This page describes a number of issues you might encounter when purchasing X-Plane on an Android device, through the Android Market.
Market Download/Installation Issues
Contents
“I own this application for Palm/iPhone, why do I need to re-buy it?”
The applications from one device to another may seem the same as far as features but the software underneath is actually very different to support the various devices out there.
In addition, each platform comes with a different market. The market is responsible not just for tracking ownership but also for delivering updates. For instance, the Apple Store (iTunes) is a very different market than the Android market. Something purchased in one place cannot be tied back to a different market.
If you have any trouble, please contact support at [email protected].
Problem: “The resources started downloading but then froze”
First, we highly recommend that WiFi be enabled prior to starting XPlane for the first time (or after an update) so that the resource files can be downloaded quickly with fewer interruptions. WiFi is not required but will make the process much faster.
Occasionally, the downloads can get stuck if a connection is lost during transfer. To correct this:
- Go to Settings > Applications
- Find X-Plane in the Application list and select it
- Press the button labelled “Force Close”
- Again, this would be a good time to enable WiFi
- Launch X-Plane again. It will continue downloading where it left off.
Problem: “I can’t find X-Plane in the Market!”
There are almost 200 different Android devices out there. Some of them are far too slow to ever run X-Plane; others are dual-core monsters with tons of power. In creating the X-Plane for Android app, we needed a way to make sure the only devices that can purchase the app are the ones that will actually run it reliably.
After a bit of research, we decided that the ARMv7-based CPUs are powerful enough to run X-Plane, but nothing less would be sufficient. We set up the application in the Android Market so that it will only show up to people who have phones with an ARMv7-based processor. This means that right off the bat, there will be some users who won’t be able to find the app in the Market. This is normal. In this case, your device isn’t able to run the application (most will merely crash if attempted) so the market hides the application.
Luckily, most of the phones out there do have ARMv7 chips, so the average person shouldn’t have an issue. Here’s the hitch… Some phone models have a bug in them right now–they tell the Android Market that they don’t have an ARMv7 chip, even though they do! This means that owners of these phones will not see X-Plane until the problem is fixed.
The phone’s carriers are working on a solution to this problem right now, and it should be present in the next release for those phones. However, the fix is carrier dependent, and there is no date set for the release. All that can be done at this point is to wait for the next Over-the-Air (OTA) update from your carrier.
The following phones have been found to have this issue (mainly on Android 2.1):
- Samsung Galaxy S series phones (Galaxy, Fascinate, Vibrant etc)
- HTC Desire
- Sony Ericson Xperia X10
Problem: “I’m receiving an Unknown Error – 18 when I install X-Plane”
This cause of this Android installer error is unknown but it affects many applications, not just X-Plane. There are two workarounds that we’re aware of. One of them fixes the problem…the other merely works around it to get X-Plane installed.
Solution ONE: Permanent Fix – Attach the phone to a computer and mount the SD card as a drive, then navigate to the folder called .android_secure and in that folder, delete the file called smdl2tmp1.asec. Now unmount the SD card and restart your phone. NOTE: Because this solution requires you to delete files from your phone, you MUST exercise caution and attempt this solution at your own risk though it has worked perfectly for most users who have tried.
Solution TWO: Workaround just to get it installed – From the phone go to Settings > SD card & phone storage and select Unmount SD. Now the user should try to redownload X-Plane. Once that works, they can go back to this screen and mount their SD card again. If they desire at a later date (and if they’re running Android 2.2 Froyo or higher) they can go to Settings > Applications > X-Plane, select it and then pick Move to SD to get the app out of internal storage.
Application Issues
For applications issues, please see the general X-Plane for Android troubleshooting page for general application issues.
In-App Purchase of Aircraft/Scenery
Problem: “I purchased an Aircraft/Scenery Region but I cannot use it yet”
After a purchase goes through, it can sometimes take 10 minutes for the credit card transaction to go through completely before the product becomes usable. Please be sure you have a good connection to the internet. It has also shown to be helpful to be sure that you’re signed into Google Talk on your device as this ensures a stable connect to Google’s servers. Another thing to try is to open up the Android Market to be sure it’s functioning properly. Then restart XPlane.
If you’ve waited a while and your purchases are still not working properly, be sure you have a connection to the internet and then go to the X-Plane Android menu and pick “Refresh Purchases”. After a minute or so, your transaction should be completely updated.
Problem: “I tried to purchase aircraft/scenery but the transaction failed yet it says ‘You already own this product'”
There seems to be an issue on Google’s servers that are causing transactions to sometimes get stuck. After a certain time limit, the transaction is automatically cancelled by them, NO MONEY is charged to your account but yet you cannot download the item and if you try and repurchase it, they say “You already own this product”.
- UPDATE (04/20/11): Google has found the cause of this and fixed it however it may take a week or two for the fix to go through their QA testing before it is Live on their servers.
- UPDATE (04/27/11): The fix has gone live. You should no longer be experiencing this issue any longer.
Problem: “I purchased aircraft/scenery and I want to use them on a different device”
Your purchases are tied to your primary device username/account. That means that any device which is tied to this same account will be granted access to use your purchased products. It might take several minutes after the first time you run X-Plane for the products to be unlocked. Be sure you have a good internet connection at that time.
Problem: “I reinstalled X-Plane and now my purchased aircraft/scenery are gone!”
Don’t worry, your purchases have not been lost. The first time you load X-Plane, it will send a request to Google’s servers to find out what you own. After several minutes, you should receive all of your purchases back. Be sure you have a good internet connection at that time.
If you’ve waited a while and your purchases are still not available, be sure you have a connection to the internet and then go to the X-Plane Android menu and pick “Refresh Purchases”. After a minute or so, your transactions should be completely restored.
Problem: “It says in-app purchase is not supported on my device”
In order to purchase products from within X-Plane, you need to have Android’s Market App version 2.3.4 or higher. Everyone should have this version by now but in case you don’t, you can try clearing your market cache/data by going to Settings > Applications > All and select the market app and then selection Clear Cache and Clear Data. Then follow the directions from the Android Market support.
More Information
Getting further help
The issues above are the only ones we are aware of at the moment.
If you believe your phone should be able to see the app and it can’t, or if you have further problems, please email [email protected]. In all cases, it is useful to include the following information ahead of time:
- Carrier
- Phone Model
- Android Version
- Order Number (from Android Market)***
- Build Number *
- Whether you’re running a custom ROM or not **
* This information can be found by going to Settings > About Phone on your device.
** Because Android is an open source operating system, there are a lot of custom builds of the operating system out there that are not stock builds from your carrier. Basically, if you don’t know what a custom ROM is, the answer to this is no, you are not running a custom ROM.
*** You can get this from the email that was sent to you from the Android market after your purchase OR you can go to http://checkout.google.com and find your order history.
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