[GUIDE] How to install apps (APKs) on Timmkoo Q5/Q3E

PLEASE WATCH THIS THREAD AS THERE ARE MANY IMPORTANT UPDATES TO BE RELEASED IN THE NEAR FUTURE

How to install apps (APKs) on Timmkoo devices (Q5 & Q3E):

1) Download SP Flash Tool on your computer: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/jl2a4r8y9af8j/SP+Flash+Tool

2) Download LithiumOS ROM/firmware and extract it on your computer (there should be four files).

3) Flash the Lithium firmware to the device, using this guide by @Munk.3: https://xdaforums.com/t/tmmkoo-q5-q...dates-downloads-first-release-1-5-24.4643981/

DOWNLOAD LINKS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE!!!

4) Power on the device (this may take up to two minutes, longer in some cases)

5) Obtain the APKs of the apps you would like to install. You can either do this on your Timmkoo, or on another device and copy the APKs to your Timmkoo Internal Storage/SD Card (if applicable). Although not necessary, I recommend you rename these files - for example, if an APK you downloaded was named “Chrome_81.1_arm_(apkdownload.com).apk” or something, I would recommend you rename it to just “Chrome.apk” for simplicity. Also, check that your APKs are compatible with your device.*

6) Launch the “Root Explorer” app on your Timmkoo. Locate the desired APK files on your device, and copy them (tap and hold file(s) > Copy). Switch to the other tab, and navigate to Root > data > app (/data/app) - and paste the files (tap the circular “Copy Here” button in the bottom right corner). When prompted for root access after tapping “Copy Here”, tap “Grant” to allow Root Explorer to copy to the /data/app directory. Select the newly-copied APKs (tap and hold to select) then tap the “More” menu icon (three dots, in the top right corner), then Permissions, then in the “ENTER OCTAL” field, enter “644” (or “0644” if 4 digits are available).

7) (OPTIONAL) Reboot your TImmkoo device. Usually, after copying your APK files to /data/app, their icons will appear on your device’s home screen shortly after. However, sometimes they do not appear immediately, or experience issues when launching. In such rare cases, rebooting your device is required - I usually choose to do this anyway after installing new apps, just to avoid needing to do it later.

8) Enjoy your new apps!

*Ensuring compatibility of APKs: when searching for APKs to download, make sure to find a version of the desired app compatible with Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) - this is usually denoted on APK download sites by “Min SDK version: 4.4.2 KitKat (API 19)” or similar). APPS FOR NEWER ANDROID VERSIONS THAN THIS WILL NOT WORK. Usually (in nearly all cases), if an app is compatible with Android 4.4.2 will install with no issues on the Timmkoo. However, occasionally apps will be listed as compatible with Android 4.4.2 yet crash when launching on the Timmkoo, even after setting its permissions to 644 (if an app crashes, MAKE SURE you have set the correct permissions - 644 - and if this still doesn’t work, set them to 777, reboot the device and try launching the app again. When this happens, you need to find a version of the app older than the one you have found - when an app crashes, older versions of the same app work 90% of the time.

Here is my recommendation for finding a suitable older version of the same app: navigate to an APK download site, such as APKMirror, APKCombo or UpToDown. Find the page of the app you would like to install. Then navigate to “All versions”, “Older versions” or similar. Then scroll down (you may need to navigate through several pages) until you start seeing versions compatible with Android 4.4.2. Once you’ve found one, check that there are no prior versions of the same app that have a minimum Android version higher than 4.4.2. If there is, the version you are looking at probably is not compatible with 4.4.2 (even though it says it is). Instead, keep scrolling through until you find a version of the app compatible with 4.4.2, with no prior versions requiring a higher Android version.

If you follow this and your selected app version still crashes, then your best option is to conduct a web search for “latest version of [app name] compatible with Android 4.4.2”. If the app is moderately popular, you will likely find a correct answer - then search for an APK matching the version number you found online and install that.

NOTE: A good, easy way to test an app’s compatibility is to try opening the APK on the device. If the app icon and name show up, and it asks you “Do you want to install this app” - then the app is likely to be compatible (not definitely, but likely). However, if instead you get an error message saying “Unable to parse the package” or similar, the app is definitely not compatible and you need to find another version.

REMEMBER: Some apps just aren’t compatible, and won’t work on the TImmkoo no matter what you do - when this happens, I’m afraid there just really isn’t much you can do! (This is rare of course. And bear in mind that Android 4.4.2 is quite old now; many apps have been developed long after 4.4.2’s release (and end of support) - and are not compatible.

Lithium Download Link:

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/3r7zx6ssngrav/Beta

If you have any questions, or need any support with Lithium (or would like to report bugs, it's very helpful if you do this!) then hit me up on here and I'll try sort it out.

Enjoy! =)