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I bought my phone in Germany, used it for a while in several different countries, then recently moved to the US. For several mainstream apps (e.g. Google Wallet, Google Voice, Yelp, my bank's app) I get the warnings "This app is incompatible with your device." and "This item cannot be installed in your device's country":

Warning on app main page Warning after clicking on Install

This happens when I navigate directly to the app page; normal search doesn't even show them. The result is the same in browser on laptop, browser on phone, Play app in phone.

I have doublechecked that:

  • I have a US sim card (GoSmart), and I am on a US mobile network
  • geoip sites resolve my IP address to the US (tried with multiple different connections)
  • I have a US credit card as default in Google Wallet
  • I have a US billing address as default in Google Wallet
  • my main address and shipping address in Google Wallet are in the US
  • I have a US address in Google+
  • my home and work location in Maps is in the US
  • my account recovery phone number is a US one
  • language is set to English in all my Google products (you can see I am getting desperate...)

Any ideas what I might have missed?

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4 Answers 4

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The answer to your question most likely relates to this question "How do I change the Google Play country?". It details what you should do but read through the whole thing because the first answer requires you to make a purchase, but the second says how to do it without making a purchase.

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  • Thanks! I tried the first answer (had a purchase in mind anyway) and it worked. Not sure if the purchase or the data clearing for the Play app was what did the trick (or both), but I could install US apps in the Play app afterwards. (The browser version still complains about the country... I hope it will catch up eventually.)
    – Tgr
    Commented Jan 26, 2014 at 3:50
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I got this official response from Google's support team and it worked:

Thank you for contacting Google. It was a pleasure speaking with you today. I understand that your Play Store is targeting the incorrect country at the moment.

The content available in Google Play varies by country, and we use the billing address of your default payment instrument in Google Wallet to help determine which version of Google Play you see.

If you're having issues viewing your country's version of Google Play, please try the following troubleshooting steps (ideally using a browser on a desktop or laptop computer, but the Play Store app works also):

Sign into Google Wallet to manage your payment methods at https://wallet.google.com/manage/paymentMethods. Add a new card or change your default payment instrument to one with a billing address located inside your desired country. Open the Google Play website and navigate to any paid item available for download at https://play.google.com/store/apps. Click to begin a download until you reach the 'Accept and buy' screen (no need to complete the purchase). Close Google Play and clear your browser cache if you're on a desktop or laptop computer. Wait 30 minutes. Re-open the Google Play. You should now see the Play Store that matches your default payment instrument's billing country. If these steps don't resolve your issue, please let me know.

Regards,

Chris The Google Support Team

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After going through various forums and unsuccessfully attempting the resolutions, I have identified the following steps which seemed to work for me. (Changing location from UK to India)

  1. Change location in Google Wallet

This can be done by logging into 'Google Wallet' in desktop browser and in the Payment Methods you need to have a credit/debit card associated with the country to which you wish to change to. Also navigate to the Address Book in Wallet and ensure that you have an address in the new country which should be marked as default.

  1. Change your location in Google Maps

This is best done via the Android App. There is a setting for Home and Work location in which you can access via the settings menu of the Maps android app. change these to the new country.

  1. Change your location in Google calendar

Not sure if this final step makes a difference, but I had also changed this as part of trial and error attempts. Launch the Google calendar in desktop browser. The click on Settings and changes the country and timezone.

In case there are any other location settings which may need changing you can use the following link to identify those; https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/179386?hl=en

  1. Now you can follow the steps mentioned by many others; namely clear the cache and data of the Google play store app in Android and launch the store again. Ideally this will result in a new terms and conditions prompt. (FYI - if you click on the Terms and conditions link you can see that the URL indicates terms and conditions for the new country or not)
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Best option would be to change location in gmail under Themes, then it worked for me.

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  • Can you explain how you "change location in gmail", please.
    – Maxime
    Commented Jun 3, 2015 at 7:02
  • @Maxime i also thought the same but actually there is an option to change city under themes, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page in 'gmail > settings > themes tab'. I don't know what made it work in my case as I tried many options from different articles and this option is also in the list of my trials. This may or may not be a fix for above question nevertheless the option to change city is there. Hence +1. I would request you to at least remove the minus vote if you at all minus voted :) Thanks
    – Anmol Saraf
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 4:57
  • I didn't downvote, but I just wanted to know the way to proceed. Thanks :)
    – Maxime
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 6:44

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