How to fix the “Application not installed” error on an Android phone



How to fix application not installed

If you’re an app maniac then you should have encountered the “Application not installed” error while installing apps at one point or another; but, don’t get me wrong, even people who hardly install apps could encounter this error too. This issue is sometimes accompanied by a mount error in recovery mode where you get unable to mount Data, Cache, System, SD card… etc partition errors while attempting to wipe the Android phone or flash a ROM. Resolving this issue is easy once you are able to diagnose and identify the culprit.

Could my phone be infected with a Virus or Malware?

Quite possible. In many cases like this where a virus or malware is involved, you’ll usually end up with a corrupted storage partition, and guess what! A corrupted storage partition is the most common cause of the Application not installed error. The possible virus or malware attack is however not serious enough for you to format / wipe your Android phone so don’t delete all your precious files out of a panic attack.

While installing an app on my Android phone, I get an error saying I am not allowed to install applications from unknown sources, what does this mean?

For security reasons, your Android phone is set to only install applications from the trusted Google Playstore. You can however disable this setting by going to Settings > Security > Ticking “Unknown sources”.

What could cause / result in the “Application not installed” error?

The most common causes of this error are:

  •  Corrupted phone storage / SD card: This is the most common cause of this error. If the location where an application is supposed to be installed has been corrupted, it only means there’ll be no place to install the app doesn’t it?
  • Insufficient storage space: There might not be sufficient storage space to accommodate the new app
  • Corrupted app (apk file): The apk file (Android apps are in .apk format just like Blackberry’s .jad or Windows’s .exe) might be corrupted or incompletely downloaded / copied.
  • Permission error: The Android phone might be going through a permission crisis.
  • Temporary OS glitch: The Android OS might have encountered a minor error.
  • Apk signed certificate clash: Trying to install another version of an app (with a different signed certificate) on the same phone will result in this error.
  • Installing an unsigned apk: Trying to install an unsigned apk could result in this error.
  • Wrong app installation location: Some apps will only be successfully installed on phone memory while others can be installed on both phone memory and SD card. Trying to install the former on SD card could result in this error.
  • Installing on a mounted SD card: Trying to install an app on a mounted SD card will result in this error because the SD card is inaccessible
  • Unacceptable apk name: Renaming some apk files prior to installation has been known to result in this error

How do I fix the Application not installed error on an Android phone?

A number of fixes to apply are:

  • Reboot the phone: Rebooting the Android phone could help clear OS errors that might have occurred.
  • Check the SD card for errors and fix if required ( See https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-fix-repair-corrupt-memory-card-sd-card-or-usb-drive/ ).
  • Format the SD card: In extreme cases, move the contents on the memory card to a different location then format it.
  • Wipe the phone: In extreme cases, wiping the phone could resolve this issue. You could either do a factory reset under Settings or data / factory reset in recovery mode.
  • Ensure to uninstall unneeded apps to create space. Uninstall any apps you don’t need.
  • Double-check the apk file: Check to be sure the apk file was properly copied / downloaded and is the correct size.
  • Reset permissions: Try resetting app permissions (Settings > Apps > All > Menu key > Reset application permissions )
  • Uninstall any previous versions on the same app currently installed on the Android phone.
  • Change Installation location: You could toggle application install location between phone memory, SD card and automatic.
  • Ensure that the SD card in not mounted / connected to a PC
  • Avoid installing unsigned apks or changing apk file names prior to installation.

How can i verify that this issue has been successfully resolved?

Simply by installing an app! You could test if this issue has been successfully resolved by downloading and installing our official Android app @ http://app.hovatek.com .

Hovatek….just a button away!



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