So this Christmas, I put the Coby Kyros MID7012 tablet (which only runs Android 2.3.3) on my wish list. I was surprised when I actually received it! By that time, I had decided I didn’t really need it. I am returning it, but I thought I would share some things I learned through the experience. This mainly concerns installing the Android Market on the Coby Kyros.
Ok, just to give you a little background info, the Kyros 7012 and others don’t have the Android Market installed out of the box. It would seem like all you’d need to do is install a few .apk files and you’d be good right? Well all but 2 articles I read online were not like that at all. Most required you to root the device. Although rooting itself can be undone, certain things done with rooting privileges cannot. Not to mention the fact that “rooting” the tablet most likely voids the warranty on the device. So, in short, it doesn’t seem like “doing it right the first time” is very popular with people installing the Android Market. That is why I wanted to throw in my two cents about this so that more people can do this right and not mess up their devices.
After a good amount of research, I found a method that actually worked for me. It is based off of a YouTube tutorial. If you go on YouTube, it’s the first one that pops up if you search “install android market on coby” I believe. Here’s the actual URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BrWSC2uiAg
NOTE: I, NORTHWEST TECH EXPERIENCE, AND ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL OR COMPANY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM SHALL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES BY FOLLOWING THIS TUTORIAL. WE PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION TO YOU FREELY. IN FOLLOWING THESE STEPS, YOU AGREE THAT YOU AND YOU ALONE ARE TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES.
I have to put that there in case someone messes up their device by following this, although I doubt they will. OK, here we go.
1. Download the “Android Market_install_files.zip” below with your PC and unzip all the files to a convenient location (say, your desktop).
Android Market_install_files.zip
2. Now connect the tablet to your PC and put these files on your tablet’s SD card or internal memory. If your not sure how to do this, consult your product manual (on page 30 I think). I stuck the files in the “downloads” folder on the device itself.
3. After the files have finished transferring, disconnect the tablet from your PC.
4. Go to your file viewer app. On my tablet, they installed “ES File Explorer”. Yours should have a similar file explorer program.
5. Now find where you put those .apk files. I put mine in the “downloads” folder.
6. Ok, now you are going to install them in a specific order. (Just tap on the file to install. Hit “Done” after each one. DON’T RUN THEM AFTER THEY INSTALL!) Here is the order:
a. OneTimeInitializer.apk
b. SetupWizard.apk
c. GoogleServicesFramework-signed.apk
d. com.android.vending.3.3.12.apk
7. Ok, this step is important. DO NOT GO TO THE HOME SCREEN!!!!. Press and hold the power button on the tablet and turn it off.
8. Now turn it back on!
9. After start-up, you will see a menu with two options. Check the “Use this as default” box on the bottom, then select the option on top (“Launcher”). You don’t want to set up anything. You just want to use the regular initializer.
10. Make sure you are connected to a wireless network (WIFI). If not, get your tablet connected.
11. Now that your connected, go to the Apps list (by tapping the box made of little squares that’s either on the bottom or right hand side of your screen).
12. You should see the Android Market icon in this list. Go ahead and open it. Since this is the first run, you’ll need to enter your Google Account information and accept the license agreement.The Android Market will filter out most apps that won’t work with your tablet.
You should be good to go. Enjoy your new apps!
Worked perfectly – thank you!
Kyros MID 7012
Just wanted to say THANK YOU. I spent all day without success yesterday on other sites trying to get this to work. I did a factory reset, followed these instructions, and it worked the very first time. You sir are my hero.
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I will post a link to this page on my blog.Thanks!
thanks for your instructions; i downloaded the android market just fine onto my new kyros! however, after searching for “kindle” on the market, it tells me the app is not compatible with my device!! why?!
There are a good number of apps that only work on certain tablets. I had the same problem with the McAfee Family Safety app for Android. They claimed that the app would/does work on Android 2.3.3. However, it doesn’t work on the Coby Kyros MID7012. I had to contact their support team and run my problems up the ladder just to find out that my tablet wasn’t supported. It’s frustrating, isn’t it! :)
I don’t know if the installed e-reader will do what you want or not. If you’re trying to install the Kindle app, probably not. You might try the GetJar app store (the pre-installed app market). I don’t know if they have a compatible Kindle app or not.
Have fun! :)
Ok, so I followed your directions on here, but when I go to install the files from the zip folder it says “sorry, no application available”. It’s a Coby Kryos MID7012. Any ideas? I bought the damned thing so I could do my school work without fighting my Husband for the PC, but the thing doesn’t run any of the courses-just has a little box with a ? in it =/ Thanks for the help!
Ok, sounds like you downloaded the .zip file to the tablet itself and are trying to install from the .zip file, correct?
