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My flyer doesn't allow few apps to be installed from the Play Store as it shows "This app is not compatible with your device" and this incompatibility is not due to OS. If I get the apk of this app from a forum, I can install it but few apps don't have apks outside Play Store.

I don't want to root my device, but simply unlock the bootloader so that I can access all of the apps on the Play Store without country/device restrictions. I read somewhere that it is mandatory to flash the device while unlocking the bootloader.

If I unlock the bootloader of my Flyer will I be able to install all OS compatible apps from the Play Store?

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  • What version of Android? Speaking of that, all android apks are compatible, its just that devs have put in constraints to the app, such as screen size, gps, etc..
    – t0mm13b
    Commented Apr 2, 2013 at 13:51
  • At the core of your question, it sounds like you actually want to know something like How can I buy apps from unsupported countries? and you've got stuck on an XY Problem on the way there? There are a few other questions on here about accessing the Play Store (or Market) without the Device/Region restrictions, if you have a search.
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Apr 2, 2013 at 14:23
  • Have you tried FDroid or Amazon to install apps?
    – NoBugs
    Commented Apr 6, 2013 at 18:33

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No. Unlocking the bootloader will do nothing for Google Play. Even rooting won't do anything by itself as far as phone compatibility goes.

To get access to the apps without device restrictions, you must have a rooted phone. You then must edit the build.prop file to change your phone model to one that can install the app in question. See this android.se question.

To get access to the apps without country restrictions, no root is needed. You must instead have a proxy whos IP address is inside the particular country desired (generally the U.S.). Or you could create an account via a U.S. proxy on your desktop, then push the apps to your linked device despite it's out-of-country location (see this explanation). Alternatively, you could have a rooted phone and download Market Enabler.

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Unlocking the bootloader will have no affect on the Play Store and what apps you have access to there. The main benefit of unlocking the bootloader is to be able to flash a new kernel and/or ROM to your phone.

In the past I have seen people post modified versions of the Play Store that have the country restrictions removed from the app itself. I am unable to find a current one at this time.

As far as device restrictions go, they are set by the developer. A developer can specify certain device parameters for the app to work on within the code itself or can specify it from the Google Play Store Developer console. This is why you may find apps outside of the Play Store that may say in the Play Store that they are not compatible with your device, but that will still install and run from a sideloaded apk.

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    One caveat - if you over-ride device restrictions, don't be surprised if the app has problems. There's a lot of reasons a dev might restrict an app to not run on particular devices. If it works for you, great, but don't get upset if it doesn't.
    – Michael Kohne
    Commented Apr 2, 2013 at 15:16

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