Change default android search engine in android 4.2.1

[Guy Attrill]

When I use the google search (typing or voice) on the home page (not the chrome browser)
it shows me google.com results when I am based in U.K.

e.g. searching for nonstick pans gives me American shops not British shops

How do I change the default search engine to use google.co.uk?
I have looked under settings/accounts/google/search but there is nothing to say hey im in the u.k. !

In chrome I can choose google.com, bing.com uk.ask.com or uk.yahoo.com i have picked uk.yahoo.com as a best of a bad bunch

 

[MJKearney]

Nonstick pans purchased from American shops stick less and are of better quality. Google is simply doing you a favor.

But if you must have inferior British nonstick pans, here are a couple ideas to try or ponder, none of which are likely to help. Therefore, you're probably just better off trekking to the States for your pots and pans purchases.

Under Settings > Accounts > Google > Location Settings, make sure you have the switch on to allow Google apps to use your location.

Under Settings > Personal > Location Access, make sure you allow other apps access to your location, and have WiFi and mobile network location checked.

Very unlikely to make a difference, but under Settings > Language & input > Language, make sure you have it set to English (UK). Yes, I understand it's an odd language using strange words to describe common objects (it's a trunk, not a boot, but whatever). But even though this will unlikely solve your problem, at least your spell checker will give you better advice.

Is your Gmail address based in the UK or the USA? Perhaps this makes a difference. And when you set up the N7, I assume you chose the UK as your location. These are things to ponder, similar to the meaning of life, or the life of Pi. Just ponder them and perhaps you'll forget about those silly nonstick pans. They're nonsense, you know.

Finally, call your local Google support number. I'd give you the USA support number, but you obviously have a certain prejudice against all things American, especially things that don't stick. I've searched for the UK Google support number on my N7, but the damn thing only gives me USA results. Go figure.

 

[B. Diddy]

You are going to single handedly reignite the war between Britain and the Colonies with your cheekiness, sir!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[Guy Attrill]

thanks for your help it appears my work wifi thinks it is in usa! so came home cleared cache and it works google play guy named donovan helped.....god bless america, google and ogden utah (support are based there)

 

[MJKearney]

You are going to single handedly reignite the war between Britain and the Colonies with your cheekiness, sir!

Oh, no worries. Besides nonstick pans and an oddity or five hundred of the "British" language, and the fact that they definitely, absolutely, and without argument drive on the wrong side of the road, we Americans (though not necessarily Canadians or Mexicans, who happen to share North America with us, but aren't called American for some reason) love our former imperial overlords across the pond. England or Britain or Great Britain or the United Kingdom or whatever the hell they call themselves is a great country (unless the Tories are in power)! And now that Kate is pregnant, we have much more to gossip about, as being able to gossip about British royalty is one of the things we Americans love most about our UK cousins. I mean that literally, because I actually do have cousins in the UK. Good folk, they are, except for the one who tried to serve me haggis when I visited a few years ago.

thanks for your help it appears my work wifi thinks it is in usa! so came home cleared cache and it works google play guy named donovan helped.....god bless america, google and ogden utah (support are based there)

Glad it all worked out for you, and that was an interesting reason for the problem. Get that router at work a Union Jack sticker - that ought to fix the problem. And the clearing the cache solution was the one somewhat common bit of advice that I completely forgot about. Doh!

Also, thanks for the blessings, but America, Google, and especially Ogden, Utah have had more than their share. Better to send it over to France. I think they need it more than us.

Cheers! (One of the better British language words to make it across the pond. We thank you for that!)

 

[ewanrwd]

Hello

I am having the same problem - I have tried everything that has been suggested but it still keeps searching on google.com. The only way I have been able to get it to work is to go to settings on the internet app - content settings - then reset to default. As soon as I do that when I type something in the search bar it comes up with google.co.uk results. However! when I restart the phone it reverts back to google.com

Any Suggestions?

Thanks
Ewan

 

[Alan Sykes]

With a wry smile I do have to correct you regarding us Brits driving on the "wrong" side of the road . During the extremely brief time that the USA has actuallly been in existence you guys actually used to drive on the left until you sold your soulos and jumped into bed with the French during the war of independance. You then changed over to driving on the right. Shame on you. A
fter accepting the french gift of the statue of liberty i cant understand why you did not totally roll over and speak the correct language, French, too.
Only kidding, old boy!!!