Can I just wipe this device and put a different Android flavor on it?

[AppleFanGirl]

Hi,

First, please excuse the username. I had to come up with something I knew wouldn't already be taken. Second, sorry I couldn't make my question more concise. It's kind of complicated.

I have a slightly used Qere tablet running Android 8.0 that I want to give to my partner because I can't install about 90% of the apps I want to run on it through the Play store. But as it turns out, he can't either.

We'll search the Play store for an app, and nothing comes up. If it's an app we've already downloaded on another device and we try to get at the app by going to our lists of already installed apps, we get a message saying something like "This app isn't compatible with your device." ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I've tried following troubleshooting instructions to get the Play store to let me download and install these apps. I also reset the tablet more than once and then did a factory reset. No dice.

He said he could just read his fave news source via Chrome instead of installing their app. But Chrome won't let him log into the site. It acts like it took his username and password, but then when he tries to click something it demands a login. There's no errors displayed saying incorrect username or password. Cookies are turned on.

Also, there's no way to update this tablet. I go under System, and update options just aren't there.

I don't have deep-level Android knowledge, but it seems to me like this thing just has some issues. Like maybe the OS is broken, corrupt, etc.

So, again, can I just wipe it and put a fresh Android install on it? Googling just doesn't seem to provide clear answers on this. I'm a Windows user from WAAAAY back in the day, and if this was a laptop I'd wipe it and install the highest version of Windows that the hardware would support.

Sorry that got kinda long. TIA.

Gina

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Unfortunately, that looks like a terrible low-spec off-brand device direct from China (and it's possible the advertised specs are false -- these kinds of devices often do that). There's no way of installing other versions of Android on it. It's really a much better idea to ditch that tablet and look for an inexpensive tablet from a more reputable manufacturer (like Samsung, Lenovo, TCL, or Nokia).

 

[hallux]

I don't have deep-level Android knowledge, but it seems to me like this thing just has some issues. Like maybe the OS is broken, corrupt, etc.


Gina

Nope, it's simply too old. As the OS has aged Google has shut down support for it, apps that no longer support that version of the OS can't be installed and existing apps won't update. If an app was on the device and hasn't updated sometimes the developer will prevent it from accessing the service it's for until it's been updated (making the app a waste of space on the device). The browser has stopped working for some sites because it no longer supports the security protocols needed for those websites to accept authentication.

Bottom line - as our Senior Ambassador has indicated that device isn't really of much use.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Nope, it's simply too old. As the OS has aged Google has shut down support for it, apps that no longer support that version of the OS can't be installed and existing apps won't update. If an app was on the device and hasn't updated sometimes the developer will prevent it from accessing the service it's for until it's been updated (making the app a waste of space on the device). The browser has stopped working for some sites because it no longer supports the security protocols needed for those websites to accept authentication.

Bottom line - as our Senior Ambassador has indicated that device isn't really of much use.

There's a much bigger issue than the Android version being old, it's on 8.0, which should still support most apps. My 9 year old Note 3 on Android 5.0 is still kicking and works with most things if I can tolerate how miserably slow it is. I actually use it as a security camera to this day. Lol

I'm betting it's the hardware is too low spec or it's got some strange SOC that wasn't widely supported since its a cheap China device.

 

[B. Diddy]

It's also possible the device isn't even actually on Android 8, but perhaps on something as old as Android 5. Many of the cheap Chinese devices from places like Wish that YouTuber SMOOREZ reviews are demonstrated to be faking their Android version (among other things), claiming to be Android 9 or 10, but actually being Android 5 or 6.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

It's also possible the device isn't even actually on Android 8, but perhaps on something as old as Android 5. Many of the cheap Chinese devices from places like Wish that YouTuber SMOOREZ reviews are demonstrated to be faking their Android version (among other things), claiming to be Android 9 or 10, but actually being Android 5 or 6.

Good point, could have hacked firmware showing ridiculous fake specs.

 

[AppleFanGirl]

Yikes! This all sounds awful! LOL. My Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 is still kicking. I think it's on Android 7. I think the whole "No, you can't have this app" thing that the Play store does is a bit asinine.

Speaking of compatibility issues, I tried sideloading a couple of apps from my Yoga Tab. When I tried to run them on the Qere tablet, I got error messages that an SO file was missing. I wish I had written that message down. Something like library.so is missing???

As for a fake Android version, that could be true! The Qere tablet has a very persistent notification that says "App permission management is running." It looks like this is a problem on Android 5 at least. I'm going to check out SMOOREZ's videos. That sounds entertaining!

The bottom line is I followed the advice given and got my partner a Kindle Fire 10. He mostly wants a tablet for reading, and so far he really loves it. Money well spent.

I appreciate EVERYONE'S replies. This has been highly, highly educational!

