[Q] Two versions of one app installed at the same time?

wzyboy · 01:12 PM

[Q] Two versions of one app installed at the same time?

It seems that this is the first time I start a new thread.

Hi, all. I want to know how to install two versions of one same application at the same time.

As a matter of fact, I want to install Opera Mini 4.2 China Version and Opera Mini 4.2 Internaional Version at the time. But...Since Opera Mini 5 makes it difficult to describe the question, here takes HelloWorld.apk as an example.

Well, there are two versions of the application "HelloWorld": 1.0 and 1.1. (This is just an example)

I have installed HelloWorld 1.0 on my phone, and when I try to install HelloWorld 1.1, the 1.0 version will be replaced. But...I want to have both of them installed on my phone. That is to say, there will be two "HelloWorld" icons in the app drawer.

I use APKTool to extract the com.hello.world.apk into some "text" files, including an AndroidManifest.xml and a lot of *.smali files. In the AndroidManifest.xml, I saw this:

<manifest package="com.hello.world" versionCode="100" versionName="1.0">

I chaged the value "com.hello.world" to "com.goodbye.world". Then I re-build the apk file and transferred it to my phone.

I installed the modified package, it was successfully installed and I see two "HelloWorld" icons in my app drawer!

I try to launch the HelloWorld 1.0, it succeeds.
I try to launch the HelloWorld 1.1, it FCs immediately.

Well, this is my situation. How can I make both of them launch-able in my phone? Is it possible? What should I modify apart from "package" filed in AndroidManifest.xml?

Thanks a lot.

~~~~
wzyboy

Rayvenhawk · 12th January 2011, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wzyboy

It seems that this is the first time I start a new thread.

Hi, all. I want to know how to install two versions of one same application at the same time.

As a matter of fact, I want to install Opera Mini 4.2 China Version and Opera Mini 4.2 Internaional Version at the time. But...Since Opera Mini 5 makes it difficult to describe the question, here takes HelloWorld.apk as an example.

Well, there are two versions of the application "HelloWorld": 1.0 and 1.1. (This is just an example)

I have installed HelloWorld 1.0 on my phone, and when I try to install HelloWorld 1.1, the 1.0 version will be replaced. But...I want to have both of them installed on my phone. That is to say, there will be two "HelloWorld" icons in the app drawer.

I use APKTool to extract the com.hello.world.apk into some "text" files, including an AndroidManifest.xml and a lot of *.smali files. In the AndroidManifest.xml, I saw this:

<manifest package="com.hello.world" versionCode="100" versionName="1.0">

I chaged the value "com.hello.world" to "com.goodbye.world". Then I re-build the apk file and transferred it to my phone.

I installed the modified package, it was successfully installed and I see two "HelloWorld" icons in my app drawer!

I try to launch the HelloWorld 1.0, it succeeds.
I try to launch the HelloWorld 1.1, it FCs immediately.

Well, this is my situation. How can I make both of them launch-able in my phone? Is it possible? What should I modify apart from "package" filed in AndroidManifest.xml?

Thanks a lot.

~~~~
wzyboy

Well I'm not an android programmer but if I'm understanding you correctly you did the following (in the order I'm listing them):

1) Installed helloworld 1.1 (which over-wrote v1.0)
2) Opened the APK for helloworld 1.0 and made the manifest change
3) Installed the modded helloworld 1.0 on your phone

From a programmer point of view (just not with Android), if you followed the above scenario what is happening is HW1.1 installs it's files which are updated versions of the previous one (why else install an update). When you modded the HW1.0 you only changed the name and nothing else.

What is happening is when you go to install the modded version it's overwriting the newer files with the older ones since the phone is assuming the modded app is an entirely new program and allows the process to occur. This is why the modded one works and the 1.1 won't since the files it needs are the wrong version.

The only option of really have is to mod the actual program to look for different filenames, but without the source code to that app, that isn't going to happen.

Basically you need to have version 1.1 use the default files, and with the modded 1.0 you need to tell the software to "look" for the updated filenames (just don't forget to rename the actual files too).

Short of all that, as far as I know your SOL.

wzyboy · 13th January 2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayvenhawk

Well I'm not an android programmer but if I'm understanding you correctly you did the following (in the order I'm listing them):

1) Installed helloworld 1.1 (which over-wrote v1.0)
2) Opened the APK for helloworld 1.0 and made the manifest change
3) Installed the modded helloworld 1.0 on your phone

From a programmer point of view (just not with Android), if you followed the above scenario what is happening is HW1.1 installs it's files which are updated versions of the previous one (why else install an update). When you modded the HW1.0 you only changed the name and nothing else.

What is happening is when you go to install the modded version it's overwriting the newer files with the older ones since the phone is assuming the modded app is an entirely new program and allows the process to occur. This is why the modded one works and the 1.1 won't since the files it needs are the wrong version.

The only option of really have is to mod the actual program to look for different filenames, but without the source code to that app, that isn't going to happen.

Basically you need to have version 1.1 use the default files, and with the modded 1.0 you need to tell the software to "look" for the updated filenames (just don't forget to rename the actual files too).

Short of all that, as far as I know your SOL.

Great thanks to your reply. But...

Android uses .apk files to install and run the application. When installing an apk file, the package installer just copys the apk file to /data/app directory and "register" the program in the system. The apk itself will not be "extracted" or anything else. That is to say, an apk file can be installed, and also can be run.

On the other hand, the apk will generate some files in /data/data directory when running. I am considering that it was these file that made the modded version FCs. I will try to look into these files to see will this works...

English is my second language, hoping that I did not made many grammar misktaks... :P

cowboyaryk · 24th May 2012, 02:56 AM

+1 on this topic. It's been a year and a half since the last reply and I've done a bit of searching online to find no answers. I anyone have some feedback on this? I'd ultimately like to use this to install two Google voice applications. I actually have an app from a blacked out version with a different icon. But if I install it it will overwrite the original Google voice app

bartoloandre98 · 24th May 2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboyaryk

+1 on this topic. It's been a year and a half since the last reply and I've done a bit of searching online to find no answers. I anyone have some feedback on this? I'd ultimately like to use this to install two Google voice applications. I actually have an app from a blacked out version with a different icon. But if I install it it will overwrite the original Google voice app

You are one hell of an archaeologist

Sent from My Samsung Galaxy S2 running Paranoidandroid Rom.What else if not?=P

bbsrailfan · 24th May 2012, 12:34 PM

I'd also like to know if that's possible. Even if it were possible, and an updated version of helloworld is relaeased (Say, HelloWorld v1.2), which version would it replace? Would it replace the (original) HelloWorld 1.1 or the (modded)HelloWorld 1.0?