders directly into violating the Law of Least Surprise.

[B. Diddy]

I moved this from the General News forum to the Note 2 forum for more specific traffic.

I'm guessing Gboard (formerly known as Google Keyboard) was not preinstalled on that phone. Prior to the hard reset, you had probably updated Gboard as high as it could go, and at some point, the higher updates no longer were compatible with your phone's OS version. This doesn't mean Gboard no longer worked on your phone -- it's just that it was stuck on that last compatible version. But once you reset the phone, you lost that version, and older versions of an app aren't available on the Play Store. You'd have to look for the apk of that last compatible version.

I can see how that's a big hassle, but this is what happens with a 7 year old phone running an OS version that is no longer officially supported. Sorry!

[tgm1024]

Ok. This isn't a Note II issue though. This is a general issue, because it applies to all android revs that are no longer able to be updated.

That's with all older phones, not specifically the Note II. I believe you've limited the audience unnecessarily. Someone experiencing this with all other phones would start another thread for no reason.

The real thing that gets me about this is that it is a Google app.

But it is what it is. Asked and answered. Thanks.

[B. Diddy]

Ok, fair enough -- I'll move it to the General Help forum instead. (General News is intended more to discuss what's happening in the tech world in general, rather than technical help questions.)

[tgm1024]

They're pretty reliable, but I won't guarantee it.

Ok, after some research, and pondering, I came to the realization that a keyboard app is among the most optimum malware targets conceivable.

The software that sits between me and every last password and ID field? Hackers would be drooling over the concept. As a software engineer, I know if I was one of those pricks, it's probably the first place I'd consider.

Gathering all passwords (and everything else) and forwarding it to the mother ship? Oy!

Just cannot risk it.

THANKS all.

[Dooki]

try apk mirror for an older version. they have a really good reputation