Nexus 4 - why can't I add a Gmail account?

[eaglesprey]

Nexus 4 - can't add Gmail account

Hi Everyone, my daughters Nexus 4 running 5.1.1 . just stopped syncing her Gmail account and can no longer access anything google; play store included.

I have tried many various suggestions to no avail short of rooting and doing a factory reset which I've read has not helped others with similar issues.

She tells me it began after installing another launcher(can't remember which one) then we un-installed... Still the same; no playstore, no account sync and upon removing her account.. We could not add it back?
I've tried the following so far;
-wiping partition cache from recovery menu
-clearing play services and store cache
-disabling both, Uninstalling updates for both play store and services.
-safe mode attempt to update both above.
-safe mode attempt to add account
-tried in airplane mode all of the above.
-turned off autosync.
-turn WiFi on and off
-tried cellular data to update/connect.
-manually set date and time and network provider
-tried to modify and delete'host' file in etc folder; was not able to do either as phone is not rooted.
-installed 360 security from Amazon apps to scan and clear up crap.. no help.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated as I am at my ends wit. And she would rather not do a factory reset if possible. And my concern is it would not work either, as numerous stories I've read on the we

Thanks in advance everyone
Rudy

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: Nexus 4 - can't add Gmail account

Rooting has nothing to do with any of this and will not help to fix it.

You said you removed her Google account and could not add it back. I assume her account was the default account, the one used during initial setup of the phone. Regardless of what else might be wrong, with the default account gone, the phone isn't gonna access any Google services like the Play store or sync any of the account stuff.

I don't often recommend a factory reset and I know she wants to avoid it, but in this case I think it's the simplest, best way to straighten things out. And I think a reset will straighten things out. So do a reset and it will go through initial setup again and she can re-enter her account and start over fresh.

Don't forget to backup anything you don't want to lose first!

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[eaglesprey]

Re: Nexus 4 - can't add Gmail account

Thanks for the response crash damage.

One thing I forgot to mention is she can access her default Gmail account./Google contacts on her computer, just not on her phone. Everything is still there.
Everything is backed up on Google (supposedly) as she did have that option enabled on her Nexus 4 before this problem.
She just can't get her phone to do anything Google? So I ended up installing those other programs using the Amazon app store.

I was thinking as she likes to tinker with new apps.... Before reading their reviews ; it was just software or some malware messed up Google account access from her phone?

If I was to factory reset her phone, is there a relatively easy way of backing up everything now on her phone.... With no direct Google access. Though chrome access the Internet fine through our WiFi or just through USB on her computer?

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: Nexus 4 - can't add Gmail account

I can't tell you what caused her problems, but likely it was some app or malware. Which brings us to the big problem with using the Amazon app store...

To use it, you have to go to: Settings > Security > Unknown sources and enable Installation from unknown sources - basically, OK to install stuff from anyone and from anywhere. Obviously, this is a HUGE security hole. I HIGHLY recommend leaving Install from unknown sources DISabled and installing apps only from the Google Play store.

Reviews in app stores are virtually worthless. There's so many users that don't understand the software they're reviewing, or Android, or how Android works, that you just can't pay them any mind.

Instead, look over the Play store pages for apps you might want to install. Check the app's description in the Play store and the app's website for a privacy statement. Before tapping on Install, pay attention to the permissions an app requests.

After doing a reset and adding her Google account, if her contacts, calendar, Chrome bookmarks and other Google stuff really are saved to her Google account, it will automatically resync to the phone.

Photos, music, documents, SMS and MMS - all that stuff can be backed up with Helium (requires a PC but can save lotsa things) or MyBackup (no PC required, but maybe misses a little that Helium gets)and transferred via USB, WiFi or cloud storage such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Anyone with a Google account has 15GB space on Google Drive free.

Helium and MyBackup can also backup contacts, etc so you have alternate backups should anything go wrong with Google. You can never have too many backups!

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.

 

[eaglesprey]

Thanks CD, she does have other sources to install disabled at all times.
I only enabled to download a file Manager and 360 security at the time.

Appreciate all your feedback, just found a direct link to download Helium apk file and I'll give it a shot!

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: Nexus 4 - can't add Gmail account

If you downloaded Helium from a direct link for free, chances are good that it contains malware.

Downloading stuff willy-nilly will cause ya serious grief! Use the Play store!

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.