How to make an application work again on a Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet?
August 26, 2013 2:53 PM Subscribe
My Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet updated itself yesterday. I was in a hurry and did not pay attention to what was actually happening but when it had finished updating, certain apps no longer worked, notably Chrome, Kindle, VLC and the Sims Freeplay game. They started and then closed immediately. I uninstalled and reinstalled the first 3 apps, losing any parameters set previously, no big deal, but I don't want to lose my Sims (or more precisely my young daughter doesn't).
If this was Windows I'd find a way to hack the registry, but my knowledge of Android (4.1.2) is nil. I'm quite sure I can make the Sims app start again without having to uninstall/reinstall it and lose everything but how? (the game progression was not saved on the cloud so no hope there). Or can save the game data, reinstall the game and copy back the data? And what happened anyway and how to prevent it?
If this was Windows I'd find a way to hack the registry, but my knowledge of Android (4.1.2) is nil. I'm quite sure I can make the Sims app start again without having to uninstall/reinstall it and lose everything but how? (the game progression was not saved on the cloud so no hope there). Or can save the game data, reinstall the game and copy back the data? And what happened anyway and how to prevent it?
Response by poster: yes some other apps updated normally after the android update. It's just that the update seems to have gone partly wrong and borked Chrome and co. I had to reinstall them to make them work and all the parameters/prefs/data associated with these apps were gone (though Chrome synced itself after a while).
posted by elgilito at 4:16 PM on August 26, 2013
posted by elgilito at 4:16 PM on August 26, 2013
Best answer: I would guess that it's the new 4.3 update that you recently installed. 4.3 broke a number of apps; first would be to check if the Sims have a version working under 4.3 . If they don't yet, then just wait. If they do, then let the devs know that it's not working for 4.3 on the Note 10.1 . And wait.
Or, if you want to try uninstalling and reinstalling, potentially the simplest way will be to install Helium. You'll also need to install adb onto your windows/linux machine. I am under the impression that helium can do app backup and restore without needing root permissions and possibly mucking your warranty (I've had samsung phones which were rooted brick themselves and not had issues under warranty - however, they never asked and I never offered, and there were a number of galaxy S's failing related to an update pushed by Bell).
Next option would be to root your tablet, and install a more simple backup/recovery app (I use Titanium Backup myself). From there, you could backup the Sims (and everything while you're at it), uninstall, install from the market, and then just restore the app data. However, if there isn't a version of the Sims which works under 4.3 on your device, it still won't work.
posted by nobeagle at 7:17 AM on August 27, 2013
Or, if you want to try uninstalling and reinstalling, potentially the simplest way will be to install Helium. You'll also need to install adb onto your windows/linux machine. I am under the impression that helium can do app backup and restore without needing root permissions and possibly mucking your warranty (I've had samsung phones which were rooted brick themselves and not had issues under warranty - however, they never asked and I never offered, and there were a number of galaxy S's failing related to an update pushed by Bell).
Next option would be to root your tablet, and install a more simple backup/recovery app (I use Titanium Backup myself). From there, you could backup the Sims (and everything while you're at it), uninstall, install from the market, and then just restore the app data. However, if there isn't a version of the Sims which works under 4.3 on your device, it still won't work.
posted by nobeagle at 7:17 AM on August 27, 2013
On re-read, I see that this breakage isn't related to 4.3 as you're on 4.1.2 . My wife's Samsung phone updated this morning to 4.3 so I just assumed. Definitely the best thing will be to backup the data and then look to re-install the app.
As for why this broke, for a version of android that's not new, I'm not sure why. But that's part of why one should always have backups for any data one doesn't mind just throwing away. Very few apps make use of the google play's ability to store data for backup/restore, so if one wants the data, sadly one needs to put in some extra work.
As you've got a young user, if you do root your tablet, I'd recommend buying the licensed version of your supersu/superuser program so you can enable a PIN to be required for root permissions.
posted by nobeagle at 8:05 AM on August 27, 2013
As for why this broke, for a version of android that's not new, I'm not sure why. But that's part of why one should always have backups for any data one doesn't mind just throwing away. Very few apps make use of the google play's ability to store data for backup/restore, so if one wants the data, sadly one needs to put in some extra work.
As you've got a young user, if you do root your tablet, I'd recommend buying the licensed version of your supersu/superuser program so you can enable a PIN to be required for root permissions.
posted by nobeagle at 8:05 AM on August 27, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for the Helium tip that will be helpful next time. I ended up reinstalling the game and starting it from scratch anyway (due to a bug still not fixed by EA all our Sims couples had trouble getting married so no babies...).
posted by elgilito at 4:04 PM on August 28, 2013
posted by elgilito at 4:04 PM on August 28, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:41 PM on August 26, 2013