What are the unsupported Android phones?

 

The Android system was one of the first operating systems for smartphones developed in the world, and although it was initially intended to operate digital cameras, the path turned into a system for operating smartphones before Google acquired the developer of the system in 2005 and thus completed the work on developing Android as a proprietary system. she has. Google tended to build the Android system based on the Linux kernel, which is an open-source operating system for computers so that Android in turn becomes an open-source system and any programmer can modify its algorithms, redistribute and share it to meet the needs of a specific group of users.

 

The first phone to use the Android system was the T-Mobile G1, which was launched in the market in October 2008. After that, the Android system became one of the world's most widespread operating systems for smartphones and tablets. Currently, about 75% of mobile devices use the Android operating system. This is mainly due to it being "open source".

 

It is true that any phone manufacturer can use Android to run its devices, but this is not without some problems. In the case of uncertified devices that use copies of the Android system to run them, users of those devices may lose access to some of the features provided by the system, so what are they? Unsupported devices for Android? What are the features that are not available for these devices? This will become clear in the following lines.

 

What are unsupported Android devices?

 

Despite the variety of devices that use the Android operating system and the different user interfaces, functions, and features provided by each device based on what the manufacturer specializes in its customers, Google, the developer of the source codes from the Android system, is always keen to ensure a certain degree of consistency in functions and security standards for its user's system on all devices.

 

Therefore, any device that uses the Android system to run it must pass a set of tests known as the "package of compatibility tests" before the manufacturer puts it on the market in order to be approved, and any device that does not pass these tests or does not meet the conditions and requirements for certification that the company explains according to the identification document. Compatibility Unsupported device.

 

What happens in the case of uncertified Android devices?

 

Unsupported Android devices are very rare, and it is difficult to find an unsupported Android device except in a few cases, the most famous and widespread of which are rooting operations that aim to gain unrestricted access to system files to modify them, such as rooting the phone or installing a modified ROM, but also may It is because the phone is from a manufacturer that is not authorized by Google to distribute Google apps and services. That is, if, for example, you purchased a phone from "Huawei", which is a company that is not licensed by Google, you may be able to install Google applications on the phone, but in this case, your phone will be "uncertified" by Google.

 

Well, what happens if you own one of these few uncertified Android devices? How might your use of the device be affected?

 

In 2018, Google began warning users of these devices during the setup process that they are using devices that the company has not approved, which means that the company has not verified the security of the device. However, those users were still able to set up, operate, and use their non-certified devices as normal, except that they were no longer able to access and use the Google Play Store, and download and run apps across platforms other than the protected Google Play Store carries a significant data security risk. , as it is not possible to guarantee that the applications downloaded to the device are real and not fake, and some of them do not work properly.

 

Even if the user succeeds in installing original copies of Google applications on the device by some means, Google can still turn off the application and prevent the user from accessing it through the unauthorized device at any time, as happened in March 2021 when Google stopped running the Google Messages application on devices Unsupported Androids. Non-certified devices also do not receive any routine updates from Google and certainly will not support the Play Protect service which is necessary and important to ensure the security of the device.

 

How to detect unsupported Android devices

 

Any user of a device running the Android operating system can know whether his phone or tablet is using a certified version of Android or not, and this can be easily verified by opening the Google Play Store on the Android phone or tablet that needs to be verified by Google, then press On the profile picture at the top left of the screen, then click on the “Settings” option, then on the next page, click on “About” and under the “Play Protect Certification” section, you can see if your device is certified by Google.

 

If you do not find what indicates the approval status of your device in the previous section, you can still check the approval status of your phone by looking at the list of Android devices supported by the Google Play Store on the official Google website, a list that is constantly updated and includes thousands of devices, so after viewing the list, press the two keys Ctrl + F on the keyboard, then type in the phone model to see if your device is on this list.

 

Abstract | Uncertified Android devices are phones and tablets that use the Android operating system, but have not passed the set of compatibility tests imposed by Google to ensure that these devices meet all the requirements and requirements that the company specifies according to the compatibility definition document, in order to ensure the degree of security of these devices.

 

The use of uncertified Android devices deprives the user of some advantages such as the inability to access the Google Play Store, and therefore downloading and installing applications from other unprotected and unsafe sources is a risky process, and the user may install fake and unreal applications on his device, and even If Google applications are successfully installed on the device, these applications may not work properly or Google policies may cause them to stop working on unauthorized devices at any time.