# Do I Need A Compatible Device To Use Google Play?



## ireadbooks (Jan 11, 2011)

The Kindle Fire HD, of course, isn't a compatible device for Google Play. However, I want to root it and add the store.

Will I be able to set up a Google Play account without having one of the approved compatible devices to link it to first?

I don't own a cell phone to add to the account. I was hoping I could add the store and have the apps downloaded directly to my Fire.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

While no one on this board discusses rooting, generally you just need a Google account to access the Play store.
As for transferring apps to your Fire, I believe there are ways to side-load the play store without even rooting.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Be aware that rooting the device is against Amazon's terms of service and will void your warranty.  That said, once you've done so, you should be able go to Google Play via the browser and d/l the apk to access the store.  That's the theory, anyway. I've not done it myself.


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## ireadbooks (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for answering. 

Yes, I'm able to access the store without problem. The issue comes when I try to actually download the app. It says I must first link my account to an approved device.


Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2


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## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

Google Play is more than just the store app. It uses the Google Framework back end for linking to your Google account. If you don't have the back end account files in place, the Play Store won't be able to validate your account, so you won't be able to download or purchase apps (or content). This goes for other Google apps as well. 

Amazon has built their own back end (and UI) for the Fire, which doesn't include the files needed to link your Google account.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

CegAbq said:


> While no one on this board discusses rooting, generally you just need a Google account to access the Play store.
> As for transferring apps to your Fire, I believe there are ways to side-load the play store without even rooting.


Is discussing rooting against the rules?


ireadbooks said:


> The Kindle Fire HD, of course, isn't a compatible device for Google Play. However, I want to root it and add the store.
> 
> Will I be able to set up a Google Play account without having one of the approved compatible devices to link it to first?
> 
> I don't own a cell phone to add to the account. I was hoping I could add the store and have the apps downloaded directly to my Fire.


I'm not sure how Google deals with account issues, however once rooted, the Play store recognized the Fire as a KFJWI and I am able to download _most _apps. Some have required me to download to my Android phone first and sideload, but I don't have a list of those, but know that the Tapatalk tablet app (Beta) was one. If you're really serious about getting apps, you can always grab a cheap Android phone and use it over wifi to help you get some apps onto the device.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Discussing that rooting exists and what you gain and risk is not against forum rules.  Providing instructions on how to root or links to sites that tell you how to root is against forum rules.

Really, you can get an Android phone without signing up for a service plan and just use it like, well, an iPod Touch?

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Really, you can get an Android phone without signing up for a service plan and just use it like, well, an iPod Touch?
> 
> Betsy


Probably. If you know someone who has an old one that they're not using you should be able to register it. Or, you might find a used one via Craigs list or something. You'd probably not want to buy a _new_ one just for this purpose as they tend to be fairly expensive if not subsidized by a carrier when signing up for a plan.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Really, you can get an Android phone without signing up for a service plan and just use it like, well, an iPod Touch?
> 
> Betsy


While I haven't ever bought an Android phone to do this specifically, as I've upgraded to new Android phones, I've kept old ones and set them up on wifi only. I recently 'upgraded' to a phone that has less internal storage & a non-replaceable batter (there were other reasons I considered this an 'upgrade'). But I had lots of audiobooks and music on my old phone. So I'm keeping it as a media player  but if I wanted to keep getting email, I could let it keep syncing when on wifi.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Probably. If you know someone who has an old one that they're not using you should be able to register it. Or, you might find a used one via Craigs list or something. You'd probably not want to buy a _new_ one just for this purpose as they tend to be fairly expensive if not subsidized by a carrier when signing up for a plan.


Yes, you can grab someone's old one. I'm currently using my old one as a timer on the treadmill. I would donate it to this cause(I believe that unused devices should be given away), but my husband keeps insisting he's going to give up his iPhone and move to Android--yeah, right.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hmmmm....wonder what the grandson did with his old Android phone when he got his iPhone...

Betsy


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## ireadbooks (Jan 11, 2011)

Jesslyn, Betsy, and Ann,

Thanks for the phone suggestion. That's exactly what I figured I might have to do.

When I try to download an app with my Gmail account I receive an error message:

_You haven't accessed the Google Play Sotre app on your device with this email account._

And the first reason under the More link is "your phone or tablet isn't a supported device."



Betsy the Quilter said:


> Hmmmm....wonder what the grandson did with his old Android phone when he got his iPhone...


Yes...what happened to it?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

ireadbooks said:


> Yes...what happened to it?


He says he has it somewhere. We're negotiating. But first he needs to find it.


Betsy


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## ktylman (Jan 7, 2013)

A while back I played around with getting Google Play on a rooted device. Getting Google Play on it wasn't so hard but it was frustrating to use. The problem is that, as mentioned already, a lot of apps simply will not show up on the device in Google Play. There are ways to identify your device as a different device to Google Play and that can help some but it requires making some changes to some files on the device. If you're talking about rooting then you probably have the stomach for it and the information on what to do is not that hard to find.

One thing that may trip you up is the DRM that Google Play can apply to apps. If you register a supported Android device with Google Play with the hopes of buying an app and then transferring it to a rooted device, even if it has Google Play, you may be in for disappointment. I honestly don't know if it would work as I haven't ever looked at how the Google Play DRM locks apps to devices. Keep in mind, not all apps have DRM applied. The developer can choose to apply it when they put the app in the store.


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## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

I believe the DRM doesn't lock it to a device, but to an account. You could copy the app from one device to another, as long as you log into Google Play using the same account on both. 

I believe the Amazon Appstore does the same thing. It's tied to your Amazon account.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Xopher said:


> I believe the DRM doesn't lock it to a device, but to an account. You could copy the app from one device to another, as long as you log into Google Play using the same account on both.
> 
> I believe the Amazon Appstore does the same thing. It's tied to your Amazon account.


You are correct. Where device compatible, all of the apps that I purchased in Google Play are available to my Kindle Fire HD. Purchases are tied to your account, not to your device. You cannot sideload a purchased app, however--maybe that's what you're thinking of.


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## ktylman (Jan 7, 2013)

Jesslyn said:


> You are correct. Where device compatible, all of the apps that I purchased in Google Play are available to my Kindle Fire HD. Purchases are tied to your account, not to your device. You cannot sideload a purchased app, however--maybe that's what you're thinking of.


It makes sense that the DRM is applied when it is downloaded to the device. Here's the description Google gives developers when submitting apps, "Helps prevent copying of this application from the device. Increases the amount of memory on the phone required to install the application."

FYI, the DRM mentioned above is going to be deprecated soon in favor of Google's licensing service. I haven't looked at it myself but some apps are already using it. It may be that some apps behave differently than others when it comes to using them on rooted devices because of the copy protection they choose to use? I just haven't experimented enough to know for sure.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

ktylman said:


> It makes sense that the DRM is applied when it is downloaded to the device. Here's the description Google gives developers when submitting apps, "Helps prevent copying of this application from the device. Increases the amount of memory on the phone required to install the application."
> 
> FYI, the DRM mentioned above is going to be deprecated soon in favor of Google's licensing service. I haven't looked at it myself but some apps are already using it. It may be that some apps behave differently than others when it comes to using them on rooted devices because of the copy protection they choose to use? I just haven't experimented enough to know for sure.


I still can't see any issues with rooted devices as long as the Play store is used as the app download method, but we'll see.


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