Ask NerdGirl: AndroidTapp Mobile Site, Verizon Abroad, and Avoiding Repurchasing Apps with New Gmail Account!

by n3rdg1rl Jun 2, 2010 8:15 AM – 1 Comment

Thanks for everyone’s input about the Incredible. I think I’m going to wait for a price drop or a used one to pop up…or a donation perhaps. ^_^

Great job! This one is off subject a bit. Can we get tapp to give us a mobile site? Current ones takes forever to load.

Just me whining

There is a mobile site. When I go to http://www.androidtapp.com/ on my phone it brings up a “dumbed down” version, if you will. This should work on your phone too. If it doesn’t, check your browser settings and make sure it knows to redirect to the mobile site if available.

If I call Verizon and ask them to unlock my phone so I can use it over seas is that the same as rooting my phone?

Before I cover the difference between rooting and unlocking, let me cover a little about using your Verizon cell phone internationally. There are only 6 Verizon phones that can do this; BlackBerry Tour 9630, BlackBerry Storm2 9550, HTC Imagio, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Ozone, and Verizon Wireless Escapade. None of these phones are Android based. Assuming that you have an Android phone, this isn’t going to work for you.

When you root your phone you are doing nothing that has anything to do with your service provider, aside from voiding your warranty. You are just changing the actual operating system. Unlocking your phone allows you to use it on other providers’ networks and changes nothing about the actual operating system.

The best solution for you, depending on what country you’re traveling to, is to rent a phone. If you want to stay with Verizon, you can call their Global Services at (800) 711-8300 and they may be able to work out the best plan for you.

Ok, so i have been using my android phone on one account for a couple years but the spam and other issues has caused me to sign up a second gmail address. I switched my phone to the new email address and now non of the apps will update without me re-paying for them. I still own the other email address and it is active. Is there a way i can transfer the purchase history from the old account to the new one.? or specify the old account just for the market place so i can get my apps updated? Its very frustrating everywhere i check it doesn’t seem like there is ANY solution from anyone including Google who hasn’t commented what so ever on there own support forums that they claim they monitor. So now i’m out of luck on several applications that cost up to 30.00 each. Please let me know of ANY work around that you can think of.

thanks,

Unfortunately, there is no work around. This is the official word from Google:

“Your application purchases are tied to your Google Account and can be installed an unlimited amount of times on any device. So, for example, if you remove ‘My Favorite Game’ to save memory, you can reinstall it at a later date with no charge by simply visiting My Downloads. Note: free applications are not saved to My Downloads after you remove them.

If you change devices, you can install previous purchases by making sure you sign into your device with the same Google Account you used on your previous phone.

Additionally, if Android Market is attempting to charge you for an application you have already purchased on an existing phone, your device may have been reset and a new username and password created. Because the application is associated with a different Google Account, you are being charged to purchase it again. Please note, if you would like to continue using the device with your current Google Account, you will need to purchase the application again.

If you would like to access your application without purchasing it again, reset your phone and sign in using the Google Account used at the time of purchase. To complete this process, you will need to complete the following steps:

For Android 1.6 devices, visit Settings > SD Card and phone storage > Factory data reset. For Android 2.0 devices, visit Settings > Privacy >Factory data reset. This will wipe all data on your device; the SD/memory card will not be touched.
Sign in to your phone using the username and password of the Google Account you originally used to purchase your applications. If you do not know the password for this account, please visit the Google Checkout Help Center article about Passwords for instructions to reset the password.
Reinstall the application by visiting My Downloads.”

So as of now, you can not use a new Google account regardless of what you change in your settings. It’s done for security, which I understand, but for the legitimate users there should be a way around this.

But Wait…

The Chief Editor’s 2 cents: I had this same issue, but the fix came built into Android 2.0+ as it supports multiple Gmail and/or Google apps accounts. When I first set up a new phone I used a different Gmail account and got the same surprise in the Market as it wanted me to pay again for apps already purchased. So I signed in with the original purchase Gmail account.

Unfortunately it sounds like your phone may be Android 1.6 or lower (here’s a good guide to tell what version your phone is), if that is the case then NerdGirl’s advice applies to you.

Keep sending those questions to nerdgirl@androidtapp.com!

~n3rdg1rl

Tags: Android Advice, Android Questions, AndroidTapp.com Mobile, Ask NerdGirl, Avoiding Repurchasing Apps with New Gmail Account, Help with Android, Verizon Abroad, Verizon Unlocked Phones

Categorised in: Android Advice, Ask NerdGirl

1 Comment

By Lucy on June 4, 2010 at 7:16 pm:

Why can’t you set the phone (and market) to use the old email, but get another email client (like K9 Mail) to read your the email from your new account? Would that work?

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