How to install third-party apps on your Karoo

[Steve]

did somebody find out, how to pick and deploy the Google Play Services on the device?

OpenGapps is what you need. I'm unsure whether you'll have to root first or not though. If I had a spare Karoo then I'd have tried it myself.

[jhazelwd]

I rooted, but I don't think you have to. OpenGapps is correct from a package standpoint and you'll install via TWRP, assuming you've unlocked bootloader and enabled USB debugging. In the more current versions of the Karoo firmware I had to delete the Karoo NLP app to get it running properly, but relatively straightforward.

[dabrown16]

I'm trying to download the Dropbox .apk on my iMac to install it on the Karoo. If I download it directly or request it send an email with the link, I'm only able to get .dmg packages for OSX. I've installed Osmand, Switcher and a couple others with no issues. Is there another repository of the Dropbox .apk that will enable downloads to a desktop Mac?
Thanks,
Dan

[SilverbakRacing]

I installede Xplore file manager and upon startup it asks to Allow or Deny access to files on your device. That Allow/Deny popup will only allow me to select Deny. Also PI Music Player does the same thing. Any ideas how to Allow an app that needs access to file locations?

[Steve]

I'm trying to download the Dropbox .apk on my iMac to install it on the Karoo. If I download it directly or request it send an email with the link, I'm only able to get .dmg packages for OSX. I've installed Osmand, Switcher and a couple others with no issues. Is there another repository of the Dropbox .apk that will enable downloads to a desktop Mac?

Try installing the APKPure app - see https://apkpure.com/

Or go to https://apkpure.com/dropbox/com.dropbox.android

[filipal]

Hi,

How to uninstall app?

[Mihail]

Thanks for the instructions. It worked very well under windows 10, I didn't need to install anything, just downloaded the platform tools pack and ran the commands in the command prompt window. I even see the installed apps under the HH shell. I have installed komoot, Specialized mission control and google maps.

[rogerinnyc]

Thanks for these instructions, but I'm running into difficulty with my new Karoo (most recent software update). I'm on Windows 10 machine.

I couldn't find anyone reporting success with RidewithGPS, so I thought I'd try. My Android phone is rooted, so I grabbed the apk from root/data/app folder and transferred it to the ADB folder of my PC. I connected my Karoo (after opening Developer Options and enabling USB debugging) and checked its connection with the ADB devices command and saw it was connected.

I ran "adb install base.apk" and got success. The Karoo rebooted and I had a RidewithGPS icon showing on the home screen next to Settings (no separate launcher installed). Unfortunately, upon clicking the icon, I get a pretty quick "RidewithGPS has stopped", which, based on my read of these threads, suggested I probably needed a GAPPS package and I suspected I wouldn't be able to unlock my bootloader to install.

So I decided to uninstall RidewithGPS and ran "adb uninstall base.apk" -- and got an odd "[DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR] message. Hmm.

Decided to try OSMAND, as it's clear from this forum that folks have had success with that. Ran through the comparable sets and got a "success" in my command window -- but no icon appeared on the Karoo??

Tried an uninstall of OSMAND and got the same DELETE_FAILED error above. Tried a re-install and got a message that the app was already installed.

Did a full factory reset of my Karoo and, this time, started with OSMAND+.

Repeated my above steps and got a Success for installation and the appearance of the OSMAND icon on my Karoo homepage (next to Settings). Yay.

Clicking the icon, however, gives the same "OSM has stopped" notice.

With apologies if I'm being dense, but what am I missing here?

EDIT: Achieved some success. First, saw that Settings on my Karoo has an Apps folder that let me uninstall my prior efforts. Second, decided that my apks taken from my phone might have been the problem, so I went with a download of the APKPure.apk on my computer and installed it by ADB. That worked. I then used APKPure to find and download OSMAND and that also worked, but no icon showed up on my Karoo home page. But from within APK Pure, you can manage your apps and I was able to run OSM. I then used APKPure to download Airdroid, so I can send .gpx files between my phone and the Karoo (again, no icon showed). Lastly, added in Solid Explorer to move my gpx files from the Airdroid folder to the tracks folder in OSM. Oddly, once I added that app, my Karoo homepage added a third screen and all of the sideloaded app icons began to show. Maybe it does it only in groups of three (rebooting didn't change it).

So I think I'm off and running. For what it's worth, I tried again to download RidewithGPS, this time through PureAPK, but no go -- installation fails.

[dbareis]

Just in case you don't realise there may be multiple pages of icons. The extra icons for the apps you add will be on the last page ("hidden" if you didn't know this).

[rogerinnyc]

Thanks, but fully realized. The extra pages (and the new icons) simply don't show up initially, even after a reboot. My experience is that the first new app takes up the one slot left on page 2 of the HH launcher (next to Settings), and that no page 3 appears (or is available) until I've sideloaded three more apps, and then they all appear (as does the additional launcher page). If I then delete an app, the additional launcher page remains, but with only 2 apps. So it seems like you need a critical mass of extra (non-showing) apps before the HH launcher decides to accommodate them with an extra page. Fairly easily resolved, either by adding enough apps until the extra pages you want show (and then deleting any apps you don't want), or using a launcher (like Nova) as your first app and not worrying about it.