 

[B. Diddy]

These terrible Android devices with false specs no doubt do all kinds of damage to Android's reputation, raising the consumer's expectations and then dashing them when they run into the inevitable limitations. This is unfortunately one of the side effects of having an open source system -- people can tweak the system to make the device tell these outlandish lies. I always recommend to avoid these kinds of devices like the plague, and stick with well-established manufacturers like Samsung, Lenovo, TCL, or Nokia (for tablets, that is).

Kindle Fires are a good choice as well, but keep in mind that those are also limited to the Amazon Appstore, which is significantly smaller than the Play Store (and the versions of the apps in Amazon's store often don't get updated as often as the ones in Google's).

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Yikes! This all sounds awful! LOL. My Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 is still kicking. I think it's on Android 7. I think the whole "No, you can't have this app" thing that the Play store does is a bit asinine.

Speaking of compatibility issues, I tried sideloading a couple of apps from my Yoga Tab. When I tried to run them on the Qere tablet, I got error messages that an SO file was missing. I wish I had written that message down. Something like library.so is missing???

As for a fake Android version, that could be true! The Qere tablet has a very persistent notification that says "App permission management is running." It looks like this is a problem on Android 5 at least. I'm going to check out SMOOREZ's videos. That sounds entertaining!

The bottom line is I followed the advice given and got my partner a Kindle Fire 10. He mostly wants a tablet for reading, and so far he really loves it. Money well spent.

I appreciate EVERYONE'S replies. This has been highly, highly educational!

Issue on Android is there are so many different hardware vendors, screen sizes, aspect ratios, resolutions, variations in SOC/RAM configurations that it can be difficult for an app developer to verify it works on everything. Then new versions of Android come with new APIs(basically software capabilities) and if a developer chooses to make those a core part of their app older versions of Android become unable to run them. Google tries to prevent users from installing apps that won't work on their device so thus the Play Store lists things as non compatible.

The Kindle Fires are great for what they are, as a reading device or media consumption they are amazing bang for buck.

 

[AppleFanGirl]

Yeah, my partner wants a tablet strictly for reading, mostly news stuff. I figure a Fire is beyond adequate. It's the perfect choice for him.

I must confess that I do love Apple. I won't have anything but iPhones because these compatibility issues don't exist and they're very reliable. I have Android tablets, though, because I'm so immersed in the Play store ecosystem for games, etc. My personal tablet that I use these days is a Lenovo Smart Tab. I know Lenovo tablets are going to work, and I can contact them if I have a problem. As for the old aforementioned Yoga Tab 3 Plus, it's the perfect device to turn into a digital picture frame (if you look at Yoga Tabs, they have fold-out kickstands for landscape orientation). And that's what it's going to become as soon as I get the time to wipe it and set it up.

As for the Qere, I have no idea what to do with it. *SHRUG*

 

[B. Diddy]

Yeah, it's the age-old dichotomy between iOS and Android. Since Apple has complete control over hardware and software, there's no concern about compatibility issues (aside from incompatibility with very old iOS devices that are no longer supported) -- but users are strictly limited to what Apple produces. Android of course has these compatibility issues, but the upside is that there's so much variety in hardware and software experiences for users to choose from.

You could probably just use the QERE tablet for basic media consumption, or just donate it to Goodwill.

 

[mustang7757]

Yeah, my partner wants a tablet strictly for reading, mostly news stuff. I figure a Fire is beyond adequate. It's the perfect choice for him.

I must confess that I do love Apple. I won't have anything but iPhones because these compatibility issues don't exist and they're very reliable. I have Android tablets, though, because I'm so immersed in the Play store ecosystem for games, etc. My personal tablet that I use these days is a Lenovo Smart Tab. I know Lenovo tablets are going to work, and I can contact them if I have a problem. As for the old aforementioned Yoga Tab 3 Plus, it's the perfect device to turn into a digital picture frame (if you look at Yoga Tabs, they have fold-out kickstands for landscape orientation). And that's what it's going to become as soon as I get the time to wipe it and set it up.

As for the Qere, I have no idea what to do with it. *SHRUG*

Welcome to AC!
I use both Apple /Android platform glad you joined our community for help, are you also a member at our sister site Imore ? https://forums.imore.com/

 

[hallux]

I must confess that I do love Apple. I won't have anything but iPhones because these compatibility issues don't exist and they're very reliable.

To be fair - when you're talking about an Android device that's possibly 5 or 6 years old and you compare it to an Apple device that's 5 or 6 years old you're going to see the same thing as far as compatibility issues. Apple, at least for a couple years, didn't bring ALL of the newest features of iOS to all the older devices and, as you start getting to devices 5 or 6 years old Apple eventually drops support for them in the new iOS. I suppose they'd still work, to a degree, but you get the same situation of developers writing apps that target the newer devices and iOS.