If so, that error would make complete sense. See, a .zip file is a file. It’s not a folder. It contains other files in a compressed format. Most computing devices will allow you to see what’s inside the .zip without unzipping it. So, sounds like you can get into the .zip file and can see the apps but can’t install them because they are still in the .zip file.
To fix this, navigate (on your tablet) to the .zip file. Don’t open it, just look at the pretty little icon of the .zip file. After you’ve admired it, tap and HOLD your finger/stylus on the .zip folder’s icon. There should be a little menu that pops up. You’re going to want to select the “Unzip” option.
It’s either going to stick all the files in the folder your currently viewing, or put them in a new folder with the same name as the .zip file.
So, basically, you have to unzip that .zip file before you start installing any of those apps. After that, you shouldn’t have an error pop up.
As to the “?” question, I’m not sure. Maybe you’re referring to the same error. If it is a different problem, feel free to make another comment explaining what you’re trying to do and I’ll see if I can give you some tips.
Hope that helps! Enjoy!
-RED 7
I’m having the same exact problem… and I have the colby kyros.. The unzip dosent even come up in my menu
OK. I really wish I could test this stuff myself before throwing something out there, but I don’t have that tablet anymore so I can’t. I apologize for any confusion.
What I did when I had my tablet, was I actually unzipped the .zip file on my computer. So, download and unzip the package on your PC first. Then connect your tablet to the PC and stick those .apk files somewhere on the tablet. You’ll need to put the tablet in USB mode I think. Then the tablet will just look like a portable memory device to your computer. I put the .apk’s in the downloads folder.
Then disconnect the tablet and navigate to those .apk files. You should be able to continue with the installation from there.
Again, I apologize for the confusion. If you have any other questions, please feel free to comment. :-)
P.S. I updated the tutorial to be a little more clear on how to do this correctly. There’s even a link to the product manual if anyone doesn’t know how to connect the tablet to their PC. Hope that helps.
I tried the above instructions and they worked. Thank you.
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I in finding It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to offer something back and help others such as you helped me.
hi.. The Market installation worked on my Coby MID7012 tablet! :) But.. when I try to open the Market, it says “The application market(process com.android.vending) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again”. I see this message everytime I try to open market today. Pls help me to rectify this..
Thx
Jay
Hmm… You know, I think I remember having that happen to me once when I was trying a bunch of other people’s tutorials. The root of the problem could be a number of things. Because of that, I’d recommend:
A) If the tablet is new-ish (you haven’t set up a bunch of accounts and customized it just the way you want it) I would highly reccommend doing a factory reset on the device. This will set all the settings back to the original. It won’t delete and files you may have put on there (i.e. music, pictures, downloads) but it will delete all your settings. It’s a really simple process. The Factory Reset option (if I remember right) is in Settings/Personal Information. I know it’s in one of those settings options.
B) If you have done a bunch of stuff to your tablet, then uninstall all the files (i.e. OneTimeInitializer.apk, SetupWizard.apk, GoogleServicesFramework-signed.apk, com.android.vending.3.3.12.apk). No, it doesn’t matter in what order you uninstall them. After that’s done, try going through the whole tutorial again. If you don’t know how to uninstall packages, let me know. It’s not hard.
So, if option B still doesn’t solve your problem, you might just have to go with option A. I know, it stinks. I’m not sure what other options you’d have though.
Hope you get it going! :-)
-RED 7
I installed the android market on My Coby MID 1126 (android version 2.3.3) but i can’t find any application for facebook.
1-do you have any ideas how to download facebook application?
2- can i use my usb internet to log on the internet or i have to use only the wifi (hopefully there is a way to use my usb internet (huawei E173) to log on the internet without rooting)
thanks for your useful supports
1) If the Facebook App isn’t showing up on the Android Market, then that probably means that the Market doesn’t think your tablet is compatible with that app.
I would go through the GetJar app store and try to get the Facebook app from there. GetJar is the default market Coby puts on it’s tablets (in case you didn’t know). This might be their Facebook App: http://www.getjar.com/mobile/15801/facebook-mobile
If you can’t install the Facebook App from either, then there’s a third option. We could try and dig up the Facebook “.apk” for Android 2.3.3. You would then install using basically the same technique I described above.
2) So I’m guessing that USB dongle is some sort of mobile internet modem? I will be perfectly honest, I’m not that experienced in that area. It seems as though some people have been experimenting with this idea though (see URL below). I wouldn’t know exactly what to tell you, so I’d better not say. It might just be easier to use the built in WIFI card, although mobile internet on a Coby tablet is definitely and intriguing idea!
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/27150-3g-usb-dongle-works/